LIFE UNDER SURVEILLANCE

Jusici

In order to be able to remain in their village, all adult Moslems from Jusici had to accept identity cards with the stamp of the Republic of Srpska and daily report for information talks with the Serbian police who found it hard to, among other things, arbitrate in occasional brawls and even marital disputes between the villagers of Jusici. Many Moslems openly state their wish to meet with their Serbian neighbours from the nearby village. The Serbs would like it too, but...

AIM Banja Luka, 13 June, 1997

"If things were to remain as they are now, it would be OK. But, to tell you the truth, I would much rather have it as it was before, for the Serbs from those destroyed houses down there, to return. I would like..."- stopped Ramo Ibrahimovic and almost hiding his eyes before two RS policemen continued in a lower, barely audible voice: "If I could only go up the hill to see my blood-brother Stojko Mijic... you know", flashed the eyes of a sixty-year-old former worker of the Belgrade enterprise "Ivan Milutinovic". "I and Stojko used to help each other, to sit and laugh together, it was a true friendship...a friendship you cannot imagine. But, as you see, things have happened, be it the will of God or people - I don't know, but I say that we have to live together, because there is no other way".

Eight months ago, defying all dangers, some hundred Moslems had decided to collectively return to their war devastated and plundered homes.

On May 8, around noon Ramo was trying to plant some stems in front of a medium-size house in the village of Jusici, which the Dayton mapmakers have drawn in the map of the Republic of Srpska, and talked to us about "that" Bosnia and "some" happy event, a bit about the war and then about the times ahead: "I would go now, this very instant to see my buddy Stojko, only..." he sighed, looking at the two policemen who were intently watching the tips of their army boots.

An hour later, while we were standing on the border stone dividing Jusici and the Serbian village of Malesici, one of the policeman told us that one day on patrol in Jusici was harder for him than a whole year spent in the war. "No, we are not afraid, but...Look, I swear on my mother's grave that it is true, several days ago a group of Moslems got drunk and started shooting at each other and we had to separate them! Can you imagine that - we the Serbs separating the Turks? To hell with the war and a peace like this, and all the rest", spat the policeman in the direction of the Federation hills behind which lay Medjedja, and a bit further, Tuzla. Behind him is the village of Malesici and some 7-8 kilometers of dirt road, which in the town of Kozluk "feeds into" the main road Zvornik-Bijeljina. Serbia is on the other side, wherefrom, as the old man Jovo Milosevic whose house is some hundred yards from Jusici, told us later "came those same men who in 1992 burned down and plundered Jusici, killing many Moslems in the process..." "Volunteers from Valjevo", he added defending the men from his village from accusations from Jusici - that the Malesici villagers were the main protagonists of the robbing, burning down and killing of innocent people.

From the moment they returned to Jusici eight months ago - whether "of their own volition", or because of the instructions from the authorities of the B&H Federation and firm IFOR-SFOR-IPTF guarantees - aided by the Federation, the Moslems have managed to cover the roofs of the most of some thirty destroyed houses and remove the traces of fire, plow the fields overgrown in weeds and celebrate the birth of a baby...However, the majority of the present hundred villagers of Jusici have plenty of reasons to avoid the dark.

True, in the last few months there were no midnight explosions and taking of people to the Zvornik police station, as was the case last year, but the returnees say that they are not sure what might come into the heads of the Serbian police which make daily rounds of the village. Well-armed members of the SFOR and international police, who are not allowed to talk to the press, are also stationed in and around Jusici. Still, we heard from their interpreters that the security situation in Jusici was good for the moment and that "everything was under control". However, they could not tell us what to expect when both SFOR and IPTF leave Jusici.

"How are we? Just like any man who is his own master, that's how we are", shouts Hajrija Hasanovic defiantly so that the whole neighbourhood can hear her in front of her house while two boys, her sons are running around. "The villagers of Malesici took my husband away and I haven't heard from him since. If they had any decency they would come and say what has happened, but they cannot as they are ashamed of all the crimes and robberies they have committed here. I know all of them who did it, all of them! We shall not leave here, although we get some assistance from the Federation. One should not leave one's land. We thinks it best here, be it as it may". It seemed that she wanted to tell us more, but on that day the policemen kept close to the journalist. "For your own safety, Sir", they said (!?).

Next to Jusici, in the direction of the Federation, is the destroyed Serbian village of Odzacine, now deserted. "Everyone should go back to his village, his land. Why do not Serbs return to Odzacine? What are they waiting for?" asked the old woman Safeta Asanovic, whose three sons and a husband were taken away by the Serbian soldiers at the beginning of the war and she never heard of them since. "No", she said, "they won't come back because they had plundered and burned down and in Zvornik took other people's houses and property". Despite everything, Safeta said that life together with the Serbs was possible, but looking at the policemen added: "Just with those who did not commit any crime".

"Are these tools for the defence against the Serbs or for work?" we asked Admir Latifovic who was leaning on a large hammer. "I was clearing the mess. See how it looks like!" he replied cursing his destiny and told us how he used to work in Belgrade eight years ago, "and when the fuss started", moved to Zagreb: "But, the war in Croatia caught up with me and I said to myself, run Admir you might get on a truck and end up in trenches" and in March 1992, he came to Jusici. "What can you do when you are doomed, there is nowhere to go. Yes, I was in the war, as there was no other way to survive. I am not scared, but those who had committed the crimes should be", said Admir leaving towards his house to prepare it for the arrival of his wife and five children who are, for the time being, living in Tuzla.

The power grid and phone network have not yet been repaired in Jusici and for six months now they have been waiting for the Federation's assistance to build a school so that some twenty pupils would not have to cross the border every day and go to school on the Federation's territory. Muhamed Hodzic also crosses the border every day in his "Merzedes" which, as he admitted to the author, would gladly swap for a tractor "produce of Serbia" and also throw in some foreign currency, if necessary. "I'll get some beer" he replied when asked to put on a pot for a real Turkish coffee, and looked at the policemen.

Some hundred yards further we had coffee in the house of Jova Malesic and listened to his story, resembling the one from the beginning of this report: "We lived nicely, we got along fine, helped each other, visited each other for the celebrations. To tell you the truth, I had a buddy Munim Islamovic. He was a great man. Whenever he bought himself a shirt i Belgrade, he always bought me one like his. And what can you do, this evil came. To hell with anyone who sent it to us! I would like to see some people, to have coffee with them and talk, but to be honest, there are some I would not like to see. Here, several nights ago someone knocked on my door, and when I opened I saw Huso from Jusici. I asked him what he was doing at that time of the night, and he replied that he had come to sit with me for a while and watch TV News."

Jovo did not finish his story because the policemen stared loudly to talk about an incident that had happened the previous month in Jusici when they had to intercede in extinguishing a marital fire.

Zoran Tmusic