Komšić: People are overcome by fear, but now we need solidarity and empathy

SARAJEVO, (Patria) – Željko Komšić, member of the BiH Presidency, said in the show Odgovorite ljudima on FTV that today was his first working day after isolation, during which he was preventively in quarantine after returning from Canada.

When asked if harder days lie ahead, Komšić said that looking at what is happening in more powerful countries like Spain, Italy, and the USA, it is to be expected that in a month we will have a worse situation than it is now. 

“People need to be told the truth, I am not an expert, an epidemiologist, but I am saying this by looking at what is happening in the world, the next month is crucial, it will be critical. We need to endure, and the first people on the front line are all people working in the healthcare sector, then the police, then the BiH Armed Forces, the transport sector. Let's not forget the miners who dig coal that provides us with electricity. There are other people too, I apologize if I forgot some. 

The first thing is to be disciplined, you need to listen to medical workers, listen to people in crisis headquarters, whether you like it or not,” said the member of the BiH Presidency.

Komšić said that he followed most of the situation through the media and contact with people. 

“Looking at the complicated system we have and the constitutional setup, I sometimes wonder how the system has responded. We have shown a kind of solidarity, arguments, quarrels, obstructions exist, but everything needs to be checked, I think things are functioning well for now. It's not ideal, but you can't expect that even in much more organized countries,” he said.
 
He emphasized that the healthcare system is under tremendous pressure and that this is a new situation for the whole world.

“Nobody has the right answer as to what is best in this situation, it has been shown that the story about restrictions is good because it reduces the spread of infection. This will have consequences for the economy and that will hurt later, but I see that the entity governments are working on it.” 

One of the questions posed by businessmen is whether the members of the BiH Presidency can help, provide some initiative regarding VAT.

“The entity governments have announced the postponement of VAT payments until the end of the month. These are things that, if we were to be pedantic, require changes to the law, but in extraordinary situations, we must be more flexible. Whether it is a suspension of contributions, whether it is a moratorium on paying obligations, in order to give our economy room to breathe and to leave room for a good start when all this is over,” Komšić's message was.  

He said that the authorities have started testing what economic measures could help. 

“We might come out of this fight with the virus and fall into poverty. All countries are taking care of themselves, closing themselves off, and that situation is expected. We must not touch healthcare, the pension system, social welfare, but we should take from those who have a little more,” said Komšić.

His message is to take care of each other, regardless of who we are, what we are, or where we are from.

“We should show that we are ready to lend each other a hand. It's a little different now because people are overcome by fear, but we should help those who need it. We must help people in Konjic, Banja Luka. That is why the message from the BiH Presidency was surprising; this is a situation where human lives are endangered, but we should show readiness to help each other. Money is sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, the damage is there for everyone, solidarity and empathy can save BiH,” Komšić concluded.