 |
|
 |
| During
construction |
|
The finished
house |
 The Karic family returned to Poplati in Stolac
Municipality in 2001 after 9 years in displacement living
with relatives in Bileca Municipality in Eastern
Herzegovina (RS). The family consists of Dragomir Karic
and his wife, their two sons, Srboljub and Milibor. Milbor
is married with one daughter, Angela, and a small baby. Mr
Karic's 96 year old father also lives with them (see photo
left).
Mr
Karic worked as a metal worker before the war. His job
disappeared as a result of the collapse of communism, the
disintegration of Yugoslavia and the war. As he only
worked 18 years, he does not qualify for a pension. The
family once owned 60 sheep and 4 cows and were quite well
off.
 |
|
Mrs Karic |
Today, only Srboljub, aged 23, has a paid job. He is a
policeman, trained through a program to provide minority
representation within local police forces. The family
received UMCOR assistance under a program funded by the
Dutch government which was designed to aid the families of
these policemen. The family completed reconstruction of
their house in 2002. Srboljub's wage is the only regular
source of income for the entire household and so far they
have purchased a cow and to equipped their kitchen with
his money. They also look after the cattle belonging to
other people to earn some spare cash.
 They own 6 dunums (or approximately ½ hectare) of land
on which they grow various crops for own consumption
(potatoes, onions, melons and spinach). They received
further assistance from UMCOR in 2003, which enabled them
to rebuild the barn they now keep their cow in. They hope
to be able to purchase further livestock perhaps by taking
out a loan and finance their dream of breeding cattle.
 In Poplati
(see photo left), UMCOR also provided construction assistance
for a neighboring family but there is still a need for
further assistance. While the village is connected to the
power supply thanks to USAID, they have no running water
or sewage. The Karic family and their neighbors have to
buy water, which costs them 70 KM for 20m³ and lasts about
2 months. In many of the surrounding hamlets, numerous
families have returned in recent years.
Updated June 2004. |
