Some people eat once every two days: Prisoners are better fed than the socially vulnerable

SARAJevo, (Patria) - Inflation in BiH has affected many citizens, including those in Mostar, and the most socially vulnerable are seeking refuge at the Social Work Center and the Red Cross of the City of Mostar to get food or a warm place to sleep.

In addition to food, many citizens of Mostar are forced to seek shelter due to their difficult social situation. Zdravka Marić, director of the Social Work Center of the City of Mostar, says they do not have a registry of homeless people and their exact number, but that people report themselves and that the Center tries to ensure their rights to social assistance.

"We ensure the right to public soup kitchens, the right to accommodation if we determine that the person is in need of social protection and cannot meet their needs on their own, or has no relatives. Likewise, they are provided with one-time financial assistance, counseling, and food packages. There are more and more such requests and more beneficiaries due to inflation. People cannot meet their needs with pensions and salaries, and some are without income. They contact us daily," Marić told N1.

"Some people eat once every two days"
Alen Kajtaz, secretary of the Red Cross Mostar, says they currently have a frozen number of beneficiaries. Moreover, beneficiaries who do not regularly come to the kitchen for meals are removed from the list of regular beneficiaries.

"We do this to save food, we don't want to throw it away. Food is prepared for them, they don't come, and we have to throw it away. They have to wait, and if there is food left, they get it. They cannot have the same privileges as those who are regular," he adds.

The number of 354 beneficiaries is not small, he says, but it is not large either, considering the huge price increases and everything that follows as a consequence of the war in Ukraine, as well as the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

"These are things that affect the quality of life of our fellow citizens. I think the number of beneficiaries in need is twice as high as the number shown on the lists we have. There are still people who eat once a day or even once every two days. They do not decide to come to the kitchen, to extend their hand, or to ask for help," emphasizes Kajtaz.

He says that the situation at the state level is not resolved, that the problem of homeless and socially vulnerable categories of people has not been systematically solved.

"We have a situation where a prisoner in BiH is entitled to 3000 calories per day and some calories provided for socially useful work. The state stands behind that. On the other hand, I am not sure that there is any regulation in BiH that ensures the status of homeless and socially vulnerable categories of people to receive the same treatment. Who will provide that food, whether it is enough for them, and how many calories, that still does not exist," says Kajtaz.

Daily price increases are not matched by budget allocations

The kitchen has high costs, and it serves citizens daily. In 30 years, they have only been closed for one day, and that was the year when there was heavy snowfall and the kitchen could not be reached.

"We have a situation where daily price increases are not matched by allocations from the budget, or rather, they are not allocated from the part related to applied projects. We apply for projects to various ministries every year, and these funds are the same from year to year. Earlier, there were small price increases, so it was somehow overlooked, but now when you have inflation that exceeds those allocations and does not keep pace with salaries and pensions, people live worse. Before, they could ensure a more normal life with a salary, but today they are looking for additional income. People are struggling to make ends meet. How much worse is it for those who have no job at all?" Kajtaz says in conclusion.

A long and cold winter awaits the socially vulnerable citizens of Mostar, and in addition to these institutions, many non-governmental organizations are trying to provide them with free shoes and clothes and some food.