Kašman: After floods, 60% of the population is unemployed

Malaysian Ambassador to BiH Anuar Kašman stated for Malaysian media that after the floods in BiH, about 60% of the population has been left without jobs.

- The unemployment rate in Bosnia was 40% before the floods, but it is now estimated that between 55% and 60% of people are jobless – Kašman said, reports Patria.

He told journalists and representatives of Mercy Malaysia who came to BiH that the country relies heavily on agriculture, and that the floods destroyed farms, crops, and livestock, as well as about 300 companies.

- Now was the time for people to plant crops. Many of them took out loans, but now everything is destroyed and they are left with debts – Kašman said.

The floods affected a large part of the country and surprised people because such floods have not been recorded in the past 120 years. The rain, which fell almost continuously for a month, caused river levels to rise.

- Landslides have also devastated some places, destroying houses and properties. 3,000 landslides occurred due to the floods. Of these, 250 were large and many smaller ones, and the floods and landslides also contributed to the displacement of minefields – he stated.

He provided data that around 120,000 mines from the war in BiH from 1992 to 1995 still remain. And now mines have been moved into some populated areas.

- Experts are trying to locate and remove them, but one should still be careful if traveling to these affected areas and pay attention to the markings – Kašman warned.

The Malaysian Ambassador welcomed the initiative launched by TheSun and Mercy Malaysia to establish a relief fund for BiH, and offered assistance in organizing a trip so that an expert team could assess the damage. He emphasized that the founder of the corporation "Berjaya" Tan Sri Vincent Tan, owner of FK "Sarajevo" and the English "Cardiff", was among the first to donate more than 200,000 KM for BiH, reports Patria.

- This was reported in most BiH media and there was great interest in it – Kašman said.