May’s Poljana a settlement within the City of Glina. An hour’s drive from Zagreb. Time has stopped, there are no people on the streets, only a few dogs run along the unpaved road. The snow that has fallen hides the ruins that were created four years ago, after a devastating earthquake. At number 107 in a container of 14 square meters, a donation of the Slovenian Civil Protection, moreć Mile Jari has been alive for four years.
– They didn’t even come to clean the foundations. I had to turn the container so that my windows wouldn’t look at that ruin, my former house – Mile tells us. The container was brought to him on the third or fourth day after the earthquake and Mile has been living in it ever since. In addition to two wardrobes, there is a bed, a small television and a table, on which Mile prepared today’s lunch.
– When they brought it in, there was nothing in it except a bed, I assembled all this myself and worked so that I could live somehow, that someone could come to me. I think I have been forgotten, not only by me but also by the rest of the village. No one asks us anything – Mile tells us disappointedly. His time, he tells us, passes with the television and the radio, and a neighbor with whom he often spent time passed away recently.
– One grandmother was hoping to move into her new house, but she died a month and a half ago, she didn’t wait to move into her home. While she was alive, I had someone to talk to, now I don’t even want to talk to anyone, and I don’t have anyone. There are a couple of us in the village, weekenders, when they arrive, help us – they tell us sadly. He adds that he no longer has the strength to fight because four years have passed and nothing has moved.
– It’s hard for me when I see this former house of mine. My dad died over 30 years ago, and if he saw this, he would have buried himself even deeper. He built it all, he spent his whole life struggling, and in a few seconds everything disappeared – says this resident of Majske Poljane. As for the reconstruction, he told us that he was promised a prefabricated house, but he does not believe that he will ever see the reconstruction of his old, ruined house.
– For the first year, I thought that something would happen, and now, as it goes on, I lose hope and will. I would tell everyone to stop fiddling and lying. Let them stop bragging. If they were in the surrounding areas, they could come to us, at least visit us, and see the true state in which we live. Only one house remained intact, the rest were demolished or half-demolished – says Mile angrily. He emphasized that he is not afraid of being alone because his friends are coming to help him now, in the winter time. He also concluded that he hopes for a happy ending because, as he says, hope dies last. Three kilometers away, in the center of Glina, the house of Vlado Manojlovi was also destroyed in the earthquake. The bedroom was turned into a pile of construction material, and the ceiling in the kitchen collapsed.
– How does my life look like? As it must look. You can’t change anything. If I had the most money, I couldn’t do anything by myself – Vlado tells us. There is no phone, so we got to him by knocking on the door. In the yard of the destroyed house, there is only a caravan of only a few square meters, which is very modest. It has a bed with many blankets, a small old television and a small heater, which Vlado says somehow manages to heat the cramped space.
– I hope I haven’t been forgotten. I cannot change anything by force. It’s not just that I’m afraid, I was sad when the old people died, but now I’m used to it – said Vlado. He adds that he doesn’t need anything big. Only one room with a toilet is enough for him to have a dignified life.
– I hope to see the completion of the renovation. I need a small room. I hope that someone from Zagreb will read this – he concluded as he sadly looked towards the caravan in which his entire life has passed for the past four years.