At the invitation and appeal of responsible persons from the Consulate General of BiH in Istanbul, as well as the BiH Embassy in Ankara, the Federation of BiH Cultural Associations in Turkey, in coordination with the World Federation of BiH Diaspora, came to the aid of these people.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people have found themselves in difficult situations around the world. We are witnessing an example from two weeks ago when a certain number of our fellow citizens were unable to return by plane from the Netherlands, after the unreasonable decision of the competent authorities in BiH who did not allow them to board and be transported by plane. Fortunately, they were able to transfer to their homeland by bus. As in many other countries and cities, extensive measures have been adopted in Turkey due to the coronavirus, restricting the movement of people.
Namely, a certain number of BiH citizens came to Turkey before the pandemic for business, tourism, health and other reasons. With the emergence of the virus and the introduction of restrictions, most BiH citizens managed to return to BiH, however, a certain number of people, especially those who came for treatment, were unable to do so.
On this occasion, two families, one from Kakanj and the other from Tuzla, whose children had undergone surgery in Turkey, also happened to be in Turkey. Due to the longer post-operative recovery and the cancellation of flights between Turkey and BiH, they were forced to remain in Turkey after completing their hospital treatment.
It is about a ten-year-old girl, Lejla Zahirović, who had a complicated spine operation, and who, together with her parents, practically remained on the street after being discharged from the hospital. The second child is Adi Puzić, a sixteen-year-old from Tuzla, who also had a spine operation, and who lost his father when he was still young, and came to Istanbul with his mother Jasmina. They too were discharged from the hospital and needed help as they were practically left alone and helpless in Istanbul.
At the invitation and appeal of the responsible persons from the Consulate General of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Istanbul, as well as the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Ankara, the Federation of Cultural Associations of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Turkey, in coordination with the World Federation of the BiH Diaspora, came to the aid of these people. The first to respond to this appeal were Bosnians and Herzegovinians from Sakarya/Adapazar, namely volunteers of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Association for Solidarity and Culture from Adapazar. With their president and a well-known businessman from Turkey, owner of the company “Kromel”, Mr. Ismet Çalışkan, they provided two furnished apartments and put them at the service of the aforementioned families. At the same time, Mr. Çalışkan tasked people from the association with visiting and providing groceries and other necessities for the lives of these families on a daily basis.
In addition to this, Mr. Çalışkan also provided accommodation (apartment) to two students from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Muamer Ćamić and Harun Suljagić, university students in the city of Sakarya, who were practically left without accommodation due to the use of their student dormitories for quarantine purposes.
“On behalf of all Bosnians and Herzegovinans, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Ismet Çalışkan, whose descendants immigrated from Bihać 100 years ago, and who never forgot his origins or roots. Many thanks to the man who, in addition to being a very successful and respected businessman, maintains constant ties with his Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is also very active in BiH associations in Turkey,” said Hasan Šehović, President of SSD BIH.
Zaim Pašić, President of the BH UK Network and the BHCAC association in London, said: “It is nice to have the opportunity to help someone and thank you to good people. In our organization in London, we take care of our elderly members who are sick and live alone. We have managed to provide them with food delivery as well as constant contact with our workers in case they need something or are sick. This is a difficult time and thank you to everyone who helps. Warm greetings from London and good health”. Muhamed Širanović, representative of the BH UK Network in the Main Board of the World Federation of Diaspora of Bosnia and Herzegovina, thanked the owner of the company “Kromel”, Mr. Ismet Çalışkan, and congratulated the Federation of BiH Cultural Associations in Turkey and the World Federation of BiH Diaspora on the timely reaction.
“On behalf of the Union of BH Associations in Denmark (SBHUD), we would like to thank Mr. Ismet Çalışkan and the aforementioned associations for their help to BH citizens. In this way, it can be concluded that the BH network is still functioning. Greetings to everyone in this Corona time,” added Edin Hajder, President of SBHUD.
