In early July, I had the opportunity to travel to Mostar, a city in the southern part of BiH with my co-fellows Kelsey Bristow (BOSFAM) and Donna Harati (Women in Black – Serbia). Mostar was heavily damaged during the war and the entire region of Herzegovina experienced violent conflict between ethnic Croats and Bosniaks (Muslims). While in Mostar, we stayed with Majda, a Bosniak whose husband was killed by a sniper.

Majda’s son lives in Canada, and the only way she can earn money is by renting out rooms in her apartment to tourists. Before the war, she was employed as a mechanical engineer near Mostar, her son attended primary school, and her husband worked (also as an engineer) for the Yugoslav airline company.

I give Majda as an example to illustrate how the war completely destroyed the lives of so many people, including those who did not die as a result. What does Majda have now? She sees her son once a year and her husband is dead. She cannot put her intelligence and technical expertise to good use by renting out rooms in an apartment. Mostar remains ethnically divided by the Neretva River and Majda no longer has contact to her former friends who are ethnically Croat. This is the day to day reality Majda faces fourteen years after the war in BiH officially ended.

“Glupi rat,” Majda said to me as we sat on her lovely balcony overlooking Mostar, the Neretva, and the surrounding mountains. I nodded in agreement and tried to explain (in Bosnian) some of the projects BOSFAM is working on to her. She had heard of BOSFAM and made a comment about the lack of initiatives which exist for women victims of war. I could tell something was upsetting her and asked what was wrong. Majda, like many others in Bosnia, feels that the international community has more or less abandoned BiH now that the country no longer makes the news on a regular basis. “The war was bad everywhere,” she said, “and people are still trying to recover and we all still need help.”

Speaking with Majda reminded me not only of the war’s far-reaching consequences throughout the country, but also of the importance of vigorous and continued commitment to BiH on the part of the international community. While fourteen years may seem like a long time on one hand, it is not long enough to expect life to return to normal. Majda’s life, in fact, will never return to the way it was. Reconstructing a multi-ethnic BiH and healing the wounds of war will require several generations, if not longer. Majda’s life experiences mirror those of many of the women who currently work at BOSFAM, and in particular those of Beba Hadzic, BOSFAM’s director.

Beba is also highly educated and had a great job prior to the war (as the principal of Srebrenica’s elementary schools). Beba often says that she never believed war was possible in BiH, but it happened. The important question now is how Bosnians and the international community can best work together to rebuild what was lost. It will doubtless be a long and difficult process, but organizations like BOSFAM and people like Majda have the right principles at heart. With the appropriate support and long-term vision, Beba and Majda’s grandchildren may have the opportunity to enjoy the same quality of life their grandparents can only fondly remember.

It’s been almost three months since I received the startled, expectant message on my voicemail:

“Alison, I’m waiting you! Why you no pick up me?”

Beba Hadzic, BOSFAM’s founder and director had arrived in the United States for a speaking tour jointly sponsored by The Advocacy Project (AP), The Heinrich Boell Foundation, and The Bosniak American Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina. My train from DC was more than an hour late and I wasn’t at the airport in Newark to greet her.

As I now piece together my own travel plans, I am sure that my arrival in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina will be quite different. Beba has already assured me that she will be standing at the Tuzla bus station the moment I get there. BOSFAM’s motto, “Don’t promise, DO SOMETHING!” leaves me feeling confident that I will not need to leave her a desperate voicemail in my broken Bosnian.

Although I’m not flying until June 15th, reminiscing about Beba’s time in the US has gotten me really excited about heading off to Bosnia. I’ll be working with Beba, my AP counterpart Kelsey, and the women of BOSFAM on a number of important projects which seek to generate income and provide psycho-social support for women who were displaced from their homes and traumatized by the war which occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995.

Many of the women were directly impacted by the genocide which occurred in Srebrenica in July 1995, and now must struggle to provide for themselves and their families without the support of their husbands, sons, fathers and brothers. I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to work with these women this summer and hope that my contribution will have a positive impact on the difficult day to day realities they are confronted with.

This year marks the 14th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, but the wounds remain fresh given the tense political situation in the country and an unemployment rate of approximately 35%. Perhaps most importantly, Ratko Mladic, the commander of the Bosnian Serb paramilitary forces during the war and one of the chief architects of the genocide, remains at large. As an Advocacy Project Fellow for Peace, I will be working to raise awareness about BOSFAM’s important work both in-country and abroad through this blog and other mediums. I welcome your comments and suggestions, and a special thanks to my e-mentors for their support!

Take a look at the AP-produced YouTube video below for more information on BOSFAM’s work.