Bosnia and Herzegovina: Rebuilding And Reconciliation

By Jeffrey Young
At the end of 1995, after three years of war, Bosnia and Herzegovina was bloodsoaked. The conflict among Serbs, Croats, and Muslims - the so-called Bosniaks -- had shattered Sarajevo and other cities, creating millions of refugees and displaced persons. The conflict triggered "ethnic¹ cleansing," the slaughter² of people based on what group they belong to.
In December 1995 the Dayton Agreement was signed, creating a federal Bosnia and Herzegovina made up of the Bosniak / Croat Federation³ of Bosnia and the Republika Srpska - the Serb Republic. The Dayton Agreement also created a presidency⁴ that rotates between Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks.
With Dayton in place, the international community came to Bosnia and Herzegovina to work on constructing a government, economic development and to attend to the social needs of its people. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe spokesperson Elmira Bayrasli in Sarajevo says the response has been strong. "Over the past 9 years," she says "the government and people of Bosnia and Herzegovina have made great efforts to move the country forward and to build a better future for all their citizens regardless of their ethnicity."
When hostilities⁵ ended, helping⁶ people return to their homes became a top priority. NATO installed a force of about 60,000 troops to keep factions⁷ away from each other. A property commission was set up to resolve claims that homes and farms had been taken by others. Udo Janz, the United Nations High Commissioner⁸ for Refugees representative in Sarajevo, describes the massive scope of the refugee effort. "By the end of the war, we estimated 2.2 million refugees and internally displaced (persons)," he tells VOA. "By last month, we could officially record the one millionth returnee." The UNHCR representative says that more than half of those who have not returned so far have found residence in western Europe and will probably not come back.
Building a viable⁹ economy has been another major part of the effort to heal Bosnia and Herzegovina. Along with agriculture, the country was once a center of heavy industry. The plant shutdowns that followed independence contributed to significant unemployment -40% according to recent estimates. But the head of the United Nations Development Project in Sarajevo, Jens Toyberg-Frandzen, says the real jobless rate is much lower because of the so-called underground or "gray" economy. "If you factor in those employed and not registered or having incomes in ways other than the formal market, that figure is down to about 16%," he says.
The UNDP pegs¹⁰ the underground or "gray" economy at about 30% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's gross domestic product. The World Bank's representative to Sarajevo, Dirk Reinermann, asserts that burdensome government is a major factor. "Either the taxes are too high, there are too many taxes, there are nuisance taxes, or they are being inspected seven times a year and they have to pay bribes¹¹ to the inspectors," he says. According to Mr Reinermann, because of that, entrepreneurs say "'We stay out of all of that and we stay in the gray economy.'" World Bank's Reinermann says regulatory laws clearly need to be made more business and investment friendly. Another problem holding back development is government spending, which consumes nearly 55% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's gross domestic product.
Today, Bosnia and Herzegovina has its sights set on becoming a candidate for European Union membership. Working against that is the unresolved effort to bring to justice all of those accused of Balkans War atrocities¹². Former Clinton Administration envoy¹³ to the Balkans Jim Dobbins says there are repercussions¹⁴ to the Republika Srpska's reluctance¹⁵ to assist the International Criminal Tribunal for (the former) Yugoslavia - the ICTY - at The Hague. "It's a continued source of irritation¹⁶, and it's a continued obstacle to Bosnia's integration¹⁷ into NATO and the European Union," the former ambassador tells VOA. Two prominent Bosnian Serbs remain fugitives¹⁸ from ICTY justice - leader Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic - despite a global manhunt.
In all, Bosnia and Herzegovina has made a remarkable¹⁹ overall recovery from one of the most vicious conflicts of the late twentieth century, with its ethnic factions keeping a fragile peace and its economy struggling to become competitive. But in the view of Ambassador Dobbins and many others, Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue to need international assistance and oversight²⁰ for perhaps a generation to come.
For focus, I'm Jeffrey Young.
注释：
Bosnia 波斯尼亚（南斯拉夫中西部地区）
Herzegovina 黑塞哥维那（南斯拉夫中西部地区）
Serb 塞尔维亚人
Croat 克罗地亚人
Bosniaks 波什尼亚克
Sarajevo 萨拉热窝
slaughter 残杀，屠杀
Dayton Agreement 代顿和平协定
Republika Srpska 波黑塞族共和国
ethnicity 种族划分
returnee 回国人员
UNHCR 联合国难民事务高级专员
heal 恢复，修缮
UNDP 联合国开发计划署
nuisance taxs 小额税收，零星税收
fugitive 逃亡者

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

3 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

10 pegs   

n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• She hung up the shirt with two (clothes) pegs. 她用两只衣夹挂上衬衫。 来自辞典例句
• The vice-presidents were all square pegs in round holes. 各位副总裁也都安排得不得其所。 来自辞典例句

11 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

12 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

14 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

16 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

17 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

18 fugitives   

n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Three fugitives from the prison are still at large. 三名逃犯仍然未被抓获。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Members of the provisional government were prisoners or fugitives. 临时政府的成员或被捕或逃亡。 来自演讲部分

19 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

20 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。