Una-Sana Canton has been fighting floods for almost seven days now. The situation has stabilized, the water level has dropped, and the water has receded. However, the consequences are visible. Citizens are bitter and exhausted, and those in the most critical areas – inconsolable.
The rain stopped falling, the water receded, only mud and silt remained, which, as they say, is already over the heads of the residents of the Bihać settlements Pokoj and Kostela. They point out – they can’t fight against a superior force, and they don’t know how they will manage further. Their homes were destroyed, and everything they renovated after the December floods fell into the water again, along with their efforts.
Raised parquet floors, destroyed installations and soaked furniture is all they have left. They have already given up hope. They say – they were promised help, but they still haven’t received the help from the previous floods either.
“We have nowhere to go if they don’t give it to us. You don’t work from a pension. Everything was destroyed, not only at my place, but also at my neighbors’, these seven houses in total. And the same every year,” says Remzo Bejtić, a resident of Kostela.
They almost don’t even think about furniture anymore. Despite everything, they are happy because they managed to save the treasure – cows, sheep, horses. Regardless, uncertainty awaits them in the next few months as everything else is submerged.
“Everything is gone, my garden is still under water, three fields of corn, potato, onions, everything I have is flooded”, points out Esma Zulić, a resident of the Pokoj settlement.
For some, the water came only to the yard. Those who were lucky enough not to enter their house this time have only one answer to the question of whether they are afraid.
“Why not? You are surprised, you get up in the morning, and your garden is in the water. It was like this only in ’67”, says Šerife Hodžić, a resident of the Pokoj settlement.
Although the forecasts are somewhat more favorable, the citizens of the Una-Sana Canton are not thinking about the coming days. They say they don’t have time for that, because they are waiting now – repairing the damage.