Bosnians work side-by-side to reduce ethnic tensions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34172867

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The Alma Ras factory looks nothing special from the outside.

In fact, little about the small, orange-painted building in Srebrenica, Bosnia, suggests that it houses a production facility - let alone one that is making a significant impact on a traumatised town.

The first clue lies on the other side of a utilitarian glass-and-metal door - the hum of machinery. Climb the stairs and the hum becomes a roar - and rows of sewing machines come into view, operated almost exclusively by women.

They are making underwear for the Alma Ras boutiques in the smart shopping malls of Sarajevo, as well as contract work for the international lingerie behemoth, Calzedonia.

Since it started in 1998, the company has become one of Bosnia's depressingly rare business success stories. It now has five production facilities and shops around the country.

But as well as offering much needed employment in an economy which, after 20 years, still suffers from the aftermath of the civil war, Alma Ras has even greater ambitions - to help heal the wounds of that conflict.

"Politics and ethnic groups are forbidden here - that's the only strategy which will relax the tension," says Rasim Memagic, the 36-year-old chief executive of Alma Ras.

When people apply to work at Alma Ras they aren't asked whether they are Serb, Bosniak or Croat. The company has a recruitment policy which aims to ignore ethnicity.

This is crucial in a country which has yet to recover from the ethnic conflict of the 1990s. Today, Bosnia is split into two "ethnic entities", Republika Srpksa (RS), which has a large ethnic-Serb majority, and the Federation, which is home to most of the country's Bosniaks and Croats.

The town of Srebrenica, inside the RS zone, is something of a special case. It remains infamous for the 1995 massacre in which Serb forces murdered around 8,000 Bosniak men and boys.

Following the conflict it became part of RS, but now there is a more or less even mix of Bosniaks and Serbs among its 40,000 people.

But tensions remain - which is why Alma Ras insists on its neutral recruitment policy.

"We have never had any problems with ethnic issues because we only look at quality, efficiency and relations between management and the employees," says Mr Memagic.

Alma Ras has been operating in Srebrenica since 2006 - and the decision to open here was not based entirely on business reasoning. Mr Memagic says the company's founder had fond memories of Srebrenica from before the conflict - and was determined to do something to help the town recover.

"We started with just 10 people - it was an unbelievable challenge," says Mr Memagic.

So far the gamble is paying off. The factory has long since moved out of its original, rented location into its current, tangerine-tinted facility. Alma Ras has steadily increased the workforce over the years - and now has 55 employees.

The numbers may be small - but it is still a boon for Srebrenica. People here say that jobs are a crucial part of the reconciliation process - "if we can work together, we can live together," is a common refrain.

This is easier said than done - and not just in Srebrenica. Bosnia as a whole has struggled economically since the Dayton Peace Agreement brought an end to the conflict in 1995.

Before the war the economy of Bosnia Herzegovina was industrially diversified. Heavy industry, energy distribution, mining and metallurgy, as well as textiles, leather and machinery counted for about half of the province's output and employment.

Now the country has the highest youth unemployment rate in Europe - six out of 10 people aged 24 and under cannot find work. Average earnings for those in work are little more than €400 ($445; £290) per month.

The IMF says growth is likely to rise this year. But on the ground there is little optimism that matters will improve. Bosnia may have two ethnic entities, three presidents and fourteen prime ministers - but it lacks leadership and, says Rasim Memagic, and it lacks policies to encourage businesses to invest.

People of all ethnicities did unite last year over a shared frustration at the economic situation, and anger towards the country's politicians, sparking riots and demonstrations across the country.

As a result Brussels is increasing its efforts here, revitalising its assistance in helping establish the rule of law and making it easier to set up an enterprise.

But business is still battling an entrenched system of political patronage, a legacy of the Dayton Agreement.

The head of the Council of Europe's office in Bosnia, Mary Ann Hennessey, says that is stifling the country's prospects.

"People need a healthy economy free from corruption, a healthy labour market - based on people's skills and competencies rather than patronage, cronyism and other forms of corruption," she says.

In more concrete terms the country also lacks infrastructure. It needs high-speed roads and railways. The national airline recently folded.

Economic stagnation will only perpetuate ethnic divisions, believes Nihad Kadic a social entrepreneur.

"If the economy is poor, nationalism is rich," he says.

Nihad, a Bosniak, founded the eSrebrenica web portal alongside his colleague Mladen Kojic, a Serb, to promote social integration and spread positive stories and images of Bosnia, instead of only the stark horrors of the past. They'd like to turn their social project into a start-up.

He says there is still more to be done, and that what international institutions have done so far - such as holding workshops to promote peace, or encourage a dialogue between Bosniaks and Serbs - is not enough.

"We know how to talk," he says. "But they don't support us in good projects.

"They must support young people who want work - not with NGOs [non-governmental organizations], but with start-ups. Not a workshop - the only thing you get from that is one lunch."