Submitted by: Ivana Filice and Christine Vincent

In Collaboration with: Amina Adams and Dr. Fersada Bajramovic

RESEARCH RESOURCE DIVISION FOR REFUGEES

Centre for Immigration and Ethno-Cultural Studies

2126 DT, Carleton University

1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa ON K1S 5B6

(613) 520-2717, fax: (613) 520-3676

Copyright: RRDR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank the women refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina who took the time to speak with us: Amra Dervisevic, Ajsa Huskic, Mirsada Dervisevic, Safeta Nalic, Nasiha Huskis and Ranzija Dedic.

We are also grateful to Biserka Maradin, Javada Karic and Selma Ferhatbegovic for their translation and interpretation services and, Kimberley Jones (Catholic Immigration Centre) for her assistance during the focus group.

RRDR is grateful for financial assistance for this project from Employment and Immigration Canada, Immigration Settlement Branch, Ontario Region, Toronto, Ontario. Special acknowledgement Anh Tang, Program Consultant, for her support.

Authors:

Ivana Filice and Christine Vincent are Research Associates with the Research Resource Division for Refugees, Carleton University, Ottawa Ontario.

Amina Adams is a representative of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Information Centre in Ottawa. Dr. Fersada Bajramovic is the President of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Medical Relief Fund.

Executive Summary

In April 1991, the Serbian-led Yugoslav army began an assault on Bosnia-Herzegovina after the Bosnian government declared its independence from Yugoslavia. Violence directed against civilian Bosnians was reported on a scale unlike anything seen in Europe since World War II. Reports of "ethnic cleansing", indiscriminate killing, concentration and rape camps shocked the world as stories unfolded in the public media. Although the use of rape is charged against all three warring factions--the Serbians, Croatians and Bosnian Muslims--this strategy appears to have been primarily used by Serbian military and para-military forces against Bosnian Muslim women. By December 1992, as internal fighting continued, over one million people had fled Bosnia-Herzegovina (hereafter Bosnia), most to Croatia. Nearly one million remain displaced within the country. In response to this crisis, Canada has agreed to resettle some 500 Bosnian refugees, the majority of which arrived in February 1993, after being released from Omarska, one of the worst detention camps.

Canada has an extensive system of settlement agencies, developed originally in response to the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees in the mid-1970s. As such, most cities were reasonably well prepared to receive the Bosnian refugees. However, few agencies have programs to deal specifically with the sexual violence associated with the Bosnian conflict. Sexual violence can result in severe trauma which may not manifest itself until women refugees are settled into the community, at which point they face greater isolation and are less likely to access remedial services. This is compounded by language barriers and cultural and/or religious perceptions of, and responses to, sexual violence.

In response to this need, the Research Resource Division for Refugees, in conjunction with the Ottawa Bosnian community, undertook a needs assessment of Bosnian refugees in order to suggest guidelines and make recommendations for the development of a culturally and gender sensitive remedial program. The assessment consisted of six parts: 1) a cultural profile of Bosnian Muslims; 2) a review of the conditions of conflict in Bosnia; 3) consultation with the Ottawa Bosnia-Herzegovina Medical Relief Fund and Information Centre; 4) an information session with the Bosnian women refugees in Ottawa; 5) a review of assistance programs which have been set up for women refugees from Bosnia, of which most are located in Croatia; 6) a review of problems of, and counselling for, victims of rape and sexual violence based on existing literature and consultation with materials from women's counselling and assistance programs mainly in Canada and the United States.

Guidelines resulting from the project can be used to set up counselling programs in settlement and other agencies, which might come into contact with Bosnian women refugees. The cultural profile can also be used separately as a reference. Should Canada admit, under the "Women at Risk" programme, Bosnian Muslim women identified as rape victims by UNHCR, these guidelines would be highly relevant in developing and implementing an expanded support program.

Conclusions and Recommendations

One of the major recommendations in UNHCR's Report on Situation of Women and Children in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia refers to the resettlement of women victims of extreme sexual violence:

The Resettlement Officer will discuss the option of resettlement with the Social Services Officers, as a possibility for very specific cases for which she will develop some criteria. Resettlement countries must be informed that in the event they are asked to accept these cases, that extensive support systems will have to be in place to facilitate integration.

Canada, as a recognized country of resettlement, has a responsibility to ensure that proactive measures are taken to establish services appropriate to Bosnian women refugees in Canada. However, in order to create the support systems which UNHCR deems necessary to facilitate the integration of women survivors of sexual violence, specific services must be implemented. Therefore, we recommend:

i) That, as the extent of the consequences of "ethnic cleansing" upon the psycho-social health of Bosnian Muslim women is yet undetermined, a consultation group be formed for the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the issues relevant to the Bosnian situation and establishing linkages with individuals and organizations including: members of the Bosnian communities in Canada, mental health practitioners, psychiatrists, settlement agencies, women's organizations and researchers informed in this area.

ii) That, following from recommendation (i), the consultation group can best work in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture, an organization based in Toronto which has developed a mutual support model for newcomers to Canada who have survived torture and abuse (Appendix I).

iii) That, existing community training models can be considered for possible use in the development of an training package for social workers, ESL teachers, counsellors and others who come into contact with the Bosnian refugee women. The training package developed by the Community Resource Centre of Kanata, Goulbourne and West Carleton is one which deserves closer examination (Appendix 2). In assessing the viability of training packages for professional counsellors, the following aspects, among others, should be included: cross-cultural training seminars, a briefing on the political situation in Bosnia, gender-specific empowerment models of counselling, and training in general areas of rape and sexual violence against women.

iv) That contact be made with persons from the Bosnian Muslim community residing in Canada who can be trained in the area of violence against women and methods in psychological counselling. Their initial task would entail establishing contact with the Bosnian refugee women and acting as primary support workers in the counselling process. Members of the Croatian community could assist in certain circumstances. However, other interested ethno-cultural or religious groups who do not speak Bosnian would not have the community contact and communication skills necessary to facilitate the healing and support process.

v) That, the existing government sponsored Host Program be utilized to match the Bosnian refugee families with suitable Canadian counter-parts and care can be exercised in matching hosts and families in terms of gender, race, class and family status.

vi) That the Provincial government encourage other provinces in Canada to consider community mobilization in this area. The areas where the Bosnian refugees have been settled are known and local and national community resources can be utilized to meet the immediate and long-term needs of the women of the community.

vii) That consideration be given to planning in conjunction with the Federal Department of Immigration, Settlement Branch and possibly Multiculturalism, the feasibility of a national study to coordinate services throughout the country. Specifics of a project with this national scope would need to be worked out in consultation with members of various community organizations in each province, members of the Bosnian community in Canada and professionals working in the area of torture, sexual violence, rape and the training of counsellors.

Women Refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina: Towards Developing a Culturally Appropriate Counselling Framework

Part 1: Developing a Culturally Sensitive Framework for Assisting Bosnian Women Refugees

Introduction

In April 1991, the Serbian-led Yugoslav army began an assault on Bosnia-Herzegovina after the Bosnian government declared its independence from Yugoslavia. Violence directed against civilian Bosnians was reported on a scale unlike anything seen in Europe since World War II. Reports of "ethnic cleansing"⁽¹⁾, indiscriminate killing, concentration and rape camps shocked the world as stories unfolded in the public media. Although the use of rape is charged against all three warring factions--the Serbians, Croatians and Bosnian Muslims--this strategy appears to have been primarily used by Serbian military and para-military forces against Bosnian Muslim women. By December 1992, as internal fighting continued, over one million people had fled Bosnia-Herzegovina (hereafter Bosnia), most to Croatia.⁽²⁾ Nearly one million remain displaced within the country. In response to this crisis, Canada has agreed to resettle some 500 Bosnian refugees, the majority of which arrived in February 1993, after being released from Omarska, one of the worst detention camps.⁽³⁾

Canada has an extensive system of settlement agencies, developed originally in response to the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees in the mid-1970s.⁽⁴⁾ As such, most cities were reasonably well prepared to receive the Bosnian refugees. However, few agencies have programs to deal specifically with the sexual violence associated with the Bosnian conflict. Sexual violence can result in severe trauma which may not manifest itself until women refugees are settled into the community, at which point they face greater isolation and are less likely to access remedial services. This is compounded by language barriers and cultural and/or religious perceptions of, and responses to, sexual violence.

In response to this need, RRDR, in conjunction with the Ottawa Bosnian community, undertook a needs assessment of Bosnian refugees in order to suggest guidelines and make recommendations for the development of a culturally and gender sensitive remedial program. This is a summary of the assessment which consisted of six parts: 1) a cultural profile of Bosnian Muslims; 2) a review of the conditions of conflict in Bosnia; 3) consultation with the Ottawa Bosnia-Herzegovina Medical Relief Fund⁽⁵⁾ and Information Centre⁽⁶⁾; 4) an information session with the Bosnian women refugees in Ottawa;⁽⁷⁾ 5) a review of assistance programs which have been set up for women refugees from Bosnia, of which most are located in Croatia; 6) a review of problems of, and counselling for, survivors of rape and sexual violence based on existing literature and consultation with materials from women's counselling and assistance programs mainly in Canada and the United States.⁽⁸⁾

Guidelines resulting from the project can be used to set up counselling programs in settlement and other agencies, which might come into contact with Bosnian women refugees. Should Canada admit, under the "Women at Risk" program, Bosnian Muslim women identified as rape survivors by UNHCR, these guidelines would be highly relevant in developing and implementing an expanded support program.

