I Am Beautiful: A Celebration of Women in Their Own Words

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100 Acres • PoolHot Tub • Trails20 Charming RoomsPeace & PrivacyA Lesbian Paradise^Highlands ^IP.O. Box 118-OTBethlehem, NH 03574(603) 869-3978ON THE ISSUESCheck us out on the Web:http://www.igc.apc.org/onissues/ON THE ISSUESSUBSCRIBERSERVICEP.O. Box 3000Denville, NJ 07834-9838Change of Address: Please allowthree weeks. Attach label with your oldaddress and write your new address below.New Subscriber: Fill in your name andaddress in the new address space. Check termprice of your subscription below.*Renewal: Attach label if available. Checkterm price of your subscription below.*• One year $14.95 • Two years $25.00• Three years $34.95OLD ADDRESS:NAME (PRINT)ADDRESSCITY/STATE/ZIPNEWADDRE'SS"NAME (PRINT)ADDRESSCITY/STATE/ZIP• Payment Enclosed • Bill MeCanadian subscriptions add $4 per year; other foreign add $7(surface mail) or $20 per year Airmail. Institutional rate: Add$10 first year; $5 each additional. Payable in U.S. funds only.Mail to our Subscriber Service address above. 472SSBOSNIA {continuedfrom page 32)national peace-keeping force, which includesAmerican troops). In my opinion,it is only procrastination. "At the sametime as Bosnian Serbs were foot-draggingpolitically, there were outbreaks of violence,described as the worst fightingsince the war, as Muslims tried to exercisethe right accorded them by the DaytonAccord and return to their former homes.Bosnian Serbs, determined to keep themout, however, have been destroying suchhouses by blowing them up or burningthem down, often as returning Muslimswatched from nearby. So far, of the 2.7million displaced, (more than half the formerBosnian population according to UNstatistics), less than 250,000 have beenable to return home. Even more disheartening,an estimated 90,000 have been drivenout since the war ended.The peace agreement may now be intoits second year but indicted war criminalscontinue to go free, a number livingat home in comfort without fear of arrest.Four such criminals continue towork as Bosnian Serb policemen. Onlyseven of the 75 people indicted for genocide,war crimes and crimes against humanityare in custody. This, says onecritic, is like "leaving Himmler and Eichmann,and other Nazi architects of genocidewalking the streets and in control ofa large part of the country after WWII."In November, the first sentence washanded down by the War Crimes Tribunal.A 25-year-old Croat in the BosnianSerb army confessed to being part ofan execution squad at the Srebrenicamassacre; his unit alone killed 1,200 unarmedmen in five hours. He was sentencedto 10 years, while the senior militarycommanders who ordered theslaughter remain free.Almost as daunting as keeping thepeace is the reconstruction of Bosnia, asthe statistics attest: An estimated 60 percentof housing throughout the countryhas been damaged or destroyed, entirevillages have been gutted, and in Sarajevo,many high-rise blocks of apartmentsare hollow shells. Two-thirds of the capital'swindows are still covered withUNHCR plastic sheeting instead ofglass. Forty percent of the country'sbridges are down, and as many roadshave been damaged in bombardments.The parliament building and national libraryare burned-out shells, the millionvolumes and rare manuscripts of the latterreduced to ashes, and the garden ofthe national museum is heavily landmined.A number of Bosnians who livedin cellars during the constant shellingcontinue to do so for want of any othershelter. Some communities will spend afifth winter without running water orcentral heat, as the wood stacks on highrisebalconies confirm.Before the war, Yugoslavia had perhapsthe highest standard of living ofany socialist country. It was not unusualfor Bosnians to own cars and beach vacationhomes. The same appliances foundin American homes—televisions, VCRs,computers, washing machines—werecommon. Even now, small TV satellitedishes are visible on many houses, eventhose that are burned out.A CCORDING TO THE WORLD BANK, BOS-XXnia needs $5.1 billion for the firstthree years of reconstruction. So far, onlya third, $1.8 billion, has been donated bythe world community. The U.S. share ofthat sum is $600 million over a threeyearperiod. Assuming that the $5.1 billionpackage is implemented, by the year2,000 Bosnians will be back at about halfof what they had when the war startedin 1992," says a spokesman for USAID inSarajevo.Exacerbating the problem is that largeamounts of the monies so far madeavailable are sitting in bank accounts,held up by bureaucratic sloth, or inpipelines awaiting approval. World Bankpresident James Wolfensohn has criticizedthe moribund pace of spending forBosnian reconstruction, and a report bythe Washington, D.C-based PeaceThrough Law Education Fund concludedthat, "The longer we wait to addresssuch realities, the more bitterness willswell and close the window of peace thatU.S. diplomacy and SFOR opened."Of the international funding that hasmade its way into Bosnia, accusations ofcorruption both on the grand and pettyscale are beginning to arise, and USAIDin Sarajevo admits that it is a concern.All these factors affect the women ofBosnia, of course, many of them solebreadwinners struggling to feed theirfamilies. So, too, does the fact that theformer communist country, with no experienceof NGOs, is refusing to give reliefagencies the tax exemptions theywould normally receive, particularlywhen bringing humanitarian suppliesinto the country. Without such tax exemptionsthere is also no incentive forbusinesses to contribute to programs forrefugees. "This makes it impossible forsuch projects to become self-sustaining,"56 ON THE ISSUES • Spring 1997
