At the end of 2024, the monthly food expenses for a family of four in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) amounted to 1,372.50 BAM, while the average salary was only 1,369 BAM. At the same time, the monthly union consumer basket — which includes food, utilities, transportation, hygiene, clothing, footwear, etc. — amounted to 3,131 BAM. In other words, it takes three average salaries to cover a family’s monthly expenses. The minimum wage was just 619 BAM. It covered only half the amount needed for food and one-fifth of the family’s total monthly costs. This is unsustainable math that shows the gravity of the situation. In FBiH, a quarter of the employed live in poverty and spend no more than 600 BAM per month. The situation is similar in Republika Srpska.
Child Poverty
Since the father or mother earns a pittance, it is not surprising that approximately 40-50% of children live in poverty. The most vulnerable are families with three or more children and families whose parents have lower levels of education or are unemployed. In addition to being unable to consume adequate food and being deprived of necessary nutrients and proper clothing, children from poor families lack access to quality education and healthcare. They also miss out on recreation, as their parents cannot afford cinema or theatre visits or school trips. Poverty puts children at a disadvantage compared to peers from wealthier families. They are often subjected to ridicule and bullying at school. All these circumstances destroy childhood and youth for the younger generations and reduce the likelihood that today’s children will experience a quality life in 10 to 20 years.
Consequences of Poverty
In addition to destroying younger generations, poverty creates many other issues such as social exclusion, the emergence of diseases, organized crime, prostitution, and the emigration of the workforce. The poor do not have access to schools and universities, job opportunities, or healthcare. They become isolated from the rest of society. Poverty is a trigger for (organized) crime. People living in hardship often turn to illegal activities such as theft and burglary. Many become involved in organized crime, including drug trafficking, smuggling of cigarettes and weapons, and counterfeiting currency. Poverty drives some women into prostitution, especially those from less-educated or broken families. Elite prostitution exists in Sarajevo and throughout the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many Bosniak women are forced to provide sexual services to Arab tourists, and some are even forced into marriage with Arabs who moved to BiH during and after the war. Poverty has also led to a brain drain. Since the end of the war, hundreds of thousands of people have left BiH in search of a better life.
Government Negligence
State, entity, cantonal, and local governments are essentially uninterested in the poor, even though there are formal assistance programs such as social welfare, unemployment benefits, child allowances, and housing and utility vouchers. Bosnian-Herzegovinian politicians ignore the real needs of citizens daily, focusing instead on their own interests and political games. Politicians are primarily preoccupied with power struggles and national issues such as the verdict against Milorad Dodik, the election law, entity powers, and the status of the Brčko District. The daily problem of poverty remains swept under the rug, and people are left to fend for themselves. Even though hardship and scarcity are among the country’s biggest problems, little is being done to address them because there are no concrete plans or strategies for poverty alleviation. Without genuine political will, the poor remain forgotten.
Root Causes of the Problem
The causes of poverty in BiH are manifold. Of course, the brutal war from 1992 to 1995 left lasting negative consequences in the form of the killed, wounded, displaced persons, and destroyed infrastructure. However, almost 30 years have passed since the war, and it can no longer be an excuse. West Germany, which was flattened by 1945, became an economic power by the 1950s. A major issue in BiH is corruption, nepotism, lack of direct foreign investment, and the absence of a vision for economic progress. Still, with due respect to all other causes, the main culprit for poverty in BiH is its Dayton structure and numerous interventions by the High Representative, which have turned the country into a monstrosity.
A complex political system and a state of de facto cold war among the three national communities (Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks) are the root of all problems. Although the war ended in late 1995, BiH has never been fully stabilized or consolidated but has continued functioning in a fragmented state. The two entities live separate lives, as do the three national communities, each of which exists in its own universe. BiH remains burdened by unresolved national issues among the three peoples and by the persistent fear of another war. A new war in BiH has been a looming threat for the past three decades. Serbian secessionism and Bosniak unitarism have done more harm in peace than during the war.
The Solution
Put simply, to solve poverty and other problems, a political solution for BiH must be found. Without a political solution, there can be no solution to poverty or anything else. Even the blind can see that the existing political arrangement is harmful and must be dismantled. The external borders and constituent peoples should be preserved, but everything else must change. The Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska should be abolished. BiH must stop being a foreign protectorate and become an independent state based on the principles of federalism. After all, the most powerful countries in the world are built on federalist principles, such as the USA and the Russian Federation — and that is the right path.
The Office of the High Representative and foreign actors must leave BiH, but the state’s external borders must remain inviolable. The country could be organized based on three highly autonomous ethnic entities, several or a dozen cantons (districts), or a combination of both. The powers of all levels of government must be clear and must not overlap. The rights of constituent peoples must be protected through houses of peoples, parity, and national vetoes in institutions such as the government. As long as national issues and the question of the state’s viability remain unresolved, BiH has no political — or any other — future.
Author: Matija Šerić
Featured image: www.bol-chat.de
