Croatia after the earthquake: Snow White disaster area | Europe | News and current affairs from all over the continent | DW

Snow sweepers have just finished clearing the streets as it starts to snow again. In better times, this region in central Croatia would be nothing short of a winter wonderland, were it not for the recent earthquake that displaced so many here.

The icebreakers and other vehicles are heading towards the village of Svrakarika, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) outside the city of Sisak, which includes the Ugninovi family, or was present before the earthquake.

The Ogenovics family says their children were terrified by the massive earthquake that destroyed their home in December

However, the family of five has reason to be optimistic as their new home, a mobile home, is on its way. Or at least they think it is, because she tours slippery turns and steep slopes on a flatbed trailer pulled by what they think is a powerful tractor. To bring back the back of the convoy, there are two cars filled with relief supplies from the people of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Weather conditions are not ideal as the convoy travels at only 20 km per hour (12.5 mph) meter by meter to its snowy destination. But fate would stop dying in its tracks a short distance from its destination, at the highest point in the little village.

The snow sweeper driving the convoy stopped completely, forcing the tractor following it behind with a mobile home in tow to press the brakes. Then things go from bad to worse after a second tractor joins in to help tow the motorhome, causing the trailer to lose its little wheels and get stranded in the convoy.

Now is the time, with so much snow falling on the ground, nothing can be moved one way or the other as caravan participants head to the small village on foot, carrying much-needed humanitarian aid.

Find shelter with neighbors

The Ugninovich family has lived in their 100-year-old house for three generations. But the damage caused by the earthquake was so devastating that the Croatian authorities deemed it uninhabitable. Milan, Martina Ugninovi وأ and their three children – Mikko, Tin and Melika – are homeless from one moment to the next. They remember the morning of December 28, “Everything that can fall has fallen and everything can fall,” says Milan Ugninovic. “My children were in a state of shock and couldn’t stop crying,” he says.

And there wasn’t just one earthquake that day. Another, stronger earthquake, measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale, was recorded less than six hours later. Fearing to sleep inside, the family, like many others, spent the following nights in their cars as aid supplies poured in from all over Croatia. People donated food, clothes, shoes and diapers to those who live in the affected area.

Stoja Roksandic, a neighbor, rushed to the village and offered the family of five a place to live because their home suffered minor damage. “It’s warm and spacious and the children are here safely, or at least as safely as you can be during the earthquake,” Martina said.

Poor area

Martina and Milan Ugninovic, both 27 years old, are the youngest adults in the village of Svrakarika, which consists of about 15 elderly people. Most of them are farmers with small plots of land and possibly few goats or sheep in an area considered poor – very poor. “Life here is very difficult,” says Martina and Milan. “But at the same time, if you want to work, you can manage.” “We started with a few goats and now we also have a small herd of sheep.”

The Ognjenovic family are members of the Serbian minority in Croatia. At the end of the war, which lasted from 1992 to 1995, the family fled to neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina. They returned to Croatia in 2000. “We couldn’t wait,” says Milan. “The first two years were not easy. Our house was destroyed and we had to start from scratch. The only thing the government paid was the stairs and the wooden panels.”

Like many in this impoverished region, Milan Ugnovic and his family are small farmers who work hard to make a living.

The next hospital is 80 kilometers away

The surrounding area looks like something out of a travel brochure. Snow-covered hills, romantic cabins, and sheep roam around the countryside. But reality tells a different story: “We are 20 km from the nearest grocery store and 80 km from the nearest hospital,” Milan says, “meaning that we are often isolated from the outside world for days on end when that snow occurs.

The family’s story was so touching that it inspired members of the Croatian non-profit organization “Solidarna” to raise money to buy a mobile home and give it to a family of five as a gift. Everything seemed to be going well until their new home hung in the snow, a few hundred meters outside the village.

Despite this, the Ognjenovics say they are overwhelmed by the streaming support they received in the aftermath of the earthquake. Martina, Milan and their three children are looking forward to moving into their new home as soon as the snow melts. However, they see it as a temporary solution and are eager to rebuild their old home. They say they will not rest until that day finally comes.

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