Assistance for disadvantaged families in Krajina
Do you remember the little girl from Buzim crying as her father was taken to prison for three meters of wood …? MFS-EMMAUS today visited the Dedic family in Doboj village near Buzim and handed them food and hygiene packages, clothing and footwear for toddlers and other household supplies that will be sufficient for the family to feed for the next month. We surprised Ramiza, the wife of the arrested Fikret Dedic, who will probably spend the next six months in prison apart from his children, with a special gift. We took her to a nearby furniture store to choose her own kitchen, where she would, like any decent housewife, prepare meals for her children and thus welcome them from school. The humble working-class family who have been afflicted throughout their lives had only words of praise. Although not all of Fikret’s children were home, we were lucky to meet the little girl who hugged her father in the photo while he was going to prison. When asked how she feels now and whether she has any wish that we can fulfill her, she just got up and left the room. She didn’t have to say anything, unfortunately it was clear to us that her desire to get her dad back from prison could not be fulfilled. How fateful it must be to put such children to the test, what they need so little to hope for, who to trust. It remains their belief in good people that they will return to the Good Village and help them survive the winter without a father with monthly incomes of less than 120 KM. Yes, this is their reality, which will take place several months behind the walls of a small house full of beautiful baby smiles.
In addition to this family, we also visited a single father of six children from the small village of Hepici near Stijen, Cazin municipality, whom we treated with a food and hygiene package, as well as warmer footwear and toddler clothes. Zijad Hepic is a disabled war veteran who has recently been disabled by the commission and is no longer receiving any benefits on that basis. For a long time he has been living on the outstretched hand of the people and educating six elementary students. The children, who were abandoned by their mother a few years ago, were left behind in all likelihood by the goodwill of the people helping them. The humble and surprised little ones were most pleased with sweets and shoes, because as they say, they would no longer spend all day in school having wet feet. If we ever wonder how difficult it is to educate a child today with the average salary of our country, then we must know that this man, recently had operation and unable to work, is fighting a heroic battle with himself and defying a life that is not always a good friend. He believes in better times and hopes to persist in educating his children to become independent of others tomorrow.
