Photo: Pixabay/Mirza Causevic
According to United Nations data, every sixth household in Bosnia and Herzegovina is poor, and 15 percent of citizens live in absolute poverty.
The number of people leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina in search of a better life is increasing every day. Among them are experts from various fields, educated, able-bodied people.
Thus, in the last ten years, over 600.000 people emigrated from BiH, said the president of the Union for Sustainable Return and Refugees (UZOPI) in BiH, Mirhunisa Zukić, for "Radio Free Europe".
"Unfortunately, that number warns that BiH is left without a population, as we witness that Afro-Asian countries are left without their inhabitants, who die on the migrant routes to Europe."
As Zukić pointed out, "forced migration and going into uncertainty with many obstacles are painful issues that have existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans for three decades."
On the verge of poverty
According to United Nations data, every sixth household in BiH is poor, 15 percent of citizens live in absolute poverty, while half of the population is on the verge of poverty.
It was impossible for small states, such as BiH, to avoid the consequences of the corona pandemic, and then the energy crisis that arose as a result of the war in Ukraine.
According to the data published on the website of the BiH Ministry of Trade, the prices of food, electricity, gas and housing rose the most.
The crises hit employees in the real sector and pensioners the most. Many have lost their jobs, while those who have kept their jobs have been waiting months for their salaries.
Of the approximately 450.000 pensioners living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 62 percent of them receive a pension of 382 KM. They survive with this low pension thanks to the help of their children and relatives, writes Deutsche Welle.
"I buy by the piece, one potato, one carrot, one lemon and so on..." said pensioner Sajma Karić from Sarajevo.
As she said, she lives with a monthly pension of 380 KM, so her relatives help her buy medicine, considering that she spends her pension on groceries.
Young people buy one-way tickets
Images of suitcases and buses full of young people holding one-way tickets have long since become everyday, reports Federal Television.
The decisive reasons why young people pack their bags every year are not only low wages, poor working conditions, and the economic crisis.
What young people see as a problem is that the state does not function, even though it formally exists. Thus, among the decisive reasons for leaving are: corruption, fake diplomas, party employment and bad business environment.
A particularly devastating fact is that at the end of last year, more than 200 elementary school students left school in the Una-Sana Canton.
"Unfortunately, that trend is repeated year after year, and the number of students has drastically decreased over the past 15 years," said Haris Smajić, director of the USK Pedagogical Institute.
They leave able-bodied.
During the last few years, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been facing a large outflow of the working age population.
"Polls have shown that citizens leaving the country, when asked about the economic reasons for their departure, state two things - salary and long-term unemployment," said economic analyst Admir Cavalić for "Al Jazeera".
Due to the lack of labor force, many companies are turning to importing workers from abroad.
In the next five years, Bosnia and Herzegovina will come to a situation where it will have to introduce 150.000 foreigners, according to employers.
AE/Radio Free Europe/Deutsche Welle/FTV/Al Jazeera
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