The Kosmar of Bosnia-Herzegovina

The Bosnian conflict has resulted in an estimated 200,000 deaths and thousands are estimated to have been interned in detention centres or for many women, rape camps. Continued and intensified fighting has created the largest new refugee population in the world--more than one million refugees and nearly one million internally displaced people.

The Bosnian Kosmar (nightmare) includes: ethnic cleansing, detention centres, rape camps, indiscriminate killing and torture, and other crimes against humanity. Rape, far from being a side effect of war, has become a major part of its strategy.

The international community first became aware of sexual violence in the early phases of the ethnic cleansing policy in which the mass rape of Muslim women was primarily used to terrorize the population to leave their homes and entire areas. Rapes have continued in the small towns and villages. Schools and hotels are often used as sites for make-shift rape camps where women and girls are often forcibly confined for long periods of time. Women are raped without regard for their age or appearance and kept prisoner until they are far advanced in their pregnancy to have an abortion.

Various sources estimate that the number of Bosnian Muslim women raped by Serbian soldiers is more than 20,000, although in recent UNHCR reports the Bosnian government estimates that over 35,000 women are believed to be held in rape camps.⁽⁹⁾ Accurate numbers are difficult to compile due to the conditions of war, the deaths of many of the women who have been raped and the fact that women who have been subjected to torture or violence, including rape, in most cases do not volunteer such information to persons they do not know and may not trust. There are indications however, that rape has been the experience of many women in Bosnia. However, in spite of the increasing estimates of the number of women who have been raped, it cannot be assumed that all Bosnian Muslim women coming to Canada have experienced rape. Moreover, we can assume that, due to the violent aspects of the war, women have experienced violence either directly to their bodies or through having witnessed atrocities including the rape of other women, the murder or torture of children and family members.

When women are raped in war, she and her family and ultimately her community internalize the rape as an assault upon their identity. The rape of Bosnian Muslim women is intended to humiliate and punish Muslim men, break the pride and cohesion of a people and destroy the group's future by breaking down the Muslim national, religious and cultural identity. It was often reported that women were being impregnated by Serbs to bear Serbian and not Muslim children, hence breaking the line of Muslim descent. In this way, rape achieves the ultimate goal of ethnic cleansing.

For the women, the humiliation of rape is often reinforced by carrying out the acts in front of others--daughters are raped in the presence of the families, and mothers raped in front of their husbands and children. Some women reported that the most disturbing aspects of the abuse was that many Serbian rapists were from their villages and before the war had been their neighbours. As in many cases of rape, some rapists forced the women to shout that they were enjoying the rape therefore forcing them to act as a willing actors in the crime. Serbian soldiers often referred to the Muslim women being raped as ustasha or ustasa, which refers to the paramilitary predominantly Croatian forces which fought against Serbs in World War II. Today it is used by Serbs as a pejorative term for Croats and Muslims. After the rapes, many women were threatened with further violence if they spoke of or reported the incidents.

Women have been able to identify their violators in different ways. They could, at times, identify ethnicity, region or even city of origin by the way soldiers spoke. In some instances, violators identified themselves to the women by the names of organized military and paramilitary groups to which they belonged, including: Chetniks,⁽¹⁰⁾Arkan,⁽¹¹⁾ Vilina Vlas,⁽¹²⁾ Vatreni Konji,⁽¹³⁾and Beli Orlovi⁽¹⁴⁾.

Contextualizing Rape, Torture and Psycho-sexual Torture

1. Contextualizing Rape

Women who have survived the violence have formed coping skills which have direct relevancy for their particular situation and experience. Women's trauma may also be further compounded by the fact that some have been forcibly separated from their families. However, such coping strategies are usually short-term and cannot begin to address the trauma. At this time, we know very little about what to expect as a result of this form of psycho-sexual trauma being experienced by Bosnian Muslim women.

Intervention in Bosnia and Croatia

Women still trapped in Bosnia, are located in areas difficult to reach and as a result, formal support programs for survivors of violence and trauma are not accessible. For these women trapped in the war zones, the primary concerns are living and surviving the tragedy of war. Much of the assistance to Bosnia and the surrounding areas has been in the form of supplies such as food and shelter material.

The estimated 10,000 Bosnians who fled to Croatia from December 15 to January 15, 1992 are primarily women and their children. UNHCR shelter workers, government, non-governmental organizations and local women's groups there have begun to actively address the psycho-social needs of women survivors of violence, striving to identify, in a non-stigmatizing way, women who are survivors of violence who may benefit from more specialized programs. UNHCR functions within this structure as the facilitator of these efforts and coordinates activities with the intent of identifying potential duplication of resources or gaps in the existing services. Most organizations stress an integrated approach to assist rape survivors and have employed highly skilled local people to accomplish this. The Croatian government has encouraged international agencies to organize and facilitate the specialized training of local Bosnian-speaking counsellors to assist women.

However, the UNHCR did not implement a social services program in Croatia until early February 1993. At this early stage its interventions merely aim at assisting women to survive daily life under stressful conditions. Anne Howarth, UNHCR Senior Coordinator for refugee women in her Report on the Situation of Women and Children in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia provides useful information regarding the situation of the survivors of violence and relevant issues in the area of resettlement.⁽³⁰⁾ The report suggests that, in spite of UNHCR attempts to respond to the needs of Bosnian Muslim women and children, its efforts in meeting their psycho-social needs have been hampered due mainly to security factors.

UNHCR general recommendations to offer assistance include:

- letting the victims know that services are available to them;

- ensuring the handling that is culturally appropriate and does not further stigmatize them;

- emphasising the use, support and strengthening of existing medical and counselling facilities rather than creating parallel structures; and,

- the approach and delivery of treatment must be culturally sensitive and not result in further trauma for the victim; there cannot be a matter-of-fact approach as this can contribute to the de-dramatization of the rapes for the victim, her family and the community.

In addition, the attitudes of Muslim men towards rape will make it difficult for the UNHCR to seek out women who need help without stigmatizing them. As a result, traditional interventions are prevented from being implemented.

While hundreds of women have received some form of treatment, the majority have most likely not received any assistance. A lack of knowledge of existing services restricts access to counselling services. Moreover, few counselling services have interpreters and only a small percentage of refugees speak a language other than Bosnian. It is therefore highly unlikely that the women and girls which have been resettled in Canada have had any assistance in this area. However, the efforts made by UNHCR, women's organizations and international relief agencies in both Bosnia and Croatia can be used to develop a framework from which to build appropriate and effective services in Canada.

Intervention in Canada

Canada has agreed to resettle 562 refugees from Bosnia. Of these, 523 arrived 27 February 1993.⁽³¹⁾ The refugee families in Canada are among the 5000 prisoners released from the Serbian-run detention camp Omarska through the efforts of UNHCR and the International Red Cross appeals in November 1992. According to Amnesty International there are reports confirming "allegations that rapes took place there [Omarska]."⁽³²⁾

Suggested Intervention Framework

A suggested general intervention framework has been compiled from consultation with, and resources from, agencies assisting survivors of torture and women's organizations. The framework has been broken down into two phases. The first deals with general issues concerning orientation and information regarding Bosnian Muslims. The second offers more specific information relative to treatment techniques for survivors of sexual violence. Within this framework, there will be suggestions which can be used to form the overall basis of a specialized counselling approach.

Part 1 of Framework: General Aspects

1. Bosnian Muslim refugees to Canada have been released on the condition they agree never to return to Bosnia. They have expressed mixed feelings about being in Canada. They are grateful for Canada's role in obtaining their release and accepting them for settlement. However, they believe that the international community, including Canada, is unintentionally helping achieve ethnic cleansing by agreeing to the no-return condition.

2. Based on information from UNHCR and other international agencies, we know that many Muslim women have been survivors of systematic and organized rape, many have been detained and tortured or have witnessed the violation of others. However, it cannot be assumed that all Bosnian refugee women coming to Canada have been raped, although most will have probably witnessed atrocities and human rights violations of friends, relatives and fellow country women and men. Moreover, of those who have experienced direct violence, there may be no initial indications.

3. Often, violence against refugees and specifically, violence against refugee women, is rationalized within the context of "ethnic differences". Counsellors should be aware of ethno-cultural differences, but cannot rely upon them as explanatory factors. Western (in this case Canadian) counsellors/researchers cannot be assumed to be "experts" in the area of violence against immigrant and refugee women. However, western treatment models can be utilized with modifications to meet the specific needs of all women.

Counsellors should undergo specific training including: becoming aware of the cultural background of the women, the position and status of women within that society, their values and beliefs and how they manifest in everyday life, the political circumstances which have lead to the mass refugee movements, and an understanding of the situation and abuses committed to the Muslim women under conditions of war.

While some information is available, it is advised that counsellors look to members of their respective Bosnian Muslim communities or others familiar with Bosnian Muslim culture to augment information as deemed necessary. Including members of the community as partners at the information-gathering stage and inviting them to assist in training sessions will further establish an on-going relationship of trust with the community as a whole. Without knowledge of the culture, a counsellor will be limited in the assistance they can offer and may even unwittingly contribute to a woman's stress.

