Konverzivne prakse, o kojima se rijetko govori u Crnoj Gori, opasne su po pripadnike LGBTIQ+ zajednice, a sprovode ih vjerski predstavnici, ponekad i psiholozi. Ispovjesti sagovornika CIN-CG, koji su prošli kroz te prakse, pokazuju da su se one sprovodile u Crnoj Gori. Civilni sektor ukazuje da nema adekvatnih istraživanja o tom problemu. Istovremeno, ne postoji zakon koji bi regulisao rad psihologa, niti institucija koja bi ih kontrolisala i izdavala licence

Jovana Damjanović

Rajko, (ime sagovornika poznato je redakciji) dolazi iz malog grada na sjeveru Crne Gore. Kada je svojoj porodici povjerio svoje seksualno opredjeljenje, roditelji su ga odveli kod ljekara kako bi ga „izliječio“. Pregled je obavljen u privatnoj kući. 

„Sve je počelo razgovorom a završilo se pregledanjem mog tijela, samim tim i polnog organa. Nije dugo trajalo, jedna izrazito neprijatna seansa“, kaže Rajko za Centar za istraživačko novinarstvo Crne Gore (CIN-CG). 

Pošto je prijetio da će se odseliti od kuće, u slučaju da ga porodica ponovo natjera da ode kod tog ljekara, na tome se završilo.

Konverzija ili takozvana „reparativna terapija“ je pseudoterapija koja se sprovodi nad LGBTIQ+ osobama u cilju promjene njihove seksualne orijentacije ili rodnog identiteta.

Tea Dakić, specijalistkinja psihijatrije i magistarka bioetike na Klinici za psihijatriju u Kliničkom centru Crne Gore (KCCG), ističe da se prakse konverzije, koje polaze od stanovišta da su istopolna orijentacija i rodni identitet drugačiji od cisrodnog patološki i bolesni, najstrože se osuđuju u psihijatriji, kako to jasno saopštava i Svjetska psihijatrijska asocijacija.

„Medicina zasnovana na dokazima danas zna da biti lezbejka, gej, biseksualna ili transrodna osoba, predstavlja prirodne varijacije ljudske seksualnosti i rodnog identiteta, i da ove varijacije ne predstavljaju poremećaj ili bolest koji bi zahtijevali liječenje. Samim tim, svi pokušaji da se to učini, suprotni su medicinskoj etici“, pojašnjava Dakić. 

Konverzija je pogrešna i ni na čemu utemeljena patologizacija LGBTIQ+ identiteta, navodi Dakić, i dodaje da ona u konzervativnim i patrijarhalnim sredinama, ove osobe može izložiti riziku da budu primorani na takozvane “konverzivne” ili “reparativne” procedure.

„Ove opasne i neetične prakse, sprovode se u pokušajima da se promijeni nečija seksualna orijentacija i/ili rodni identitet, kako bi se iste uklopile u heteronormativna očekivanja društva“, objašnjava ona.

O konverziji se rijetko govori

Uroša, nije pravo ime sagovornika, je porodica vodila na „istjerivanje đavola“, odnosno egzorcizam. Kaže da su njegovim roditeljima vjerski predstavnici rekli da je u njemu „nešto demonsko“. Pokušavali su da ga „izliječe“ od njegovog rodnog identiteta. 

„Bio sam za stolom gdje me je sveštenik prskao vodom i izgovarao molitve. Osjećao sam se kao lud“, kaže Uroš za CIN-CG. 

On se zauzeo za sebe i napustio porodično okruženje kao još uvijek maloljetan. Uroš je doživio ovo iskustvo prije sedam godina, a par godina kasnije pomirio se sa porodicom, kada su uvidjeli svoju grešku.

Marica Vlahović, iz Kancelarije za LGBTIQ+ lica Glavnog grada, potvrđuje da jeste čula za slučajeve pokušaja konverzije, starije ili skorije, ali nijedan trenutno aktuelan. O njima saznaje na radionicama u organizaciji Kancelarije za LGBTIQ+ lica, ili iz prethodnog iskustva dok je radila u nevladinom sektoru. 

„Bez namjere da kopamo po starim slučajevima, ne znam ni koliko je relevantno niti da li je taj psiholog i dalje u praksi, ali pamtim jedan slučaj od ranije kada je jedna djevojka govorila da joj je psihološkinja davala kontakt momka koji je gej u pokušaju da ih spoji. Slične stvari su se dešavale drugim ljudima kod tog psihologa“, navodi Vlahović. 

Češće se, ipak, dešavalo da joj ispričaju da su ih bliski srodnici vodili u vjerske organizacije, na „istjerivanje đavola“, ili da se prosto okrenu vjeri. 

Ona tvrdi da je ova oblast nasilja nad LGBTIQ+ osobama neispitana i potpuno nekontrolisana, kao i da nemamo adekvatna istraživanja kojima su u fokusu ova pitanja. 

„Znam za slučaj da su bili kod psihologa, pa neko kaže da je biseksualan, pa mu oni kažu „to je faza, ti se tražiš, ne znaš šta hoćeš od života“. Ne kažem da su oni praktikovali konverzivnu terapiju, ali ipak ima dijela da su nesenzibilisani“, kaže Vlahović.

Dakić nema saznanja da se konverzija sprovodi u Crnoj Gori, i nada se da zaista jeste tako. Ona naglašava da se praksa takozvane konverzije ne može i ne smije nazvati terapijom, jer niti je naučno niti etički utemeljena, a pri tom je veoma štetna.

„Iako mi nije poznato da postoji domaća legislativa koja eksplicitno zabranjuje ove prakse, moramo znati da se u drugim zakonskim rješenjima koja se odnose na zabranu diskriminacije po osnovu seksualne orijentacije i rodnog identiteta, ali i onima koji se odnose na prava pacijenata, nalaze valjane zaštite od diskriminatornog tretmana po osnovu ličnih svojstava osoba, kao i zaštite od neželjenih procedura u okviru zdravstvenog sistema. Nadam se da će se i zakon o psihološkoj djelatnosti kada bude usvojen baviti tim temama“, poručuje Dakić.

