Ferdinand: I am disabled and my wife has cancer. They don’t give me disability benefits. Tatjana: They gave a €1.5 ‘raise’

Ferdinand Major (50) from Zagreb is a man from the beginning of our text. He was born as a healthy child, but long ago, when he was only four months old, he contracted poliomyelitis, i.e. polio, after vaccination. He felt the effects of the disease all his life and was diagnosed with 80 percent disability, with the fact that in recent years Ferdinand has experienced problems due to the so-called post-polio syndrome, which manifests itself in weakness, pain and muscle fatigue. Riječ is about a condition that cannot be cured. Ferdinand agreed to explain what problems he and his wife Irena Kova are facing. (50) who suffers from abdominal cancer.

His intention, at the same time, is not to whine and be a victim, but to speak about the real state and shortcomings of the system, with the aim of having as many people as possible come forward publicly with their life experiences and the injustices they have experienced.

This man works even with an 80 percent disability. He is a swimming coach and you can see him at the pool in Utrini in Novi Zagreb. He works with children with special needs, trained paraswimmers, and is a former paraswimmer himself. Cerebral palsy has left consequences on his body, his movement is difficult and in some periods he can only walk with help. crutch. Everyone will probably think that this man has disability benefits. But I would be wrong. Because this absurd system long ago decided that Ferdinand Major was not entitled to compensation. Back in 2012, he received a decision stating that the existence of permanent damage of 80 percent was established, but that the applicant was not entitled to compensation because “the physical damage was caused by an illness”. Therefore, if someone remains disabled after overcoming an illness, the state does not consider this sufficient to grant disability benefits. And as Ferdinand says, nowhere in the world, except perhaps in Croatia, is it important how the disability arose. Tired of the bureaucracy that he has struggled with all his life, Ferdinand submitted a request for an inclusive allowance at the beginning of June 2025, the only thing he could get from this state. But, you guessed it, there is no solution in sight yet.

– Not much is changing, and my parents in the old days had trouble with the bureaucracy, as I did later. After I got sick after the vaccination, my mom couldn’t get child benefit or any compensation for my condition, and at the same time she was forced to quit her job to take care of me. She didn’t work for 12 years and my parents lived on only one salary. A lot of time has passed since then, but some things have remained the same – Ferdinand told us, asking, among other things, whether it is normal that as a person with a disability every five years he has to go get a new accessibility sign for his car and practically prove his condition over and over again, which is clear to everyone that it is permanent.

His wife is also struggling with a serious illness

At the same time, Ferdinand’s wife Irena is struggling with a serious illness. She was diagnosed with abdominal cancer in 2012 and after treatment, the disease went away. But last year she came back again, so Irena is in the process of treatment for cancer and more. eight months on sick leave at the expense of HZZO, which is significantly less than regular income. At the same time as her husband, she submitted a request for inclusive allowance, but, of course, there is no solution yet. As an oncology patient, her obligation to pay supplementary health insurance should be waived, but there was also a problem.

– HZZO does not want to pass a decision on the termination of supplementary health care payments until they receive a decision from an expert for an inclusive supplement. And that solution my wife, just like me, čelkać seven months and we don’t know when he will get it. So one thing leads to another, so while we wait, we buy numerous necessary supplements that do not require a prescription. We live modestly and get by – Ferdinand told us, outraged by how politicians and the government portray the situation in public.

They say, they always find a way to present themselves in a beautiful light, while in fact they are completely cut off from reality.

– These people have no real insight into the lives of their citizens, especially those with disabilities and the seriously ill. They are not realistic, they manipulate information, and whoever musters the courage to tell them something, they go after him. And I would say to MP Kolarek that the families are very much with their sick ones, but once you submit the papers to the system, nothing else is in your hands. You can only wait – says Ferdinand.

Tatjana Čvorig (60) from Zagreb, mother of Denij Zahirović (27), an immobile young man with severe disabilities, has felt the absurdity of the system countless times over the years. The last time she had that experience was a few days ago. It is the city’s social welfare system. Namely, Deni receives help from the City of Zagreb. for an inclusive supplement in the amount of 28 euros. At one time, when he was a minor, that helpć amounted to 50 euros, but upon reaching the age of majority it is halved according to city regulations. As if with the 18th birthday, Deni’s difficult condition also disappeared. But a few days ago, mom Tatjana received compensation for Deni in the amount of 29.50 euros. So, with an increase of 1.50 euros. That “increase” hurt her like a slap and she felt, she says, as if someone was mocking her. Therefore, she sent an email to the City Office for Social Protection, Health, Veterans and Persons with Disabilities with a question about čwhat is the wordč, to which she received the answer that the wordč on “alignment with inflation”.

A miserable increase helps

– Call it an increase, that is, an adjustment to inflation, which amounts to 1.5 euros, I experienced, just like other parents, as a humiliation, another in a series. Because I have to go through several shops in order to find a loaf of bread for that amount of their increase. That’s why I ask all politicians and officials if they have adjusted their salaries to inflation and in what amounts – Tatjana is outraged.

We also sent inquiries to the Ministry of Labor and Pension System, Family and Social Policy and the City of Zagreb. For now, we only received a response in general for inclusive supplements. It was sent by the Croatian Institute for Social Work and it states that the cause or time of onset of disability is not a criterion for recognizing rights or for determining the level of inclusive allowance. Also, it says that the requests are dealt with in the regular order of receipt, with the prior mandatory implementation of the expertise procedure. Due to the large number of requests received at the level of the entire Republic of Croatia, the procedures in some cases may take longer, they state.