The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)
June 20, 1999, Sunday

PEACEMAKER IN AN ANGRY LAND; A soldier in Bosnia;
FIRST OF A FIVE-PART SERIES

Mark Petix, The Press-Enterprise
A SECTION; Pg. A01

Shattered by hate.   That is Kosovo today.   That was Bosnia five years ago.

An Army reservist from the Inland Empire is part of the effort to heal Bosnia’s deep wounds.

For two weeks staff writer Mark Petix and staff photographer Greg Vojtko lived with Sgt. Mike Torres of Riverside and the U.S. Army, recording the efforts to preserve the delicate peace in that country — work that has begun in Kosovo.

They found hope in children who refuse to see differences between Serb, Muslim and Croat.  They witnessed the misery of refugees no closer to home than they were seven years ago.  They felt the froth and rage of towns where the U.S. Army is the enemy.

Starting today and for the next four days, this newspaper will chronicle their journey for our readers, revealing the light and shadow in a land that could be a blueprint for the difficult and dangerous road toward lasting peace in Kosovo.