Crna Gora je punopravna članica brojnih međunarodnih tijela, od Ujedinjenih nacija (UN), Savjeta Evrope, preko Svjetske medicinske asocijacije do Svjetske zdravstvene organizacije, što obavezuje Crnu Goru da se pridržava deklaracija, konvencija i stavova ovih entiteta, a to je da prakse „konverzije“ treba odbaciti, odnosno sankcionisati. 

„Kada se radi o medicinskim radnicima, Etički kodeksi ovih svjetskih organizacija, koji se i u Crnoj Gori primjenjuju, dodatno podsjećaju i nedvosmisleno naglašavaju da je neetično je da ljekari učestvuju u bilo kom obliku bilo koje “konverzivne” ili “reparativne” procedure. Tako da su stvari tu prilično jasne“, dodaje Dakić.

Šteta nastala konverzijom ispravlja se adekvatnom psihološkom terapijom

Vlahović ističe činjenicu da sa velikim dijelom LGBTIQ+ zajednice, Kancelarija, pa ni nevladin sektor nema direktan kontakt, što ih čini teško dostupnim za pružanje bilo kakve vrste pomoći ili prostog saznanja o konkretnim problemima.

Takve prakse i principi i dalje se, nažalost, dešavaju u bližoj porodici, smatra Vlahović, što ih čini vrlo osjetljivom oblašću i za razgovor i za potencijalne prijave.

„Ljudi koji i dođu kod nas na neku aktivnost, opet su donekle i osviješćene i osnažene da bi i prepoznale i reagovale na nasilje, ali šta se dešava sa onim dijelom zajednice koji ne vidimo ili zajednici na sjeveru, ili u manjim sredinama, na sjeveru. Jednostavno u neke stvari nemamo uvid. Ja vjerujem da mi imamo sada i osviješćeni stručni kadar, da se o tome priča otvoreno, e sad šta se dešava sa nekim pseudo terapeutima to nam je nepoznato, jer nemamo zakon o psihološkoj djelatnosti i teško je uspostaviti kontrolu“, pojašnjava Vlahović.

U slučajevima kada učesnici radionica spomenu da prolaze ili su prolazili kroz konverziju, ali i neku drugu vrstu nasilja, iz Kancelarije za LGBTIQ+ lica, upućuju ih na organizacije koje pružaju usluge pravne i psihološke pomoći, naglase na koji način mogu prijaviti, ali taj dio ostane na pojedincima da odluče da li će tako postupiti. 

Dakić naglašava da konverzivne metode nemaju utemeljenje u nauci i medicini, one su i direktno u koliziji sa osnovnim postulatima ljudskih prava u smislu prava na autonomiju, na poštovanje dostojanstva kao i prava na tjelesni integritet.

„Brojna istraživanja, a što potvrđuju i stavovi Svjetske zdravstvene ogranizacije (SZO) i Svjetske medicinske asocijacije, potvrdila su da osim što prakse “konverzije” nemaju efekta u onome čemu teže, one su i ozbiljno štetne po zdravlje osoba koje su im podvrgnute, s obzirom da je dokazano da mogu dovesti do niskog samopoštovanja, zloupotrebe supstanci, anksioznosti, post-traumatskog stresnog poremećaja, depresije, osjećanja krivice, beznadežnosti i bezizlaznosti, pa i do suicidalnosti i suicida“, ističe ona.

Sprovođenje konverzije ili sličnih praksi, negativno utiče i na povjerenja pacijenata u zdravstveni sistem, pa mogu dovesti do toga da LGBTIQ+ osobe izbjegavaju pristup zdravstvenoj zaštiti iako im ona, iz bilo kog razloga, može biti potrebna.

„Nije manje važno ni da tamo gdje ove prakse postoje i gdje nisu zabranjene, društveni kontekst je takav da je dodatno hostilan prema LGBTIQ+ osobama, i dozvoljava rasprostranjenost negativnih stavova prema varijetetima seksualnosti i roda, što može dodatno povećati rizike po bezbjednost, zdravlje i ljudska prava LGBTIQ+ osoba koje u takvim sredinama žive“, naglašava Dakić.

U radu sa osobama koje su doživjele neku vrstu traumatizacije zbog njihove seksualne orijentacije ili rodnog identiteta, fokus se stavlja na podržavajući i prihvatajući odnos. Ističe se, pojašnjava Dakić, da njihovo opredjeljenje i identitet ne mogu biti pogrešni ili patološki, već je način na koji su tretirani od strane okruženja bio pogrešan i patološki, i da oni za takva iskustva nijesu niti mogu biti odgovorni.

„Ovakav trauma-informisani pristup ima za cilj da podstakne oporavak, rezilijentnost i lični rast LGBTIQ+ osoba i zajednica“, zaključuje ona.

U Crnoj Gori trenutno ne postoji zakon koji bi regulisao rad psihologa niti institucija koja bi ih kontrolisala i izdavala licence. Skupština Crne Gore je trebalo da do kraja prošle godine usvoji Zakon o psihološkoj djelatnosti, koji će, između ostalog, odrediti uslove i način obavljanja psihološke djelatnosti i uspostaviti kontrolu kvaliteta rada psihologa.

Pripadnici zajednice često primorani da sami objašnjavaju zdravstvenim radnicima kako da im pomognu...

Đurđa RADULOVIĆ

Tranziciju u ženski pol započela sam uz injekcije lijeka Neofolina - hormonske terapije za trans žene, koju sam dobila u Kliničkom centru Crne Gore (KCCG). Na taj način pokrila sam prva dva mjeseca tranzicije, kaže za Centar za istraživačko novinarstvo Crne Gore (CIN-CG) Iskra Đurišić, mlada trans žena i aktivistkinja zaposlena u NVO Spektra.

Iako joj je država isprva omogućila pristup odgovarajućoj hormonskoj supstituciji, tvrdi da nakon dva mjeseca terapija više nije bila dostupna.

