In Donja Jablanica, the area most devastated by the recent floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), residents organized a cleanup operation this Saturday instead of staging a protest.
They fear the consequences of new rainfall and point out that they have no other choice, given the lack of adequate institutional support. They hope to at least create minimum conditions for their neighbors to return.
Camila Imamovic, a resident of Donja Jablanica, emphasized that the cleanup effort yesterday was a clear message from the residents about their dedication to the community and their desire to contribute to its recovery. Speaking about the lack of concrete solutions from authorities after the devastating floods that struck the area, Imamovic underlined the obvious inaction of institutions:
“Roads of the Federation of BiH (FBiH), the Railways of the FBiH, our canton, the government – they are all passing the blame from one to another, but the truth is, their inaction is visible everywhere. This is evident here in Donja Jablanica and all other places, especially those affected by floods. They say: ‘We’ve cleaned the roads.’ Sure, superficially. But they haven’t cleared a single drainage channel, which further endangers us every time it rains even a little. They haven’t secured a single landslide.”
She does not hide her frustration with the inadequate response from authorities after the floods that hit their area, emphasizing that waiting for the reaction of competent institutions is simply not an option for the residents of Donja Jablanica.
“They haven’t cleared the undermined roads that fall under their jurisdiction. So today, we took over their responsibility. Let them come and punish us for doing their job. We would have gladly joined them if they had come on the first day so that together we could do all this and protect what can still be saved. Their endless legal regulations hurt us deeply. Do we really have to wait three months, or five months for them to agree on something? This cannot wait. People need things to be repaired as soon as possible, whatever can be repaired,” said Imamovic yesterday, emphasizing the urgency of the situation.
Although aware that no problem can be solved overnight, she points out that it is important for authorities to be present and to act together with the residents.
“We know that no one has a magic wand to solve our problems overnight. But they need to be here with us to solve them because we’ve lost even that tiny bit of trust we had in them. They have truly disappointed us in every way. And that’s why we’ve taken things into our own hands, started here, and will continue to warn, speak up, and defend what is ours,” she concluded.
Cleanup instead of protest
Bakir Tufek, president of the Donja Jablanica Local Community, explained the reasons why residents decided to abandon protests this weekend.
“This is partly a message to the authorities that residents aren’t shying away from work or help, whatever is needed, but the issue of cleanup and addressing mistakes in the village is a much bigger story. We truly need support from higher levels of government,” Tufek stressed.
He also emphasized that the municipality alone will not be able to resolve these problems and that it is necessary for the broader community and higher authorities to get involved.
“I don’t think the municipality can handle this on its own, so someone else needs to get involved here. We’ll see in the coming period,” he added.
As for the next steps, Tufek said that residents would meet again during the week to decide on further actions.
“We’ll see about all of this, depending on the residents’ response. We will hold another meeting this week, and then we’ll see what happens next,” concluded the president of the Donja Jablanica Local Community, N1 writes.
Photo: N1
