Why did we close universities, schools, and kindergartens, but not migrant camps

By: Rasim Belko

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The coronavirus has arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but fortunately for all of us, the system has so far managed to keep the situation under control. We have 15 infected, but no deaths. 

Many believe that the system reacted in time, and to a large extent, I can agree with that statement. 

We are closing schools and universities, many events are being canceled, and public gatherings of more than 250 people are prohibited. State services are operating in accordance with the foreseen measures, and crisis headquarters are acting promptly. 

Citizens are also informed and warned in a timely manner. 

However, the system has failed in two segments of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The supplies recommended by medical officials as protection and prevention against the coronavirus have disappeared from the shelves of pharmacies and stores. Whether they were sold out or withdrawn is a question that the authorities should investigate. But what is completely certain, and the author of these lines has verified it, is that the supplies are gone. 

Someone should seriously deal with their procurement, because how can we protect ourselves if we are deprived of basic protective equipment. If there are those who have withdrawn supplies from the shelves to triple their profits in the coming days, and that is not excluded, then the authorities should imprison such individuals at least until the end of the year. 

If there are no supplies, they should be procured with state money and sold at the purchase price. If the problem is by land, it is not a problem to send a plane to that part of the world where protective equipment is produced. 

Healthcare is a continuous problem in our country; the coronavirus is just the tip of the iceberg. There is money, it is only a matter of will and the ability to resist various lobbies. 

However, the lack of protective equipment is perhaps a minor problem compared to migrants in free movement. In the central areas of Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zenica, Bihać, there is almost no shopping center or other public spaces where a large number of people gather without encountering migrants.

Migrants are not a bogeyman, but in a situation where the local population is threatened with fines for not complying with the Law on Protection from Infectious Diseases, it is unacceptable to have people from camps on the streets of cities. 

If we look at the situation in Sarajevo, it is clear that there are a large number of potential sources and transmitters of the virus in the capital who move freely. 

Not far from the center of Sarajevo, in two open-type camps in Blažuj and Ušivak, about 2,000 migrants are accommodated. These people are registered in the camps and then move from Hadžići, through Ilidža, to the very center of Sarajevo. 

Does anyone believe that people who spend most of the day on the street use medical and other protective equipment for health? These people have been massively selling paper tissues lately. 

And in the camp, there are far more of them than the number of people legally allowed for public gatherings in the current situation. 

We have closed universities, schools, kindergartens, but left migrant camps open.

For example, one primary school in the Sarajevo Canton has 1,000 students, which is the largest number of students, while the average per school is about 500 students, and the camp in Blažuj has 1,300 migrants. These people have traveled kilometers, live in a large community, their nutrition is a question, and the strength of their immune system is also a question… 

Is it time to close Blažuj and Ušivak, and to form health teams for these camps, in order to protect migrants from the nasty virus, and thus protect the health of the citizens of BiH.