International Rescue Committee

Freeing up housing space in Gorazde town

In November 1997, Gorazde was recognized as an "Open City" by the UNHCR, paving the way for the return of the Serb minority. Ten thousand Serbs fled the region during the 1992-1995 war. But the town's population is now growing again. Before the war it had 37,000 inhabitants, of which three-quarters were Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and one quarter Serbs. Now the population count stands at 39,000, of which 99 percent are Bosniacs. That figure includes 17,000 displaced persons from the towns in Drina Valley (Eastern Republika Srpska), including Foca, Visegrad, Rogatica and Cajnice. The infrastructure of Gorazde, which was under siege for four years was severely damaged. From a housing point of view, the situation is critical because of the displaced persons and refugees starting to come back from abroad.

By Nudzejma Ducic

The European Commission has given considerable support to help rebuild housing and infrastructure in Gorazde. Both pose particular problems from a safety point of view in Goradze because of the town's particular geographical situation. Freedom of movement has been a real problem for Gorazde. It is only linked to the main Federation territory by a small corridor that was defined under the Dayton Peace Agreement. Until recently, the stoning of vehicles bearing Federation licence plates passing through Rogatica (RS) was a common occurrence. This forced people to use the long, narrow road through the corridor to reach Sarajevo, and that road is impossible to use in wintertime. Recently however the situation has improved greatly following the introduction of the new car licence plates.

One rebuilt house means two returning families

According to the UNHCR, the number of Bosnian Serbs visiting Gorazde and expressing their interest in returning is on the increase. This is a positive sign and it is expected that the number of actual minority returns will increase over the coming months. But it is difficult to tackle the question of minority return to Gorazde without finding a solution for the very large number of displaced Bosniacs still living in Gorazde and who have little prospect of returning to homes that are now situated in the Republika Srpska.

That is where the International Rescue Committee (IRC), funded by the European Commission, comes in. "Gorazde town is full of displaced people from the surrounding rural areas, because their houses have been destroyed. They occupy apartments left by Serbs who fled or by refugees who are still abroad" explains Alyoscia D'Onofrio, IRC field coordinator.

"We are in the process of rebuilding 225 houses in and around Gorazde town. One rebuilt house means two families who can return, because when people move back into their house, they vacate a place in town for a returning family". Some 139 houses have already been finished in the town and families have already begun to return. This in turn means apartments in Gorazde town have been vacated. Fourteen families have already moved back to these vacated apartments, so the ball does at last appear to be rolling.

"What is very important to achieve in these projects is a good circulation of information, "says Alyoscia D'Onofrio." Once apartments in town have been freed up, the pre-war occupancy right holder needs to know. According to Federation law, each pre-war occupancy right holder has the right to re-claim his socially owned apartment. But information on the legal aspects of repossession is very difficult to circulate in the Republika Srpska, where a great many pre-war Federation residents are displaced. In addition to this, anti-return propaganda is still very prevalent in eastern Republika Srpska" says D'Onofrio.

Breaking the anti-return propaganda

According to a report by the International Crisis Group, pre-war Federation residents now living in RS are not informed and are even actively discouraged from applying to reclaim their homes for fear that even the application will result in their being harassed.

Breaking this propaganda by disseminating neutral information in the eastern part of RS is the main objective of the legal centres set up by IRC with funding from the UNHCR and ECHO (European Community Humanitarian Office). Five legal centres were set up in October 1997 in Lukavica, Pale, Rogatica, Visegrad and Foca/Srbinje.

The centres help people to make an informed decision about whether to return and also give overall legal assistance. "...80% of the questions asked are about property rights" explains Sjnezana Jokic, who was a Sarajevo lawyer before the war and now works in the Pale legal centre.

"The two people who just came out of my office are Serbs who went to see their former apartment in Sarajevo. Both were subject to physical violence from people who are now occupying their homes ".

The centre tries to convince such people that the law is on their side, and that they are legally entitled to reclaim their property. "The most difficult part of our job is to find the energy to encourage these people not to let go. They are afraid and feel powerless. We advise them to go back, and to put pressure on the municipality and the canton".

More and more people are queuing up at the Pale legal aid centre, which is open four hours a day.

"In the beginning, we had only four or five people per day. Today the number is more like 20. This is a clear sign that people here desperately need practical and neutral information on return procedures and their fundamental rights" says Snjezana.

Activities in Sadba

The IRC has also helped to rebuild Fuad Djozo's house. The house was completely destroyed and took three months to rebuild. Djozo vacated a state-owned apartment when he returned home with his family in October 1998. Hamed Topuz says he could not have returned to his pre-war home without the IRC's assistance. We also talked to Mirsad Rasidovic and Jasna and their family who live in the Obarak settlement in Gorazde. They left their house in 1992 and, with IRC's assistance, they returned home six years later. After the war the villages of Krtjanovici, Sucurici and Patjani were completely empty as all of the houses were destroyed during the fighting.

But thanks to the IRC, a major rebuilding project has been launched in the region and 16 houses have already been completed. The Dutch government provided funds for this particular scheme and 16 families have already returned to their rebuilt houses. The biggest problem these returnees face at the moment is the fact that they have to live without electricity. It is hoped that the local authorities will soon rectify this situation. IRC is also running a reconstruction project that includes 30 Bosniak houses in the village of Filipovici.

Filipovici is the village that was populated by Bosniaks before the war. Under the terms of the Dayton Peace Agreement, one part of the village belongs to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the other to Republika Srpska. The reconstruction of houses in this village is ongoing, but only in the part that belongs to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) is funding this project but at present only a few people have returned to the village.

IRC is also hoping to start rebuilding houses in the Serb part of the village but at present this is not possible. Many of the planned building sites still need to be de-mined and it is hoped that this will be finished before the end of this summer. Nusret Osmanpahic, who is in charge of the project, told us that the majority of home owners whose houses are to be rebuilt have already applied to return.

Elsewhere, some 30 Bosniak and Serb houses are going to be rebuilt in the village of Milijeno, in Republika Srpska. All of the families concerned have already applied for return and the planned reconstruction will create the necessary conditions to make this possible. IRC says that the basic fieldwork for the re-building will be carried out next month.

Meanwhile, work to refurbish water supplies between Braha and Kasarne will be carried out in order to create better living conditions for population of the Cajnice municipality. At present, a great deal of water is wasted because an old Austro-Hungarian water system is still in use in the area. Building material will be provided by IRC and Cajnice municipality intends to issue a tender in order to choose contractors to carry out the work.

Legal aid centres in Eastern Republika Srpska
Lukavica +387 71 672 435
Pale +387 71 783 567
Rogatica +387 73 476 978
Visegrad + 387 73 681 676
Foca/Srbinje +387 73 571 178
For working hours, please call IRC Gorazde

For more information
IRC Goradze
Alyoscia D'Onofrio
Tel./fax: + 387 73 22 45 58 or 22 72 64