Srebrenica, June 13: A small group of experienced Bosfam weavers have now returned to Srebrenica. Bosfam’s hope is that these veterans can continue to produce kilims, train other weavers, and persuade more exiled widows that they can in fact earn a living back home in Srebrenica.

First they will need somewhere to live. Over the past three years, the international administration of Bosnia has rigorously enforced property laws and expelled displaced people and squatters from homes they do not own. This is one of the great success stories of the Bosnian peace agreement. Of course it has created a new problem of displacement for those kicked out, but at least it frees up houses for their original owners. Nowhere is this more important than Srebrenica.

The problem is that while houses may be coming vacant, most need to be repaired or rebuilt before they can become habitable. This task has been undertaken by a group of international NGOs using bilateral funds from governments.

Pia and I do not have time to visit all these agencies in Srebrenica, but we are left with two strong impressions: First, hundreds of homes have indeed been rebuilt. The German NGO THW alone has rebuilt 350 (60% for Muslim returnees, the remaining 40% for displaced Serbs). Second, hundreds more – perhaps thousands – still need repair, and the aid money is drying up fast. The UN expects no more than 140 new houses to be completed this year. THW expects to complete 70 and then close down.

Who will strike it lucky in this lottery? This is unclear. Under the system, returnees register with a commission, which then makes recommendations to the Mayor. The process is monitored by the international agencies from Bratunac to guard against favoritism, but the donors are desperate to turn over responsibility to the local authorities, so it presumably does not hurt to know the Mayor. It also seems likely that agencies will give preference to the homes of large families, as opposed to single widows, and also choose houses which are close to town and in need of least repair.

There will be many disappointed people when the agencies finally pull out, and they may well include Hajra Djozic, an active Bosfam member who was widowed in 1985 and expelled to Tuzla after the massacre. Two years ago, Hajra was asked to pay rent in the house where she was living in Tuzla. This gave her no option but to return to Srebrenica. Unfortunately, her own home was reduced to ashes during the war, so she and her daughter moved into the home of a friend who had left for Australia.

Hoping to settle down: Hajra Dodic.

Hajra could play an important role in any Bosfam weaving project in Srebrenica. Bosfam has loaned her a large loom, and she has already completed a magnificent kilim that is waiting in the Tuzla storehouse for a buyer. Bosfam paid Hajra 150 Euros ($170) for the kilim which she spent on a television, but she complains bitterly at being paid so little for two months work. Given that her kilim remains unsold, and that the Bosfam staff in Tuzla are working without salaries, $170 seems generous enough. But Hajra doesn’t see it that way.

Perhaps we catch Hajra on a bad day, but she makes us feel unwelcome. After the camaraderie of Bosfam’s office in Tuzla, this is a surprise. Eventually, and with bad grace, Hajra allows us to film her weaving, and her fingers fly in and out of the warp and the woof with wondrous dexterity. The patterns emerge, as if from nowhere. Hajra has been doing this since she was a girl, and like many of the weavers, she is a living repository of a precious culture. But her heart is not in it. She makes weaving seem like an unwelcome chore. The contrast with Tuzla could not be greater. For the Bosfam weavers in Tuzla, working at the loom is more than a therapy. It is an obsession.

Hajra is clearly worried that she will be left without a home when the donors leave Srebrenica, and this may account for her mood. But her predicament shows how much is at stake here. If weaving can be reintroduced in Srebrenica, it will not only bring in money for widows like Haira, but preserve an ancient family tradition and part of Srebrenica’s pre-war culture.

Judging from Hajra’s disposition, some very important threads need to be drawn together for this to happen, and they are definitely not made of wool. The weavers will need homes. They will need companionship and support from other weavers. They will need a loom and material. And they will need to make a living. Otherwise Bosfam’s vision will remain precisely that – a vision.