Suffering Without Boundary

In less than a week, important diplomats from Great Britain, the United States of America, Canada, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Turkey visited Zagreb, Split, a part of the Krajina, Trebinje, Sarajevo, Pale, Vlasenica, Zvornik, Bijeljina, Dubrovnik, parts of Herzegovina, Belgrade and the mines in Aleksinac. And what the CSCE delegates saw and what they noted down was not pretty: there in the magical countryside of Bosnia, they were woken from the short-lived dream by the sight of burnt out and damaged houses.

It was the first practical move made by Europe since the London conference. "We came from humane and humanitarian motives, but also to remind all the participants in the conflict of the existence of, and obligations towards, the Geneva Convention on the rights of prisoners of war", said the chief of the chosen delegation, Sir John Thomson, a former member of the OUN Security Council. Although he had never been on Yugoslav soil before, the experienced Scotsman quickly understood to what degree this war has escalated and how difficult it will be to put a stop to the eruption of hatred and consequent barbarism that has flowed out over the lovely valleys of Bosnia-Hercegovina.

Traveling through the Knin Krajina, patrolled by both the Knin police and UNPROFOR soldiers, an old woman, owner of a restaurant in which there was nothing to eat, offered the guests some beer, the only thing she had. Although taken out of a fridge, the beer was warm. There has been no electricity for the last six months. There is none in Sarajevo, Banja Luka or on Mt. Jahorina. There is not even water in the cafe "The Good Life". But the problem is not in electricity and water, of which there is none, or industry and agriculture, which don't function, or even in "the good life". It is simply a question of life to every individual inhabitant of Bosnia and Hercegovina, whether they are Serb, Moslem or Croat in nationality.

Adversaries are united in privation and misery. The only thing they have in adequate supply are weapons. It is rare for any person in these areas to move around without a pistol or gun. It is almost comical that in such a situation the guards of the B&H Presidency in Sarajevo and the Serbian Presidency on Pale require visitors to leave their arms at the entrance. The old lady in Krajina was a Serb whose only wish was for the war to end. An old lady in the village of Svinjarevac, who has lain paralyzed for five years and who an UNPROFOR soldier, stationed in Vukovar, visits regularly with a little food (she is Croatian), offered nothing by her Serb neighbors "because they have been forbidden to by some civilians", longs for the same thing "so that I can die in peace". How modest people's wishes have become! And similar. In Zvornik, where the delegation were looking for concentration camps, a fresh group of Serbian refugees, old men and women, were sitting in the shade resting after an exhausting escape from Majevica. People run exclusively because they are Moslem, Serb or Croat, they run in directions which seem to be marked by some kind of Mafia law, primarily the law of ethnic cleansing. Even if the war were to stop tomorrow, it would be very hard, if not impossible, to draw up any kind of normal borders. The only thing without boundaries today is suffering, Moslem, Orthodox and Catholic.

The Manjaca camp still exists, though the conditions in which a little over 3,000 prisoners live are better than they were a few weeks ago. The food is better, there is a little more water and a little less fear. The open camp of Trnopolje has no barbed wire fences and prisoners can move freely around the surrounding roads and villages. The problem is that "certain civilians" and "certain paramilitary bands" don't like this and show their dissatisfaction in crime acts. The Serbian Bosnian authorities are prepared to close this camp tomorrow, but where will the prisoners go? And how far? Obviously, without foreign control and protection none of this will be possible or practical.

Sarajevo, as always, is being shelled. A mortar exploded ten meters from the author of this text, near to the entrance to the main UNPROFOR headquarters. People die at the market, in bread queues. The hospitals are full, stomachs empty. UNPROFOR is criticized on almost all sides, but nothing is possible anymore without UNPROFOR. With protection from UNPROFOR, the High Commission for Refugees delivers food to the community centers and nearby villages and towns. Under the supervision of Englishman, Larry Hollingworth, and his dedicated associates Leila, Una and Vesna, convoys are organized to isolated places, even to Gorazde, while UNPROFOR prepares to play the peacemaking role of heavy arms controller.

Is there any chance of hostilities really ending? In unofficial statements, members of the delegation not only sincerely hope there is, but do not exclude the possibility. Not so much because of eventual changes to principles, but because of the approach of winter. Already in the past weeks, while on the plains the sun has roasted, in a hotel on Mount Jahorina, without electricity and water, the members of the delegation covered themselves with thick blankets. How many thousands of people will survive the winter in camps, prisons, refugee camps and trenches? Or in houses without windows or any possibility of heating?

Sir John and the members of his mission also had talks in Zagreb with Prime Minister Sarinic, in Sarajevo with President Izetbegovic and vice-president Kljuic, on Pale with Radovan Karadzic, in the Bosnian Krajina with Prime Minister Panic and President Milosevic. They understood all the problems. And because they understood they decided to return, like the delegation from the UN Commission for Human Rights, a week earlier. Unlike many former Yugo-negotiators, the foreigners consider that problems can only be solved by talks and concessions.

All in all, one shouldn't overdo the bellicosity and bring down airplanes carrying blankets and food from the outside for the children of all nationalities and religions. This is where every war and every negotiation stops. This is where serious war crimes begin.