Returning To Srebrenica

We blogged on May 29 about the former Dutch UN peacekeeper Rob Zomer who is returning to Srebrenica to live and work.

He told RFE/RL's Balkan Service recently that, with his wife and two children, he intends to buy land, build a home, and start a small business.

Here are some excerpts from the Balkan Service's original interview:

"I was a guest on many television and radio shows in my native country. Most people have asked me why I want to return to Srebrenica, when there is still a war going on. I got the impression that the Dutchmen still don't understand the situation in Bosnia.

"I told them that there was a war there that finished 14 years ago and that there is peace in all the cities now. Many people, however, understood me and understood my desire to come back and help at least some families.

"Of course, I do not have pleasant memories of those events. We were not able to change the course of events and the fact that it was a war and that bad things happen in war does not make it look better.

"But we did what we could at the time. Only a month later we learned what really happened in Srebrenica. We were unable to affect and prevent the killing. We were confused, we did not understand the situation, and we did not assume that many people would be killed. "

-- Balkan Service