In my Western mind-set I have basic ideas that I consider truisms: free markets work, capitalism is better than the repression of socialism or dictatorships. In short: more freedom equals more prosperity. For the way I've been brought up and what I've learned its hard for me to believe anyone can maintain a differing opinion on this. When the Berlin Wall collapsed nearly 20 years ago, the Western world believed that the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet block would emerge independent and strong with the ability to reap all of the benefits from free markets that the west has known for so long.

Traveling by bus from one of the most successful free-market economies of Western Europe to the center of Bosnia is like traveling in a time machine. From Munich to Austria to Slovenia the freeways are straight tunneling through the mountainous Alps. Quaint houses rest on the hillsides with well kept farms and animals. The beauty of Austria and Slovenia is in the order and well-maintained farms on extremely steep hillsides. The terrain is so steep, it's a wonder seeing a huge cow traverse the hills without tipping over. The mountains here are rugged and the weather cold most of the time. However, despite the conditions residents have enjoyed convenience, stability and prosperity since the post World War II era. As our bus travels further South and West, (its a misnomer that all Eastern European countries are east of western Europe much of Bosnia is actually west of Austria) we cross the border into Croatia, here the freeways merge into something like a highway but then change into a single lane road. Further into Bosnia roadways curve and wind around mountains and valleys. This is when the swaying of the bus and the constant changes in speed cause me to taste my stomach in my throat. At the same time the landscape has become lush and green. Steep mountains retreat to large hills and valleys and pastures and farms are easily grown in fertile river valleys. We pass through Bosanski-Petrovac the road passes through the center of the town at 10:00 a.m. The problems that residents suffer here are evident all around. A half dozen men stand in front of a store that is closed. Men smoke cigarettes talking without jobs to go to. Around the town are half built buildings, many buildings stand three to five stories tall. The dreams of many city residents to be a landlord of city apartment, instead go unfinished and some are filled with hay for animals. Basic necessities for meat, milk and food push back the aspirations to move into the future like the western world.

People here know how to dream, they know how to build and work hard. People here aren't lacking in intelligence, motivation or ambition. There isn't a fundamental flaw in their thinking that is holding them back. Many of the youth here are educated in Western Universities, many have college degrees yet the often take positions they are far overqualified for and for meager wages. So what is the problem?

Bosnia suffered a serious set-back from the ethnic cleansing and civil war caused by the Serbian army under Slobodan Milosevic from 1992-1995. The power vacuum left from the former Balkan strength in resisting Soviet occupation created an opportunity that was filled by a man with ideas for extreme reform. Milosevic and his party dreamed of creating a state free from what they believed to be the Ottoman scar left in the predominantly Muslim population. As the Serbian army proceeded to ethnically cleanse the region, former countries declared their independence from rule under Belgrade and Yugoslavia fractured just as the former Soviet-block states did. Instead of one unified Yugoslavia today there are six countries, all trying to handle the responsibilities that their former centralized government provided.

As we drive into Sanski-Most, the town where we are staying, we see workers standing among piles of ruble and jack-hammered cement. I am told they are redoing a sewer system that has been under construction for the past two years. The sewage was formerly piped into the nearby Sana River and they are working to come up with a more modern solution. Finding solutions to problems doesn't seem to be the major focus of the government authorities. I am told that in Bosnia, parliamentary leaders drive $40,000 Audis and receive about 10 times the average civilian worker salary. All businesses work with the government under a system where bribery and kick-backs are the norm. Besides government corruption, Mafia groups are well established expecting weekly insurance payments from business owners in order to prevent 'disasters' from happening. One disaster happened here in Sanski-Most three months ago when a grenade was exploded in a popular night club, one former Bosnian resident visiting from Germany was killed.

The root of the government failure is how Bosnia is still using a band-aid cure for a hemorrhage affliction. The temporary government that was formed under the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995 is still in effect. This temporary solution ended the war between the three warring religious groups Muslim (Bosnak), Orthodox (Serb) and Catholic(Croat). Under this system there are three police forces, three rotating presidents and a Parliament that is heavily divided between religious factions. Within the country there are regions that fall under a separate government control called The Republic of Surbska. These areas were settled in the Dayton Accords as land captured by the Serbian Army in their assault on the Bosnian cities. Today the Serbian people no longer live in these areas, they only maintain the opportunity to feel proud that they have their stamp on these lands and their fighting wasn't completely in vain. This current three-tier government Its a system that pays out huge sums to a top heavy bureaucracy that works at a snails pace with very little progress. Critical infrastructure changes that are needed for providing basic stable power, sewer, water and transportation are simply stuck in the bureaucratic mire. My bus ride is an example of government ineffectiveness, but the problems under the current system are felt much more in the everyday lives of the people here.

Modrac is a large reservoir just outside of Tuzla, residents have ingeniously built small fishing houses that float on the lake, some spend the weekends here catching huge catfish and trout. The lake is surrounded with dense forest and several towns rest on its shores. However very few boats are seen on the water, and swimming is off-limits. The lake is too contaminated with raw sewage and anyone who dares swim risks getting sick. Before the war this lake was clean and full of visitors. Locals blame this problem on the government's inability to properly contain and treat sewage out of Tuzla. The economic impact is evident in the abandoned and vacant buildings lining the lake. Today vacationers and valuable tourism dollars instead go to neighboring countries such as Croatia. One restaurant is still successful in attracting locals residents for a night out for diner, however, three other nearby restaurants and several hotels and stores remain abandoned and vacant.

The city of Tuzla offers open-air markets are set up by farmers and trades people. They are full of commerce and inexpensive products. A kilo of delicious strawberries picked from the hills above the city, organically grown goes for about $1.50 per kilo. or (.75 cents per pound) Another merchant sells tee-shirts where Tito's face silk screened onto shirts beside shirts of Tu-Pack and Metallica. These shirts are emblematic of the desire of many to Westernize but the latent desire of many more who feel nostalgia for the past.

I am told that many here in Tuzla see the free-market Democracy like anarchy and many here, especially in Tuzla, long for another benevolent like dictator like Tito to rise again and unite the people and reform the discombobulated government. Here in Tuzla, unlike other Bosnian cities Muslim, Serb and Croat all fought together to keep the Serbian army out. People are more united here under the former unity that the former country of Yugoslavia provided. Tuzla was never occupied by the Serbs and the people here are very proud of that fact. However Tuzla, suffered a great deal from the war just as every other city did, and these wounds may take a generation to heal. The day that I am here marks the twelfth anniversary of the killing of 75 defenseless high school students who gathered in the downtown area and were killed by a single Serbian RPG attack. School children line up with flowers and a wreath to place at the memorial site for the killed at the top of the town. Its is these children who will decide the fate of this place. Whether the European Union will ultimately solve the problems of the current government failures or Bosnia regresses into another Dictatorship with a strong arm but secure future remains to be seen.