Cyber Bosnia: Computer-Mediated Communications in a War Zone

JamesWalch

Department of Social Sciences and Humanities Stockholm Institute of Education

Abstract peace workers "Cyber Bosnia" is not an electronic es­ Computer-mediated communication is being used by cape but a way to relieve some of the suffering of the peace workers and aid agencies as part of their work in war, hopefully to make a contribution to ending it. the Balkan war zone. The ZaMir Transnational Net­ work (ZTN), a member of the Association for Progres­ sive Communications (APC), has established a com­ 2. ZaMir Networking muni-cations infrastructure that crosses boundries and In late 1991, the pan-Yugoslavian amatuer Adrianet ethnic barriers. This appplication of the new informa­ was crumbling. It was becoming increasingly difficult tion technology consists of refugee mail services, coor­ to use the telephone systems between the component dination of humanitarian relief efforts, media subsitu­ parts of former Yugoslavia. And the FIDO technology tion and the creation of a cross-national anti-war coali­ used by amatuer and citizen networks relies on dial-up tion. modem connections over telephone lines. In order to guarantee stable connectivity between anti-war and hu­ Keywords - CMC, social use of IT, social move­ manitarian groups, communications activists began ments. probing possibilities of linking to systems with a po­ litical profile such as the PeaceNews BBS in Belgrad, already used by local groups for communication and in­ 1. No Electronic Escape formation exchange. Some help was obtained from peace and humanitarian groups in Sweden, the Nether­ 2 "All those stories how nice and how good it was lands, Switzerland, Austriaand Germany. in ex-Yugoslavia are fairy-tales of the past. A The Antiwar Campaign in Zagreb and the Center virtual reality, as the virtual reality that Bosnia for Antiwar Action in Belgrade decided to set up their was such a peaceful country, it may was, but it own BBS network. In July 1992 the first systems were isn't anymore. Wars have left their scares and installed. This was the beginning of the ZaMir ("For war is NOT broken houses, it is broken MINDS. Peace") network, linked from the start to the Associa­ Living in a "war" zone is living in a virtual tion for Progressive Communications and the rest of ty b d d reali , a reality ase on rumors an worries the Internet.3 When it became impossible or extremely for the future .... "1 (Warn Kat, peace worker & communications activist) difficult to maintain direct communication links be­ tween the various parts of former Yugoslavia, then re­ layed links were set up. When it was not possible to The Internet is not just fun and games for young­ call fromZagreb to Belgrade, then calls were made to a sters and yuppies, or restricted to academic exchanges, "node" (station) which could connect to both. Connec- or moving the shopping mall to our home computer. The new informationtechnology can be part of socially meaningful action. The work of communications ac­ 2Joel Sax in , "Networks in Yugoland", tivists in the Balkan war zone is such use. For these Dec.23, 1992 3Eric Bachman, "Communications Aid for the Peace Movements in the former republics of Yugoslavia", Re­ 1Wam Kat, Topic 2036 "Yugoslavs as virtual reality", port, September 1991- May 1993", Balkan Gopher, (8) Response 3 of 4 in 3:01 pm Dec 17, ZAMIRnet...nr 1. Updated in correspondence with Eric 1994 (at ZAMIR-ZG.comlink.apc.org) Bachman, May 6, 1995.

