InterSOS Tuzla

Return for everyone

Mahala, in the Osmaci municipality, 122 families have returned to 118 reconstructed houses. In order to prove their real willingness to return, the returnees were asked to participate in the reconstruction as non-qualified working force. This proved to be a very useful move.

By Mile Sevo

A very encouraging breakthrough in minority return (however still limited to the Zone of Separation, a 4 km wide strip between Bosnia's two Entities) is taking place in the municipalities of Ugljevik (RS), Osmaci (RS), Kalesija (F) and Teocak (F). Encouraged by the italian NGO InterSOS, local officials from both sides are collaborating to prepare the return of displaced Serbs to the Federation and displaced Bosniaks to the Republika Srpska.

Dialogue opened

This InterSOS project, financed by the European Commission's DGIA, is a large scale continuation of a very successful pilot return project funded by ECHO, the EC's humanitarian arm (see photo P4). Through the ECHO project, the dialogue has been opened towards reconciliation and development. The follow-up project builds on this positive experience, in order to extend the number of beneficiaries. The project includes reconstruction of houses and public buildings, but also electricity, water supply and road repairs in order to link up again these municipalities. "The strength of our project is that we managed to present it as a single project involving both municipalities (Kalesija and Osmaci), regardless of the line of separation between the two territories" explains Renato Moras, InterSOS programme manager.

Organized visits stopped

"The preparation phase takes a lot of time. It's a matter of building confidence day by day, step by step, seeking full consensus at three levels : the institutions, the political parties and the resident population " he says. The approach has to be flexible and constantly adapted. For example, InterSOS stopped the organized assessment visits of Bosniak displaced to their places of origin in the RS. "These visits appeared to be counterproductive because they assume political meaning and were perceived by the receiving community as a provocation. Instead, unorganized visits in small groups are frequently taking place to build a positive climate. For instance, some Bosniaks displaced in the Federation went to Caparde (RS) to visit their houses occupied by Serb displaced families and were warmly welcome. They even had lunch and coffee together" says Renato Moras.

Good co-operation

"We can honestly say that in the implementation of this project we have had good co-operation with the municipal authorities in Ugljevik and Osmaci. Whenever a problem appeared we were able to solve it. It is also important to note that ethnicity was probably the least important factor. The needs of the area subject to return were considered to be a far more pressing issue. Help was received not only by the returnees but also by the welcoming community", said Gregorije Ovad, an INTERSOS logistician in Tuzla.

Meanwhile in Mumbasici, power and water supplies have been re-established and a new transformer station was also installed that improved supply not only in Mumbasici but also in nearby Serb villages.

Returnees participate in the reconstruction of houses

"One of the key aspects of our work is to ensure that all returnees who are of working age help to rebuild their own houses. Any skilled work is carried out by professionals but all of the basic labouring is done by the returnees", Mr. Ovad said. Building materials are always bought locally, which provides a much-needed boost to the local economy. "We achieve two things by involving returnees in this way. Firstly the owner is not sitting around doing nothing while his house is being built and secondly people from different ethnic groups begin talking to each other," Mr. Ovad explained.

First de-mining then reconstruction

One of the biggest problems facing InterSOS when it started working on the Mumbasici project was that the village was practically inaccessible. Before any material could be delivered to the village a bridge needed to be rebuilt and extensive de-mining work had to be carried out. According to Lazo Novakovic, a local government official in Ugljevik, contacts between the authorities and InterSOS are satisfactory. "InterSOS implemented a total of 70% of international donations for this municipality. We are satisfied with their work and we hope to continue co-operating with them," he said.

Mujo Mumbasic returned to Mumbasici village along with his whole family. A total of 25 families have now returned to their houses, which were completely destroyed. Reconstruction started in February 1998 and was completed in June. "When I think of how difficult things were, it is incredible to see that now everything is superb. We were lucky to have a good donor. InterSOS did a superb job and we have been able to move back into our homes. Even the road has been fixed", Mujo Mumbasic said.

Broader aspect

ECHO projects in Osmaci, Kalesija and Ugljevik are still ongoing. "This is the first time we have worked on two-way return projects. We have Bosniaks returning to the Osmaci region in Republika Srpska while Serbs are arriving in the Kalesija region in the Federation", said Mr. Ovad. But this particular project also has a broader aspect. In Osmaci and Kalesija high voltage power lines are being repaired and in many surrounding villages water supplies are being slowly re-established. In Mahala, the water supply system will actually be better than it was before the war.

260 Bosniak families will have returned home by autumn

Mr. Ovad says that by autumn of this year some 120 Bosniak families should have returned."This is a very significant number for Osmaci. In Kalesija we are planning to rebuild 140 houses in five different villages for for Serb returnees. The entire project is worth 10 million DM," he explained. As part of the European Commission-funded project a number of new public buildings, including a health centre and primary school are also being built in the region.

Milk purchasing station

InterSOS also runs a number of job creation initiatives. "We are currently helping to build a milk purchasing station where milk will be collected and then sold to the Tuzla dairy plant as it was before the war," said Ovad.

Ismet Mehadzic works at the information centre for returning displaced persons and refugees in Kalesija and he is extremely satisfied with the work InterSOS has carried out in his region. "I have nothing but praise for the quality of InterSOS' work. I do not think we could improve on their methods in any way", Mehadzic said. By May of this year the Kalesija information centre had received 181,170 applications from refugees wishing to return. The applications were mainly submitted by Bosniaks displaced throughout BiH. A total of 219 Serb families have also applied to return but so far only one has actually done so. Igic Obren and his family are already back living in their pre-war apartment.

For more information:
InterSOS Tuzla
Renato Moras
tel.: + 387 75 250 63

InterSOS on the Internet: http://www.intersos.org