“Doktor koji me je pratio rekao je da ne brinem, da će terapija stići, ali to se nije desilo”, kaže Đurišić.

Nakon toga započinje njena borba za pristup hormonskoj terapiji.

“Na svoju ruku prešla sam na tablete i tako funkcionisala dvije i po godine, uz stalne prekide, jer ih je bilo potrebno nabavljati iz inostranstva, često na crnom tržištu. Osim toga, bila sam nezaposlena, a moja majka nije uvijek mogla da izdvoji novac za terapiju. U jednom trenutku, nabavka je postala finansijski neizdrživa”, kaže Đurišić.

U međuvremenu su u KCCG postale dostupne ampule, jer je Ministarstvo zdravlja sistemski riješilo problem nedostatka hormonske terapije i uvrstilo ljekove na obaveznu listu za nabavku. Do ovoga je došlo nakon osam godina napora civilnog sektora da se ovo pitanje riješi.

“Kontinuirana primjena hormonske terapije je neizostavan dio rodno afirmativne zdravstvene njege, a za to je neophodna redovna aplikacija i dostupnost ovih lijekova. Sporadično i nesistematsko pribavljanje hormonske terapije osim što ne ispunjava potrebe transrodnih osoba za afirmacijom roda, može imati brojne štetne posljedice po zdravlje transrodne osobe”, kaže za CIN-CG Tea Dakić, psihijatrica i jedina članica Svjetskog udruženja profesionalaca za zdravlje transrodnih osoba u Crnoj Gori.

Međutim, uprkos dostupnoj terapiji za trans žene i muškarce, ostaju brojni izazovi, jer je zdravstvena zaštita transrodnih osoba mnogo složenija od same primjene hormona i obuhvata više grana medicine, objašnjavaju sagovornici CIN-CG.

“Neki ljekovi i medicinski tretmani ne smiju se koristiti uz hormonsku terapiju, ali dešavalo se da nam ih prepišu, a da nas pritom ni ne pitaju da li koristimo terapiju. Takođe, često nailazimo na čuđenje kada, na primjer, trans muškarac ode na pregled dojki ili kada trans žene zbog terapije posjećuju kardiologa”, kaže Đurišić.

Navodi i da se suočavaju sa “nepristojnim pitanjima”, poput: “Jesi li se operisala dolje”?

“Najčešće smo mi ti koji doktorima objašnjavamo šta nam treba, veze između hormonsketerapije i pojedinih ljekova, intervencija”, kaže Đurišić.

U crnogorskom društvu, a tako je uglavnom i globalno, ne postoji dovoljno informacija o zdravstvenim aspektima transrondosti, objašnjava za CIN-CG endokrinolog Aleksandar Đogo.

“Polnost nije uvijek jasno definisana, ona nema samo primarne i sekundarne seksualne karakteristike. Moglo bi se reći da je polnost nekada fluidan identitet, a princip prilagođavanja rodnog identiteta u endokrinološkoj nauci pretpostavlja hormonsku supstituciju koja se odnosi na pol koji osoba osjeća kao svoj”, objašnjava Đogo.

Zbog toga je važno da transrodne osobe koje koriste hormone vrše periodične provjere zdravstvenog stanja, pri čemu se ističu uloga urologa, ginekologa, endokrinologa, kaže Đogo.

Za sada je u Crnoj Gori moguće izvršiti samo neke medicinske intervencije afirmacije pola. Osim hormonske terapije, tu je i uklanjanje grudi za trans muškarce, dok urološke i genitalne operacije nijesu moguće. Zbog toga Fond za zdravstveno osiguranje Crne Gore (FZOCG) pokriva troškove ovih operacija u Srbiji.

“Do sada su se tri crnogorska građanina operisala u Srbiji na taj način”, kazali su iz FZOCG za CIN-CG.

NEPRIJATAN SUSRET SA LJEKARIMA

“Doktori koji su me liječili govorili su mi da mi čine uslugu jer niko drugi ‘to ne bi radio’; dobijao sam neetičan i štetan tretman; komentarisali su moje genitalije i pravili grimase na iste; obraćali su mi se u pogrešnom rodu; urađen mi je tip operacije koji je suprotan od onoga što smo dogovorili prije operacije, uz izgovor da ‘mi je tako bolje’”, navodi se u publikaciji Društvo jednakih ili ipak ne iz 2023. godine, čiji je izdavač Spektra.

Za potrebe ove publikacije sprovedeno je istraživanje o socioekonomskom položaju transrodnih, interpolnih i rodno varijantnih (TIRV) osoba u Crnoj Gori. Oko 90 odsto ispitanika i ispitanica ocijenilo je dostupnost zdravstvene zaštite najnižim ocjenama, odnosno kao “lošu” i “veoma lošu”. Niko od ispitanika nije dao visoke ocjene. Paradoksalno je što su gotovo svi ispitanici bili korisnici zdravstvenog osiguranja, neki državnog, a pojedini privatnog, navodi se u istraživanju. Gotovo pedeset odsto ispitanika/ca susrelo se s diskriminacijom u zdravstvenom sistemu, navodi se u publikaciji.

“To znači da postoje sistemske prepreke kojima se negiraju potrebe TIRV osoba, iako većina ispitanih ima pristup uslugama iz sistema zdravstvene zaštite”, navodi se.

“U domu zdravlja, izabrana ljekarka mi je rekla da imam poremećene hormone i da zato mislim da nisam muško”, jedan je od odgovora u ovom istraživanju.

Drugom ispitaniku ili ispitanici izabrani doktor je, nakon što je izrazio/la želju da uđe u proces tranzicije, kazao “da ne izgleda trans”.

U jednom slučaju, koji se takođe navodi u publikaciji, ljekar je otvoreno odbio da izda uput za specijalistu kada je osoba poželjela da započne proces tranzicije.

