OXFAM

Seeds, tools and livestock for returnees to Drvar

Oxfam arrived in Drvar in April 1998. The organisation came to the region in order to help rebuild 300 damaged houses that were owned by Serbs who wanted to return home. One of the ways Oxfam tries to encourage people not just to return home but to stay there is to provide returnees with seeds, tools and livestock. The organisation also tries to repair basic infrastructure. Oxfam goes to great lengths to ensure that the host community is involved in the process of delivering livestock to returnees as it believes this is one way of creating a positive attitude to the idea of return.

By Mile Sevo

The 300 Serb houses that Oxfam is working to rebuild are located in the villages of Sipovljani, Vrtoce, Kamenica, Bastasi and Drvar Selo. The organisation provided villagers who showed a real desire to return with tools that would help them to rebuild their homes. But Oxfam's main job in the region is restoring water and electricity supplies to the small villages around Drvar. The organisation is also working to rebuild damaged water mains in Drvar itself.

Income improvement

By mid-May 1999, Oxfam had distributed a total of 450 artificially inseminated cows to both ethnic communities in the Drvar region. The organisation also gave 100 returnees seeds to plant for the spring harvest. The most important aspect of Oxfam's work in the region is to try to raise people's income levels so they can begin to help themselves and improve their surroundings.

"Returnees are very much in need of these sorts of programmes. Most returnees come from rural communities and they need agricultural machinery to help them work the land. Oxfam has made a real contribution to their lives with the distribution of inseminated cows", says Drvar's Mayor, Mile Mrceta.

Oxfam also tries to help small businesses get off the ground with donations of equipment rather than cash. Potential beneficiaries of this scheme have already started submitting their requests. "All proposals will be carefully checked, to see if they are really viable in the long term", explained one Oxfam official.

Additional funding required

Because returnee numbers have turned out to be higher than expected, Oxfam has asked for extra funding from the European Commission. If awarded, the money would be used to help build additional houses and improve electricity and water supplies. "Some 500 families have returned to Drvar from Yugoslavia alone and the numbers coming in from other parts of BiH are also higher than we expected", said the Oxfam official.

OXFAM rebuilds 250 houses

Oxfam has already built 250 houses for Serb families returning to the Drvar region. The largest single number were built in the village of Sipovljani. Significant construction work was also carried out in the neighbouring villages of Vrtoce, Kamenica and Bastasi. Work on the water supply system in Sipovljani has now been completed although it is still ongoing Bastasi and Drvar Selo. The low voltage electricity network linking Bastasi, Jadrin and Kamenica is now fully functioning but reconstruction of the link between Drvar and Prekaje has yet to be completed. Oxfam have faced a number of problems, both practical and political, during its work to re-establish the power lines. On a practical level, work was frequently held up by de-mining operations while political problems with local authorities had to be solved by delicate negotiation.

Opinion of the returnees

Milja Rokvic and her son Zoran returned to Drvar in April 1998, rebuilt their house on their own and have now moved into their old home. Mission Locale de Strasbourg (see separate article) gave a loan to Zoran which he used to open a mechanics workshop. The Rokovics say they have no problems with their neighbours. Milja still receives a pension in Republika Srpska, spends much of her time sewing and receives occasional help from the UNHCR. She says she is satisfied to be back in her own home but is unhappy about the lack of electricity. All of her neighbours have electricity but she has to use candlelight. Milja only has words of praise for Oxfam and is particularly grateful for the cow the organisation gave her.

Oxfam's inseminated cow distribution programme works on the principle that the initial beneficiary has to raise the calf for a three-month period then give it to another returnee family that has not received a cow.

Jovan and Mileva Bodroza returned to Kamenica village in March 1998. Back then, their house had no roof, door or windows. Now it has been completely rebuilt and serves as their home once again. The Bodrozas have a lot of land, which they cultivate. Jovan has a small but adequate pension and they also receive some aid. With this income they manage to make ends meet. They too received a cow from Oxfam, which they say was an enormous benefit to them". Many thanks to them", Jovan said.

"We have received a cow, our house has been rebuilt and we have water. How could we have returned if we did not have all of this", Mileva said. She added however that the village is in need of agricultural machines.

The lack of a reliable electricity supply is still quite a serious problem in the Drvar region and solving it would allow many more people to return to their homes. However, Oxfam hopes that it will soon be able to resolve this current difficulty. 

For more information:
OXFAM
Dave Gorman
tel.: + 387 77 881 268
fax.: + 387 77 881 248