4. We cannot assume that Bosnian refugees are familiar with the Canadian (western) medical model of treatment for mental health, particularly those from outside urban centres.⁽³³⁾ As a result, they may mistrust a system they neither understand or can relate to within their terms of reference. Counsellors can begin to address this barrier by creating a safe and non-threatening environment and ensuring women that the contents of counselling session will be kept confidential.

5. Women with some knowledge of how the system works, may attach a negative connotation with regards to seeking "psychiatric" help and accessing mental health services. Therefore, to avoid the risk of further stigmatizing women, it may prove useful to hold counselling sessions in facilities other than those known to be for this purpose. Community health centres and medical facilities which are basically used to deliver primary-care can also be used for this purpose as then the counselling sessions can be considered part of the woman's general overall health needs.⁽³⁴⁾

6. Members of the Bosnian community in Canada (in some cases, also those of Croatian origin) can assist as translators or interpreters and, with some form of training can also be used as counsellors. These community workers must be trained to be sensitive to the issues surrounding assistance to survivors of rape and torture. Rape crisis centres and other community organizations, such as Education Wife Assault (Toronto), Community Resource Centre of Kanata, Goulbourne and West Carleton (Ottawa) and the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture (Toronto) have established training materials which may serve as resources in developing a counselling program.

6. Short-term counselling, often referred to as "crisis intervention", may not prove useful in this situation. Crisis workers some of whom may be volunteers, usually undergo a training program within feminist organizations which provide services to women. However, the hopelessness and intensity of the trauma suffered by Bosnian women may easily overwhelm workers who do not have some form of professional training in psychology. Organizations which offer such services may be more helpful in establishing on-going support in the community for the women.

7. It is reported that survivors of mass violence often experience survival guilt which may manifest as "somatization" and "post-traumatic stress disorder." Without necessary medical expertise, we can only suggest that any counsellor's training program would necessarily need to become informed as to the various treatment modalities developed and used by professionals in this area.⁽³⁵⁾

8. The healing process cannot be totally dominated by professionals. Community support programs including the Host Program can be linked to the professional treatment of individual women. However, host matches must be utilized carefully. Through our community consultation it has been discovered that many of the matches were inappropriate therefore achieve less effectiveness. Women can also benefit from self-help support groups and support each other in the safe environment of a group. Such groups have been found to "contribute significantly to the altruistic behaviour of its members. They [may] also reduce the preoccupation of their members with the violence".⁽³⁶⁾ Feminist organizations (such as Rape Crisis Centres and Sexual Assault Support Centres) as well as programs within the community (settlement agencies, Community Resource Centres) have employed this method for other newcomer groups and women in crisis. We encourage contact with such organizations in order to maximize the efforts in establishing a framework within which there is an integrated approach to the issue.

Part 2 of Framework: Specific Aspects

1. Based on our consultation with the Bosnian refugee women in Ottawa, concerns were expressed over any discussion revolving around personal experiences during the Bosnian conflict.⁽³⁷⁾ Respecting the limits of interaction during counselling is of upmost importance, in that, after any form of violation, feelings of degradation and loss of self-esteem and respect are at the root of women's reluctance to speak of their experiences. Respecting their requests will serve to assist the women in the process of feeling they once again have some control over aspects of their lives.

2. The definition of rape and the conceptualization of sexuality differ depending upon one's ethno-cultural community. Questions asked within the counselling sessions need to be culturally sensitive, especially in the area of how sexuality is conceived of within the Bosnian Muslim society. It is suggested by several researchers that questions be framed in a general and non-threatening manner. For example, 'it is like this in our society...can you tell me how it is in yours'.⁽³⁸⁾

3. General and open-ended questions are recommended during the initial stages of counselling. Detailed and specific questions about their experiences may increase women's stress, especially if there are events they are not yet prepared to speak about. The early sessions may actually unfold as "storytelling" in which the woman will speak to many issues without discussing any personal experiences. Such stories may be related in the third person until they are prepared and have established a trust with their counsellor.

Women's "stories" will not only reveal the traumatic episode(s) but also contain:

Storytelling may be used as a form of testimony about what they have seen or experienced. There are often various versions of the story.

4. In order to render initial counselling sessions meaningful and relevant for women, torture and rape and its consequences need to be contextualized within Bosnian culture. This is often referred to as the re-framing process. Re-framing refers the process of de-individualizing the violence from the woman who has been raped and re-contextualizing it in the context of the present war and the strategy of Serbian "ethnic cleansing". In this way, new meaning is given to the traumatic experience of rape and violence. The main intent of re-framing is to assist the woman in the process of restoring her human dignity. The main purpose of therapy is to facilitate the empowerment of women to re-gain the feeling of having some control over aspects of their lives.

Conclusions and Recommendations

One of the major recommendations in UNHCR's Report on Situation of Women and Children in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia⁽⁴⁰⁾ refers to the resettlement of women survivors of extreme sexual violence:

The Resettlement Officer will discuss the option of resettlement with the Social Services Officers, as a possibility for very specific cases for which she will develop some criteria. Resettlement countries must be informed that in the event they are asked to accept these cases, that extensive support systems will have to be in place to facilitate integration.

Canada, as a recognized country of resettlement, has a responsibility to ensure that proactive measures are taken to establish services appropriate to Bosnian women refugees in Canada. However, in order to create the support systems which UNHCR deems necessary to facilitate the integration of women survivors of sexual violence, specific services must be implemented. Therefore, we recommend:

i) That, as the extent of the consequences of "ethnic cleansing" upon the psycho-social health of Bosnian Muslim women is yet undetermined, a consultation group be formed for the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the issues relevant to the Bosnian situation and establishing linkages with individuals and organizations including: members of the Bosnian communities in Canada, mental health practitioners, psychiatrists, settlement agencies, women's organizations and researchers informed in this area.

ii) That, following from recommendation (i), the consultation group can best work in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture⁽⁴¹⁾, an organization based in Toronto which has developed a mutual support model for newcomers to Canada who have survived torture and abuse.

iii) That, existing community training models can be considered for possible use in the development of an training package for social workers, ESL teachers, counsellors and others who come into contact with the Bosnian refugee women. The training package developed by the Community Resource Centre of Kanata, Goulbourne and West Carleton⁽⁴²⁾ is one which deserves closer examination. In assessing the viability of training packages for professional counsellors, the following aspects, among others, should be included: cross-cultural training seminars, a briefing on the political situation in Bosnia, gender-specific empowerment models of counselling, and training in general areas of rape and sexual violence against women.

iv) That contact be made with persons from the Bosnian Muslim community residing in Canada who can be trained in the area of providing assistance in the area of violence against women and counselling methods. Their initial task would entail establishing contact with the Bosnian refugee women and acting as primary support workers in the counselling process. Members of the Croatian community could assist in certain circumstances. However, other interested ethno-cultural or religious groups who do not speak Bosnian would not have the community contact and communication skills necessary to facilitate the healing and support process.

v) That, the existing government sponsored Host Program be utilized to match the Bosnian refugee families with suitable Canadian counter-parts and care be exercised in matching hosts and families in terms of gender, race, class and family status.

vi) That the Provincial government encourage other provinces in Canada to consider community mobilization in this area. The areas where the Bosnian refugees have been settled are known and local and national community resources can be utilized to meet the immediate and long-term needs of the women of the community.

vii) That consideration be given to planning in conjunction with the Federal Department of Immigration, Settlement Branch and possibly Multiculturalism, the feasibility of a national study to coordinate services throughout the country. Specifics of a project with this national scope would need to be worked out in consultation with members of various community organizations in each province, members of the Bosnian community in Canada and professionals working in the area of torture, sexual violence, rape and the training of counsellors.

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Refugee Reports, Civilians, Humanitarian Assistance Still Held Hostage in Bosnia. Vol. XIV, No. 2, Feb, 1993.

Scroggins, Deborah, "Views on Rape" in The Globe and Mail. January 20, 1993

Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, The Ethnic Cleansing of Bosnia-Hercegovina. U.S. Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C., 1992.

Todd, Dave, "Hunger as Deadly as Shelling" in The Ottawa Citizen, Saturday, Feb. 13, 1993.

Todd, Dave, "Cracking Down on War Crimes" in The Ottawa Citizen, Saturday, February 13. 1993.

Toronto Rape Crisis Centre, "Rape", in Violence Against Women. Connie Guberman and Margie Wolfe (eds), Women's Press, Toronto: Canada, 1985.

UNHCR, Rape Victims in the Former Yugoslavia. INSCAN Vol.6 No.4, 1993, Research Resource Division for Refugees, Ottawa, Ontario 1993.

UNHCR, Information Notes on Former Yugoslavia. Office of the Special Envoy for Former Yugoslavia, March 2, 1993.

UNHCR, Report on Situation of Women and Children in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Special Operations for Former Yugoslavia, Feb, 1993.

UNHCR, Guidelines on the Protection of Refugees Women. Geneva, July 1991

Women Living Under Muslim Laws, Compilation of Information on Crimes of War Against Women in Ex-Yugoslavia. International Solidarity Network: WLUML, December 3, 1992.

Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, Annual Report 1992. Washington, D.C. 1993.

Part II: Bosnia-Herzegovina: Cultural Profile

Origin of Yugoslav Muslims

There is some controversy as to whether Bosnian Muslims descended from the Croats or Serbs, from Christian heretical groups such as the Bogomiles, from Turks, or from a combination of all of the above. The traditionally accepted thesis is that the majority of ethnic Muslims are descended from the Bogomiles of the medieval Bosnian state. Persecuted by both Orthodox and Catholics, the Bogomiles gradually embraced Islam after complete Ottoman conquest, 1463 in Bosnia and 1481 in Herzegovina.⁽⁴⁵⁾ Two Muslim groups became identifiable during the Ottoman rule: the Muslim landowning elite who became known as spahis or begovi and age⁽⁴⁶⁾  and the Muslim peasants or balije, who retained their freedom form serfdom upon conversion.⁽⁴⁷⁾

The 1878 Austro-Hungarian census recorded some 77,000 free Muslim peasants and 6,000 Muslim aristocrats, who ruled over 85,000 serfs or kmets, of whom two-thirds were Serbian.⁽⁴⁸⁾ Differentiation between Muslims and Christians rested upon the Turkish millet system of administration through religious community wherein Bosnian Muslims were under the authority of the Turkish Sultanate and Turkish Sheriat Law and other religious groups under their own ecclesiastical authorities.⁽⁴⁹⁾

The majority of urban dwellers were Muslims, both elite and lower class. The majority of the latter were artisans and craftsmen.⁽⁵⁰⁾ Between 1919 and 1941 when the Yugoslav state was dominated by Serbs, Muslims found themselves in a precarious political situation facing increasing persecution. This prompted many to emigrate to Turkey, while those who remained "turned inward seeking the protection of [their] privilege and the preservation of [their] faith".⁽⁵¹⁾

However after 1918, land reforms eroded their basis for privilege. Under the principle of "the land to those who work it", Muslim landowners suffered total expropriation (with compensation). Some stayed on as agricultural labourers; most moved into towns and villages taking up small shopkeeping and trades/crafts. Of the latter, many took advantage of previous educational opportunities enabling them to take up professional, administrative and bureaucratic positions. Many of those previously retained by Muslims landlords--the overseers, grooms, stable boys and domestic servants--became the working class, or were forced into crime. A small number of entrepreneurs, some of whom were landlords, still "retained a significant share of the ownership of industry".⁽⁵²⁾ By the mid 1950s the majority of Muslims lived in small urban centres.

Economic Conditions

1. Rural-Urban Shift

Bosnia is characterized by low levels of urbanization relative to its neighbouring republics and a decentralized model of urbanization.⁽⁵³⁾ As late as 1971, two-thirds of Bosnia's population resided in settlements with less than 2000 inhabitants.⁽⁵⁴⁾ Bosnia was officially declared "underdeveloped" in 1958, and many of its social and economic conditions are consistent with that designation. However, since 1971, it has undergone significant industrialization; the urban population tripled, while the agricultural population declined from 60 to only 20 percent.⁽⁵⁵⁾ Where Sarajevo, with a population of 525,980 in 1991, was once the only major urban centre, prior to the outbreak of civil war it was being rivalled by the cities of Banja Luka (pop. 195,139) and Mostar (pop. 126,000).⁽⁵⁶⁾

Bosnian life exists along a continuum from the more traditional to the more modern, giving rise to varying rural and urban realities.⁽⁵⁷⁾ Urban life, characterized at one extreme by Sarajevo, Bosnia's largest city, is typical of European urban life, the western experience, made somewhat more difficult by the shortages and exigencies common to a region previously under communist rule.

2. Education

Primary education in Bosnia is compulsory, secondary only until the age of 14. In remote rural areas, peasants did not always see any benefit of schooling for those destined to be agricultural workers, but few were kept away from school.⁽⁵⁸⁾ Although the norm in urban centres is to finish high school, the quality of primary and secondary schooling is considered characteristic of an underdeveloped region and stands at about fifth or sixth below average (that is in a list of six regions).⁽⁵⁹⁾ College and university education is free but available only to those with the means to pay for their children's room and board, and/or transportation costs and books.

3. Economy and Occupation

The per capita income in Bosnia is a third lower than the average for the whole of Yugoslavia.⁽⁶⁰⁾ Because of the proximity of rural areas and larger urban centres, there is no definitive line between rural and urban occupations. One can live in smaller areas and commute to work in larger towns. Similarly rural and urban economies shade into each other. Large factories have been built in small villages, providing an essentially urban occupation in a rural setting, at the same time promoting growth into more urban centres.

3.1. Rural Economy and Occupation

Bosnia's rural economy is based on herding and agriculture, although Muslims are generally under represented in the agricultural sector.⁽⁶¹⁾ Because of the small size of land holdings much agricultural production is subsistence; surplus products are marketed throughout Bosnia in market towns that serve their surrounding areas. The most important crops are grain, cabbage, potatoes, onions, beans, squash, and pazija (a green, spinach-like vegetable) with fruit and tobacco grown in some valleys.⁽⁶²⁾ In the more isolated regions, technology is simple--manpower, animals and simple machinery is the norm. More demanding jobs, such as hay cutting, or hauling hay or wood into villages, can be tackled cooperatively, through work groups called mobe.⁽⁶³⁾ Livestock consists of sheep, important for wool and milk, dairy cows, oxen, work and riding horses, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys and guinea fowl.⁽⁶⁴⁾ While not all families have herds of sheep, all but the very poorest have at least one milk cow for family use. Poultry are tended by women and any money realized usually remains with them.

3.2. Urban Occupations

3.3. Muslim Women in the Labour Force

Muslim women generally have lower labour force participation rates than other groups.⁽⁶⁷⁾ This is in part due to the traditional emphasis on homemaking, but also because there is a shortage of work for women in Bosnia as an under developed region.⁽⁶⁸⁾

In rural areas, women contribute to the household economy by raising poultry, keeping bees, processing flax, spinning and preparing wool, weaving and so forth, which frequently goes unrecorded in official statistics. Rural areas subscribe to a strong work ethic, wherein to sit idle is a disgrace. As such, traditional women's work--spinning, preparing wool, embroidering, sewing, knitting--goes on even during visits to relatives.⁽⁶⁹⁾ Younger unmarried women sometimes formed cooperative work groups to help households without women, attending to jobs like whitewashing homes, digging potatoes or processing flax with a meal as payment.⁽⁷⁰⁾ They were also hired in the summer months by the government forestry division to plant trees.⁽⁷¹⁾ During long winter months, they wove rugs, considered a tedious and boring job when done alone, but skill and speed in weaving was greatly valued in a potential wife.⁽⁷²⁾ More recently, women have been drawn into the service and factory sector, particular in industrialized centres.

Social and Cultural Relations

1. Language

As a result of the Ottoman conquest, all Yugoslav languages contain Turkisms, particularly in the Muslim areas. Bosnians speak Bosnian, previously called Serbo-Croatian, but to call their langauge Serbo-Croatian today is considered insulting. For the most part, distinctions between urban nationalities, such as in the largest Bosnian city, Sarajevo, are minimal. Mira Khattab, a Croatian Muslim who provided assistance to Bosnian refugees in late 1992, notes that Bosnian dialects differ from village to village.⁽⁷³⁾ Dialects shift according to the proximity to Serbia, or Serbian populated Bosnian villages, or Croatia or Croatian populated Bosnian villages. Some Muslims claim that they can tell a person's ethnicity by their dialect.⁽⁷⁴⁾ In testimonies made to the US Senate representatives investigating the civil war atrocities in August 1992, many people claimed that they knew their oppressors ethnicity by the way they spoke, including knowing their more specific region of origin. ⁽⁷⁵⁾ These differences in language serve to demarcate the different groups, or what some Bosnians call nacija, literally nation, but today expressed as religion.⁽⁷⁶⁾

2. Kinship and the Family

In rural areas, the basic unit is the nuclear household or kuca, with its own sleeping quarters. Traditionally, throughout Yugoslavia households were organized into extended family units or zadruga.⁽⁷⁷⁾ Although the zadruga has declined, Simi´⁽⁷⁸⁾ suggests that:

the mentality associated with these earlier forms of social organizations has survived essentially intact, [particularly] the system of intense, reciprocal ties linking family members and kin.

