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MAGLAJ, Central Bosnia -- For more than three years, this small town, in the northern region of Central Bosnia, has found itself on the front line of inter-ethnic conflict. "It was very, very difficult, especially when we were under siege," Mehmed Obradic, whose brother was killed in the fighting, told United Methodist News Service. "We didn't have any food, we had to fight in all sorts of ways, against the enemy, against hunger."
Obradic believes life in Maglaj is better these days, even though Bosnian Serb tanks are only 1,000 yards away and sniper fire and artillery shelling remain a daily threat.
But like other young adults who have experienced the real-life consequences of "ethnic cleansing," he senses something has been taken from his life that he will never get back. "Before the war, I read books about the lost generation in Lebanon...I think we're that generation, too," said Drnda Emir, a soldier in his early 20s serving the Bosnian army. "Everyday, someone dies. I was a student before the war. Now, nothing is normal anymore."
At a local collective center being refurbished as temporary refugee housing by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), a young mother shared her frustration. "This is not life," she said as she held her six-week-old baby. "Since the war began we don't have anything." "You can feel the tension here," another mother added. "We're always waiting for them to start shelling."
In the city of Zenica, 40 miles south of Maglaj, everyday life seems calmer, despite the occasional air raid siren and artillery shell. One of the refugees there is 18-year-old Melissa Hajrulahovic, whose family was forced by Bosnian Serbs to leave their home in Banja Luka. "I was surprised by what happened to us," Hajrulahovic said. "All my friends (Bosnian Serbs) turned away from me. They didn't want to be friends anymore...that hurts. The parents want the war. They teach their (children) how to hate."
Since arriving in Zenica, she has made new friends-- including Serbs--and has joined the chorus at the UMCOR-sponsored Youth House. She also fell in love with 17-year-old Aji Hrustic, a guitar instructor at the Youth House. Someday, they hope to attend music school in Sarajevo together.
Lelja Djaferovic, 22, the Youth House project manager, understands the frustration of young people whose life plans have been suddenly interrupted by the war. "I was supposed to be a lawyer and was just finishing law school in Sarajevo when the war broke out..." she said. During the past year, Djaferovic and her staff of more than 30 full- and part-time professionals at Youth House have provided more than 10,000 children and young people with a variety of activities, ranging from English language and computer classes to music and art projects to sports events.
"People are very tired...they are still struggling for basic needs, for food, for ways to make money..." she said. "Most of us are tired of war."
But she doesn't believe her generation has become a lost generation. "No one generation can be lost because there is still hope," Djaferovic explained. "I believe the problem is solvable."
July, 1995