Bosnians hope, again, for peace

December 3, 1995
Web posted at: 10:25 pm. EST (0325 GMT)

From Correspondent Richard Blystone

TUZLA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- As rescue armies mass across Europe, it is a natural day for the Christian community around Tuzla to think upon hope and the future.

The Americans are coming.

"They're our only hope," said one man. "They'll give us some peace and prosperity too."

Some, however, are skeptical. "I'm afraid nothing might happen," one woman lamented. "And we'll be worse off than we were."

But the children are perhaps the most optimistic. "When the Americans come," a little girl said," I expect them to help make the war go away."

In the refugee settlements, however, there is no childlike faith. In the camps, peace will have little meaning without a return home -- a job beyond NATO's mission or ability."

"I feel like a foreigner here," a refugee said. "And I always will."

The refugees say they now trust only the Bosnian Army. And the more they come to hope the U.S. can get their lands back, the dimmer the prospects for the peacekeeping mission. Many are bitter that the U.S. held back for so long.

"Europe is an old whore," another man said. "Our only chance was America and America let us down."

Peace is six months too late in a cemetery above Tuzla, where 71 young people lie buried. All 71 -- Muslim, Catholic, Orthodox -- were killed by a single Serb shell in May.

The tragedy left some bitter indeed -- one woman, who lost a brother, said that she now hates people -- all people -- and that her hope was blasted into indifference by an exploding shell on a crowded street. (88K AIFF sound or 88K WAV sound)

"There is still hope that something will be done, that peace will come," she said, "but I don't know what kind of peace we will have." (99K AIFF sound or 99K WAV sound)

What kind of peace is mostly out of the hands of U.S. troops and officials, but still there is a feeling in Tuzla that only America can accomplish whatever that peace will be.

It's probably just as well that most Bosnians are economical with their hope. Their history shows as well as anything that hope can be a dangerous thing.

Bosnians hope, again, for peace

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