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

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and the raw materials; we have theknow-how and the skills. We need support,but we are not disabled," says Boric.Even women in rural areas haveproved that. Hanifa Karic, in the smallnorthern community of Babunovici,demonstrated her entrepreneurial talentswhen she launched a sugar-cube manufacturingcompany in her living room.The supply of sugar cubes, preferred byBosnians in the small cups of thick,syrupy coffee they consume daily,dried up in the war when both factoriesended up in the Serb-controlledpart of the country. Recognizinga need, Karic, who workedin a textile factory before the warbut was retired after being injuredin a fall, applied for a 12-monthmicro-enterprise loan of DM 2,000.The six-month-old business, whichuntil now has been hand-operated,has been so successful that it isabout to become mechanized. Itcurrently produces almost a ton ofsugar cubes daily by operating 16hours a day in eight-hour shifts.The business has also enabledKaric to buy a car, a VW Golf. "Ifeel much safer than before, nowthat I have a business," she says.Karic, a Muslim, employs a Serbbookkeeper. "It is important to respecta person regardless of theirnationality," she says, sweepingaway the ethnic divisions that rentthis country during the war. In thisregard, she is not that unusual.Many Serbs stayed on in Bosnia duringthe war, and many protected Muslimsfrom Serb soldiers, some dying in theprocess. During the height of the Sarajevosiege, of the 380,000 remaining population,an estimated 55,000 were Serbs.MIRA BAJER IS A 41-YEAR-OLD HIGHschool teacher of Bosnian languagein Tuzla. A Serb married to aCroat, she and her husband elected tostay in the city as more and more Muslimsrefugees flooded in, and Serb artillerydaily targeted Tuzla. Throughoutthe war, she also worked a second job asa program coordinator at BOSPO, aidingMuslim women refugees. Her husbandserved in the Bosnian army, which infact, was not unusual. While it is littleknown outside the former Yugoslavia,one third of the Bosnian Defense Forcesduring the war were Serbs and Croats.Bajer insists she and her husband arenot unique. Before the war, she pointsout, as many as 40 percent of urban Bosnianmarriages were ethnically mixed. Religiousobservation, after all, was illegalin socialist Yugoslavia, and the vast majorityof the population was secular. Eventoday, her teenage daughter has a Muslimboyfriend. "It's true that when I firststarted working at BOSPO, I didn't tellthe women, many of them Srebrenicarefugees, that I was a Serb," she pointsout. "They were too unhappy then. IWoman at Bosfam's carpet-weaving, incomegenerating project.waited until they knew who I was, beforeI said it, and then it didn't matter anymore.By then they could view me as awoman, and not as a Chetnik."We must break this, 'You're a Serb, I'ma Muslim,' and be a bridge between people,eyes to eyes. I can teach many skills tothe women at BOSPO; that's what's important,not my ethnic background."The economic futures of women workingin income-generating projects run byhumanitarian organizations may be tenuousat best. The handful of refugeewomen sitting in front of looms at theBosfam agency, a Bosnian NGO in Tuzla,learned to weave when they were growingup. Back home, weaving was ahobby, and the carpets they producedwere used to decorate their homes. Butnow, women like 50-year-old Nura Habibovic,who lost everything during the fallof Srebrenica, would be destitute withoutthe DM 150 a month they make here.Bosfam is already struggling to pay itsmonthly rent of DM 3,000. And projectslike the carpet-weaving one are increasinglyexpected by international donors tobecome self-sustaining, which usuallymeans that international funding willsoon end. "It's ludicrous to expect suchprojects to be self-sustaining in a collapsedeconomy," says Boric, who adds thatunder such guidelines, one major hinderthat operated 80 such projects last year, renewedonly three of them this year. "Ithink that is pretty telling, don'tyou?" she asks.The intricate, pure wool carpetsare of excellent quality, but inBosnia only SFOR troops or foreignrelief workers can afford them.Dealers in Austria have shown interestin marketing them, but considerthe cost, DM 850 for a 9 x 6 ftcarpet, overpriced. That sum, approximately$600, was less than amonth's income for many in theformer Yugoslavia. Each carpettakes a refugee woman, workingfull time, six days a week, betweenfour and five months to weave.FVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THEincome is the social supportthe women at projects like Bosfamreceive. "I thought I would diewhen I was forced to leave Srebrenica,"says Habibovic, her voicecracking. "I miss everything. Idon't have anything now. It's easierfor me to work and not remember."Beba Hadzic, the 49-year-oldprogram manager of Bosfam,knows the importance of the emotionalsupport her agency offers. "The agencyhas a psycho-social component. Thewomen here have all been through thesame experiences, and we understandhow that feels." On the wall behind heras she talks, hangs a small cushion coverwith the name Paric Alem, and the dateJuly 11, 1995, embroidered on it. "Wehave over 9,000 of those," she says."Each one carries the name of a missingSrebrenica man. Paric is my 17-year-oldnephew." (Some 750 Srebrenica menhave already been confirmed dead.)A Srebrenica refugee herself, Hadzic, aformer elementary-school administrator,says, "Bosfam has become a replacementextended family for these women." Sucha role is a heavy responsibility. And it isrepeated throughout the country, byother agencies working with otherwomen war survivors. One can onlyhope that the international donor communityis up to the task. Bosnian womenhave suffered enough. •t• _O N T H E I S S U E S • S p r i n g 1 9 9 7
