February 28, 1996
Web posted at: 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT)
From Correspondent Brent Sadler
JAHORINA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- On the snow-capped Jahorina Mountain, high above Sarajevo, Bosnian Serbs avoid moguls, not gunfire.
It's a winter playground (672K QuickTime movie) where Serbs come and relax, putting the past behind them. Up here, the roar of NATO jets is the only immediate reminder of the recent war.
"Skiing up here makes you feel great," said one woman from Pale. "It helps us forget what happened."
Throughout the Bosnian War, the ski resort remained open. Yet while the war raged, the numbers tapered off from the usual 50,000 skiers per day. And though the skiers are starting to return, only Serbs are welcome.
"Muslims think they should be able to come up here," the Serb woman said. "But in my opinion, they should stay away."
The ski slope is emblematic of life returning back to normal for Serbs, Muslims and Croats. There's a lively re-awakening of social life, although ethnic tensions remain.
"They are putting pressure on us to live together. But the wounds are too deep for that."
-- A Serb refugee
In Sarajevo, less than an hour's drive from the ski slopes, the atmosphere is throbbing. Where there was once only sadness, there can now be moments of joy.
The local cafes are open again so Sarajevans can sit and ponder what changes the Dayton peace accord will bring. Once-empty streets are filled with people who are readjusting to life without the daily fear of bullets and bombs.
For residents, the renewed sense of a normal life is the dividend of peace. And locals appear optimistic.
"Everyone is welcome here. It will go back to the way it used to be. It has to."
-- A Sarajevo Muslim
"People have no money, but we overcame the siege and we'll move forward," one local woman said.
Under the peace accord, Sarajevo is expected to become a multi-ethnic society. But thousands of Serbs are leaving suburbs surrounding the capital, and Dayton's vision appears a forlorn hope.
"They are putting pressure on us to live together," said one Serb refugee. "But the wounds are too deep for that."
But others believe time will heal the wounds.
"Everyone is welcome here," said one Sarajevo Muslim. "It will go back to the way it used to be. It has to."
Copyright © 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive
