hen Eric Bachman set up an email system in the former Yugoslavia to promote peace and humanitarian aid, he couldn't have known that three years later he would rely on the same network to tell his family he was still alive. A Vietnam-era conscientious objector born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Eric started Zamir -- "for peace" in Serbo-Croatian -- Transnational Net in 1992. His goal was to connect alternative media and other groups struggling for peace. In just a few years, this email network managed to grow, even as the Balkan conflict worsened; it now encompasses all six former Yugoslav republics and counts more than 2,000 users. At a time when postal service was often nonexistent and the phone system was down or tied up during the day (email was sent after midnight), the network provided a vital link for many living in the war-torn region. Through it, people coordinated peace efforts, disseminated independent news, and sought information about loved ones. They were also able to do something that is often very difficult for people caught in war zones: share their experiences with the outside world. During a visit to Sarajevo, Eric himself came to value this capability. After a blast killed 37 people in a marketplace, his sister sent him an urgent email inquiring about his safety. "I am fine," Eric typed back. "This visit has given me a lot to think about, a lot of feelings to experience. I would like to share some of them with you. . . . As I write, the electricity went off and I lost part of the text. . . . I am running the computers on batteries, which last several hours. Now, it is getting dark outside (and inside). I can only see the keyboard by the light of the monitor. I run it with a white background and black letters so that I have the last light. Also while writing this, several shells exploded very near. Life and death continues in Sarajevo."
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