BEKTIC'S STORY
Bektic Fatima is from Joseva village in Bratunac, in Bosnia.
“I lost my husband in the war; he was killed by a bomb. His body was never found. I can’t even count the members of my family who have been killed in this war.
I am faced with a very difficult situation. I went to visit my son who lives in Ilijas, with his family. It was good to see them on this blessed day, but I couldn’t wait to come back home, as I saw how hard they are finding it to survive and how life is difficult for them also.
We got these wooden houses from a donor. He sometimes brings us some food. I cook, but I am not able to make anything special. I eat just to survive.
We live 40 kilometres from Bratunac. It is wilderness. We are surrounded by forest, so when the season of mushrooms or some forest herbs arrives, we collect it and sell it.
Unfortunately we do not have any kind of animals here. If we for example had chickens the foxes from the forest would come and eat them.
The crisis has been with us for 10 months, since we came back to our pre-war home. I have two sons living in Sarajevo, one of them is working as a manual labourer and he is struggling to provide his family with the basic needs. The other one is not working, he is an invalid. The children who live with me are faced with many difficulties, but I am not able to help them more. God is my witness that I am doing everything I can.
Our life was completely different before the war. We had everything. Many people were living here, but now it is just forest. But I had to come back here. This is my home.
This is the first time I have received Qurbani meat. I am very thankful for that. The children like the Qurbani meat with macaroni. Any assistance means a lot to me. With this meat we will have a good lunch for days. I am very grateful. Also, I am so happy that you have come to visit. Sometimes I look at the street, hoping I will see someone passing. There is no one here. Just forest. Thank you for your visit.
I live with my daughter and her son; he is in the fifth grade at elementary school. The main income we have is my pension, and that is 300 KM ( €150). This is not enough for us to have a normal life.
The main problem is life without electricity, water and heating. In the house we had before the war, we had everything. Electricity, water, even a washing machine. We had two cows, sheep and 15 bulls. We had everything.
Now I live in one room, 16 square metres. We don’t have a bathroom; we use plastic wash-basins to take a bath. It is very difficult to cope with this. I don’t have any plans or hopes for the future. I would like to have some animals, which would make me feel alive again. I have high blood pressure and diabetes. My health is not good, but I am surviving.
I would like to thank Islamic Relief for your help and assistance. I am happy that you have come to visit, to see in what kind of circumstances we live. I hope you will come again and you will remember us again