As such, kinship bonds providing a network of help and affection continue to be important in both rural and urban areas. Brother and sisters are especially close, mothers and daughters similarly, even after marriage. Married sons, especially the youngest, frequently live with their fathers, space permitting, and maintain close relations with their mothers. Neighbours are often close kin.⁽⁷⁹⁾

Strong bonds also exist between in-laws or prijateljstvo (literally "friendship"). These are cemented during the first year of marriage through strict codes of behaviour demanding a series of ritual visits, generous gift exchanges and traditional ceremonies. Often the first exchange in marriage is followed by others.⁽⁸⁰⁾ Lockwood suggests that prijateljstvo is more important as an "alliance-forming institution" than kinship, and carries with it "obligations and expectations of reciprocal aid."⁽⁸¹⁾

3. Marriage

Shariat law forbids Muslim women from marrying non-Muslims. Bosnian Muslim women rarely marry non-Muslims, and all Muslims remain highly endogamous.⁽⁸²⁾ In smaller villages, people often marry outside the village to establish a wider kinship network, and, in part due to the influence of the strict kin group exogamy of Yugoslav Christians.⁽⁸³⁾ Polygyny sanctioned under Islam, but rare in Bosnia, was outlawed after World War II.⁽⁸⁴⁾ Divorce is more common among newly weds, but uncommon in long-term marriages, carrying considerable stigma.⁽⁸⁵⁾

3.1. Bride Theft

4.1. Husband/Wife Relations

Public displays of affection between husbands and wives have been reported as rare in more remote villages, although relations are said to be gradually becoming more relaxed.⁽⁹⁰⁾ Simic notes that although Bosnia's urbanization brought courting and marital relations under the western influence of "increased freedom to choose one's mate...the advent of dating-like behaviour and a growing ideology of sexual freedom", male/female relations were still described as somewhat distant. They did, however, tend to improve with age, "as men lose much of the aggressiveness and vitality that is valued in a machistic society, and women experience a parallel decline in sexual attractiveness."⁽⁹¹⁾

4.2. Male/Female Relations

Yugoslavia is characterized as a traditional male dominant society. Women rarely look to men for emotional support but seek the company of other women, either kin or neighbours, or through local folkloric groups, meeting together at a coffee-gatherings or prelo.⁽⁹²⁾

The animosity between men and women is displayed in traditional folksongs.⁽⁹³⁾ Although once very popular, singing declined as commercialized music became more readily available. In spite of this decline, the way in which sexuality was treated is somewhat revealing, particularly the use of metaphors, and demands a brief examination.

The courting process of looking and being looked at in isolated mountain towns included insults and teasing in song, often of a sexual nature, sung about and by both the young women and men.⁽⁹⁴⁾

In songs about sexual intercourse, various metaphors were used including "shelf" for shoulders, "jeep", "gun", "sledge hammer", "sesir" (hat) for penis and "garage", and "boat" for vagina, and "operating", "wintering", "driving", and "firing" (as in a gun) for intercourse. In other songs, a bent arm and clenched fist represented a supernormal phallus thrust as far as it could go, in song usually to the shoulders or lungs. Lockwood suggests that such songs and accompanying gesture were "a hostile sexual insult which symbolically asserts male dominance over female", and hence reinforced the status quo of male dominance and female subordination.

Women rejected this dominance by insulting and rejecting men in song, although this was generally done only in the presence of other women; retaliation in front of men was considered improper. While few of these songs have entered folkloric collections, they constituted an important segment of rural youth culture.⁽⁹⁵⁾ Lockwood suggests that they served as "a substitute for intimate contacts and overstep culture barriers by expressing desires which could not be expressed in speech".

5. Children

Children are a source of joy, cared for by all family members, and pampered until school age when they are expected to help with household chores.⁽⁹⁶⁾ St. Erlich⁽⁹⁷⁾ found that in spite of extreme poverty, children were brought up more gently in Muslim than in Serbian homes. Girls are called dite or curica (little girl) until puberty or approximately fourteen years old and boys are called dite (child) until of army age.⁽⁹⁸⁾ Male children tend to be more valued because they will remain with and continue to contribute to the family household and carry on tradition. Girls are desired in order to help with household chores, and strong mother-daughter bonds exist.⁽⁹⁹⁾

6. Fertility and Birth control

Historically, birth rates have been higher among Yugoslav Muslims than other groups. The rates were highest just after the war, but halved in Bosnia, from 2.38 to 1.08 children born per woman, between 1961 and 1981, consequent to the significant decrease in the agricultural population over the same period.⁽¹⁰⁰⁾ The government inaugurated a system of family planning in 1969, but it was unevenly implemented.⁽¹⁰¹⁾ Abortion is a predominant form of birth control in the former Yugoslavia, including Bosnia, and there is no stigma attached to having this medical procedure.⁽¹⁰²⁾ Women had the right to extensive maternity leave (105 days with pay), to work shorter hours after childbirth and access to an extensive system of health care clinics for women.⁽¹⁰³⁾

7. Mortality

Mortality rate is highest in Bosnia and Kosovo (the two largest Muslim regions.⁽¹⁰⁴⁾ However, Bosnia's infant death rate, often the indication of the degree of economic development of a country, declined from 38.6 per 1000 live births to 18.1 in 1987, compared to 55.2 in Kosovo, 22.4 in Serbia (without Kosovo) and 13.7 in Croatia.⁽¹⁰⁵⁾ Bosnia's maternity death rate also dropped from 45.7 per 100,000 live births in 1975 to 30.9 in 1984.⁽¹⁰⁶⁾

Islamic Relations

1. Religiosity

Bosnian Muslims belong to the Sunni division of Islam, which is represented by about 90 percent of the world Islamic population.⁽¹⁰⁷⁾

The Yugoslav Islamic community was divided into four different administrative regions, one of which, the "Sarajevo Region", consisted of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia and Croatia. The Reis-ul-ulema, the head of the entire Yugoslav Islamic community, operated out of Sarajevo.⁽¹⁰⁸⁾ In spite of the communist stance against religion, Yugoslavia had an active mosque-building program and the Sarajevo Region had over 3000 mosques, some 600 smaller places of worship, 400 places of religious instruction, two madrassahs (centres of learning), and five tekijas (cemeteries).⁽¹⁰⁹⁾ In 1980, over 120,000 children were receiving Islamic religious instruction at the primary school level and Sarajevo's Gazi Husrefbey's Madrassah, which is 450 years old, offered secondary religious instruction.⁽¹¹⁰⁾ There is also an Islamic Theological Faculty in Sarajevo, with a women's department which provides education for Imams.

In spite of the large number of mosques, Bosnian Muslims have not been characterized as devout. Dyker⁽¹¹¹⁾ suggests that "Islam is more of a fatalistic disposition than a clearly defined attitude of man to God." Fatalism, in that one cannot escape one's destiny as ordained by God, is common to both Bosnian Muslims and Christians,⁽¹¹²⁾ but is considered by many to be stronger among Muslims.⁽¹¹³⁾ St. Erlich also found that, the fatalistic attitude gives [Muslims] repose and a special dignity. People believe that fate should be allowed to take its course, without interference. There is a deep-rooted mistrust of the tireless activity of the people in the West. The people under Oriental influence quietly accept things as they come and endure them with equanimity.⁽¹¹⁴⁾

This was manifested, even among the poorest of families, as a more peaceful attitude towards life, a greater enjoyment of available resources, including the environment, a striving for joy and a longing for love, without the proudly "defiant attitude toward personal happiness" characteristic, for example, of the Serbian population.⁽¹¹⁵⁾

Dyker suggests that Islam is most influential in the more remote, economically deprived areas, having declined in urban, particularly industrialized, areas.⁽¹¹⁶⁾

Lockwood's research supports this, however, he contends that:

Relatively little stress is placed upon religious doctrine; much more important are the outward signs and symbols. A man is considered a Moslem, not because he holds to the tenets of Islam, but because he is circumcised or observes Ramazan.⁽¹¹⁷⁾

He found that the inhabitants of Planinica tended to pray daily, though rarely five times--three times daily in winter and twice daily during the summer. Few people ate pork, and alcohol was rarely drunk in rural regions,⁽¹¹⁸⁾ although reports indicate that some urban men, but rarely women, drink a spirit distilled from honey.

The two major Islamic holidays are Kurban-bajram and Ramanzanski Bajram. During Ramazan, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar, one should abstain from eating (prior to sundown), drinking, smoking, gossiping or engaging in sexual intercourse. Special prayers are recited by men at the mosque and women at home and religious sacrifices, such as the slaughter of a lamb, might be made.⁽¹¹⁹⁾

One can assume that in the more urban areas, there is even less religious observance. A 1960s survey by a Sarajevo sociologist determined that 60 percent of the population were "believers", but a "believer" was not clearly defined.⁽¹²⁰⁾ Many private homes were registered as places of worship during the major holidays, but the younger generations rarely attended mosque.

2. Women and Islam

There is no Islamic injunction against women attending mosque, only that they should not openly mix with men, but Bosnian women rarely attend except during the holidays. In smaller centres, this was mainly because smaller mosques did not have a separate room for women. However, even where larger mosques had separate rooms, women were traditionally discouraged from attending.⁽¹²¹⁾ This became an issue in the Islamic community in the mid-1980s and women were encouraged to attend, although the situation has not altered dramatically. However, in 1981, the first woman graduated from the Islamic Theological Faculty, and the first woman Imam was hired in Skopje in 1986.⁽¹²²⁾

While some Muslim countries are increasingly prescribing greater seclusion and other restrictions in dress, occupation, education and so forth for women, this is not followed in Bosnia and seclusion is rare. Similarly, there are no restrictions on Muslim women's dress in Bosnia.⁽¹²³⁾ Only one researcher reports an Islamic revival among younger women in Sarajevo, evidenced by an adoption of Middle Eastern style Islamic dress, that is, "long skirts and headscarves which make them look extraordinarily out of place in a town in which Western style of dress is the general ideal of the young".⁽¹²⁴⁾ Although no researchers mention the actual use of the "veil" or any long headcovering resembling the Iranian chador, for example, the veil was banned by the communist government in 1947.⁽¹²⁵⁾ Elaborate headcoverings traditionally worn by rural Muslims, Serbs and Croats, the style of which varied from village to village, were gradually replaced with simple headscarves.

