May 14th 2014, a day that Bosnian people won’t easily forget.
20 years after the bloody war, which scarred the Balkan peninsula, another woe affected Bosnians: the floods emergency. Due to the heavy rains in these past few days, the main river of the region, Bosna, overflew in the central area of the Zenica-Doboj canton, causing destruction, misery and death. In Maglaj, a small municipality in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the water mark reached 2,5 to 3 meters: Helpless people started to run desperately up to the top of their roofs in order to survive. No drinking water, no food, no electricity: This was the dramatic scenario in which thousands of people lived in till a couple of days ago. But when the rain stopped, the EUFOR helicopters arrived together with the army, hundreds of volunteers and students ready to help the most devastated cities of the region. An important help came from the international community and the Bosnian diaspora with donations and food as well. 20 years after the civil war in Bosnia, a new misfortune, this natural cataclysm.
A catastrophe which is not over yet, because the population needs help and hope in order to rise again and fight back: in particular, there are other consequences directly related to the floods in Bosnia: unsafe buildings and mines. Yes, unexploded landmines from the ’90s civil war were dragged down to the ctities by the flow of water. Although the situation is critical, as a Bosnian and a ‘Maglajlija’ I believe that my little town can do it once again. Being in Italy and far away from my relatives makes me feel awful but not powerless: indeed I’m doing everything I can in order to make people aware of the actual situation in Bosnia.
My appeal right now goes to all the AEGEEans: Please, help all the children, women, ill and old people, who are struggling right now in Bosnia.
Written by Larisa Smajlagic, AEGEE-Verona