|
INTERSOS
Reviving Stup
According to Samir
Basic, a construction engineer and InterSOS project assistant, 169
families have already returned to their rebuilt houses in the
heavily-damaged Sarajevo suburb of Stup. Of the returning families,
130 were Croat, 27 Bosniak and 12 Serb.The reconstruction work was
carried out with European Commission funding.
By
Darko Omeragic
Helping people to
return is about more than simply rebuilding houses. InterSOS sees
return as a large and complex process. Roads have to be re-built and
jobs have to be created for both returnees and for those who stayed
behind. "Tensions have to be diminished between the host
population and the returnees from abroad who come back in brand new
Golfs or Mercedes", says Basic. "You have to think about
all these aspects".
"In Stup we have
asphalted two streets, patched up around one kilometre of road,
built a new health centre and donated a laboratory and computer
equipment. Livestock farmers received cows and agricultural
machinery and we have also distributed hens and potato seeds.
Elsewhere we have provided returnees with basic tools so that they
can carry out their own joinery, plumbing, carpentry and metal
work", Basic added.
Before reconstruction
work could begin, the area around the houses had to be de-mined.
Stup has the highest number of mines per square metre in Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
Janja Trogrlic and
four family members have benefited from InterSOS assistance. Janja
is one of Stup's newest inhabitants. She moved back to her pre-war
house about a month ago.
"During the war
I was in Kiseljak with my family. I worked as a farmer on the nearby
meadows which, I hope, have now been de-mined", she said.
It cost around 28,000
DM to rebuild Janja's house.
Kristina and Ljubomir
Jovanovic are the only two orthodox people living on their street.
They say they get on well with the neighbours.
"InterSOS",
rebuilt our house as well and we are extremely grateful", said
Ljubomir Jovanovic.
- For more information:
InterSOS in Sarajevo + 387 71 446 944
e-mail : intersos_sa@zamir-sa.ztn.apc.org
InterSOS in Italy + 39 06 44 66 710
e-mail : intersos@mbox.it
InterSOS on the Internet: http://www.intersos.org
|