SWANEE HUNT (from page 33)amassing more fortunes.' It was as if thewomen in the family didn't even exist."At the time of that article, the foundationHelen and she operated had been workingin the inner city for about five years."But somehow, that didn't count." It alsorankles when she's referred to in print asa socialite oil heiress. "Don't call me the"S" word," she warns."I've lived under a shadow for a lot ofright. Like the occasion she was hostingthe negotiations for the Federationagreement between the Bosnians andCroats at the embassy in Vienna. "Fornine days, the Bosnians occupied myprivate dining room; the Croats took uptheir positions in our conference roomdown to hall. Neither party would directlyspeak to the other. Prospectslooked bleak, just as they often dotoday." Swanee's solution when theshuttle diplomacy threatened to breakHunt sat Bosnian and Croat emissaries at small, six-person dinnertables to build amity; the accord happened.Goddess /ewelrysilver bronze goldP.O. Box 389-U Brimfield MA 01010Catalog Phone/Fax: (413) 245-9484years," says Hunt, "so maybe that is partof what is behind my wanting the storytold."WHATEVER HER REASONS, TRAVELINGwith Hunt is very much likebeing one of "the boys on the bus" of apolitical campaign. Over-scheduled, herentourage barely has time to follow her,as she troops in, delivers the same flawlesssound-bites, sings a song or two,poses for her personal photographer,and leaves again. It may play well at theFirst Baptist Church in Dallas, where shewas once a member, but in war-shatteredBosnia, the glee-club numbers, completewith chorus-line kicks, seem onlybizarre. So does her choice of lyrics.After keeping the female movers andshakers of Sarajevo waiting for sevenhours to meet her (her helicopter wasgrounded by fog in Tuzla), Swanee burstinto a complete rendition of "We Ain'tGot a Barrel of Money." Her audiencewere women members of Zena 21, a humanitarianagency aiding war victims,which also runs the only woman's magazinesurviving in Bosnia today. The highlyeducated, mostly fluent Englishspeakers had spent the day anxiouslywaiting to hear if their organizationwould receive a portion of the $5 millionfunding from the Bosnian Women's Initiative,Swanee's brainchild, which theagency desperately needs.Equally unconsciously, and during heroft-given speech, "We are all mothers,"Hunt made a reference to Muslim andSerb women being able to live togetherand forgive each other. At that sameevent, there were angry rumblings in thecrowd. "What are we to be forgiven?"asked one Sarajevan who had livedthrough the three-and-a-half-year siege ofthe capital and its constant shelling. "Noone asked the Nazis to forgive the Jews!"But there are times when she gets itdown? She decided to throw a joint dinnerparty at which the tables for sixwould be only 33 inches across "so theirknees would touch." The psychologist inher knew that it's hard to ignore someonewhen you are that close. Because theembassy didn't have tablecloths smallenough, she ordered bedsheets cutdown, and helped to hurriedly hemthem. "I credit those tiny tables withpeace in Bosnia today," she jokes. Afterdinner, she strengthened the new Bosnian/Croatamity by sitting down at herpiano and getting both sides involved ina loud and lengthy singsong.It's hard to imagine Kissinger or WarrenChristopher leading a singalong, orhemming bedsheets for tablecloths as aroute to peace. But whether it's trompingthrough the mud and dodging landmines,persuading presidents to rememberthe forgotten, or selling Americanpolicy abroad, Swanee Hunt is high energyand great on follow-through. Hermethods may be unorthodox, and thereare some false notes that need work, butperhaps her next appointment shouldbe Assistant Secretary of State. There'sone for European Affairs she'd be perfectfor.—J.G.CJocLiessrimaoe Co ivicK Carol CT-ir-i*lJoin us in search of ancient mystenes.Transform the way you feel about women, yourselfPOT- mare irtfvjrmacion:Goddess Pilgrimage Tours1306 CrestviewDr.»Blacksburg, VA 24060Phone/Fax: 540-951-3070The Elizabeth Stone HouseA Feminist Mental Health AlternativeThe Elizabeth Stone House is knowninternationally for its innovative abilityto empower women in emotionaldistress as well as their children.Residential and Non-Residential ProgramsResources and Training AvailableCall for InformationPOB 59, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130(617) 522-3417Visit New York's elegant sexuality boutique created by womenfor women and their partners. Discover a world ofearthly delights to excite your mind, body and spirit!Write or call for a free catalog 1-800-848-3837 (7days/24hrs)119 W. 57th St. • Suite 420oi • NY, NY 10019 212-757-8651Visit us on the Internet: http://www.evesgarden.comBoutique Hours:Mon-Sat 1 2-7pmeve's # gardenWe grow pleasurable*^hings for women!ConfidentialityGuaranteed.S p r i n g1 9 9 7 • O N T H E I S S U E S
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FEMINIST CULTURE • POLITICS • R
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Page 39 and 40: After her husband's attack, Margare
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