CSCL '95 Proceedings 375 October 1995 tions have gone through GreenNet in London, LINK­ an important means of communication for humanitar­ ATU in Vienna, and later BIONIC in Bielefeld, Ger­ ian organisations working in the war region and sister many. Interviewed in a Reuters news release, Rena organisations in other countries. The ZTN facilitates Tangens, a co-operator of the Bielefeld link, put it this the searchfor volunteers for reconstructingthe damage way: of the warin all parts of former Yugoslavia. In order to facilitate e-mail exchanges, a database of groups and "It sounds crazy to send a message from organizations is being compiled. Warn Kat, volunteer Serbia to Bielefeld in order to contact someone who camefor one month to Croatia has ended up stay­ in Croatia," she concedes. ing. He began to write a dairy so that his two young But with neighbors once less than an sons would later know what their fatherwas doing. His hour's drive apart now divided by battle lines "Zagreb Diary" is posted regularly in the public and severed telephone cables, it is for many the APC/ZTNconference called .Thisdiary only way to communicate. Mail is no alterna­ has been distributedwidely electronically,reprinted, and tive. In Bosnia the postal service has broken royalties help financethe ZTN.6 down, between Serbia and Croatia it is extinct. What we have created is the most reliable communicaton link with and within the former 4. Refugee Mail Services Yugoslavia," Tangens says. 4 Refugee work was given priority since it soon became evident that computer-mediated communications could both complement and speed up refugeesupport work of By mid 1993, the Zagreb-Belgrade link was being the kind carried on by agencies such as the Red used by about 500 users, with 35 different groups on­ Cross/Red Crescent.7 Using connections organized in line. At this time, each of the BBSes sent and/or re­ and around the APC, ZTN and the Internet in general, ceived about 500 to 200 kilobytes a day, which is be­ two refugeemail services collaborate to carryletters for tween 250 to 1000 pages of text. Messages were both refugees and others in and out of besieged cities in for­ private e-mail and public postings. Usage expanded and mer Yugoslavia. These services are the Sarajevo Pony by mid 1995, there were about 1500 users on the sys­ Express (SPE) and PISMA (Servis za Pisma). The tem. former, with its clearing house at PeaceNet/lGCin San The ZaMir network expanded, adopting the name Francisco, is responsible for international traffic and ZaMir Transnational Net (ZTN). By early 1995 addi­ PISMA for regional delivery. This service combines tional stations had joined: in Ljublana, Sarajevo, computer-mediated communications with fax linkages Pristina and Tuzla. In November 1994, ZTNbecame a with to-the-door delivery by relief and peace workers.8 full member of the APC., dedicated to peace, the envi­ ronment, human rights and sustainable development. 5 5. Conferencing as Communicative 3. Content of the ZTN Interaction The ZTN, rooted as it is in the peace movement, is In 1991, the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society, dedicated to maintaining open channels of dialogue be­ Sweden's largest and the world's oldest existing peace tween the warringfactions and acrossboundries. While organization, opened an online conference it does not allow propagandizing or beligerant "shout­ , which has become something of a ing", the ZTN is dedicated to the "open flow" ideology. communications hub in Cyber Bosnia. People from all This flow takes several different forms within the ZTN around the world participate in this conference. Topics and the other info-footpaths into Cyber Bosnia: e-mail, deal not only with the war and refugees but also with culture and exchanges such as classroom to classroom refugeemail services, conferencing, electronic publish­ 9 ing and archive services. projects. The ZTN helps coordinate humanitarian aid for At the request of aid workers, a special APC con- some of the many refugees of the war. It has become

4Reuters, "Internet keeps Yugoslavia connected to global village", posted in , Topic 2108, Jan. 26, 7Wam Kat at ZaMIR-ZG, Nov. 29, 1992, reposted in 1995. 362.2, Dec. 23, 1992. 5Eric Bachman, "ZANA-PR in Wonderland"in Balkan go­ 8Eric Bachman, loc.cit .. ; Ed Agro, in "SPE/PISMA pher at gopher.igc.apc.org, ZTN5:( reprint from KOHA Refugee Mail Services: History and Operation" at Balkan magazine, Nov 94) Eric Bachman, "ZaMir Transnational gopher: gopher.igc.apc.org. Net" (11 Nov 1994), ZTN3:, updated 6 April 1995 in cor­ respondence with Eric Bachman, May 6, 1995. 9Ibid.

