Photos: Top Left: John,Judi and the women of Divic. Top Right: Judi with Emina Jasarevic, our charming translator and guide from BILD - The Bosnia Initiative for Local Development. At this restaurant, Karadzic allegedly threw Bosnian Muslims into the Drina river below. Bottom Left: The graves of the men of Divic.

The women of Divic, a small town just outside of Zvornik, are an inspiring community of women, widowed by the war. They spend their days together in the communal center, where they weave rugs, embroider, and run a small daycare center for their children and grandchildren. All of the women were either from Divic or had moved there when they married. They showed us Slavic hospitality – serving us cake, coffee, and fried chicken. They were pleased that we, two Americans who teach history, were not there to discuss numbers, but the names and faces of the individual who were victims in this tragedy.

Many of the women have testified at the ICTY (the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia) in the Hague or the trials in either Sarajevo or Belgrade. Some of the men against whom they testified, have now finished their sentences and are returning to Bosnia. A few years ago, the US military under General Wellman oversaw the return of Muslims to Divic.  It is still very difficult for them.  They spoke of people from the town who walk along the main road and then yell obscenities at them.

The closest large town is Zvornik; it fell very quickly. Though the women watched it on television, they believed that the Serb military would not come to Divic. Emina, our guide and interpreter, discussed this lack of realism at the beginning of the war. She was 11 1/2 years old when the war broke out in Tuzla. She talked about living in her basement and that she just wanted to play. She was there for three years.  Her home was very heavily damaged.  She said that at the beginning of the war, people covered themselves with blankets or hid under tables during shelling because they didn't know what to do.

The Serb military arrived in May 1992 after heavy shelling from across the Drina. The town was occupied for one month.  Women and children under twelve years old were transported out to Kladanj.  They spent the night on busses in the forest with no facilities, food, or water. Arkan's Tigers took control of the town.

They discussed in some detail the atrocities that took place in Divic. There had been many mixed marriages in Divic; this was not unique in Bosnia. The women spoke of the special treatment for the husband of an Orthodox wife and their sons . He was beaten to death; the boys were forced to eat the ears of their brothers which had been cut off by Serb soldiers. The mother returned from Serbia after the war, having lost her sanity.

The local imam had had a cross cut into his forehead before he was murdered.

The son of one of the women had witnessed the “knifing” of hands in the torture of males. He himself had been tortured, but he survived because he was left for dead. After the war he testified in Belgrade. His mother said that when he returned, he was in the same mental state of collapse as when she was first reunited with him after his escape.

The oldest woman in the room went with the men who testified in Belgrade in the trial of “Ponytail” – Dusan Vuckovic - who killed the most people in Divic.    She said that she and the others had to "take pills" every morning before going into the courtroom.  Vuckovic died before the end of the trial. This is similar to what Emina called Milosevic's Last Crime.

Most of the women and some children escaped to Tuzla.  As many as 5000 refugees a day arrived in this industrial town. The Hotel Tuzla initially accepted a large number of refugees - but over time, many local families took them into their homes. 

Those who remained in Divic received their news from Voice of America and RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty). They were unable to get any news from Tuzla.  The cost of a newspaper was prohibitive.

When we asked them their opinion about Dayton, they felt that it was unsatisfactory. There was a general consensus that the Republika Srbska should not exist - and that the division of the country was not a long-term solution. They had a very negative attitude about the EU and the UN. They feel that they promised a lot, but delivered very little. On the contrary, they had a very positive attitude toward Clinton. When someone saves your life, you don’t ask why it took you so long.