Bundesanstalt Technisches Hilfswerk

More than 8,600 houses rebuilt

Over the past five years, the German humanitarian organisation Technisches Hilfswerk (THW) has rebuilt 8,630 houses in the regions of Herzegovina-Neretva and Una-Sana. So far, THW has spent 95.84 million DM on reconstruction projects with most of the money coming from the European Union and the German and Dutch governments. On average around 100 BiH citizens work for the organisation, although this number varies depending on what projects are currently underway. In 1996 THW expanded its activities into the Una-Sana region but it is now scaling down its activities in and around Mostar. By June of this year it will have moved its headquarters to Europe's newest hot spot, Kosovo. It will probably continue its work in Una Sana until the end of this year. At present it is still working to rebuild 130 houses and repair the water and electricity networks in Kozarac (RS).

By Oleg Lokmic

Over the past five years THW has had a continuous presence in Mostar and while we were there we saw the organisation's staff answering many telephone calls from local people and returnees. Many people who telephoned asked for donations of building materials to help with the reconstruction of their houses. Unfortunately for the town however, THW will soon be closing its Mostar office. One of the last projects carried out by the organisation in the town has been the distribution of a small number of doors and window.

From ruin to cosy home

One of the houses that THW helped to rebuild belongs to Sabrija Repes, who lives at number two Zecina Street, in the Donja Mahala settlement. The house was on the front line during the war and was utterly destroyed by shellfire. Now however, it is a cosy home once more. "I am really very pleased. They have made something great out of a ruin. The reconstruction was completed in just one month in August last year. They rebuilt the ground floor, put in two new rooms and installed a bathroom on the first floor. Now I have a place to live, again", said Sabrija's wife who lived in a basement with her baby for three years during the war.

THW has two logistics bases in the Mostar area. One is in Duhana, in the eastern part of the town and the other, much bigger, is in Blizanci, on the road to Citluk. The second depot contains approximately 200 vehicles as well as dredging and other machines. Most of this equipment will soon be making its way to Albania where it will be used to help the reconstruction effort in neighbouring Kosovo.

Interview with Dietmar Pregler

During our visit to Mostar we spoke to Dietmar Pregler, the Head of THW's mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mr. Pregler, what has THW done for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the city of Mostar?

"In my opinion, many things. We have rebuilt over 8,000 houses that are now home to over 20,000 people. However, I have to say that I think that the withdrawal from BiH should not have happened so suddenly. There are still many things to be done. This country is still unable to function on its own. Rebuilding work has only just started here and the country should not be left now to decline. To put it simply, just because I give a family a roof over its head, that does not mean that the head of the household can continue to feed his family. But if I employ him, there may be no need for me to build the roof over his head at all because he will be able to do it himself. The most important task in Bosnia and Herzegovina today is to create employment. We need to support the revitalisation of the economy".

Does THW have any influence in politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

"As far as possible we try to stay out of politics here. That said, it is very hard to avoid political questions in this country. A good example of this is the town of Kozarac. Kozarac is in Republika Srpska and we only rebuild houses for Bosniaks. But at the same time, we have a duty to help the Serb population in this region, in order to gain their understanding. Therefore, when we reconstruct water supply or electricity systems, we do not only support Bosniaks, but everyone. Our activities create employment and that stimulates people to return".

How do you find working with the authorities?

"In general we have a very cooperative relationship with them. However we did recently have problems with the authorities in the western part of Mostar who prevented us from building some houses. This was probably because they did not want Bosniaks to return to that part of town and upset the Croat majority.The authorities refused to allow our project to go ahead as they said we had no building permit. We alerted UNHCR, OHR and European Administration in Mostar to the situation. I believe that the dispute will be solved soon".

Is reconstruction the THW's only activity, or do you also work towards the actual return of refugees?

"We have the right to keep possession of the houses we build until people move back into them but in reality our room for manoeuvre is fairly limited. Before we start any building work we sign a contract with the local authorities and the owner of the house or apartment, who is obliged to move into the refurbished building as soon as the rebuilding work has been completed. If he does not do so the local authorities have the right to oblige him to return and until this happens, or indeed if it does not happen, we retain the house".

Have you actually ever found yourself faced with this sort of problem?

"Yes. In Podvelezje for example, people who were supposed to return home from Mostar had got used to living in the city and decided they did not want to leave. This is a major problem for us because donors do not want to see empty rebuilt houses. They want to see people living in them. "

For more information:
THW
Barbara Boecker
tel.: + 387 88 642 548
fax.: + 387 88 643 096