Muslim-born Sara Pechanec will tell guests at a fund-raining dinner this week how she fled war-torn Bosnia, thanks to the Jerusalem Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, which helped her family escape after her parents and grandfather sheltered Jews during World War Two.
Sara, now 53, and her parents, Mustafa and Zejneba Hardaga, hid the Jewish Kabilio family during the war. Her grandfather, Ahmed Sadik, also sheltered a Jew but was caught and died in the Jasenovac concentration camp.
The family were honoured by Yad Vashem in 1984 and Zajneba Hardaga was the first Muslim woman to be honoured as 'Righteous Among Nations'.
In 1994, when Sarajevo came under attack from Serb forces, the family appealed to Yad Vashem for help. The organisation lobbied the Bosnian president to allow the family to leave, and Zejneba, along with Sara - then named Aida - her husband and daughter all escaped to Israel. On arrival they were welcomed by government officials, representatives of Yad Vashem and members of the Kabilio family. The whole family converted to Judaism and Sara and her husband remarried with a Jewish ceremony.
Mrs Pechanec tells People: "I always felt Jewish when I was a little girl. My mother had a dream for me to become a doctor or a lawyer. My dream was to become Jewish. Choosing to be Jewish isn't about decisions - it is about feelings. I had very strong feelings all my life."
She says: "I am looking forward to speaking in London. It is my honour and my pleasure to tell my story."
The dinner, taking place on Tuesday April 13 at London's Guildhall, is being organised by the British Friends of Yad Vashem. The organisation's chief executive Linda Patterson says: "Her story is truly outstanding and inspirational. She feels very strongly that her life was saved by Yad Vashem and Judaism."
Jerusalem-based Mrs Pechanec works in the archive department of Yad Vashem. She has one daughter.
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