Rezultati drugog istraživanja iz 2022. godine, sprovedenog za potrebe publikacije koju je takođe objavila Spektra, pod nazivom Osnaživanje transrodnih, rodno varijantnih i interpolnih (TIRV) žrtava nasilja, takođe su poražavajući. Čak 75 ispitanika/ca smatra da bi im, kao transrodnoj, interpolnoj ili rodno varijantnoj osobi, bilo neprijatno da se obrate za pomoć zdravstvenim službama, navodi se u ovoj publikaciji.

Obrazlažući razloge za osjećaj neprijatnosti u odnosu na zdravstvene službe, većina ispitanika opisuje svoja i tuđa prethodna negativna iskustva sa ovim institucijama i njihovim osobljem. Takođe, izražavaju strah od autovanja, diskriminacije, nepovjerenje u poštovanje medicinske tajne, utisak da su zdravstveni radnici i radnice nedovoljno senzibilisani za potrebe i prava TIRV osoba, te da LGBT osobe generalno ne tretiraju na poštujući način, navodi se u istraživanju.

Manje od polovine ispitanika/ca ovog istraživanja, njih oko 43 odsto, prijavilo je da su ih medicinski radnici tretirali sa poštovanjem, dok je oko 31 odsto navelo da su bili tretirani bez poštovanja od strane zaposlenih u zdravstvenim ustanovama, da su ih oslovljavali pogrešnim imenom ili pogrešnim zamjenicama. Oko 6,3 odsto je izjavilo da su ih medicinski radnici maltretirali, odbili da im pruže pomoć i potpuno zanemarili njihov rodni identitet. Čak polovina ispitanika/ca smatra da medicinski radnici nemaju dovoljno znanja o zdravlju transrodnih osoba.

LJEKARI NEDOVOLJNO INFORMISANI

Većina profesionalaca u oblasti zdravlja ne posjeduje adekvatne vještine neophodne za komunikaciju i rad sa transrodnim osobama, kaže za CIN-CG Dakić.

“Iako ljekari i ljekarke prolaze kroz niz godina edukacije o svim pitanjima ljudskog tijela i uma, ipak se temama o širokom spektru rodnih identiteta nedovoljno posvećuju, a tokom školovanja uglavnom dobijaju neadekvatno i nepotpuno obrazovanje o zdravstvenoj zaštiti transrodnih i rodno različitih osoba”, kaže Dakić.

Svjetsko udruženje profesionalaca za zdravlje transrodnih osoba, čija je Dakić članica, krovna je organizacija koja kreira i izdaje Standarde zdravstvene njege transrodnih i rodno različitih osoba, koji predstavljaju najpouzdaniji vodič dobre prakse u radu sa transrodnim osobama. Ovi standardi podržavaju ljudska prava transrodnih osoba i medicinsku praksu zasnovanu na dokazima, objašnjava Dakić.

Ljekari u Crnoj Gori uglavnom osjećaju nelagodu i nevješti su u praćenju ovih pacijenata, iako zapravo, kao endokrinolozi, posjeduju sva neophodna znanja, objašnjava Dakić.

“Hormonski tretman, koji je ključan za transrodne osobe, ne razlikuje se značajno od bilo koje druge hormonske terapije i praćenja njenih efekata s medicinske strane”, kaže Dakić.

Sa druge strane, hirurški tretmani u rodno afirmativnom smislu ipak iziskuju dodatnu edukaciju, kao i značajnu praksu u ovoj oblasti, kako bi transrodnim osobama omogućili najbolje zdravstvene ishode u skladu s njihovim potrebama.

Većina pacijenata iz Crne Gore se za potrebe genitalne hirurgije upućuje u Srbiju, u Beograd, gdje rade neki od najvećih svjetskih stručnjaka u ovoj oblasti, iako, recimo, druge oblasti zdravstvene zaštite transrodnih osoba nisu ni tamo tako dobro pokrivene, objašnjava Dakić.

U Crnoj Gori ne postoje zvanične smjernice za zdravstvenu zaštitu transrodnih osoba. NVO Spektra je izdala publikaciju Rod, pol i zdravlje: Smjernice za zdravstvene radnike za afirmativno postupanje sa transrodnim i interpolnim osobama još 2019. godine.

KRŠE SE OSNOVNA PRAVA

“Najveći zdravstveni rizici za transrodne osobe u Crnoj Gori su prije svega oni koje nosi sredina, a ne striktno medicinski. Zdravlje je neodvojivo od društvenog konteksta”, objašnjava Dakić.

Zbog brojnih predrasuda, hostilne društvene sredine, nasilja, zlostavljanja, zanemarivanja, stigmatizacije, marginalizacije i posljedica takozvanog manjinskog stresa, transrodne, odnosno rodno inkongruentne osobe, mogu se naći u povišenom riziku od anksioznosti, depresije, suicidalnosti i drugih psihijatrijskih simptoma, navodi Dakić.

Kako ističe, ovi simptomi nijesu karakteristični za transrodnost ili rodnu različitost samu po sebi, već su posljedica tretmana društva prema ovim osobama.

“Vjerovatno bi svaki čovjek u sličnoj situaciji osjećao slične posljedice po zdravlje. Tek kada se eliminišu stigma i diskriminacija, omogućićemo bolje zdravstvene ishode za transrodne osobe”, kaže Dakić.

Nadalje, problem je što još nije donesen Zakon o pravnom prepoznavanju rodnog identiteta na osnovu samoodređenja, koji bi adekvatno podržao osnovna ljudska prava transrodnih osoba, navodi Dakić.

“Aktuelna pravna praksa o promjeni oznake pola u dokumentima za transrodne i rodno različite osobe podrazumijeva obavljanje medicinskih procedura takozvane kompletne tranzicije, odnosno potpunog prilagođavanja pola rodnom identitetu, što podrazumijeva i sterilizaciju”.

Svjetska medicinska asocijacija (WMA), čija je Crna Gora punopravna članica, smatra da bez obzira na rod, ni jedna osoba ne smije biti podvrgnuta prinudnoj sterilizaciji, što uključuje i sterilizaciju kao preduslov za promjenu oznake pola u zvaničnim dokumentima.