CSCL '95 Proceedings 376 October 1995 ferencefor refugee work was started. listmail or listserv). A maillist is just what the name The contents here deal with aid coordination, appeals implies: material is sent out over the Internet as e-mail and announcements, finding people. One effort deals to a list of electronic subscribers, who automatically with an international war resister's network for aiding get the listserv publication(s) in their e-mailbox. The war resisters to the present Balkan war. Another APC material sent out in this way is "moderated" conference contains officialdocu­ (controlled) usually froma clearlyidentified source or ments, press releases fromdifferent governments, agen­ sources. In some systems, the maillists are put in to cies and organisations. Besides APC conferences, the conferenceson a host computer. These "read only" con­ ZTN has its own set of conferences, mainly in the re­ ferences function then as maillists but with indexing, gional languages, for discussion and forhelping people which allows a user to choose what he or she wants to findeach other. "download", that is transfer to their own computer. The Geneva BBS of the International Council of In the beginning of 1995 the "South Slavic Mail­ Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)uses the ZTN forcommu­ ing Lists Directory"contained the following: nications with its fieldworkers. 10 January 28, 1995 marked the 1000th day of the • Bosnet - a moderated, volunteer forum for siege of Sarajevo. This tragic commemoration was redistribution of information; protested against by peace groups in Serbia, Croatia, Croatian-News I Hrvatski-Vjesnik - a moderated, Bosnia and around the world. Peace and Sarajevo sup­ volunteer forumfor redistribution of information; port groups in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, protested the continuing siege of Sarajevo, even though they Cro-News I SCYU-Digest - a non-moderated themselves had sufferedfrom the internationalblockade distributionpoint (from the WELL)for news; of their country. These protest activities were coordi­ • CRO-VIEWS- a non-moderated Australianservice nated online. 11 andan academic level of discussion is encouraged. These examples illustratea salient featureof elec­ KuharskeBukve - a weekly Slovene-language cook tronic conferencing: the subject content can be either book; local, global or both. Material can be structured by ded­ icating different conferences to different issue areas. MAK-NEWS - two bi-lingual news services from ZTN and APC conferences are mostly moderated, to the University of Buffaloon Macadonia; keep people to the content area. Some USENET con­ • Novice MZT - News of Ministry of Science and ferences deal with the Balkans, such as Technology of the Republic of Slovenia; . While not analyzed in this study, there is a growing concern among netters Oglasna Deska - bulletin board of usenet type that these unmoderated electronic fora may become un­ conferences in Slovenia, multi-lingual; rulely, vehicles for narrow-mindednessor worse. Draw­ Pisma Bralcev - an edited (not moderated) mailing ing parallels to war-torn Bosnia, BIX editor George list which provides the possibility of publishing Bond is concerned that certain Internet trends may be readers' opinions, questions, inquiries for help, an­ contributing to the degeneration of CMC as a citizen's swers etc., multi-lingual; 12 medium for rational discourse. RokPress - a moderated mailing list, intended primarily for news from Slovenia. mainly in Slovene; 6. Media Substitution • SAGE-net - a moderated group/forum run by A major use of computer-mediated communication is student volunteers from the group Students for media substitution. CMC can also be used for dis­ Against GEnocide (SAGE)--Project Bosnia. Its tributing and retrieving informationthat simply cannot goals are to initiate and coordinate activities be spread or found elsewhere. Volunteers, concerned among groups active on Bosnia, particularly those academics and organizations around the world often on university and college campuses. gather reports, articles and news, or produce original items, on certain subjects and then forward this mate­ SII - unmoderated network for distribution of rial to interested users of e-mail. This metod of pub­ news and discussions about the current events in lishing and/or broadcasting is known as "maillist" ( or ex-Yu, centered around thoseinvolving or affecting Serbs; ST-L (Srpska terminologija/Serbian Terminology) 10Eric Bachman, loc.cit. - for discussing Serbian terminology ... 11 Vreme - carries "Vreme News Digest" (selected Topic 2106 "Belgrade Groups Protest 1000th day" in articlesfrom "Vreme" translated to English). , 6:03 pm Jan 26, 1995 (at ZAMIR­ BG.comlink.apc.org). YU-QWest Mejling Lista - unmoderated forumfor exiles and emigrants from the territory of the for- 12BYTE, March, 1995.