The traditional outfit for a Bosnian Muslim woman is a baggy trouser or dimije, long-sleeved blouse. Besides being modest, as prescribed by Islam, the dimije, was practical when most cooking was done on the floor. While short-sleeved blouses and skirts and dresses began to replace the dimije in the 1950s, they are still worn by many older women, and by some younger women in their own homes in rural areas and smaller urban centres, and when women go to mosque.⁽¹²⁶⁾ Bosnian women in Ottawa all laughed and were somewhat embarrassed when talking about the dimije.

Muslim Nationalism

Serbia and Croatia have long claimed Muslims as their own kin and sought to annex Bosnia. Previous to the introduction of "Moslem" as a census category in 1961, there was considerable pressure placed on Muslims to declare themselves as either Serbs or Croats.⁽¹²⁷⁾ Historically, there has been considerable switching among Bosnian Muslims as a result, frequently at the bequest of Muslim leaders who wished to align their communities with national forces in positions of power.⁽¹²⁸⁾

Muslim nationalism began to develop in the late 1800s, activated, in part, by bride thefts--predominantly the Christian peasant abduction of a Muslim bride, who then converted. Conversions were explosive events eliciting violent confrontation between Christians and Muslims. When the Muslim elites took up the peasant's cause, it became an issue which mobilized the entire Muslim community in a drive for autonomy.⁽¹²⁹⁾

Austrian authorities expressed bewilderment over the intensity of the Muslim response and attributed it to religious fanaticism, which Donia contends is a misinterpretation.⁽¹³⁰⁾ He argues that Muslims were concerned less about a Muslim bride's spiritual convictions and more about the symbolic value of her defection, perceiving conversions as a threat to group cohesiveness and strength.⁽¹³¹⁾ Donia suggests that because of this misinterpretation, Muslim activism, thereafter, was perceived as "cloaked... in the garb of religious devotion".⁽¹³²⁾

Endnotes

1. Ethnic cleansing in the context of Bosnia is defined as the practice of targeting other religious and ethnic groups, in this case, Croats and Muslim, for persecution, killing, expulsion and imprisonment in order to rid parts of Bosnia of non-Serb populations.

2. It is estimated that approximately 340,000 crossed into Croatia as of the winter of 1992. Tom Argent, Croatia's Crucible, U.S. Committee for Refugees Issue Paper, October 1992.

3. United States, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The Ethnic Cleansing of Bosnia-Hercegovina, Washington: US Printing Office, 1992, p. 1, 21.

4. Most cities have settlement agencies which offer temporary housing and an orientation program to facilitate the integration process.

5. RRDR consulted with Dr. Fersada Bajramovic, president of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Medical Relief Fund. The Medical Relief Fund is officially recognized by both the Canadian and Bosnian governments. It's primary goal is to collect donations and medical supplies in Canada for shipment to Bosnia.

6. RRDR also consulted with Amina Adams and Selma Ferhatbegovic from the Bosnia-Herzegovina Information Centre. The Information Centre is a national organization which is politically orientated and acts to pressure the Canadian government to adopt a stronger stand against the Serbian aggression in Bosnia.

7. Of the eight women in Ottawa, six agreed to participate in the focus group. Two other women from the community participated as translators and interpreters during the session.

8. Canadian contacts include: Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture, Education Wife Assault, Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre, Interval House of Ottawa-Carleton, Kanata Community Centre, Family Service Centre, Immigrant and Visible Minority Women Against Abuse, Voice of Women, Canadian Council of Muslim Women, Women's Urgent Action, Women Living Under Muslim Laws, Changing Together Immigrant Women's Centre, Settlement Branch of Immigration Department and the UNHCR.

American contacts include: Women's Commission on Refugee Women and Children, International Rescue Committee, King County Sexual Assault Resource Centre, Refugee Policy Group and MS. Magazine.

9. UNHCR, "Rape Victims in Former Yugoslavia: UNHCR Briefing Notes", INSCAN Vol.6, No.4, Research Resource Division for Refugees: Carleton University, Ottawa, 1993.

10. Most Serbian paramilitary groups are identified generally as Cetniks. Originally it referred to the royalist anti-communist Serbian guerillas in the second world war. This term is often used pejoratively by Croats and Muslims to refer to Serbian fighters.

11. This is a common term used to define a Serbian nationalist. Arkan is a pseudo-name for Zeljko Raznjatovic, a member of the Serbian Parliament in Kosovo. He is best known for his work as a mercenary in France before the war in Yugoslavia. Once the war began, he formed the paramilitary group Beli Tigrovi (Fiery Calvary). Arkan therefore is the common term used for para-military troops who follow his organization. Unites States, p. 6.

12. The literal translation is Mermaid Hair.

13. The literal translation is Fire Horses.

14. The literal translation is White Eagles.

15. Quotes are taken from Nina Kadic, "Dispatches from Bosnia and Herzegovina: Young Survivors Testify to Systematic Rape", MS. Magazine, Vol.3 no. 4., 1993 p.12-13; and Laura Pitter and Alexandra Stigimayer, "Will the World remember: Can the Women Forget?", MS. Magazine, Vol.3 no.5, 1993 p.19-21.

16. Roy Gutman, "Victims Angry, Ashamed" in New York Newsday, Sunday August 23, 1992.

17. Carol Williams, "Balkan War Rape Victims: Traumatized and Ignored" in The Los Angeles Times, Monday November 30, 1992.

18. George Rodrique, "Women: The Targets of Terror" in The Gazette Monday, November 23, 1992, Montreal, Canada.

19. Catherine O'Neill Balkan Trail of Tears; on the Edge of Catastrophe. Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children: Delegation to Former Yugoslavia. New York September 1992. p.6

20. Toronto Rape Crisis Centre, "Rape" in No Safe Place, Women's Press: Canada, 1985. p.62.

21. Lance Morrow, "Unspeakable" in TIME Magazine. February 22, 1993 p. 28. Dr. Mollica is the director of the refugee-trauma program of the Harvard School of Public Health.

22. Ibid.

23. Historically, traditional mental health institutions and practitioners have disempowered women and further stigmatized victims to believe there was something "wrong" with them. However, much work has been done by feminist and women's organization in terms of education within these institutions.

24. Taken from F. Allodi and Stiasny, "Women as Torture Victims" in Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Vol.35 March 1990. p.145.

25. Inger Agger and Soren Jensen, "The Psycho-Sexual Trauma of Torture" in the International Handbook of Traumatic Stress Syndromes edited by John Wilson and Beverley Raphael. Plenum Press, New York, 1993, p.686.

26. Amnesty International, Bosnia-Herzegovina: Rape and Sexual Abuse by Armed Forces. London: Great Britain, January 1993 p.1.

27. Ibid.

28. Inger Agger and Soren Jensen, International Handbook of Traumatic Stress Syndromes p.686.

29. Inger Agger, The Female Political Prisoner: A Victim of Sexual Torture. Feminist Research Centre, Aalborg University, Paper presented at the International Academy of Sex Research, 13th Annual Meeting, Germany 1987.

30. UNHCR, Report on the Situation of Women and Children in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Geneva, Feb. 10, 1993.

31. The remaining 17 families were unable to travel at the time of departure due to poor health and advanced pregnancies. They are expected to arrive in Canada within the next several months.

32. Amnesty International, Bosnia-Herzegovina: Rape and Sexual Abuse by Armed Forces. January 1993. p.9.

33. Although Bosnia has an extensive system of social services centres, they are unequally distributed throughout the country and specifically lacking in rural and isolated areas. Becan Aleskan, "Social Work Centres", Yugoslav Survey 28(1), 1987, p. 128.

34. For further information, much can be learned from the Indochinese Psychiatry Clinic founded in 1983 in the United States by Dr. Richard Mollica. A detailed write up can be found in Scientific American 1985 Issue.

35. For a good reference on the subject we recommend Trauma and It's Wake by Dr. Scurfield in which a review of the various range of treatments for post-traumatic symptoms is offered.

36. Richard Mollica, Post-Traumatic Therapy and Victims of Violence. p.299.

37. They did not wish to be asked any questions which would directly relate to their experiences in the detention camp. After assuring them that the discussion would be kept on a general level and that they had the option of choosing the topics of discussion, the session began in earnest. Their willingness to speak after such assurances resulted in the discussion becoming both lively and more relaxed. Not only did the women feel to be in control over the session but also felt their needs and boundaries were being respected.

38. Agger, International Handbook of Traumatic Stress Syndromes p.688.

39. Richard Mollica, "Refugee Survivors of Violence and Torture" in Post-Traumatic Therapy and Victims of Violence, ed. Ochberg, Brunmer and Mazel: New York 1988. p.306.

40. UNHCR, Report on the Situation of Women and Children, p. 4.

41. The Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture can be reached at: 40 Westmoreland Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6H 2Z7, Tel: (416)516-2977, Fax: (416)516-4180, Contact Person: Ms. Faduma Jama Dirie.