I prema načelima Ujedinjenih nacija, ovakvi oblici prinudne sterilizacije predstavljaju kršenje osnovnih ljudskih prava: na zdravlje, privatnost, kao i na zaštitu od mučenja i drugog okrutnog, nečovječnog ili ponižavajućeg postupanja, objašnjava Dakić.

“Sramota je da Crna Gora i dalje podržava ovakve prakse, koje su beskrajno štetne po zdravlje transrodnih osoba. Neophodno je da se Zakon što prije donese, kako bi se ukinuo krajnje nehuman tretman osoba čiji rodni identitet i pol, pripisan na rođenju, nisu usklađeni”, ističe Dakić.

Evropska komisija upozorila je Crnu Goru u poslednjem izvještaju iz 2024. godine, da što prije usvoji Zakon o pravnom prepoznavanju rodnog identiteta na osnovu samoodređenja.

“Evropski sud za ljudska prava je više puta zaključio da uslovljavanje priznavanja rodnog identiteta transrodnih osoba sterilizacijom ili tretmanom koji dovodi do sterilnosti predstavlja kršenje njihovog prava na poštovanje privatnog života prema Članu osam iz Evropske konvencije za ljudska prava i prava na fizički integritet prema Članu tri iste konvencije”, upozorili su iz Akcije za ljudska prava (HRA) krajem prošle godine, u saopštenju za medije povodom stopiranja usvajanja ovog Zakona.

MEDICINSKI TIM PRUŽA PODRŠKU, ODLUKA O TRANZICIJI LIČNA

Stručni razgovor između transrodne osobe i profesionalca u oblasti mentalnog zdravlja je veoma važan korak kako bi se na najbolji način donijela odluka o podršci koja je osobi potrebna, baš kao i za sve druge pacijente, objašnjava Dakić.

“Važno je naglastiti da nema opšteg procesa procjene koji će odgovarati svakoj osobi ili situaciji, ističe ONA.

“Većina transrodnih osoba će zahtijevati samo kratku procjenu, i lako pristupiti daljim procedurama, bilo da su one hormonske i hirurške, po modelu informisanog pristanka, kakav se koristi i u drugim oblastima medicine”, kaže Dakić.

Osobe koje imaju kompleksniju prezentaciju slučaja ili manje uobičajene zahtjeve po pravilu iziskuju detaljniju procjenu i uključivanje multidisciplinarnog tima, objašnjava Dakić.

“Međutim, uopšteno gledano, za većinu transrodnih osoba nije neophodna niti psihološka eksploracija, niti psihoterapija. To se ne zahtijeva ni od drugih pacijenata kada ih upućujemo na planirane intervencije”, kaže Dakić.

Svakako, konačna odluka o rodno afirmativnim tretmanima je ekskluzivno pravo izbora transrodne osobe, baš kao i bilo koja druga odluka koja se tiče njihovog zdravlja i tijela.

Na koje vrste medicinskih afirmativnih tretmana će se transrodna osoba odlučiti stvar je ličnih želja, toga kako se ona osjeća, objašnjava Đurišić.

“Neko želi hormone, neko samo operacije, neko i jedno i drugo, a neko ništa od toga. Nažalost, ljudi koji ne žele ništa od toga, i ne ‘prolaze’ dovoljno ni kao muškarci ni kao žene, imaju jako surov tretman od strane društva”, objašnjava ona.

“Spektra i organizacije sa kojima sarađujemo često organizuju obuke za ljekare, posebno se to odnosti na psihologe i psihijatre, ali i za ostatak zdravstvenog kadra. Smatram da zdravstveni sistem treba biti informisan o transrodnim osobama, na koji način raditi sa njima, jer ipak je u pitanju zdravlje. Napredak je vidljiv u odnosu na prethodne godine svakako, ali može i mora još mnogo na tome da se radi”, kaže Đurišić.

MALTA, ZEMLJA ZA PRIMJER

Istraživanja pokazuju da je Malta, već punu deceniju, zemlja sa najvišim standardima zdravstvene njege i ljudskih prava transrodnih osoba na svijetu, ističe Dakić.

“Malta je bila prva država u Evropi koja je uključila rodni identitet u svoj ustav, kao osnov zaštite, i prva država koja je zabranila takozvanu konverzivnu terapiju, odnosno pseudonaučne pokušaje da se promijene nečiji rodni identitet ili seksualna orijentacija. Zakonodavstvo Malte, u smislu zaštite prava transrodnih osoba, predstavlja model kojem i druge zemlje treba da teže. Nedavno su predložili i kompletno pokrivanje troškova svih rodno afirmativnih procedura, uključujući i hirurške, u okviru osnovnog paketa zdravstvenog osiguranja, odnosno bez dodatnih troškova za pacijente”, naglašava Dakić.

Trenutna procedura priznavanja roda u Crnoj Gori zahtijeva obaveznu sterilizaciju maloljetnih i punoljetnih osoba, što je u suprotnosti sa međunarodnim i evropskim standardima ljudskih prava. Ovu dehumanizujuću praksu može promijeniti  Nacrt Zakona o pravnom prepoznavanju rodnog identiteta na osnovu samoodređenja, ali se na njegovo usvajanje još čeka

Milena RADONJIĆ

„Momenat u kom sam shvatio da sam slobodan roda koji mi se nametao, postao sam slobodan svih drugih okova, kaže za CIN NCG  transmuškarac i građanski aktivista Nikola Ilić.

“Osjećaš se kao da si korak bliže autentičnosti i svojoj suštini. Otvara se prostor za iskustva koja priželjkujemo, umjesto onih na koja smo primorani”, objašnjava Ilić i dodaje da „nakon prilagođavanja pola, u odrazu vidi sebe“.  Kaže da veoma raduje količina empatije koju ljudi umiju pokazati i prihvatiti transrodne osobe.

