Serbia: Bor / Majdanpek Regional Development

Bor / Majdanpek Regional Development
Preliminary Proposal
Terry E. Hallman
People-Centered Economic Development
June 2004

Copyright © Terry E. Hallman, 2004. All rights reserved.

This is a preliminary proposal for economic and community development for the region of Bor / Majdanpek in Serbia. This follows a one-week feasibility study aimed at assessing development needs along with existing and potential barriers to development. Strategy was to get a general idea of needs and barriers, to be followed by creation of a comprehensive proposal if necessary and appropriate. This proposal is the preliminary outline for development of a detailed, comprehensive proposal. Development of the comprehensive proposal will require participation and financial involvement from the target community. This was explained to people in Majdanpek prior to the visit. The visit was to determine feasibility for developing the larger proposal, which would include a communitywide microfinance program as the core component.

First findings show a large community under heavy economic and environmental stress. Regardless of what follows in the way of  development assistance, hundreds of people appear likely to perish as a result of environmental contamination from previous mining operations.

Primary objectives of any and all efforts following are:

• Minimizing the loss of human life

• Poverty relief : improving social and economic conditions by providing opportunities for business development, with a new microfinance program to start. Such opportunities appear to be almost non-existent at this time.

The target region is partially contaminated following decades of open-pit copper mining and related industry stemming from the Soviet era. As was typical in Soviet industrial operations dating from Stalin’s 5-year plans, cost of human life was an irrelevant factor. From all accounts, the national government in Belgrade has not engaged in assisting this region and has no intention of doing so. Mining operations are winding down due to escalating costs, diminishing returns, and alleged financial mismanagement. There are currently no significant prospects for alternative business to replace the mining industry, leaving widespread and increasing unemployment in the region.

Compounding the growing economic pressures, environmental contamination is taking its toll and will continue to do so despite best possible assistance efforts. The geography of the region appears to be quite suitable for agriculture as a partial alternative to replace the mining industry, but, obvious questions are raised as to the extent of contamination of land, water, and food chain. People in villages downstream from the Majdanpek mine report a high incidence of cancer. One village has attempted to route clean water from upstream of the mine in order to bypass their polluted water supply. The project remains half-completed due to lack of funds.

At minimum, an effective microfinance program is needed in order to provide basic opportunities for business development and jobs creation. Meetings were held with citizens and government officials in Majdanpek to discuss this idea. Numerous business ideas were presented, most of which involved agricultural products. It became clear that training for business planning will in any case be a critical factor in economic recovery. There is strong interest in small business opportunities, but little understanding of the process of business planning and management. The microfinance program would include the training component, similar to a microfinance program that P-CED sourced to Siberia as part of a large regional initiative there in 1999. (See https://p-ced.com/1/projects/russia) Agricultural production will require an environmental assessment of various locations to ensure safe products for consumption.

Moreover, immediate emergency medical assistance is imperative in order to stem the loss of life resulting from environmental damage. The primary barrier to development is not lack of resources from international concerns, but growing reluctance to provide aid to Serbia due to Belgrade’s lack of cooperation in extraditing alleged war criminals. While that strategy might make sense on one level, it would appear to constitute the worst, darkest sort of hypocrisy. It cannot legitimately stand as official aid policy for any honest government or funding organization. Specifically, all Serbians are being punished because Belgrade refuses to hand over people accused of war crimes – that is, crimes against humanity carried out during warfare. Tens of thousands of people died as a result of those crimes. Bringing those responsible to justice is a legitimate and necessary requirement under international law, thus the policy to pressure Belgrade by cutting off aid to Serbia. However, when the result of that policy clearly leads to more deaths, albeit by more passive means such as leaving people to suffer and die as is the case in Bor/Majdanpek, the policy itself defeats its own purpose and falls flat on its face. It is ludicrous to passively destroy thousands of people to bring to justice others who killed thousands of people. Who will bring the international community to account after these people perish? Whether or not war criminals are extradited by Belgrade, people in Bor/Majdanpek region will likely continue to be neglected to death without strong, focused aid and development intervention by international organizations. The same attitudes in Belgrade toward protecting war criminals carry over at this moment to innocent citizens in remote regions who are being ignored and left to die.

If the point of bombing Serbia five years ago was to protect and preserve human life over the long-term, the long-term is now upon us. Cutting aid not only contradicts that original policy, it undermines it to the extent that would-be saviors now join ranks with the very sort of people we were presumably intending to defeat to start with. In that case, without the imperative of saving and preserving human life being carried out following the bombings, the bombings themselves have to be reconsidered as possible crimes against humanity disguised in their worst form: pretense of protecting human life.

Due to this grossly misguided policy regarding aid to Serbia and given the range of environmental and economic relief for which aid is immediately needed, it appears that a fully detailed, comprehensive development proposal is in order to fully persuade reluctant aid to get to where it belongs. However, recipients of this preliminary version are encouraged to use this version to their best  advantage.  Development of the full proposal will require 5.000 euros to cover associated time and expenses. This was agreed in advance by those in or near Majdanpek who invited the preliminary study, should that study  show a good likelihood for successful aid intervention. If recipients can do without that and make use of this version to leverage necessary aid into Bor / Majdanpek, the full proposal should not then be necessary. If the full proposal is desired and needed, work can proceed upon securing the agreed funding. Any and all Serbian or outside parties who wish to take on necessary assistance activities otherwise are certainly invited and strongly encouraged to do so.

Proposed components for the regional development program include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

• Microcredit program based on ‘moral collateral’ model, which requires no material assets to qualify for first microcredit loan. This program must include an education component for market research and business planning.

• Medical assistance to include subsidized or donated medicines and medical treatment for cancer and other disorders related to environmental pollution

• Coordination with existing non-governmental organizations in the region aimed at environmental cleanup; economic, social, cultural, and civil society development

• Exploratory for SME (small and medium enterprise) loan program aside from the microcredit program. This exploratory should include focus on larger-scale business operations that exceed the range and scope of microenterprises. (Microenterprise being defined as enterprises with ten employees or less.)

Terry E. Hallman
P-CED
13 June, 2004