Father who shaved his daughter's head because she was with a Serb: "We're no savages, he's a junkie"

The family, that was deported from France and returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) after they cut off all of their daughter's hair because of her relationship with a Serb, presented their side of the story for the first time

The family of Senad Zahirovic from Turbet near Travnik was deported from France back to BiH for committing an act of violence against their 17-year-old daughter Selma. And while the media all over Europe wrote that Senad, Selma's father, cut off his daughter's hair because she was in love with a Serb called Dusan, the Zahirovics told their side of the story for the first time and spoke for Sarajevo based Avaz about everything that has been happening.

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They and their four children were recieved by Senad's neighbors in Turbet. They gave them a house as temporary accommodation. Senad and Safeta were found by Avaz's journalists in front of the crumbling house.

"It's awful that we are presented in all media as savages from Bosnia, as people who abused their child. Yes, I cut off her hair, but not because her boyfriend is a Serb, but because she had relations with him. That is unacceptable for me and my family," says Senad Zahirovic, whose words are approved by his wife Safeta by nodding her head.

"We just wanted to protect our child, make sure she was not with someone who does not belong to her. It has nothing to do with religion (Dusan is Christian, while Selma is Muslim). He was not fair towards her, and she did not want to admit it," says the mother, while the father denies that he also broke his daughter's ribs.

"He's violent and a drug addict"

He reveals that he found texts she sent to Dusan in Selma's phone.

"She wrote to him that she was going to kill herself. He is a drug addict, a bully. He hit her. I was just rescuing my child from a bad man who would not bring anything good to her. Unfortunately, she did not say that in court, instead it turned out that we mistreated her because she was in a relationship with a Serb. That's a lie! That is not true," Zahirovic told Avaz.

When asked where Selma was now, he said:

"She's with a foster family. We have no communication with her for now. We didn’t have good communication even when we were in France."

He stressed that good people helped him during the return to BiH.

"My only goal now is to find a job, because I have other children. I have to take care of them. As for the deportation from France, we are banned from entering the European Union for five years. This is a great tragedy for a parent to experience," Senad Zahirovic told Avaz.

Safeta adds that the story about the forbidden love with a Serb is pure nonsense.

"My mother is Croatian, my father is Romani. We are such a family, I have no problem with somebody's religion and nationality. But we have a problem with a drug addict and a bully," Safeta said in a trembling voice.

They ask about their sister

Finally, the Zahirovics stressed that they were very hurt by the headlines in the media.

"Our daughter reported us, under the influence of her boyfriend. We hope that she will come to her senses and that one day she will understand what she did to her family. Our younger children keep asking about her. And we don't know how to explain where their Dada is and what happened," say the Zahirovics.

(Telegraf.rs)