Year drawing to a close: Protests, floods, elections, and protests again

If we were to describe the year drawing to a close, we could do so with four words: protests, floods, elections, protests, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

Citizen protests on February 7 in several cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended in violence and the burning of cantonal government buildings, as well as the building of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The protests gave rise to citizens' plenums, but without significant impact.

After ignoring requests for help and refusing to deploy a special unit to protect the building of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Goran Zubac, director of SIPA, was charged with dereliction of duty, and the trial is ongoing.

UNPRECEDENTED FLOODS

In mid-May, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region were hit by unprecedented floods, in which hundreds of people lost their homes and everything they had built during their lives. Several lives were lost, and recovery is still ongoing. The EU, through its Recovery Program, has secured funds for the reconstruction of schools, bridges, infrastructure, and residential buildings. It is certain that the consequences of the floods will be felt for a long time, and due to landslides, many will never return to their homes.

GENERAL ELECTIONS

Politicians' promises during the election campaign that everyone would have a roof over their heads by winter have not been fulfilled, and the General Elections held on October 12 brought no changes. The election winners are the SDA, DF, and HDZ, which formed a coalition, but the formation of the government is proceeding at a slow pace.

AND FINALLY

The end of the year was marked by the suffering of workers from Tuzla's Aida, Dita, Livnica, and Konjuh from Živinice, companies destroyed by poor privatization. Although the workers set out on a journey towards the EU in search of a better life, they were turned back at the border with Croatia. They returned to Tuzla, and the ordeal continues.