Balkans war leaves devastation behind
Bosnians try to rebuild Sarajevo
June 11, 1996
Web posted at: 9:45 p.m. EDT (0145 GMT)From Correspondent Christiane Amanpour
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- Damage caused by the war in Bosnia is "much worse" than Rory O'Sullivan expected. (119K AIFF or WAV sound)
The World Bank official, who has flown over much of the country by helicopter, estimates at least 60 percent of all the homes in Bosnia were damaged or destroyed in the war. He puts the cost of rebuilding at $25 billion.
"The job (of reconstruction) is made worse by the fact that people cannot go back to their own communities. So, in the end, there's going to be a need to build whole new communities."
-- Rory O'Sullivan, World Bank
Zepa, a former United Nations "safe haven" that fell to the Serbs last summer, is just one Bosnian village waiting to be put together from the pieces. For generations, its inhabitants were Muslim -- but under the peace plan that ended the war, Zepa falls under Serb control.
For now, the mountain enclave is empty -- most houses destroyed, the mosque blown to rubble. Much of the damage was done after the town fell and its inhabitants fled.
There was no approaching enemy, just wanton destruction by the Serbs themselves. It's precisely the kind of problem facing those who want to rebuild Bosnia.
Aid is hard to find
Like Zepa, Srebrenica -- another fallen "safe haven" -- stands as a monument to the failure of the international community's promise of protection during the war. Those towns and others may also lose in peacetime, too.
International reconstruction funds will be channeled to higher-priority areas. In such places, war refugees willing and able to return to their former homes are expected to rebuild at their own expense.
The destruction in rural areas has put added pressure on cities, especially Sarajevo, forced to absorb massive population shifts caused by wartime ethnic cleansing.
"The job (of reconstruction) is made worse by the fact that people cannot go back to their own communities. So, in the end, there's going to be a need to build whole new communities."
Prosperity = peace
While mostly small-scale reconstruction is under way in the capital, Sarajevo awaits the return of its main pre-war trade: tourism. Despite the presence of NATO peace enforcers, few people on Sarajevo's streets are visitors.
Industry is another segment of the Bosnian economy that's been wrecked, meaning jobs for demobilized soldiers will be hard to find. But if peace is to last, O'Sullivan says, the challenge of rebuilding Bosnia must be met. (119K AIFF or WAV sound)
With prosperity -- or at least the prospect of it -- considered vital to peace, some Bosnians wonder if what they have now is just a long cease-fire before the next round of war starts.
Related Stories:
- Ready or not, Bosnian elections forge ahead - June 8, 1996
- Serbs torch Zepa, kill commander - July 29, 1995
- 'Safe Area' Zepa falls to Serbs - July 20, 1995
- Serbs assault Zepa - July 16, 1995
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