HIPERPRIVILEGED YOUTH: Children without parents, war veterans, demobilized soldiers, single parents...

(Patria) - Dear media representatives, the reaction of state representative Mia Karamehić - Abazović has caused a great media stir. The public is already aware of her stance through the media, but we must also ask – does her stance reflect the stance of her political party “People and Justice”?

This is stated in a statement from an informal youth group, who took to the streets last week due to the subsidy for purchasing an apartment, which was significantly lower than promised, and the lowest since it has been awarded. The reaction refers to Mia Karamehić Abazović's statement, who called them "hyper-privileged" compared to other categories in society.

"Only someone who understands what it means can call young people a hyper-privileged caste, and the mentioned representative seems to know it very well. In the General Elections in 2022, representing the People and Justice party, Mia Karamehić-Abazović won 4,793 votes and finished sixth on the overall ranking list. This was not enough for her to enter the House of Representatives by the will of the citizens, but exclusively by the will of her party, and thanks to the compensatory list, she found herself in the State Parliament. Mia Karamehić-Abazović is hyper-privileged because she receives over 5,000 KM in her account every month," the youth state and add:

"And perhaps it wouldn't be controversial if that money was earned, but it wasn't. According to the latest information from July last year (and we will request updated information from the expert service of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament), Karamehić-Abazović had one initiative in eight months of "work" and did not submit parliamentary questions".

"We ask ourselves, are young people, mostly employed in the real sector, so privileged that they do nothing, and have a salary of 5,000 KM? We ask ourselves...

YOUTH EXPERIENCES

With the permission of the applicants from the list, we are sharing some of their experiences.

Ajla

“My installment is 800 KM. I live alone, and I repay my loan myself. I am the child of a war invalid. I have a Master's degree in Economics with a full 10 years of work experience, and I am currently 29! If that is hyper-privileged, then I am. The fact that I have built myself up over these 10 years and secured a salary (along with studying at the Faculty of Economics in Sarajevo, not at their forestry faculties) that can cover this loan was not provided by the state. To mention, I work in the private sector.”

Amina and Vedad

“We are both mechanical engineers. Our fathers spent four years at war. We took out a loan of 140,000 KM. Our installment is 850 KM, and we will repay it for the next 20 years. And we had to take it for 20 years because we didn't have enough creditworthiness for them to give it to us for 15 because my husband received half of his salary in an envelope (that's our country). Despite our daily jobs, my husband works privately so that we can have enough money at least once to go on vacation.”

Aldin

“I took out a loan for 25 years. I work every working day for 9+ hours to provide my wife and child with everything they need. I moved to Sarajevo in 2020 and fought my way to a good job and position. After three years of effort and work, I got a permanent job and the conditions for a loan. My wife and I decided to stay in BiH and fight together. I am not a member of any party, nor will I be! For most of the things that have been renovated in the apartment, my father-in-law and I are responsible, because we did everything ourselves and didn't pay for craftsmen. Both vacations in 2023 were spent working. I am a hyper-privileged person.”

Amar

“My wife and I took out a loan for 20 years. I am writing this because my wife is employed as a saleswoman – precisely one of those that the lady in question says are not in this group. My wife has one day off, works six days a week, and works the evening shift until 10 PM three or four days a week. Her salary is below average, and she spends seven hours on her feet. I sometimes work three jobs privately. We bought an apartment because we had nowhere to live together.
My father is buried in the Alley of Veterans, a war invalid who retired with a pension of just over 400 marks.”

Amna

“I cannot stay in the apartment I bought this winter. I have no heating and no hot water. The heating repairs alone cost me six thousand marks, and I was hoping for a subsidy. I paid the tax from savings, and my parents can barely pay their bills.”

Medina

My father-in-law was a battalion commander; he only paid off the loan for the house with a 7% interest rate last year. We would be entitled to 1/3 of that house; we will inherit absolutely nothing from my parents. We even help them financially. My father died; my mother is a child from the Home for Children without Parental Care Bjelave... My husband was one of the best students at the Bosniak Gymnasium, 100% scholarship for studies, he has been working since his third year because his scholarship was reduced due to inflation, despite a GPA of 9.6. I am one of the best students of the generation with a GPA of 8.9, a Master of Psychology and Psychotherapist, and I volunteered on at least 50 projects during my studies. I am in the process of opening a craft business, which was our motivation for taking out a loan so we wouldn't have to pay two rents, as no landlord wants to deal with registering a craft business at their address. Unlike our peers, we didn't have the opportunity to travel and party during our student days; we only did so if we earned it ourselves, and now with a small baby, we have given up many pleasures to afford a safe roof over our heads.” We hereby invite applicants who have passed the procedure of the Public Call for Subsidizing Apartment Purchases to sign a petition of dissatisfaction with the amount of approved funds, which we will submit to the KS Assembly and the KS Government.

https://www.onlinepeticija.com/subvencija_za_mlade_kanton_sarajevo_2023?fbclid=Iw

The informal group announces that a peaceful protest march will be held on Saturday, January 20, 2024, at 12 PM, from Sebilj to Aria shopping center.

"We hereby invite sincere and honorable citizens of Sarajevo Canton to join us in our mission to achieve promised rights. Every departure of young people from our homeland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is an irreparable loss. We do not want to leave. Help us in our mission," the statement reads.