Thousands were killed during the siege of Bosnia's capital. But the suffering that the coronavirus pandemic has brought to the city of Sarajevo is enormous, German paper Die Welt writes adding that the problem is also in the country's Constitution contained in the Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the 1992-1995 war in the country, said, Deutsche Welle.

The German paper also writes that long lines can be seen daily in front of funeral homes and that death certificates of citizens of all ages hang everywhere in the city, as well as that there are more and more of them die every day, Deutsche Welle reported.

“I have never felt ashamed of living in BiH as I do now. Social media are full of angry accusations against those who decide our destinies“, blogger and German teacher Irma Plavcic (38) told Welt.

At the General Hospital in Sarajevo, one of the two clinics carrying the brunt of the pandemic, the anger is huge.

“This catastrophe has clearly shown that our political system is a farce and that people are left to fend for themselves,” Vedad Zulic, 41, an electrical engineer who was transferred to the Medium-Risk Patients ward, told Welt.

“The medical staff is forced to compensate for all the mistakes of the authorities,” he added. He also explains how the retired medical staff was brought in and deployed to covid hospitals.

Sarajevo residents humiliated but also thankful to Serbia

Die Welt adds that Bosnia's eastern neighbouring Serbia provided vaccines of all kinds. Since the expiration date for 25,000 doses was at the end of March, President Vucic gave all citizens of the region the possibility to get their shots for free, after which BiH citizens, among them prominence and politicians, rushed to Belgrade and Novi Sad.

According to Welt, many BiH citizens feel humiliated and explain this by Vucic's role in the war and his support for high-ranking Bosnian Serb representatives convicted of war crimes. Irma Plavcic, who remembers the horrors of the war in Sarajevo well, was vaccinated in Belgrade.

“I am very grateful to Serbia for enabling me and my fellow citizens to protect ourselves with vaccines and get at least a little closer to normal life,” she said.