42. The Community Resource Centre for Kanata, Goulbourne and West Carleton can be reached at: 150 Katimavik Road-2nd Floor, Kanata, Ontario, K2L 2N2, Tel:(613) 591-3686, Fax:(613) 591-2501, Contact Persons: Valerie Davis and Kym Martin.

43. Bosnia has always been identified as one of the most heterogeneous areas in the Balkans and "the least able to develop a territorially based national identity", Zachary T. Irwin , "The Islamic Revival and the Muslims of Bosnia-Hercegovina", East European Quarterly, 17(4), January 1984, p.438).

44. However, thee is very little recent English material about their cultural life since the country's rapid urbanization after 1971. The two major analyses are Verna St. Erlich's 1939-1941 survey of 300 Yugoslav villages including some 70 in Bosnia (Verna St. Erlich, Family in Transition, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966), and William Lockwood's 1968-1969 study of three villages and their market town in a remote section of central Bosnia (William Lockwood, European Moslems: Economy and Ethnicity in Western Bosnia. New York: Academic Press, 1975). Both are somewhat out of date and Lockwood cautions that his study should not be generalized to less remote Bosnian Muslim centres. There also appears to have been little written by European writers, as evidenced by more recent analyses. (For example, Sabrina Ramet, Nationalism and Federalism in Yugoslavia, 1962 -1991. Bloomington: Indians University Press, 1992 (second edition). (Although there are references to two Ramets in the bibliography, they are in fact the same person with the first name changed after 1990.) Part of this could stem from the fact that, in spite of their large numbers in Bosnia-Herzegovina, ethnic Muslims represented only approximately two percent of Yugoslavia's overall population. As a confessional community, Muslims represented some 16 percent of the former Yugoslavia's population. This figure included Muslims of Romany, Croatian, Turkish, Albanian, Montenegran, and Macedonian descent, who would declare themselves as such on the census (Ramet, 1990:227). Settled gypsies or "white gypsies are also Muslim and unlike the travelling gypsies would probably declare themselves ethnic Muslim, where their travelling counterpart would not (Lockwood, 1975, p. 30).

45. Irwin, 1984, p. 438; East European Reporter, "You Get Used to War: Interview with Rasim Kadic", 5(5) September/October 1992,, p. 320; Zoran Batusic,"E Pluribus Unim", East European Reporter, 5(2), March-April 1992, p. 22.

46. Lockwood notes for example of a family in the village of Planinica in the region of Bosnia whose name Muratspahic who claims descendence from a Dalmatian man named Murat who in recognition of heroic deeds against Christian invaders was given the title "spahija" by the Sultan and a choice of any land in the Ottoman empire (Y. Lockwood, 1983:10).

47. Irwin, 1984, p. 438. Another much smaller percentage were drawn from the levy (devshirme) of Christian boys into Ottoman service (ibid.). The begovi lived more in the manner of grand Islam, economically and religiously, while the balije followed a more populist interpretation of Islam: "a mixture of Islamic, Christianized pagan, Christian and heretical Christian elements". As such, the begovi and Muslim religious intelligentsia did not accept the Muslim peasantry as equals. Peasants turned occasionally to the Muslim elite to defend their faith and some patron-client relationships were formed, but both groups were very much aware of status differences (W. Lockwood, 1975, p. 26).

48. Irwin, 1984, p. 438; Donia, 1981, p. 4.

Christians were not normally allowed to keep serfs hence they were few Serbian landlords under Ottoman rule, (Donia, 1981:4). This changed under Austrian rule and by 1910 there were 900 Bosnian Christians (633 Serbian Orthodox and 267 Catholics) who owned land with kmets (Donia, 1981, p. 7).

49. Irwin, 1984, p. 438; Lockwood, 1975, p. 26.

50. Donia, 1981, p. 5. Dyker (1972, p. 239) suggests that the tendency for Muslims to favour urban living contributed to the drop in their majority by the nineteenth century in that urban centres were most susceptible to the plagues that regularly swept through Bosnia.

51. Dennison Rusinow, "Yugoslavia's Muslim Nation", Universities Field Staff International Reports, No.8, 1982., p. 2. The Bosnian colony in Turkey is estimated to be about 800,000, almost half of the pre-civil war Bosnian Muslims population. Irwin, p. 469.

52. David A. Dyker,"The Ethnic Muslims of Bosnia: Some Basic Socio-Economic Data", Slavonic and Eastern European Review, 50(19), April, 1972, p. 247-248. Industries include such things as mills, gypsum, barite and iron ore mines, sawmills of varying sizes, (Lockwood, 1975, p. .

53. As the far western region of the Ottoman Empire and later the far eastern region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bosnia was never slated for significant economic development.

54. Goràn Milicevic, "Postwar Trends in Urbanization", Yugoslav Survey, 32(1), 1991, p. 110.

55. Ibid, p. 110-111.

56. Milicevic, 1991, p. 110; Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States 1992, p. 320.

57. W. Lockwood (p. 201) suggests there are differences between townspeople and peasants, between highland peasants and lowland peasants and even between inhabitants of individual villages and those of various groups of villages.

58. Y. Lockwood, 1983.

59. Milicevic, 1991, p. 110.

60. Milicevic, 1991:110

61. Dyker, 1972 p. 243.

62. Y. Lockwood, 1983:21; Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States 1992:322.

63. Y.Lockwood, 1983, p. 21.

64. Goats had been banned in some areas after World War II to protect lumber resources. While some of the poorer families could not afford a cow, all could afford to keep goats and this prohibition has hit them the hardest (W. Lockwood, 1975:85).In some regions in the spring, non-sheep stock from many villages (Serb, Croatian and Muslim) were traditionally combined and pastured together in highland areas to let sheep pasture closer to the main villages. Cats and dogs are also kept, the latter of which are pampered and a source of pride, unlike most Muslim cultures where dogs are reviled (W. Lockwood, 1975, p. 91).

65. Y. Lockwood, 1983, pp. 22, 53.

66. The Turks introduced a number of new trades and a number of trades are still described by words that are oriental in origin such as that for goldsmith, rugmaker and furrier (Dyker, 1972, p. 239). Muslims might prevail in certain occupations in some towns, but this varies regionally and historically. The only occupation that appears specific to a particular group is metalworking--tinsmith and so forth--which tends to be carried out by settled gypsies, who are also ethnic Muslims.

67. Dyer, 1972, p. 256.

68. Women in our focus group suggested that there was no need for them to work after they were married. Of the six women none worked although all but one listed a profession, such as hairdresser, factory worker, lab technician. A number had been looking for work and were collecting some form of social assistance, maternity, unemployment or other benefits, at the outbreak of the war.

69. Y. Lockwood, 1983, p. 31.

70. Y. Lockwood, 1983, p. 21.

71. Y.Lockwood, 1983, p. 32.

72. Y. Lockwood, 1983, pp. 45, 73.

73. Mira Khattab, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Women's Rights as Human Rights, panel presentation, University of Ottawa, March 10, 1993.

74. Dyker, 1972, p. 243.

75. Peter W. Galbraith and Michelle Maynard, Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia-Hercogovina. United States Congress Committee for Foreign Relations. 1992. Also note, W. Lockwood's (p. 52) respondents claimed that Christians do not, indeed cannot, pronounce the letter h.

76. W. Lockwood, 1975, p. 53.

77. Janac, 1985, p. 219. Unlike the Serbian clan groups, rural Muslims tended to be less aware of specific lineages (Lockwood, 1975, p. 75).

78. Andrei Simic, "Machismo and Cryptomatriarchy: Power, Affect, and Authority in the Contemporary Yugoslav Family", Ethos 11(1-2) spring-summer, 1983, p. 70.

79. Y.Lockwood, 1983, pp. 16-17; St. Erlich, 1966, pp. 98, 141; Simi´, 1983, pp. 77-78. This was confirmed by the Bosnian women focus group (RRDR, 1993).

80. Y.Lockwood, 1983, p. 18.

81. Ibid. p. 79.

82. Y. Lockwood, 1983, p. 19; W. Lockwood, 1975, p. 75; Ruza Petrovic, "The Ethnic Identity of Parents and Children", Yugoslav Survey, 32(2), 1991, p. 66. Petrovic reports that in 1990 only about three percent of Yugoslav Muslim marriage registrations indicated exogamy. However, patrilineal parallel cousin marriage, as preferred in many Islamic countries, is uncommon today although was practised by the nineteenth and early twentieth century Muslim aristocracy. W. Lockwood, 1975, pp. 75-77.

83. Y. Lockwood, 1983, p. 19; W. Lockwood, 1975, p. 77.

84. Lockwood, 1975, p. 64.

85. Sorabji, 1988, p. 334.

86. Traditionally, after an elopement, the bride's mother and brother displayed great anger at the "abduction" (Y.Lockwood, 1983, p. 17), while the groom's family engaged in extended celebrations (Y. Lockwood, 1983, pp. 20,67-69). On the sixth day a civil service was performed, the marriage registered with the local religious leader, and a wedding feast held. Celebrations culminated on the seventh day with a pir, a huge party attended by friends and relatives of the groom (Y. Lockwood, 1983, p. 21). Relations with the bride's family were established after the marriage.