Transrodna zajednica, međutim, još čeka na Zakon o pravnom prepoznavanju rodnog identiteta, koji bi olakšao institucijama da ih jasnije vide, a koji je trenutno u formi Nacrta.

Iz Asocijacije Spektra za CIN-CG objašnjavaju da procedure trenutno definišu da je promjena oznake pola u dokumentima moguća nakon izvršene tranzicije, što Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova tumači tako što zahtjeva prinudnu sterilizaciju.

“Tranzicija može biti socijalna, hormonska ili medicinska. MUP ovu odredbu tumači tako što zahtijeva prinudnu sterilizaciju kako bi osoba imala pravo na promjenu oznake pola”, pojašnjava aktivista ove organizacijeAleksa Radonjić.

Radonjić kaže da je zbog toga važno usvajanje Zakona o pravnom prepoznavanju rodnog identiteta na osnovu samoodređenja, koji je na čekanju, jer bi trenutnu “dehumanizujuću” praksu konačno izbacio iz upotrebe.

Akcija za ljudska prava (HRA) tu praku nazvala je okrutnom i u suprotnosti sa međunarodnim i evropskim standardima ljudskih prava.

„Usvajanje ovog zakona omogućiće transrodnim osobama promjenu oznake pola i matičnog broja u ličnim dokumentima bez obaveze da podnose medicinsku dokumentaciju ili dokaze o obavljenim medicinskim procedurama, kao što su operacije ili hormonske terapije“, kaže za CIN - CG načelnica Odjeljenja za poslove rodne ravnopravnosti u Ministarstvu ljudskih i manjinskih prava, Biljana Pejović.

Prema njenim riječima , ovaj Zakon predstavlja značajan korak ka unapređenju ljudskih prava u Crnoj Gori, između ostalog, jer smanjuje i administrativne barijere i nasilje u vezi sa promjenom integriteta.

Administrativne barijere

„Lična dokumenta nisu samo papir, imaju široku primjenu u svakodnevnom životu, poput prelaska granice, odlaska u poštu, banku, ili bilo koju drugu ustanovu ili instituciju. Kada sistem primorava trans osobe da prođu kroz proces gentialne rekonstrukcije kako bi uskladile dokumenta sa svojim identitetom, on zapravo primorava na autovanje svaki put kada dođe do upotrebe dokumenata. Identiteti trans osoba koje iz raznih razloga – ličnih, medicinskih ili drugih – ne žele ili ne mogu da prolaze kroz genitalnu rekonstrukciju nije ništa manje stvaran“, objašnjava Nikola Ilić.

On ističe  da sterilizacija kao preduslov za promjenu oznake pola u dokumentima predstavlja primoravanje onih koji ne žele da prolaze genitalnu rekonstrukciju da to učine ne bi li imali jednak tretman u društvu.

“Oni koji iz medicinskih ili drugih razloga nisu prošli kroz proces sterilizacije i promijenili oznaku pola u dokumentima, trpe svakodnevno nasilje kada se njihova dokumenta, izgled i rodni identitet preispituju. To se dešava svaki put kada pođete u neku instituciju, kada uđete u banku ili svratite do pošte da pokupite paket. Svaka situacija u kojoj morate da predate identifikacioni dokument, a takvih je mnogo, dovodi do preispitivanja, pogotovo kada se vaš izgled možda ne poklapa sa oznakom u dokumentima i onime što drugi "očekuju”, navode iz Spektre.

Aktivista Spektrea Marko Vukčević kaže za CIN- CG da novi Zakon očekuju na sjednici Vlade i u Parlamentu, te da su kompromisi morali biti napravljeni, kako bi samoodređenje ostalo princip koji je temelj ovog zakona.

Kompromis zarad samoodređenja

“Jedno od ograničenja novog Zakona je činjenica da osoba ne može biti ni u braku ni u životnom partnerstvu kako bi pristupila ovom pravu, što znači da će osobe koje jesu u ovim zajednicama morati da se razvedu kako bi pristupili pravu”, objašnjav Vukčević.

Posebno ih je, kako je naveo, pogodio kompromis da se podigne granica sa 15 na 18 godina. Smatraju da to nanosi nemjerljivu štetu mladima koji imaju podržavajuće roditelje i kojima bi život bio značajno kvalitetniji da mogu da pristupe ovom pravu.

“Ovaj kompromis suštinski znači da ostaje norma da djeca između 16 i 18 godine i dalje moraju prolaziti sterilizaciju kako bi pristupili ovom pravu, tako da argument da je kompromis napravljen zbog dobrobiti djece ne stoji”, ocijenjuje  Vukčević.

Ograničenje je, dodaje on, da pravu mogu pristupiti samo crnogorski državljani, što je, kako kaže, regresivnije od svih evropskih zemalja koje imaju ovakve zakone, a koje dozvoljavaju i rezidentima.

“Ovo je posebno problematično zbog velikog broja ljudi koji danas bježe od rata i koji ovo pravo nikad neće moći da ostvare u matičnim državama. Zakonsko rješenje ograničava i one koji su na izdržavanju krivične kazne ili dok traju pravne posljedice, pa ne možemo govoriti da je pravo na samoodređenje dostupno baš svima jednako uzevši u obzir ova sva ograničenja”, rekao je Vukčević.

Ipak, smatra on, veliki korak će se napraviti ako se zakon usvoji, kako na praktičnom nivou za živote svih ljudi koji i dalje moraju prolaziti sterilizaciju, tako i na vrijednosnom.

Biljana Pejović ističe da se obezbjeđivanjem prava na identifikuju u skladu sa osjećajem priznaje dostojanstvo i autonomija.

Pravo da budeš ono što jesi

„Promjena počinje osnovnim poštovanjem i razumijevanjem da niko ne traži više od prava da bude ono što jeste“, jasan je Nikola Ilić.

Društvo koje to omogućava je, kako kaže, društvo koje je bolje za sve, ne samo za trans zajednicu.

