Humanitarian catastrophe in Bihac and Velika Kladusa

NGOs warn that the unsolved issue of adequate and humane accommodation for all migrants and refugees in Bihac and Velika Kladusa is ongoing - a humanitarian catastrophe.

The Peace Building Network and the NGO Souls of Sarajevo and SOS Velika Kladuša therefore requested the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Union, UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other relevant organizations and institutions to provide full logistics and economic support to local authorities and volunteers on the ground, Anadolia reports.

"Thousands of people in the clear sky have been welcomed by the storm that hit this part of BiH, with warnings from non-governmental authorities and their refusal to fulfill their legal obligations and provide adequate accommodation and care for these people. they know the best - they transfer responsibility from each other without actually doing anything and in the meantime violating the laws and the international obligations assumed by the state. "This country is not so poor to provide assistance to these few thousands of people, but our authorities have now shifted their responsibilities to exhausted and impoverished citizens and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina ", they quote from non-governmental organizations.

They also point out that "the authorities spend our money on buying cars, conferences and meetings in the white world" and that in the refugee crisis "citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina once again demonstrated their solidarity with the man".

"As in the floods of 2014, individuals and individuals invest a lot of power, energy, resources and knowledge to help people survive. We feed people and help them as much as we can. But we can not individually and not take the responsibility of the state. the possible solution lies in systemic assistance - from accommodation, provision of health and legal services, which is currently the most important, to education, "they state.

Hate speech of politicians and the media

"People have been sleeping in open and abandoned and uninhabited buildings for months, while the empty newly constructed and renovated residential and business buildings that were illegally built in our public spaces have been built up by these authorities, not that there are no accommodation facilities, but someone's personal interests are in the end hand racism. Some media and politicians increasingly use language of hatred to justify their reluctance, and human life does not seem to be valued at all in this country, "they warn NGOs in BiH.

The lack of functionality of the state, accentuates, corresponds with the international bureaucrats who live here precisely because of this dysfunctionality.

"The large offices of UNHCR and IOM refuse responsibility for the care of people, although in their mandates they have an obligation to do just that. They have already played well in this transfer of responsibilities that BiH authorities have developed to perfection. they fail precisely because the EU is responsible for this situation, because of the policy of closed borders and the encouragement of violence against these people, which is currently being implemented by Croatian police, "the attitude of non-governmental organizations in BiH.

All the negligence and refusal to take any responsibility, the price of civil associations, led to the fact that thousands of people in Bihac, Velika Kladusa and Sarajevo sleep in the open, or in dismantled and completely unsuitable, hygienic and health-risk areas.

"Because of the storms that hit the northwestern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, human lives are now absolutely threatened." In Velika Kladusa, a tent camp in which there are between 300 and 500 refugees, including women and children, is under water. it is inclined to hold water, which is also the name of Bara. In Bihać, several thousand people have suffered stormy weather under the clear sky, the rain continues to fall and the night is waiting without any protection. Local authorities fight as much as they can, but the number of refugees and weather disasters they are overcoming their opportunities to adequately respond to these problems, "they say.

Responsibility for the lives of people
"We do not want to listen to endless endorsements, switching responsibilities, or finding out about excuses, money, and capacity, you are responsible for all of them." Human lives are at stake! winter that is known to be terrible in these areas. All of you are responsible for the lives of people, "they said from the non-governmental sector.

They demand an immediate reaction, without delay and politicization, but also the inclusion of all levels of government, especially state and entity, because the situation goes beyond the capacities and possibilities of Bihać and Velika Kladuša.

"In view of the special legal obligation of the Ministry of Security of BiH, we demand that we urgently provide logistical and other support in order to solve the issue of accommodation, and enable the application for asylum, because in the meadow, without an address, this right has been denied to them. We demand from the international community making available all of its capacities and resources, and concrete help in resolving this humanitarian catastrophe, "the message from the non-governmental sector in BiH.

They also appeal to other municipalities and cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to jointly assist Bihać and Velika Kladusa, as well as other cities, in finding an adequate and dignified man.

• 18 Jul, 2018
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