Author: Peter Maass

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. In 1983, after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, I went to Brussels as a copy editor for The Wall Street Journal/Europe. I left the Journal in 1985 to write for The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune, covering NATO and the European Union. In 1987 I moved to Seoul, South Korea, where I wrote primarily for The Washington Post. After three years in Asia I moved to Budapest to cover Eastern Europe and the Balkans. I spent most of 1992 and 1993 covering the war in Bosnia for the Post.

In Bosnia, Ham Radio Operators Perform Magic of Reunion

The Washington Post
March 8, 1993

SARAJEVO – Himzo Devedzija makes people laugh and cry by fiddling with dials all day long.

Devedzija is a shortwave radio operator. In ordinary times, he would be seen by many as a classic nerd — a pudgy, balding guy with a gap ... (Read more)

U.S. Airdrop Misses Muslims; Relief Planes Fly 2nd Mission Serbs Said to Have Seized Drop Zone Before 1st Flight

The Washington Post
March 2, 1993

SARAJEVO, March 1 – U.S. Air Force cargo planes parachuted a second load of emergency aid to isolated areas of eastern Bosnia tonight, less than 24 hours after the first such airdrop failed to reach the beleaguered Muslim civilians for ... (Read more)

Hostility Spreads to Airwaves; Serbs Intercept, Jam Muslim Radio Traffic

The Washington Post
March 2, 1993

SARAJEVO, March 1 – A Muslim shortwave radio operator in Cerska was shouting through the crackling receiver here that Serb militia forces were attacking the east Bosnian town. Then, all of a sudden, a menacing voice cut him off.

“You ... (Read more)

Amid War, Bosnia Honors Its Heroes; Nurse Wounded 5 Times Crisscrossing the Front

The Washington Post
February 27, 1993

SARAJEVO, Feb. 26 – Muamera Puska is the queen of purple hearts.

Puska figured it was just bad luck when a piece of shrapnel ripped open her thigh last April, only days after the Bosnian war began. As a frontline nurse, she expected ... (Read more)

A Tiny Coffin, a Swift Prayer; Snow Blurs Snipers’ View as Sarajevans Bury Infant

The Washington Post
February 26, 1993

SARAJEVO, Feb. 25 – Today’s burial of Almedena Seta was like most others here, except that she was only 2 years old when she was killed by a Serb tank shell while napping, and so the coffin bearing her body was no bigger than a pillow.

Funerals ... (Read more)

Sudden Death at Suppertime: Napping 2-Year-Old Killed as Serb Shellings Continue

A broken clock in Senadin Seta's kitchen shows the time of 4:50. That's when a Serb tank shell smashed through the ceiling.

Muslims Cheer Rescue Effort by ‘Air Jordan’

The Washington Post
February 24, 1993

SARAJEVO – For the past 10 months, Bosnia’s embattled Muslim-led government has tried in vain to persuade the world powers to stand up to Serb aggression in the republic and say simply, “enough is enough.”

Now, ... (Read more)

U.N. Officials Dispute U.S. Airdrop Proposal; Peril to Aircrews over Bosnia Is Cited

The Washington Post
February 22, 1993

SARAJEVO, Feb. 21 – U.N. military and humanitarian aid officials disagreed today about the wisdom of proposed American airdrops to starving Bosnian civilians, but they concurred that such an operation could entail significant risks ... (Read more)

Bosnia Acts to End Aid Boycott; Cease-Fire Declared to Assist Shipments

The Washington Post
February 21, 1993

SARAJEVO, Feb. 20 – Under international pressure, the Bosnian government called on the Sarajevo city council today to lift its controversial boycott of humanitarian aid and declared a unilateral cease-fire to facilitate aid shipments.

The ... (Read more)

Bosnia Peace Proposal Spurs ‘Ethnic Cleansing’

The Washington Post
February 9, 1993

BUDAPEST – An international proposal to end the three-sided Bosnian war has sparked a new round of “ethnic cleansing” in which Serb and Croat nationalist forces are trying to solidify their control over areas of the republic ... (Read more)