Ilić navodi da je želja da bude ono što jeste eliminisala sve opcije osim prilagođavanje pola, te dodaje da bi svaki drugi izbor koji bi napravio značio „gubljenje sopstva“.

„Volio bih da ljudi u Crnoj Gori shvate da trans osobe nijesu nešto što treba tolerisati već smo ljudi kao svi drugi, koji žele živjeti dostojanstveno, bez objašnjavanja i pravdanja svojih identiteta. Diskriminacija i nasilje su nešto što utiče na svaki aspekt naših života, ljudi moraju postati svjesni posljedica svojih djela“, kaže. Ilić naglašava da je važno da se njihove potrebe uzmu u obzir, da bi bez straha bili dio društva.

Dostupnost Neofolina obradovala trans zajednicu

Iz Spektre su krajem novembra ove godine saopštili da je, nakon osam godina, riješen problem nestašice hormonske terapije estradiol u injekcionom obliku.

“Prema zvaničnoj informaciji dobijenoj od strane Montefarma, na osnovu našeg zahtjeva za slobodnim pristupom informacijama, obaviješteni smo da se Neofolin nalazi na stanju, te da će biti i u buduće čime je ovaj problem sistemski riješen. Napominjemo da smo zajedno sa našim saveznicima iz civilnog sektora uložili osam godina aktivnog truda u rješavanje ovog problema”, kazali su oni.

Ilić kaže da je vijest o ponovnoj dostupnosti Neofolina veoma obradovala trans zajednicu, te da je on od životnog značaja za žene, naročito one trans.

Biljana Pejović iz Ministarstva ljudskih i manjinskih prava, naglašava da je upravo pružanje pravne, medicnske i socijalne podrške osobama koje žele živjeti u skladu sa svojim rodnim identitetom ključno za osiguravanje njihove dobrobiti i integracije u društvo.

“Važno je naglasiti da prihvatanje novog zakona ne znači nužno odricanje od tradicionalnih vrijednosti, već predstavlja napredak ka izgradnji društva koje cijeni različitost i poštuje prava svih svojih građana i građanki”, zaključila je Pejović.

Rasprava o Zakonu na čekanju

Ono što brine transrodnu zajednicu jeste odlaganje rasprave o Zakonu o pravnom prepoznavanju rodnog identiteta na osnovu samoodređenja.

Komisija za politički sistem, unutrašnju i vanjsku politiku raspravu nije uvrstila u Dnevni red za sjednicu Vlade 19. decembra što su iz Spektre kritikovali.

„Podsjećamo da rad na ovom zakonu traje punih osam godina, da su zakonski tekst pažljivo razmatrali svi relevantni akteri i da su usvojene sugestije svih učesnika u procesu.  Nacrt je dobio pozitivnu ocjenu Evropske komisije, čime su se stekli uslovi da se nađe na Dnevnom redu Vlade Crne Gore“, saopštili su.

Ukzali su i da ovaj postupak Vlade nije u skladu sa obavezujućim zaključcima relevatnih tijela UN, niti sa praksom Evropskog suda za ljudska prava.

„ Podsjećamo da je u nedavno usvojenom Privremenom izvještaju Evropske Unije o mjerilima za poglavlje 23, navedeno da se ono može zatvoriti tek kada Crna Gora "obezbijedi efikasnu primjenu i sprovođenje prava i sloboda utvrđenih Evropskom konvencijom o ljudskim pravima, njenim protokolima i praksom Evropskog suda za ljudska prava“, upozorili su iz te organizacije.

Vedat, a Roma boy from Gjakova, Kosovo, was born in 1994 and was just five years old when the war erupted in his homeland. He was born with a severe infection in his leg, and due to the immense pain he was experiencing, his father, Fadil Behluli, decided to take him to the hospital one day. A few hours post-surgery, as he rested in his father’s lap, he witnessed three uniformed individuals dragging his dad away and shooting him in the hospital's backyard. He recalls the moment with great clarity even now. That was the final moment he shared with his father. Unbeknownst to Fadil, sending his son, who was suffering immensely, to the hospital would lead to a heartbreaking, tragic outcome—he would never return to his wife Hatem and their other children.

“The thing that I remember during the war in Kosovo is this: I was four and a half years old, five perhaps. It’s very vivid, I remember people being tense, and I know that I was sick because of my leg, I had it swollen or something like that, so my dad took me to the hospital, my mom wanted [to come] too, but my dad decided that she shouldn’t, so my dad took me to the hospital, and they fixed my leg. And after that, after the surgery was done and stuff, he put me to his lap. And he was trying to make me feel better even though I’m in pain. And there’s two or three guys walking down the hallway of the hospital with masks on. The views are vivid when I think about it sometimes, even when I see dreams everything is vivid. I can see a full picture, but when I talk about it it’s blurry. So, yeah, they walk into the hospital, they accidentally bump into my leg, I start crying, my dad tried to calm me down, but you know he got aggravated and he wants to be the hero, he gets up and says to them “hey watch where you’re going and bla bla bla”. So, they grab my dad, take us behind the hospital, and they shoot him. And are about to shoot me as well but one of the nurses comes into my rescue, she grabs me from them and the on this way she got a scratch on her arm, she puts me into her car and drives all the way to our house and takes me home and tells my mom what happened,” says Vedat who now is 30, for Center for Investigative Journalism in Crna Gora (CIN CG).

Shortly after, five years old Vedat and his mom Hatem who was five months pregnant with her fourth child at the time, left Kosovo to come to Montenegro and seek refugee and they haven’t gone back to live in Gjakova since. When asked how his life has been in Montenegro as a person with special needs he responded as follow:

“My life in Montenegro hasn’t been that great as a child because I got bullied, mistreated and all this stuff not only from friends and kids from school but…”, Vedat stops for a moment.

“Not so comfortable to say it but not only from friends or school [did I get bullied] but also from family side, trying to turn me down and make fun of me and whatnot”, told Vedat.

Beginning teenage years, Vedat got to go to the US through an international program that facilitated him by providing help with a very delicate process, which is getting a passport, in order for him to leave Montenegro and go to the United State for a few years.

