From point A to point B

I have just returned from a two--day visit to Banja Luka, a pleasant city about the size of Rockford, Ill., located 100 miles north of Sarajevo. An ethnically mixed city before the war, it is now overwhelmingly Serb, thanks to an extraordinarily vicious campaign of ethnic cleansing that reached its climax one year ago this month. Yesterday some Croatian colleagues and I helped nine Muslim refugees return to their homes in Banja Luka. They had decided that the pain of separation from their homes and families outweighed the risks they undertook in returning to a place where they are clearly not welcomed by the authorities. Ibrahim, an electrical engineer in his forties, was returning with his teenage daughter. As we waited for the ferry at the Zupanja--Orasje crossing, he explained that he hopes his skills will be needed in the rebuilding of his country, despite the strong discrimination commonly practiced against the Muslim minority. When we reached the Bosnian side of the Sava River, we were met by a new driver, Slobodan, also an electrical engineer. While Ibrahim fled the ethnic cleansing, Slobodan, a mixed Serb--Croat, spent the past four years operating an anti--aircraft unit in the Serb Army. Over the blaring sounds of American pop songs played by Banja Luka's Radio Big, Slobodan bragged about his accomplishments, most notably downing an American pilot last year near Derventa. Recently demobilized, Slobodan can't support his family as an engineer so he recently took a job as a driver for the United Nations. With Ibrahim sitting in the back seat (and not understanding English), Slobodan explained that demobilized soldiers will have first crack at the few new jobs being created, followed by other Serbs, and finally, by minorities if any jobs remain. Ibrahim's home is now occupied by Serb refugees from Croatia, so he will stay for the time being with his cousin who has a small farm on the outskirts of town. There is a very subdued family reunion in the farmyard. A colleague explains later that they are trying to avoid drawing too much attention to themselves. As a male under age 60, Ibrahim could be arrested and prosecuted for draft evasion-the amnesty law required by the Dayton agreement has not been passed by the Serb parliament. On the same day that Ibrahim and eight other refugees were repatriated to Bosnia, we assisted another 12 to evacuate from Bosnia. All of these will be going on to the United States for resettlement, fleeing the continuing hostile treatment of minorities in the Serb--held territory of Bosnia. Two Muslim families, for example, were evicted from their homes in Vrbanja, a suburb of Banja Luka. Before the war Vrbanja was a predominantly Muslim neighborhood; now only fifteen Muslim families are left. Like many, the Begovic family had been forced to share their apartment with Serbian refugees from Croatia. My visit to Banja Luka also coincided with the launching of a U.N.--sponsored bus service between Banja Luka and Zenica, a town on the Muslim--Croat Federation side. While the Dayton agreement promised freedom of movement to everyone, in practice Serbs, Muslims, and Croats have all been blocking people of the other ethnicities who wish to cross the Inter--Entity Boundary Line. An earlier attempt to set up commercial bus service failed when the Serb authorities pressured the existing companies not to participate. In response, the U.N. organized its own service, with drivers supplied by the Danish Refugee Council. Yesterday the bus was stopped by police several miles out of Banja Luka and only allowed to proceed after extensive intervention. The following day, Friday, I accompanied a colleague to the parking lot at 6:45 a.m. to see the bus off. This time, the police were dispatched to prevent us from even leaving. A representative from the Ministry of Traffic told us the bus was illegal because we had not registered as a bus company. After lengthy negotiations the bus was allowed to proceed, but the future of the service is uncertain. This incident illustrates a common problem in the implementation of the peace agreement. At a high--level meeting in Geneva last week, representatives of all sides agreed not to obstruct the U.N.'s bus service. Nonetheless, local officials, either independently or in collusion with federal authorities, ignore the agreement and continue to thwart attempts to reestablish an integrated, multi--ethnic Bosnia. Galen Carey, who works with World Relief, has been on temporary assignment as a refugee resettlement officer to the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees.