AID: LONG TERM OR SHORT TERM [Main Title]

As aid recipients in Bosnia vent their frustration with dependence on relief aid, some entrepreneurs take matters into their own hands.

Shot of the Bosna riverfront in Sarajevo and of a man riding a bicycle along a city street. Music plays. Interview with Elmer Imamović, a man in glasses. He talks about life in Sarajevo. Shots of the people of Sarajevo, old and young. One man pushes a wheelbarrow full of water containers along the street. Shot pans across the faces of people in a crowd. The narrator, Roy Head, explains that the people of Sarajevo are feeling increasingly frustrated with the lack of long term aid. Aid agencies themselves are unsure whether to continue with emergency relief aid or to begin with long term, redevelopment aid. Is peace a prerequisite for this long term aid? Shots of trams travelling down on of the city's highways and busy streets. In April 1994, with the ceasefire holding, public transport routes and shops were reopened. It seemed like an opportunity for people's lives to return to normal. Interview with Michael Phelps, Chief of Operations, UNHCR Sarajevo, who says that they thought they had a real chance of returning to normal life and distributing long term aid. However the closure of the main roads just a few months later in July stalled these regeneration efforts. Shot of grassy tram lines. Clip of William Eagleton, UN Special Coordinator for Sarajevo, at a meeting. The UN Security Council had given him permission to begin restoring essential services to the city and he is just one aid worker disappointed by the latest turn in events. Interview with Eagleton, who says that though preliminary work had been undertaken, the major work will not now begin until there is lasting peace. Shots of the Sarajevo skyline and damaged buildings. Interview with John Fawcett, an action group manager of the UN Coordinating Office who defends the office against claims that it was set up prematurely. He says that it is hard to judge the right time to establish a body like the Coordinating Office but its existence allows plans to be made for peacetime and if it had been set up in the summer of 1993 then it might have been ready to restore services in the lull of spring 1994. Shots of piles of food aid filling a warehouse. The focus is now supplying humanitarian aid for the coming winter months. Interview with Michael Phelps who says that supplying food is now the aid organisation's highest priority. Some restoration work is going ahead. The UN Coordinating office has overseen a complete survey of Sarajevo's boiler rooms, with the cooperation of the Bosnian government and local company EGT. Shots of men undertaking this surveying work. John Fawcett says this shows a good coordinated approach. Shots of Sarajevo residents at a cafe. Some have decided to no longer rely on humanitarian aid and are determined to become self-sufficient. Elmer Imamović and Žana Kikaš have set up a fashion business. The pair describe their business and their drive for economic independence from aid agencies. Žana Kikaš explains that the fashion project gives people in Sarajevo the opportunity to work and support themselves. Shot of Nermin Sahačić sewing in front of a large peace banner. He explains the problem of sourcing material in the city, holding up a jacket made from reclaimed leather. Shots of a fashion shoot in the ruined interior of the National Library of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo. This company began with a small amount of start-up aid. Perhaps, it will prove to be a model for other companies that wish to start up in Sarajevo. Closing interview clip with Elmer Imamović who says that, like most people in Sarajevo, he wants to take destiny into his own hands and not rely on humanitarian aid indefinitely.

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