The bloodiest post-war conflict in Europe has come to a standstill: I’ve never been ashamed

According to the Sarajevo Public Health Agency, the virus claimed 18.5 lives a day in March. By comparison, an average of 3.8 civilians per day have died in nearly four years of the siege, politico.eu reports.

Last Tuesday, thousands of people, without escaping the harsh climate, gathered to protest against politicians who are slowly seeking solutions to the situation.

“Our entire family is participating in the protest,” said the 51-year-old. Miranda Sidran, who came with her daughter, sister and brother. “We are protesting because we want our right to life to be respected.”

When the 1992-1995 war period ended, a decentralized system was introduced to suppress the three main parties to the conflict: the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian ethnic groups.

Under this system, there are 14 administrative units with their own government.

However, in the event of a crisis of this magnitude, the situation seems stagnant.

“There would have been 1,000 more people protesting a month ago, but those people have already died from COVID-19,” Sidran said. “When you see a person die, you can’t help wondering whose duty it is to provide the vaccines.”

Every day there are long lines at funeral homes that operate at full capacity. Reports of deaths of people of all ages are growing rapidly on the walls and billboards of Sarajevo homes.
Residents are concerned that the government will not be able to provide the required number of vaccines.

“So far, I have not been so embarrassed living in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he said. blogger, German teacher Irma Plavčič. “Social media anger those who shape our destinies.”

The Bosnian authorities decided to negotiate with the vaccine manufacturers themselves when it became clear that shipments under the global COVAX scheme would arrive much later.

It is true that in Bosnia it is difficult to determine who is in power and who has the responsibility to lead the negotiations.
“Vaccine providers want to talk to governments,” explained Damir Marjanovic, who teaches genetics and bioengineering at Sarajevo International University in Burch. – However, according to the system in force in Bosnia, if the government does not do something, the canton [administracinio suskirstymo vienetas] Government. And that’s what bothers providers the most. “

Bosnia does not have a state Ministry of Health. Two territorial administrative units are responsible for health care: the Republika Srpska (occupying the eastern and northern part of the country, where the majority of the population is Serb) and the Federation of Bosnia and Croatia. There is also an autonomous region in the north: the Brčko district border is guarded by international peacekeepers.

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of 10 cantons, which also have an impact on health.

It is this confused system that is seen as a brake on the economic and social progress of the country.

„[COVID-19] the crisis has become another cause of daily political disputes between political leaders, ”said D. Marjanovičius.

Persian

Patients at Sarajevo Central Hospital, one of two treatment facilities receiving coronavirus patients, are angry.

“This catastrophe has shown that our system of government is a sham and that the people are left to their own devices,” he said. electrical engineer Vedadas Zuličius. “The medical staff is reimbursed for all their mistakes.”

Retired doctors from various other departments are sent to work on COVID-19, retired doctors are invited, and vaccination of healthcare professionals has long been suspended.

Last Sunday, 656 people were hospitalized in the Sarajevo canton (with a population of 400,000), 79 of whom were connected to oxygen devices.

“None of us complain about working hours, conditions or overtime,” the 36-year-old said. Nurse Nihad Izmirličius. – We are angry with the system that does not provide vaccines. I risk my health and the health of my family members to save as many lives as possible, and we will not give up even if we are tired.

He and his wife were infected with the virus for the second time. They are healthy at home.

Echoes of war

Serbia, Bosnia’s eastern neighbor, is one of the most active vaccination campaigns in Europe. Serbs are offered BioNTech / Pfizer, Moderna, Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccines, as well as Sinopharm from China and Sputnik V from Russia.

The vaccine supply is so successful that President Alexander Vučičius is donating vaccines to North Macedonia, Montenegro and even Bosnia to strengthen his influence in the region.

When reports emerged of a possible link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and thrombosis, Serbs began to choose other vaccines.

AstraZeneca’s 25,000 vaccinations were valid until the end of March, so in March Serbia invited those wishing to get vaccinated from across the region. At that time, various celebrities of the Bosnian population, including politicians, were spread along the border with Belgrade and Novi Sad. It is estimated that a total of 22,000 foreigners (mostly Bosnians) came to Serbia to get vaccinated.

Still, it is unpleasant for most Bosnians to depend on the goodwill of A. Vučičius. While still a young journalist, A. Vučičius, a member of the radical ultranationalist party in Serbia, supported the Bosnian and Serbian armies, whose commanders were convicted of war crimes. Later, A. Vučičius began to position himself as a conservative and a pro-EU reformer.

Plavčič, a German teacher, is one of the many Bosnians who have come to Serbia to get vaccinated.
“I have lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina all my life until now, I clearly remember the horrors of the war,” he said. – I am still pleased and grateful to Serbia for giving me and many of my compatriots the opportunity to protect themselves with vaccines and to get at least a little closer to normal life.