The Commissariat for Refugees and Migrations of the Republic of Serbia delivered more than a 100 household appliances to inhabitants of Banija and the Petrinja and Glina surroundings, stricken by the earthquake last year. Behind every washing machine, a fridge or a stove, there lies hidden a hard destiny of returnees who are yet again starting their lives from scratch.

“The earthquake completely destroyed the house and everything in it. Among other things our washing machine was broken so that for the past nine months my wife has been doing the washing by hand, something she last did 50 years ago. We are happy to have solved the problem of the laundry, but how are we going to solve the problem of life, of living, I don’t know. It seems to me that I shall not live to see the house reconstructed because everything is going so slowly, too slowly. How are we going to spend winter in the container, or for how long, I don’t know. We fear winter. But I thank these good people and for this day, because any help is welcome now,” 70-year-old Milan Vranjanin from Luščani told us.

A truck from Belgrade with 216 pieces of household appliances first stopped in Blinja near Petrinja and was welcomed by a dozen inhabitants of this and some nearby villages, for whom these much needed appliances were intended.

“White” cargo was escorted by Dejan Milisavljević, advisor at the Commissariat for Refugees and Migrations of the Republic of Serbia:

“This is a portion of our aid for people struck by the earthquake, which – after all the troubles they went through, from the Storm to the return and reconstruction – brought them back to the beginning. This is not only aid in household appliances. This is primarily a message from the institutions of Serbia that they care for these people and that they will in the future listen closely to their needs and help, along with the Serb National Council, as much as they can. The value of this donation is approximately 25,000 euros, and we are already considering another. I am happy that these gifts ended in the right hands and that I was present during the handover and could met each individual citizen and speak to them. Great and brave people,” said Dejan Milisavljević.

“Over the past 11 years, the Commissariat has delivered various donations to areas in Croatia worth one million euros, with funds that came from Serbia’s budget, and some 5,000 returnees have used this assistance. Beneficiaries of this aid came from all Croatian counties. This assistance is more of a small token of our care for the people who have gone through hardship than concrete material help, because they need much more”, Milosavljević said.

Mara Dejanović from the village of Dejanovići, patiently waited her turn to sign for and receive the long-awaited stove, powered by electricity and gas:

“Way back, such a stove used to be an ordinary kitchen thing, but today for me it represents a real fortune. I am happy to have received it because I could never have bought it by myself. I have a family farm which was all but destroyed by the earthquake. Utility buildings and stables where we keep cows and sheep were torn down. We somehow managed to ”patch up” the house on our owns, we also repaired the chimneys, but I cannot imagine what it will be like going forward. We have been set back by ten years, so this stove means a lot to me. Thank you to this Commissariat, whoever hears this. It is nice to know that someone somewhere thinks of the disaster victims”, Mara Dejanović tells us.

To Kata Grubić, the earthquake destroyed the house and everything in it of value. A red sticker forbids entrance into the ruin so that the family sleeps in a container.

“I am no longer that young, so I find it hard to do the washing by hand. I was already thinking that I would have to keep doing it like this until the end of my life when this donation came. Here is my new washing machine and now my life will be much nicer. I have applied for reconstruction, but as things stand now, and as far as I have heard, I will not live to see it happen. I am past 80. Perhaps, if I lived to be a 100, the house would be reconstructed. As it is now, nothing will come of it. I mostly fear winter. Mornings are already cold, we should start the heating, but you cannot do that in the container. What will happen I do not know. I am glad to have the washing machine at least and I thank the good people,” said Kata Grubić.

Mirjana Olujić , Deputy County Prefect of The Sisak-Moslavina Couny from the Serb minority ranks, would not miss the occasion of the delivery of household  appliances to the Banija residents.

“This donation, the result of cooperation between the SNC and the Commissariat for Refugees and Migrations of the Republic of Serbia, again proved to be right on target. We have helped people who need help and each item made the person for whom it was intended happy. It is important to know that this is not an isolated action, but only one of many, certainly not the last one. Today we are already discussing with citizens about how to detect their needs and plan the next donation accordingly,” said Mirjana Olujić.

After Blinje, the convoy with household appliances headed towards nearby Stražbenica, where the family of Jovan Uglješić received a washing machine, and after that it arrived in Glina. At the stadium of the football club Banovica, dozens of citizens from Glina and its surroundings gathered.

Miloš Branković came all the way from Bijele Vode to collect his washing machine:

“When this unfortunate earthquake thundered, our chimney tumbled and fell on the attic, went through the ceiling and fell straight on top of the washing machine, which was completely destroyed. You see, this machine is a great thing for my wife because up until now she had to do the washing by hand. It is also important for me because I had to help her in this. I was tasked with boiling the laundry in a pot, and my wife would do the rest,” said Miloš Branković.