Following the end of a three-and-a-half year war in Bosnia, a treaty, known as the Dayton Peace Agreement, was created to bring peace and stability to the country. Part of the 1995 treaty required that Bosnia have democratic elections monitored by representatives from other countries.

Retired Iowa State staff members George and Jan Beran were among the 400 U.S. citizens, from a total of 2,400 international representatives, who traveled to Bosnia to monitor the elections.

“I think it’s important that these steps be taken to bring some kind of peace and future direction for the country,” Jan Beran said. “Ballots are better than bullets.”

Jan Beran, who retired from the Department of Health and Human Services in 1992, said she and her husband became involved with the treaty through her involvement with the League of Women Voters. Her husband, George Beran, just recently retired as a professor of veterinary medicine this year.

The September trip was the second occasion in which the Berans have monitored Bosnian elections. Last year they managed the election of municipal candidates, and this year they worked during the election of members of the presidency and parliament.

The 10-day trip included four-and-a-half days of training, all done in English; two days of monitoring the actual elections; and the remaining days were spent counting all the ballots by hand.

During these days, Beran worked with local polling organizers in a small town of 10,000 to ensure that election regulations were being followed.

Beran said she was amazed at how determined the citizens were to vote; some traveled long distances to get to the ballot booth.

“The voting percentage was quite high — more than 75 percent of registered people voted,” Beran said. “It’s quite touching to see people to whom voting means so much.”

Beran said the experience helped her to realize the importance of voting.

“I saw how important it is for all citizens to vote and express themselves at the ballot booth,” she said. “Things can change so quickly if people do not exercise themselves at the ballot box.”

Beran said she thinks Americans could learn from Bosnian attendance at elections.

“When people have not had an opportunity to have a voice in who is elected, they prize in it when they get it,” she said. “We [in the United States] kind of take it for granted.”