New Year’s Eve is approaching, and preparations are well underway across Bosnia and Herzegovina. On December 31st, city squares will host receptions with performances by famous local and regional music stars.
The festive mood is felt at every turn, but while some are planning a celebration, many will welcome the arrival of 2026 in lines in front of public kitchens, which are longer than ever.
Caterers, as they say, are ready for the craziest night. Final preparations are underway, and a good time, according to them, will not be lacking. However, it all depends on the depth of your pocket. The prices of a reception in Banja Luka range from 70 to as much as 300 marks. The representative of the Association of Trade, Tourism and Hospitality Employers HoReCa RS Zlatan Tatić says that, like every year, there will be good entertainment, both during the day and in the evening. “Everyone will spend as much as they can afford. Some will stay at home, some will go out to the square, but basically, like every year, we will celebrate the New Year properly,” said Tatić.
However, most citizens will celebrate the New Year in a homely atmosphere. While some are thinking about whether to celebrate in restaurants, in squares or perhaps outside the country, an increasing number of people are faced with much more serious problems. The lines in front of public kitchens are getting longer every day, and those who stand in them are not thinking about celebrating, but about how to survive the day.
“I have nothing to eat at home. If they didn’t help me, I wouldn’t even have bread. One loaf of bread today costs two marks, which is 60 marks a month. And I have a disability pension of 380 marks and I pay 180 marks for rent. So here it is…”, says Darko Božičković, one of the users of the public kitchen.
Every morning, lines form in front of public kitchens across Bosnia and Herzegovina. They include pensioners whose pensions are not enough even for medicine, but also able-bodied people with small children whose incomes cannot even cover basic living expenses. These are scenes that many do not want to see, but which clearly speak of the depth of social problems.
The president of the “Mosaic of Friendship” Association, Miroslav Subašić, points out that between 700 and 800 meals are prepared every day, and significantly more during the holidays. “You see how many people are waiting to get in today. There is no more room. The situation is very difficult. When holidays and festivities come, even more people come. It shows how hard life is and how much people need help,” he emphasizes.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina today there are about a hundred public kitchens where about 20 thousand people come for a meal every day. According to estimates, that number would be even higher if many were not ashamed to stand in line. Public kitchens have long been no longer just a place where food is shared, but a mirror of the society in which we live.
Sociologist Srđan Puhalo warns that the situation is alarming. “We live in a society with so many problems that humanitarian numbers and bank accounts should be open 24 hours a day. What the state used to do has now been transferred to citizens who are managing on their own as best they can,” he says.
According to the United Nations, several hundred thousand people in Bosnia and Herzegovina live in poverty, while almost 700,000 are on the brink of poverty, surviving from month to month on minimal income or in complete uncertainty.