CSCL '95 Proceedings 377 October 1995 mer republic of Yugoslavia.13 ages of electronic conferencing on the ZTN and con­ Seven of these maillists are based in the USA, the nected networks. This type of use of CMC strengthens UK or Australia (albeit with much exile input); four civil society. are joint Slovene-North American projects; one (MAK­ One of the most important parts of building up an NEWS) appears to be a multinational effort, though anti-war movement is coordination between groups. with Anglo-Saxon predominance; one is purely Sol­ This is for the obvious purpose of planning joint activ­ vene and one purely Serbian, one seems to be Polish­ ities but also for the equally important psychological American. The list servers of Cyber Bosnia thus appear effect of knowing that one is not alone. In this respect, to be an Anglo-Saxon affair.It would be most interest­ computer-mediated communication is a powerful tool. ing to know how these rich information servicesare ac­ Besides its immediate humanitarian importance , this tually being used, both in the Balkan region and around type of computer-mediated communication has shown the globe. itself to have other longterm effects.CMC helps main­ The ZTN distributes critical analyses of main­ tain communities in exile through the creation and stream media, whichhave played, according to many, a support for group identity, for internal and external key role in whipping up nationalism and war hysteria communication and for effective political action. The in the whole region. One such media watchdog publica­ experience of the ZTN in establishing and maintaining tion is ARKzin, which publishes summaries electroni­ crisis communications in a war zone underscores that cally in . Another example of elec­ effective networking for social cha�e has to be global tronic publishing in Cyber Bosnia are exile magazines in its perspective and organization.1 such as Dialogue, from Amsterdam.14 The need for media substitution may sometimes tend to overshadow the communicative-coordination aspects of global, in­ Acknowledgments ter-organizational conferencing, as the two mix in a 15 This article is part of a larger study on the utopian uses blend of information, analysis and action. of computer-mediated communication, based on A major interchange in Cyber Bosnia is the Balkan research and the author's first hand experiences in gopher at PeaceNet in San Francisco. This gopher col­ building up a "node" (NordNet) within the community lects and organizes informationon current events in and of networks known as the APC -the Association for around the Balkans. For example, it carries a documen­ Progressive Communications. Financial support for tation section on war crimes in the territory of former the research has been received from the University of Yugoslavia, mainly bulletins of the Republic of Stockholm and the Swedish Council for Planning and Bosnia - Hercegovina State War Crimes Commission, Coordination of Research (Forskningsrtidsniimnden, in several languages. An archiving service has started at FRN). Helpfulcomments and corrections on this paper the University of Essex in the United Kingdom with have been provided by Eric Bachman at BIONIC and Ed the task of gathering and cataloging electronic material Agro at PeaceNet's Balkan Gopher .. from and on the Balkans.

Author's Address 7. Actors and Spectators in Cyber James Walch: Department of Social Sciences & Hu­ Bosnia manities, Stockholm Institute of Education, Box A major tool for communication and interaction be­ 34103, 10026 Stockholm, Sweden. tween people using computer-mediated systems like e-mail: [email protected]. ZTN is conferencing.In an online conferencesystem, an individual can post his or her views, publications and statements. These can then be read and commented upon by other users of the system. That this is a new electronic forum for public discourse and coordination of meaningful action is exemplified by the utopian us-

16cf. Tiger Li, " Computer-Mediated Communications and 13Topic 2092 "South-Slav Mailing Lists (Upd)", Mailing­ the Chinese Students in the U.S.", in Information Society, [email protected] (South Slavic Mailing Lists Di­ 1990, vol 7: 125-137; Howard H. Frederick, "Computer rectory), from in 9:00 Communications in Cross-Border Coalition-Building: pm Jan 14, 1995. North American NGO Networking Against NAFTA," in Gazette 50:217.241, 1992; Howard Frederick, "Computer 14Topic 215 "Introduction to DIALOGUE mizamir" in Networks and the Emergence of Global Civil Society: The 2:01 pm Jan 29, 1995 (at antenna.nl). Case of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC)". in Global Networks: Computers and Interna­ 15cf Warn Kat's comment on this in , tional Communication, ed. Linda M. Harasim , Cambridge Topic 1773, Jul 24, 1994. Mass., MIT Press, 1993.

CSCL '95 Proceedings 378 October 1995 Appendix Balkan gopher: gopher.igc.apc.org or www.igc.apc.org

Eric Bachman, coordinator, ZaMir Transnational Net­ work: [email protected] Belgrade: [email protected] Ljublana: [email protected] Sarajevo: [email protected] Tuzla: [email protected] Zagreb: [email protected] Pristina: [email protected]

For informationon the APC, contact (in the USA): Institute forGlobal Communications (EcoN et/PeaceNet/ConflictNet/LaborN et) 18 de Boom Street San Francisco, CA 94 107, USA e-mail: [email protected].

CSCL '95 Proceedings 379 October 1995