While the political upheavals and actions that do not contribute to the prosperity of the country continue, in Bosnia and Herzegovina there are many who put their lives at their disposal in the midst of the aggression against the homeland, and today they live on the edge of existence. They say that the state and the system have forgotten them, so as in the war, they rely on each other.
Life in a wheelchair, an unconditional home, a disability allowance of 300 marks, is the life story of Meha Ferhatović from Tuzla. Meho spent 36 months as a member of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and towards the end of the war in ’95, he was wounded and lost an eye.
“After that, my health was not good, so I had one leg amputated, so come on, it will get better, it will get better, it happened on the other leg. So now, what people say, I don’t care about myself or my family,” says Meho.
Today, he says, Meho survives thanks to good people and his comrades who visit him, and who also built a wheelchair access for him, thus making his life easier.
“Both disabled war veterans and residents of our local community of Kreka, who know me well, afford me, help me, and without that I wouldn’t be able to live,” he adds.
The Ministry of Veteran Affairs of Tuzla Canton strives to help through scholarships and employment of children of former members of the ARBiH, as well as housing. However, collecting the necessary documentation for public calls is often a stumbling block.
Veterans’ associations have been asking for corrections of the subsistence allowance for demobilized soldiers over the age of 57 for a long time, which in TK amounts to 6 marks for a month spent in the Army. The line ministry also believes that it is insufficient, but they say that it is the competence of the Federal Ministry.
“Now when we look at the statistics and the consumer basket, does anyone think that this subsistence allowance can be for someone’s existence, that his family or himself, that we don’t take the family to exist. I don’t think so,” said Senada Dizdarević, Minister of Veterans’ Affairs, Tuzla Canton.
“It’s charity. Because the subsistence allowance by default means that I or you or anyone else who receives it, can provide an existence for himself and his family”, believes Nermin Marevac, president of the organization RVI Tuzla.
And every year there are fewer and fewer demobilized fighters, both alive and able to work. Their patriotism falls into oblivion, they believe, because even after the war, every day is a struggle for survival.
