Ante Slavic didn't want to go to war, but in the early 1990s ethnic fighting broke out between the Serbs and Croats in the region that used to be Yugoslavia.

"We were like animals defending our homes," said Slavic of the war. "We defended our village and our family in the same way."

The mental pain came afterwards. He locked himself away from his family and he wouldn't talk to anyone. He even forgot his child's name. He was suffering from post traumatic stress.

"I lost peace of mind, I lost concentration, I lost everything," said the former soldier. "It just wasn't like it used to be."

Hope for troubled soldiers

Thanks to a ground-breaking project carried out by war veterans in his home town of Knin, Slavic has largely recovered. At the war veterans center in the southern Croatian town, traumatized soldiers are treated for depression by being introduced to computers and modern technology.

Boris Kraljic, who also fought during the war and suffered from post-traumatic stress, is one of the center's founding members. Their goal, he said, is to pull ex-soldiers out of their depression by focusing on computers and learning.

They now offer courses in European standard computing skills and have even set up their own wireless network around Knin, which saw some of the most brutal fighting during the war. By getting trained in new technologies, the vets shift their focus away from destructive memories and gain the confidence they need to re-enter society.

"We started by training war vets on computers, now we are also educating young people from the town and using these skills to help people go out and find jobs," said Kraljic.

Some 800 war vets have gone through the center, which receives support from the Croatian government.

State Secretary, Miroslav Kovacic, said that, while some war vets in other places have committed suicide, this has not happened in Knin, in large part due to the project.

Community service

The organizers of the veteran center "have been leaders in the community and have even helped the municipality with some of its projects," said Kovacic. "They've gone from being outsiders to becoming leaders who take things forward."

Meanwhile Ante Slavic has made such a recovery that he's now become one of the main organizers at the computer center.

"I'm a lot better," he said. "Today I'm a little tired physically, but that's nothing compared to brain tiredness. I need to use the computer now. If I don't have it, it feels a little like being on a battlefield without a gun."

The Knin war vets association is now planning to offer their knowledge and experience to other war veterans associations abroad on reintegrating shell-shocked soldiers.