Every morning, the story is the same in front of the Slovenian Consulate building in Banjaluka. Dozens of mostly youths are waiting in line to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina for Slovenia. Most of those waiting in front of the building come from the Una-Sana Canton.

One of them is Haseda Sabic from Cazin. She told N1 she is leaving the country to find a better job. When asked what it is she will be doing in Slovenia and is it possible that there is really no job for her in Bosnia, she responded:

“I’ll work as a chef. There is work here, in Bosnia, but that’s not it. Here we work off the books, plus we’re not paid enough for the time we spend on the job. It’s going to be better for me and the kids in Slovenia. I’m not alone and I’m going for the kids’ sake,” she said, adding that she plans to take her children with her to Slovenia.

She pointed to the differences in working conditions between Bosnia and Slovenia:

“Honestly, I’m working for BAM 500 (around EUR 250) per month, right now. They say you’ll work 8-hour shifts, but you’re working for 10, 12 even 15 hours a day, it depends. You go home only to return back to work,” she said. She added she does not know what is waiting for her in Slovenia, but she is convinced it is better than what she has in Bosnia.

“I don’t know the exact salary in Slovenia, but it will be much better than the one in Bosnia, we will be legally protected and have health insurance,” Haseda told N1.

(BAM 1 = EUR 1.95583)