A tale of three villages
From Mostar to Stolac is only 30 kilometres but it seems much longer. You head
south from Mostar following the river valley, then turn abruptly upwards into
the mountains. Here you find a strange, desolate landscape of grey granite and
dead twisted trees. Clusters of houses in various stages of destruction or repair
line the road; most fly the distinctive blue and red Croatian flag. In the distance,
are further clusters of villages – many also half destroyed and deserted. It is
only when the road descends to Stolac that you glimpse the fertile river valley
that produces the best tobacco in Bosnia.
Stolac was once a prosperous small town, the centre of a thriving agriculture
and processing industry. But the civil war of 1992-95 that wracked Bosnia destroyed
the town, the surrounding villages, and the attendant industries. Stolac, which
seems so inaccessible, was seen by Croatian forces as an important lynchpin in
their drive to occupy the lands between Mostar and the Croatian coast to the south.
The result was the targeted destruction and ethnic cleansing that drove out Serbs
and Muslims – crimes that were repaid in kind as Croatian villages were
later targeted.
Today, Stolac is part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, nestling in
its green valley a few miles from the frontier with Republika Srpska. It is still
known as a hard-line Croatian area – witness the numerous Croatian flags and emblems
- but it is finally attempting to come to terms with the past and rebuild its
shattered agricultural economy.
Some of those driven out are returning to the district, and rebuilding their homes
and their lives. Many are farmers from surrounding villages. Meho Obradovic´
and his wife Sefika returned with their extended family to the tiny village of
Borojevic in March 1998 after the entire village, all Muslims, were forced to
leave in June 1993, to survive in camps and private homes in Mostar.
Borojevic is hidden from the main road, high in the hills above Stolac, at the
end of a winding dirt track. Its sole asset is the land in the rich river valley
below. Land holdings are tiny – Meho Obradovic´ has two hectares – but even
tiny plots can produce an income and the family’s situation is still vastly
better than their five years of displacement in Mostar.
Mr Obradovic´ boasts he can grow everything except coffee and bananas on
his plot although cultivation was easier before the war when he had better equipment.
Now much more work is done by hand, he says, pointing to his drying tobacco leaves,
golden in the sun, and fields planted with onions and spinach. This year he will
make around 400 Bosnian Marks a month after selling his tobacco to the Agroplod
cooperative in Stolac.
People began returning to Borojevic after homes were reconstructed with support
from the Danish Refugee Council with European Union support. The village still
has a makeshift feel but it is again indisputably full of life – typified
by the young children who peer from verandahs and clamber over walls.
Situated high on the open moorlands, the Serb village of Kozice seems much smaller
and sadder. Before the war, Kozice was home to 50 families. Although some homes
have been reconstructed, only 15 families have returned – and there are
no children here, just older people. As in Borojevic the tobacco crop is the major
income earner. A local farmer proudly shows us his harvest, the dried leaves stacked
safely awaiting transport to the processing centre. He too is contracted to Agroplod
which provides the necessary start-up capital.
Not far distant is Trijebanj, a Croat village. Today there are only six families
living here, before the war there were 28 families. The entire village was burnt
out – since that time some homes have been reconstructed, once again with
help from the Danish Refugee Council and the European Union.
Ruza Goluza and her husband are two of the returnees. They farm one and a half
hectares, growing vegetables such as onions and potatoes. Next year they hope
to grow tobacco as well. Mr Goluza has a pension of around 130 Bosnian Marks a
month and they receive support from their two sons who live on the coast. But
life is still very hard – there is no electricity and until more homes are reconstructed
few families will return. Mrs Goluza says that, in any case, families have scattered
all over the world and many will never return to Trijebanj.
It is clear that displaced people will only return when two key elements are in
place. One is safety – physical and mental – and the other is economic security
– a regular income, however, modest. The two elements are clearly linked.
Central to the effort to create a good economic climate in Stolac is the revitalised
privately-owned Agroplod agricultural cooperative at the town’s western
outskirts.
Under the previous system, villagers had to sell their produce to the state co-operative.
Agroplod is an attempt to combine the best features of public and private enterprise.
While it continues to contract with and buy from local farmers, it pays market,
rather than fixed, prices, looks for a quality product, and provides technical
assistance and advice when needed. In the past two years, the managers Enver Zele
and Osman Obradovic, a Muslim and a Croat respectively, have scrambled for funds
and grants to rebuild the main building and buy equipment – not an easy
task when you have little capital and no collateral.
One of the organisations that helped them was CARE International in Bosnia through
its Quick Impact Facility (QIF). Funded by the European Union, in early 2000 QIF
was able to provide a grant of 36,000 German Marks (about £12,000) for essential
equipment to grow and dry tobacco. The outcome has been better than anyone could
have hoped as the grant helped to fuel business of around half a million DM through
the sales of tobacco.
Initially, Agroplod started with contracts with around one hundred farmers but
is expected to develop links with up to four hundred by 2001. They have taken
on an extra employee, a local Serb man, who will manage the office administration
allowing Zele and Obradovic more opportunities to meet and advise farmers. The
next step is to turn part of the main building into an agricultural warehouse
and store.
Tobacco has long been the main cash crop in the Stolac valley and this is an especially
good time to be a producer, given the current problems in Zimbabwe. But QIF and
other backers recognise that prices can drop as well as rise and that diversification and flexibility is the key to a prosperous economy. Some potential backers may balk at backing an unhealthy product such as tobacco, however good the initial results, and this is another reason to diversify. Before the war, the fertile valley produced a much wider range of food and vegetables and it should be able
to do so again. For the moment, QIF will continue to support and assist Agroplod
and the farmers of Stolac.
Kaye Stearman is a press officer for CARE International UK. She visited Bosnia
as a guest of QIF and CARE Bosnia in November/December 2000.
– by Kaye Stearman
A tale of three villages
Article originated at CARE International UK.
Click here for original document.