said the deputy director of an AmericanNGO working in Bosnia.Bosnian authorities are also insistingthat the standardized income tax formerlypaid under socialism should be adheredto by war victims employed insuch income-generating projects. "Consequently,"says Neljira Nalic, head ofBOSPO, the Bosnian Committee forHelp, a humanitarian agency aidingwomen refugees, "women earning DM100 a month in small-scale projects, suchBoric. On a much larger scale, the multimilliondollar reconstruction projectsfunded by USAID, for example, requirethat a substantial portion of the raw materialsand equipment be purchased inthe U.S., thereby reducing the actualfunds entering the recipient country onsuch a grant by as much as 50 percent.The UN operates in a similar vein.Amila Omersoftic, the 51-year-old directorof Bosnia's Radio and Television Networks,used the same skills she learnedNone of the $45 million of a U.S. loan program for smalL businesseswas given to firms headed by women.as producing honey, tailoring or knittingsweaters, are expected to pay DM 150 amonth, which in the socialist era went topay for taxes, pension and health insurance.It's crazy. And, of course, thewomen can't pay it. It's just another exampleof where the new government hasto catch up with the situation today."It isn't only the Bosnian governmentthat seems out of touch with the times.USAID officials in Sarajevo, who were inthe process of allocating $45 million of aloan program for small businesses, admittedin April to representatives fromthe New York-based Women's Commissionfor Refugee Women and Childrenthat none of that substantial sum wasgoing to businesses headed by widowsor other women. Two months later, SwaneeHunt, the U.S. ambassador to Austria(see profile on page 32) persuadedPresident Clinton to launch the $5 millionBosnian Women's Initiative (BWI).This would provide loans and training ineconomic development for women.According to Hunt, women in Bosniahave also lost many of the socialized servicesthey enjoyed in the former Yugoslavia,such as subsidized food, daycarefacilities, family allowances, maternityleave, health services. Compared tothe need, and the fact that nearly threequartersof Bosnia's adult population isnow female, $5 million is not a largesum, but it is a step in the right direction.HUMANITARIAN AID FUNDING, SUCH ASthis amount, is reduced further,however, by the international agenciesthrough which the money is funneled—for the BWI that's the UNHCR and theInternational Rescue Committee. Largesums are consumed by the salaries andother living expenses of the foreign nationalswho administer the grants, as wellas the fees of foreign consultants broughtin to advise, point out both Cronly andas a systems engineer and in establishingher own software production company,to analyze the requirements for refugeesand displaced persons when the governmentasked her to become an adviserduring the war. She worked closely withUNHCR at the time."I remember the discussion about purchasingthe vast quantity of plasticsheeting needed to replace windowsblown out during the war," she says. "Inresearching the issue, I located a companywho could supply the plastic for sixtimes less than the UN wanted to pay forit. When I mentioned this, I was told,'No, that is not your job. We are here togive you goods. It is not for you to decidewhere they should be bought.' Howsilly. How condescending."So often, says Boric, UN agencies donot want to share power, "especiallywith women. In this regard, they are alittle imperialistic. UNHCR also has apoor record on gender issues."Women like Omersoftic and Boricwould like to see Western companieswilling to become partners with Bosnianwomen able to operate small businesses,which in turn would employ and/ortrain local women. "We need the loansON THE ISSUESHas the last really goodconversation you've hadbeen with yourself?Ever wish you could talk aboutwhat you've read in ON THE ISSUES?Interested in starting a discussiongroup in your area? Become agroup leader, or join a developinggroup! We'd like to hear fromreaders who are ready to take onthe issues—with each other!Contact us at (718)459-1888, ext. 270or e-mail onissues@echonyc.comWe'll help you get started!Become an Outpost of theFeminist Government inExile. ON THE ISSUES seeksregional representatives to attendsynergistic conferences, exhibitsand events. To find out more, fax(718)997-1206 or call (718)459-1888,ext. 210.a woman•\Adults:S, M, L,Ex-L $15Youth:2-4, 6-8,10-12,14-16 $12Visa/MC 1 -800-891 -2126 10% discount with adMail orders: Add $3 for shippingTRAVEL WITH MEG BOWMANBox 21506, San Jose, CA 95151 (408)292-1172 924-53251997: Natural Habitat Travel for Women Series:COSTA RICA, April or Nov. (10participants) $2,395.UGANDA PRIMATE WATCH July 30-Aug. 9, 1997 (9 persons) $4,795.BOTSWANA SAFARI Aug 4-19, 1997 (8 women) $4,495. Sailboat cruise to watch andswim with dolphins, Bahamas Aug. 30- Sept. 6, 1997 (8persons) $1,995.1997-98: KENYASafari and School Visits Dec. 28, 1997-Jan. 16, 1998 (20 days) $3,695.1998: GREEK ISLAND CRUISE + CRETEJuly 17- Aug. 3, 1998 {18 days) $3,271 from New York; $3,472 from SFO.(Emphasis archaeology fcr ancient Greek Goddesses.)BOOKS BY MEG BOWMAN: HOT FLASH PRESS:Lilith: Adam's First Wife (NEW!) $14.95Goddesses, Witches & the Paradigm Shift 14.95Women's History: Dramatic Readings 12.95Memorial Services for Women 8.95FAX 408-924-5322Add $2.75 for p/h.S p r i n g 1997 • O N T H E ISSUES57
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FEMINIST CULTURE • POLITICS • R
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Page 35 and 36: IN THE MEANTIME, SHE IS HELPINGto c
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Page 65 and 66: SWANEE HUNT (from page 33)amassing
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I Am Beautiful: A Celebration of Women in Their Own Words

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