ボスニアで結実した「人間の安全保障」の復興支援 -現地密着の手法が難民と住民の心を開いた-

Abstract

Approximately 17 years have passed since the internal war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ceased. After the signing of the Dayton-Paris Peace Agreement in 1995, no violent incidents have occurred and the country aims to join the European Union. The EU has been helping Bosnia’s political and economic reform through the Stability and Association Agreement, a first step towards accession. However, the remotely situated rural areas in Bosnia have been lagging behind in the post-war reconstruction. The deep-rooted distrust among the three ethnic groups of Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats who once fought a brutal war remains and hampers collaboration in reconstruction works supported by various donors. JICA launched an agricultural development project in March 2006 for returned refugees and impoverished inhabitants in six mountainous areas of Srebrenica Municipality, an outlying district bordering the Republic of Serbia across the Drina river. JICA dispatched Mr. Yasumasa Oizumi, a well experienced expert on agriculture, as the chief adviser to the project. Srebrenica is well known as the site of massacre of more than 8000 Bosniak men by the Serbian troops led by General Ratko Mladic in July 1995. For JICA the project was the first experimental case to test the effectiveness of the concept of ‘human security’ in the post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation. By the end of 2008 the project proved to be quite successful, and was highly evaluated not only by the beneficiaries and the local administration but also by major aid organisations such as UNDP and UNHCR. At the request of the state government and the municipal administration, the JICA project has been expanded to all 19 areas of Srebrenica and is to be continued till November 2013. JICA decided to apply know-how and experiences obtained in Srebrenica to Asia, and in July 2012 launched a new project in Sri Lanka the northern part of which had been devastated by a 26-year long ethnic conflict. Mr. Oizumi has been assigned to supervise the implementation of the project. In August 2012 I revisited Srebrenica to look into possible causes of the remarkable success of this JICA project. The following sections are my findings and conclusions; (1) Trust is the key to success. Unlike representatives of other aid organisations most of whom lived in Sarajevo and only occasionally visited the sites of their projects, Mr. Oizumi opted to settle down in Skelani, one of the areas where the project was to be implemented. He regularly met and talked with local people. It enabled him to grasp what people needed and what sort of works they were willing to do to support their families. He also made it a rule to treat Bosniaks and Serbs equally. Thus he gained trust from both ethnic groups, and it made possible for him to display effective leadership. (2) Maximal utilization of local assets. Based on the extensive dialogue with the would be beneficiaries Mr. Oizumi selected the undertakings which best matched indigenous environment and could utilize readily available traditional agricultural skills and other local assets so that many people might be able to join. The project included herb, mushroom and feed crops production, fruit growing, bee keeping and sheep breeding etc. All went well and most of the beneficiaries took part in two or more activities. This multiple participation expanded the opportunities for the two ethnic groups to work together and helped them realize that collaboration could benefit all. (3) Secure income changes people. In post-conflict economic reconstruction it is crucial to steadily increase the income of people impoverished by the war. Mr. Oizumi was well aware of this and right from the beginning he stressed the importance of marketing local agricultural products. He secured a sales stand for vegetables and berries inside the big market in a Serbian town opposite the Drina river. Then he made a contract with a company to promote sales of honey and fruits in Sarajevo and other big cities. He patiently persuaded the participants in the project to improve quality of their products. His effort has come to fruition. Nowadays honey produced in Skelani is recognized as a brand item and is shipped to foreign customers. According to a recent questionnaire 65 % of the beneficiaries expressed satisfaction with increase in income. They now understand one can obtain and sustain a stable livelihood by their own effort. (4) Reconciliation starts with conversation. Mr. Oizumi realized through his personal experience with villagers that in order for people of different ethnicity to build a mutual trust, the first thing to do is to talk to each other. He included in the project the construction of a small livestock market. Breeding cows and sheep is a familiar work both for Bosniaks and Serbs, and can be a common interesting subject of talk. Mr. Oizumi’s assumption proved to be true. The livestock market was filled with people and conversations started between the two ethnic groups. Then JICA jointly with the municipality opened two kindergartens. The kindergartens have been contributing to reconciliation of young parents through their children and various events. (5) Conclusions The success of JICA project in Srebrenica has shown that effectiveness of aid is not decided by sheer volume of money or goods offered, but by the extent to which recipients of the aid feel satisfaction and express genuine gratitude. How can donors get these positive results? First of all, one has to bear in mind that the most important factor is trust between donors and beneficiaries. In other words, aid should not be offered in a patronizing manner as a gift from the rich to the poor, but as an encouragement to help the recipients stand on their own. Through talks with the returned refugees in Srebrenica I have come to believe that people would never lose self pride whatever difficulties they might have. Donors always have to be careful not to wound their pride. On the other hand excessive aid tends to spoil people and diminish their self help effort. There are several other lessons to be drawn from JICA project in Srebrenica. Aid projects should not be forced upon recipients or unilaterally implemented by donors. Projects often turn out to be more successful when drawn up and implemented through consultations with recipients. In the post-war reconstruction the time element is limited. Maximal utilization of local assets can contribute to reducing the difficulties faced by the weak, such as returned refugees and war widows, by enabling them to join reconstruction schemes and to earn a livelihood. It is my sincere hope that JICA’s new project in Sri Lanka would also prove to be as successful and set a guiding example to Japan’s ODA in the 21st century.