87. Y. Lockwood, 1983, pp. 17,67; St. Erlich, 1966, p. 202. Although, carried out in other parts of Yugoslavia, St. Erlich (1966:202) characterizes Bosnia as the "original home of otmica".

88. W. Lockwood, 1975, p. 67.

Moreover, Islamic mehr or dower, paid by the groom to his bride, and the traditional dowry, paid by the bride's family to the groom, are rarely paid today, although mehr was traditional among more well-to-do Muslims. The payment of mehr among Muslims is stipulated in Shariat law and is intended to act a s a deterrent to divorce. Under Islamic law, the groom's family should give the mehr to the bride, which becomes her property and is considered a provision for her in case of divorce. Known as bride price in Yugoslavia, it varied among Muslims in Erlich's 1939 study because of their poverty (pp. 198-199).

She indicates that the dowry system common to Serbs and Croats, wherein the bride's family gives a sum of money or goods to the groom, was also not as common among Bosnian Muslims. Women were more likely to bring clothing and household goods to the new marriage, either as part of her trousseau or her dowry from her parents, which was more common to Islamic countries but not prescribed under Islamic law. A Muslim daughter's family inheritance, one-quarter to three-quarters of the estate depending upon classification under Sheriat law, was frequently considered her dower and often given to her when she married in place of a later inheritance (p. 210).

89. Y. Lockwood, 1983, p. 58.

90. Y.Lockwood, 1984, p. 16. When men leave to take up employment outside the region or the country, women enjoy their freedom from conjugal demands, cooking, and so forth. However, there is also a concern that the husband will not return. Traditionally, in the zadruga, letters were sent to one's father and mother, sometimes a sister or brother, but rarely the wife during such absences (Y. Lockwood, 1983, pp. 17, 53-54).

91. Ibid., pp.74-75.

92. From the Serbo-Croatian for spinning bee, a prelo refers to many types of social visiting, including a simple coffee gathering (women rarely make coffee for themselves). While prelos occur all year long, in rural areas, they were much more frequent over winter (Y.Lockwood, 1983:31).

93. Yvonne Lockwood's 1966 to 1968 study of Bosnian Muslim folksongs indicates the extensive role which song played in the life of the more isolated mountain villages, appropriate for almost any occasion from signalling the end of a workday in the fields to courting. Although, women and men of all ages sang, married women rarely led a song before men, in that it is very much part of a courtship ritual and unseemly for married women to participate. Singing is not common to most Muslim communities, and in many is forbidden or at least actively discouraged. More than simply a form of entertainment, the dynamism of local songs spoke to the immediate concerns of villagers, giving voice to the changing reality in rural life and reconciling past with present. Popular also in urban centres, the radio, records and other audio-visual technology subverted original lyrics which were more relevant to women and relegated singing to folkloric events. Yvonne Lockwood, Text and Context: Folksong in a Bosnian Muslim Village, Columbus, Ohio: Slavica Publishers, 1983, pp. 32-33, 35-36, 57.

94. Source for this section is Y. Lockwood, 1983:57, 48-50, 70,137-138. Wedding songs use metaphors like "bird in flight" for the groom's pursuit of the bride and "fading flower" for the bride's loss of virginity. Lockwood found other songs related to the tradition among married Muslim women of shaving their pubic hair (although this is not written of as common to Muslim women in general), which like male circumcision, signals a difference between Christians and Muslims. Some songs insulted young women about the presence of pubic hair which indicated they were not yet sexually active (pp. 48, 70).

95. It was not possible to discover any such comparative analysis seems to be available for urban culture or more contemporary rural youth culture.

96. Y.Lockwood, 1983, p.18. Traditionally babies were firmly swaddled to ensure a straight back and limbs and kept in cradles, soothed by rocking and singing.

97. Ibid., p.83.

98. Y.Lockwood, 1983, p. 190.

99. Y. Lockwood, 1983, pp.18-19.

100. Milicevi´, 1991, p. 110.

101. Rasevic, 1990, p. 101.

102. Rasevic, 1990, p.103; RRDR, 1993.

103. Ljubica Basta-Nadaski, "Women's Maternity Health Care and Welfare, 1976-1986", Yugoslav Survey, 20(3), 1988.

104. Rasevic, 1990, p. 100.

105. Basta-Nadaski, 1988, p. 14.

106. Basta-Nadaski, 1988: 150.

107. There has only been mention of one actively practising Islamic sect in Yugoslavia, that of the Community of the Islamic Alia Dervish Monastic Order or dervishes as they are commonly known. It was introduced into Yugoslavia in 1974 and by 1986 had some 50,000 followers with seven monasteries in Bosnia (as compared to 53 in Kosovo). It was ordered to disband by the Yugoslav Islamic community, but Sheikh Jemaly Haxhi-Shehu, the order's senior leader, registered it as a `self-managing organization' to give the order legal protection.

108. Sabrina Ramet,"Islam in Yugoslavia Today", Religion in Communist Lands, 18(3), Autumn, 1990, p. 228. Sarajevo Muslims petitioned the Austrian government in 1878 and 1881 for the creation of a religious hierarchy independent of the Turkish Sultanate. The request was granted and the and the Reis ul-Ulema was appointed in 1882 (Donia, 1981, pp. 46, 183).

109. Ramet, 1990, p. 228.

110. Ramet, 1990, pp. 228-229. The Madrassah's library holdings are quite extensive and include over 1000 original manuscripts in Arabic, Turkish and Persian.

111. 1972, p. 244.

112. Y. Lockwood, 1983, p. 53; St. Erlich, 1966, p. 405.

113. Erlich, 1966, pp. 377-78.

114. Ibid.

115. Ibid, p. 405.

116. Dyker citing Yugoslav sociologist Esad Cimic', 1972, p. 244.

117. Ibid., p. 48.

118. Lockwood found that no one in the village ate pork, but the hired hodza who was a role model to his congregation confided to Lockwood that he had eaten pork and drunk wine in the army so as not to stand apart from his comrades (1975:48). As all young men served army duty, it can be assumed that many were put under similar pressures.

119. Lockwood, 1975: 48. Kurban means a sacrificial offering by which a Muslim seeks purification or cleansing. Standeker (1992:50) reports lamb's being sacrificed for Kurban-bajram in the Vratlic district of Sarajevo, just days before the outbreak of war.

120. Dyker, 1972., p. 243.

121. Ramet, 1990, pp. 233-234.

122. Ramet, 1990, p. 233.

123. When, in rural areas, short-sleeved blouses replaced the long-sleeved ones, although not among married women, believed as prescribed by Islamic law this was readily recognized in song as a transgression of Islamic dress code (Y. Lockwood, 1983, p. 46).

124. Cornelia Sorabji, "Islamic Revival and Marriage in Bosnia", Journal of the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, 9(2), July 1988, p. 335. Adams (1993) reports that most young women in Sarajevo are very modern in their dress.

125. Major Islamic organizations at the time helped implement the ban to maintain their funding (Irwin, 1984:449).

126. When visiting lowland towns, women often lifted the dimije up to the length of urban dresses so as not to appear too backward (Y. Lockwood, 1983, p. 43). One of the Bosnian women refugees to Ottawa remembers her mother doing this; others still wear the dimije at home, particularly when rolling pit, a favourite Bosnian dish (RRDR, 1993).

127. Dyker, 1972, p. 244; Donia, 1981, pp. 184-185. Many Muslims preferred the Yugoslav or undeclared categories which were offered at various periods.

128. Donia (1981:185) contends that Muslims were not politically united into well in to the first decade of the twentieth century and leaders in various towns aligned themselves with whomever it best served the interests of their community. For example, Mostar Muslims aligned themselves with Serbian activists during the first few years of the twentieth century, while Sarajevo Muslims worked with the Austrian authorities. For the most part however, all Muslims were very hesitant in aligning with Serbs.

129. Donia, 1981, pp. 187-188.

130. Ibid., p. 186.

131. Donia (p. 188) describes the symbolic value of the "defection from the cultural traditions of the losing ethnic group...departing the customs of childhood, defying the traditions of endogamy, and embracing a set of cultural norms associated with a rival social group."

132. Ibid.:189.

133. Ramet, 1985, p. 178

134. Irwin, 1984, p. 439.

135. Irwin, 1984, p. 441).

136. Irwin, 1984, p. 439.

137. After adding the category, the communist government still denied that it was dependent on a religious identity (Irwin, 1984, p. 438).

138. Irwin, 1984, pp.443-445.

139. Irwin, 1984, p. 445.

140. Most, if not all, Muslims would object to the emotionally charged subjective meaning given the word "fundamentalism" in the western media. Rather than the terrorist, violent overtones, to most fundamentalism reflects the basics, the foundation of Islam to which all practising Muslims should adhere. The word is used here because, according to Ramet (1990, 1992) that is the charge brought against the counter-revolutionaries.

141. Rusinow, 1985:148.

142. Ramet, 1985, p. 174.

143. Cited in Ramet, 1985, p. 186.

144. One would assume from his name that Izetbegovic' is a descendent of the Muslims aristocracy, that is, the begovi.

145. Ramet, 1992, p. 74; Jonothan Bousfield, "Will the Centre Hold?", East European Reporter, 4, 1991, p.63. A number of the other defendants are considered his "allies" within the Stranka Demokratske Akcije (SDA), Ibid.