Hard life in the refugee camp in Putovići, residents think they are already dead!

The camp in Putovići, built 20 years ago to house displaced persons, is today in very poor condition, but even as such, it is home to more than 20 families, reports the news agency Patria.

A mother with seven children with no income, a mother with a sick child with 20 years of work experience and only 14 KM in child allowance.

This is just a part of the difficult story we encountered in the camp in Putovići. Life in the camp is an uncertain adventure, as the structure itself is falling apart. Every strong wind poses a serious danger to the people living there.

The electrical installations are mostly torn, water and sewage are not laid through the camp at all, and water supply is done at a public tap in the very center of the camp settlement. Men are mostly unemployed or only temporarily do physical jobs such as chopping wood or collecting scrap metal from containers.

Women, besides having to take care of the children, try to keep the dwelling as clean as possible to prevent any disease. We were amazed by the fact that sometimes they agree that one or two of them watch and care for the children, while the others go out to beg or find another, honest way to secure a livelihood for themselves and the rest of the family.

- I used to carry water for the washing machine and wash clothes that way. Now I wash by hand, because my machine is broken. I manage as best I can, sometimes I even beg - said one of the camp residents.

It is evident that the condition in the camp is terrible, floors are rotting, people sleep on the floor and on cardboard. No one comes to help them. They are left at the mercy of the weather, good people, and a hard life.

- They visit us once in a blue moon, bring a sacrifice, and then no one comes anymore. The condition in the camp is getting worse every day, residents fear strong storms. My husband and I have been here for thirteen years, we have no jobs, we have seven children and are expecting an eighth. None of the children go to school, we have no income - says Alida Bajrić, adding that no one looks at them and they feel as if they are already dead.