Last-minute rescue: Mehmed Bradarić's family jumped into a boat caught in a whirlpool

Mehmed Bradarić, SDP delegate in the House of Peoples, has been spending most of his time in his native Maglaj for the past 20 days, where, as he says, he is "literally becoming a cleaner", writes the news agency Patria. His apartment on the fourth floor was not damaged, but his son's apartment is a total loss. However, Bradarić himself says he is happy they survived.

- My son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old granddaughter barely escaped with their lives. They were saved by a boat they had to jump into, which was also carried away by the whirlpool, but thank God they eventually got out alive. Otherwise, the apartment is completely destroyed, but I said as long as they are healthy and alive, we will make up for everything else. That is my personal misfortune. When the whirlpool carried the boat away, they managed to get stuck in some crevice, and then they walked to the railway line in the pouring rain – says Bradarić, emphasizing that his four-year-old granddaughter had consequences and was very quiet and scared for five days after the flood.

He had a striking address at the last session of the House of Peoples regarding the catastrophe that hit Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he is dissatisfied with the local government.

- Specifically in Maglaj, the local government did not involve all the people who could help, so that we could gather and use our connections, because with one call we can help someone. We do not expect the cantonal, federal, or state government to shovel and clean here. They are doing their part, but local authorities have failed, specifically in Maglaj, they get a zero from me. They are only dealing with the distribution of humanitarian aid, which will not be available for long. And they are not doing it transparently – says Bradarić.

Furthermore, Bradarić blames Dragan Čović, the Speaker of the House of Peoples, for not scheduling a session to discuss the situation.

- One speaker cannot say at this time that he could not schedule a session according to the rules of procedure. To hell with the rules of procedure. So, just as Vučić was in boots, just as Merkel was in boots when floods occurred, we had to be too, and I am sure that if he had gone to Maglaj, Šamac, Doboj on the ground, he could have helped with his phone connections – added Bradarić.

Thanks to his conclusion, amendments to the Law on Excise Taxes were adopted, which unblocked the IMF funds.

- And that was problematic. Someone very coldly says we adopted a conclusion. And it clearly stated that we were ready to adopt the law on an urgent procedure, which we did, and Čović very coldly says, here we have adopted a conclusion, which means we will vote on the law at some next session. And the IMF skipped the reviews and urgently provided 400 million marks. It is given to the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whether it is loan funds or not, it is the most important thing. So, it is needed in Domaljevac too, where mostly Croats live, so you cannot behave so coldly if you care about Croats. And you saw that he cares about them all the time – explained Bradarić.

He adds that literally "everyone had to jump for that law to be adopted".

- The IMF said, adopt it and we will give you the money, so what were we supposed to do. I would have died if we hadn't adopted it. You are coming from one catastrophe into another. On the other hand, such people need to go among the people, among the citizens, to see the fates of the citizens, to see that children are wearing masks. That parents are urgently carrying children from one place to another so they don't see this catastrophe – added Bradarić.