Šefika Torlaković is 74 years old and suffers from six different diseases. She is living alone from social assistance in an old house in Krč, Zenica.
Šefika has a brain tumor, heart condition, ulcers, blood fat and spine spondylosis. ‘’My whole body hurts, I do not know anymore what I have and what I don’t, I am not going to doctors anymore’’, says Šefika. She lives of welfare which amounts to 120 BAM.
“What is 120 BAM? After I pay for utilities, there is almost nothing left, and utilities have to be paid even if you do not have anything to eat. Sometimes I eat food that is 4-5 days old, because I have to. I have no one, my husband died 17 years ago, and all my relatives are dead “, says Šefika.
Šefika knows the children of her sisters but they do not help her, nor do the neighbors. “How will my neighbors help me, when they do not have anything either?
“I need food, that’s priority number one. The other problem is firewood, even when social assistance gifts me with 2 meters of firewood, that’s not enough”, explains Šefika.
Even from that small social support Šefika does not receive the full amount. As a rule, she needs to get 120 BAM per month, but often they only give to her 50 BAM, or a similar amount and say that there is no money in the budget.
“My husband and I worked privately. We worked as tailors, and I have 10 years of experience, but when I turned 65, they removed my name from the bureau.” said Šefika.
The house in which Šefika lives has three rooms and a bathroom. ‘’ In two out of these three rooms no one can stay because of the cold and dampness. Since he died, everything died,’’ concluded Šefika Torlaković.
Written by Armin Durgut
