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CAA in Action
Project PLEHAN
Plehan Final Report Nov. 16, 2004 (PDF)
The Grocery Store At Plehan, Posavina BiH
In February 2004, at the request of the U.S. Embassy, CAA met in Sarajevo with Plehan parish priest Fra Mirko Filipovic The Fra explained that his parish was among 14 devastated Croatian Catholic parishes located in the Serb occupied area in Posavina region in the hills south of Derventa.
During the war, in 1993-94, Serbian forces conducted genocidal operations throughout the Derventa area. In an effort to drive out Croats and remove all traces of them the Yugoslav Army and its Chetnik auxiliaries turned homes into piles of masonry, blew-up Catholic Churches, and shot-up Croatian cemeteries.
Prior to the war, Croats in this area were primarily involved in agriculture. But, the war left the majority of homes uninhabitable and the infrastructure in ruin.
After the war Croats were slow to move back into the area due to lawlessness and Serbia harassment.
Fra Mirko and his Franciscan brothers led the way for resettlement of the area after rebuilding a destroyed monastery in the center of the Plehan region. A few families followed the Franciscans and began rebuilding homes. Prior to the war nearly 6,000 people lived in the area and so far only about 150 have returned.
At the meeting in Sarajevo Fra Mirko said that among the other problems he had—such as no electricity in the area--the Plehan health clinic and all commercial retail stores had been destroyed. As a result, the Croats who had come back were forced to cram into the Fra’s tired old Volkswagen golf for a long drive to Slovonski Brod in order to buy basic products and seek health care.
Working closely with then US Ambassador Clifford Bond, CAA moved to aid Plehan. Using money donated by the State Department and the Croatian Catholic Charities reconstruction of the clinic began. Ambassador Bond used his influence and USAID to move electricity into Plehan. CAA vice president Stan Raguz took on the responsibility of reopening the Plehan grocery store near the Franciscan monastery.
In Plehan, several locations were considered and the one chosen was in the front of a home rebuilt by a Croat returnee who had business experience.
Stan managed to find vendors capable of bringing the chosen space up to commercial code standards. Next, he enlisted the help of contacts in the Croat communities of BiH and Croatia to locate store fixtures and identify suppliers of retail goods.
Within a month, using a small loan provided by Croatian Catholic Charities in Chicago, Stan had the Plehan grocery store ready for operation, complete with goods, shelving and refrigeration.
At the present time, the Plehan Grocery Store is able to provide for most of the basic needs of the small community. They sell 18-20 loaves of bread every day and trying to stock a few building supplies along with the usual grocery and household items.
Stan Raguz, who invested several months of his own time as well as running the mileage up on his brother’s car, deserves the gratitude of the entire Croatian American community.
Plehan store - before work
Plehan store - work completed
Plehan map
Derventa map
[Click on the map for
larger view]
USAID pole
Plehan ambulanta
Plehan
Plehan is located 9 kilometers south of Derventa in the region known as Bosanska Posavina. Between the cities Doboj and Bosanski Brod there are 14 Roman Catholic parishes, forming a sort of Croatian Catholic enclave in Republika Srpska. These parishes, administered by diocesan and Franciscan priests, include: Foča, Cer, Veliki Prnjavor-Sočanica, Plehan, Kulina, Bukovica, Žeravac, Derventa, Koraće, Novo Selo, Kolibe, Sijekovac-Gornja Močila, Bosanski Brod.
Construction of St. Mark the Evangelist Church in Plehan began on August 8, 1898 and was completed August 7, 1902. The monastery was built November 29, 1932. A Serb air assault destroyed the monastery on June 8, 1992. On July 2, 1992 at 1:45 PM, Serb forces drove a truck with approximately 2 tons of explosives into the church and blew it up. Construction for a new church began in 2001, but due to a lack of funds, only the foundation has been laid.
According to Franciscan archives, prior to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there were approximately 6000 parishioners living within the Plehan Parish. The statistics for 2003 show there are 161. Foča had 3904 before the war; in 2003 it had 117. If we look at all Franciscan-administered parishes in the Plehan region, we can see that the prewar number of 32226 has been drastically reduced to 7920 in 2003. In other words, only ¼ of the population is left!
The United Nations Development Program in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNDP) tells a similar story. According to the UNDP report Evaluation of the Cross-Border Return Process in Posavina Area, “before the war a total of 56,328 persons lived in Derventa municipality, with the following ethnic composition, 40.8% Serbs, 39.1% Croats, 12.6% Bosniak, and 8.5% others. After the war the population had been reduced to a total of approximately 35,000 persons, with… 1% Croats. From 1991 until 2001 the number of minority returns was 2,000 individuals.”
In 2002, UNDP rebuilt around 50 houses in Plehan. The “Cross-Border Return to Posavina” program was funded by the Government of Japan, Government of Croatia, and Government of Republika Srpska.
The UNDP’s report clearly highlights this effort as a successful return project, especially for Croats. Along with food assistance and micro grants, UNDP illustrates that, if properly followed by appropriate actions, this project could constitute a “breakthrough” for Croat returns to the region.
In 2004, the Croatian American Association along with the Croatian Catholic Union (CCU) extended a small-business loan to a local inhabitant of Plehan and one-time refugee to open a general goods store. After a few months of renovating and adapting the site for the future store, goods were delivered and the store began operations July 5, 2004.
Also in 2004, former United States Ambassador Clifford Bond spearheaded an effort to rebuild an ambulanta (health clinic) in Plehan. Funds for this project were provided by the United States Embassy in Sarajevo and the Croatian American Association. Work was carried out by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and local workers. Although there were specific pledges from the Croatian Embassy in Sarajevo as well, funds still have not come through.
The Croatian American Association remains fully committed to the minority refugee return project, specifically, in Plehan, and in general, to all of Republika Srpska. We will continue to provide assistance to and assure the sustained functioning of the general store and ambulanta. We firmly believe that Plehan can serve as a model for minority return in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We would like to sincerely thank all of those who have helped make this project a success.
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Further reading:
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Brian Gallagher’s article Resettling Croats in Posavina.
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Croatian American Association National Treasurer Daniella Sumera 6607 W. Archer Chicago, IL 60638 |
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