Bosnia Housing

On the surface, Banja Luka looks like a modern Balkan town. It bears only few noticeable scars from the 1992-1995 war that devastated Bosnia and Herzegovina just over a decade ago.

But underneath this facade, the city's tragic history is evident. Banja Luka used to be ethnically diverse -- full of Bosnian Muslims, Croats and Serbs. During the war, however, ethnic cleansing drove out a large number of Muslims and Croats through violence, murder and fear. Today, almost everybody is Serb and Banja Luka is the capital of the Serb half of the country, Republika Srpska.

"After the war, there were around two million people displaced; half of the population were either refugees or internally displaced," said Michael Docherty, the European Commission official who's responsible for helping refugees return home.

This consolidation of ethnic groups into different areas was a feature of the Bosnian war. One of the priorities for the European Union and the international community has been helping these refugees return home. According to Docherty, some one million of those people have recovered their property.

"How many of them have physically returned is a lot more difficult to say -- perhaps half," he said.

The people need jobs, too

The EU has spent nearly 400 million Euros ($530 million) on its comprehensive housing reconstruction program. It provides the funds, which are passed on to organizations like the Arbeiter Samariter Bund (ASB) or Workers' Samaritan Federation. The ASB then rebuilds houses and infrastructure.

Dealing with the refugees in Bosnia did not just involve people returning to war torn areas, though. It was also about the international community making sure that the results of ethnic cleansing weren't allowed to stand.

Organizations helped provide security for those who came back -- often to live alongside neighbors who had helped drive them out a decade ago. But now, other factors are growing in importance.

"Actually, they have a problem and that is finding a job," said Hakija Pozderac from the ASB. "This is the problem in the entire country. Most of them have returned, but have no work."

The task ahead for returnees across Bosnia is far more complicated than just providing a roof over their heads. Bosnia's economy is in a mess, unemployment is high, and half of the population is either classed as poor or just above the poverty line.

But Bosnia has already received more aid per head than any other country since World War Two. Organizations like the European Union are now looking for less direct ways to continue making the country normal again.

The EU has begun its exit strategy

Docherty said the European Commission was very much involved in delivering humanitarian aid at the beginning. From there, it moved to rebuilding houses and reconstructing basic infrastructure, such as roads, hospitals and schools.

"We are now at the end of that phase in something of an exit strategy," Docherty said. The last major physical reconstruction contract had been signed, he said.

"We are now looking at the accompanying measures to help ensure sustainable return -- job creation and integration of the returnees into their communities," Docherty said. "We're also looking into trying to hand over the process to the local authorities."

This will not be easy, as Bosnia is deeply divided with most of its politicians and local authorities concentrating on looking after their own ethnic group.

The figures show that refugee returns have been relatively successful, with around 97 percent of people reclaiming property. But many have only done this so that they can sell it. Very few have tried to rebuild lives in areas now controlled by a different ethnic group.

Overall, the European Union has been only partially successful in completing this very difficult task. As with so much in this country, real long-term success in overturning the results of ethnic cleansing will rely on the will of the Bosnians and their own politicians, rather than on the outside world.