The Quiet after the Storm: Croatia's Displaced Serbs

The Croatian war of Independence displaced over 300,000 Serbian Croats between 1991 and 1995. It was towards the end of the war that 200,000 of them were uprooted by a Croatian military offensive known as Operation Storm. This was the single largest displacement of people in Europe since World War Two. Although hailed as an impressive military operation, the majority of those displaced were innocent civilians. Twelve years later people are still trickling back despite the odds in order to reclaim and rebuild lives in their homeland Of the 300,000 ethnic Serbs who fled Croatia during and after the war of Independence, only 120,000 have since returned. However, the actual number of full time returnees is about half that figure as many merely come back to secure their home and then remain in their country of exile, usually Bosnia or Serbia, only visiting Croatia sporadically to check on their property. Many say they are waiting until things improve before they will return, while others are fully resettled, registered citizens in neighbouring countries. In the aftermath of the Balkan wars humanitarian organisations have been working to address the problems faced by thousands of refugees throughout the former Yugolslavia. The Organisation for Security and Administration in Europe (OSCE) and United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) are the two main bodies, along with numerous other NGO’s, involved in the returns process and they have facilitated the return of over 60,000 ethnic Serbs to Croatia. However, with Croatia’s bid to join the EU at the top of the government’s wish list this figure needs to increase drastically over the coming years before they can claim there is unanimous respect for the Serb minorities’ rights, a specific EU requirement. Access to housing is the greatest barrier preventing more returns. In many cases people’s homes have either been destroyed, become dilapidated or have been inhabited by someone else. In addition, many Serbs who enjoyed permanent rights to occupy state apartments had these rights terminated when they fled their homes during the war. The flats were then handed over to displaced Croat citizens or Bosnian refugees. This process of reclaiming a home is arduous, often taking years to fully complete. This body of work follows a number of specific families and individuals who have either managed to return to homes in Croatia or who still remain as refugees in Serbia. Through spending prolonged amounts of time with my subjects I endeavour to reveal the everyday lives of a group of people who have for the most part been forgotten by the world’s media and both the Croatian and Serbian governments alike. The break up of the former Yugoslavia may be nearly complete but the jigsaw of displaced people scattered throughout the region is still an unsolved puzzle. This project has been supported by the Ian Parry Scholarship and BJP/ Nikon Endframe award.