“I didn’t live my teenage years here in Montenegro, I lived in the United States, so yeah. And the reason why I went to the United States is back in 2005 my aunt in United Kingdom she found some missionaries that work anywhere in United States and other countries. There’s this missionary, his name was Bob Hitchen, bless his soul he passed away a few months ago, I just found out. He came to my country, in Montenegro in 2005, they took pictures of me, they were asking questions, they were explaining to my mom and they stayed with me about a year to get the documents, because I had no documents. I didn’t have any Kosovo documents, I didn’t have any Montenegro documents, they did help me. And then in 2006 I got my Serbian passport and then I was able to go to the United States in March of 2006”, ended by saying Vedat.

Countless stories of horror, pain, and loss are behind thousands of Roma people who came to Montenegro from Kosovo’s war. What distinguishes the sufferings of this community from others? The emphasis they (did not) get. Indeed, every year and anniversary, along with numerous conferences and diplomatic visits overseas, we acknowledge and strive for justice for the Albanian civilians slain and massacred. However, this justice does not extend to the victims from minority communities, who, despite their existence, still bear the sorrow of their loss in their hearts. People rarely, if at all, remember them, nor do they construct stone memorials for them as there are for Albanian victims. In one instance, the Serb regime threw a grenade into Mitrovica's Green Market, killing civilians. That day, the grenade claimed the lives of seven people. The victims included six Albanians and a five-year-old Roma girl. The municipality raised a memorial in which they wrote the names of the victims after the war ended, but it only consisted of six names. Guess whose name was missing? Yes, that of the Roma child. Without this picture, which was taken on the exact day of the child's death, we wouldn't have found out of the child's existence in the first place.

People in Kosovo, especially the majority community there persecute and discriminate against this community, accusing some of them of siding with the occupier, specifically the Serbian forces, during the war. In Montenegro, the same community encounters various challenges, which we will explore further in this article.

The CIN CG managed to contact Siniša Nadaždin (a picture of him on top of the article), a pastor at a local Protestant evangelical church who is one of the most renowned people who has worked, especially with the Roma community who have come to Montenegro after the war in Kosovo that took place in 1999. Nadaždin shared with us not only his experience in the past and how things progressed in the meanwhile but also how he regards the situation to be these days concerning this community in Montenegro.  

“We need to talk about the way things were at the beginning, the way things were in the middle, and the way things are now. There was a process of 20 years. When they first arrived, they were definitely not welcomed. In the first couple of years, a lot of them migrated to Italy, going on these rafts. There was a catastrophe at some point. A lot of people died. I know people who personally went across the Adriatic that way. So, after a couple of years, thousand remained in Montenegro. I would say probably half of them, were here in Podgorica, in these two refugee camps, and around the refugee camps. How were they treated? They were treated awfully”.

Nadaždin claimed that once these refugees arrived on their new lands, no one wanted to assume responsibility for their well-being. He told us that everyone was more than happy to see them leave as soon as possible, which, to quite some degree, never happened.

“There were a lot of these legal loopholes. For example, the Camp Konik II that I mentioned, at some point ended up on no man's land. It didn't belong to UNHCR. The local government didn't want to accept it as their responsibility. So, there was some electricity over there, but then people started stealing electricity. So that whole place was out of any sort of norms, out of any sort of regulations. There was a community of 300 plus people where they were just left on their own. They had a landfill right across the wall. The Konik II camp was leaning against the wall of the landfill, so they were going to the landfill. The whole families dig overnight to get scrap metals. It is a very complicated story. But after it was obvious they were not welcomed, they were not embraced. And I want to say, probably nobody has ever said it out loud, but everybody was waiting for them just to go back home or move further, and they didn't. Several thousand stayed,” told Nadaždin for CIN CG.

Obtaining residency permits

Nadaždin told us about the help that the church staff gave to the Roma people who came from Kosovo while also mentioning how difficult the process of registering and applying for permanent or temporary residency permit was for them as well as how back then they tried to facilitate in this aspect too, other than in the “essential needs” such as food, clothing and medications. He told us that other than the process being too costly, too complicated and the procedures being too bureaucratic these people could apply for the residency only if they were in the refugee database, after bringing their Kosovar or Serbian documents, which they had to go and take in both respective countries. 

This community lived in tents for almost a year

While looking towards their current situation and living conditions is important, it is as much important to remember that no other refugee from any country or any other ethnicity was put to live in the conditions that these Roma people were faced with upon arrival.

Nadaždin recalls his memories by noting “They lived in tents for almost a year. Nobody else. No other refugees were placed in, living conditions where they had no toilet facilities. They had to share all these toilets. They had to share water taps”.

He also remembers how for the conditions of the area in which they were put no one wanted to take responsibility, that at that point that land belonged to nobody, it was a nobody’s land. And Kosovo didn’t bother much and continues to be reluctant and avoidant about its once citizens, and the government of Montenegro including the local governance didn’t bother much, those Romani at that point were treated as nobody’s people.

The housing provided:

In 2019, two housing units were provided for the Roma and Egyptian population funded by the Regional Housing Program, but the apartment’s state seems not to be a success story. For this Nadaždin blames the lack of the law enforcement by institutional bodies of the state.

“But now, after obtaining their permanent residency, things have changed. Since 2015, 2016, 2017, they gave them these new apartments. There's almost like 250 apartments over there in that complex. I'm not sure how many people, at least 1,500 people live there. And they got these apartments cheap, almost for free. They were supposed to pay some tiny bit of rent, well, sort of a rent to the government, they don't do that. They don't pay a lot of other things, so the condition of these apartments is deteriorating”, described Nadaždin.

When asked what the government should do, the pastor said that there isn’t much affirmative action that the government can do. Instead, he said that the law enforcement can be an effective solution upon those who case the deteriorating state of these buildings and the damage of the lives of the other members of the community who are responsible citizens.

The inner dynamics

While commonly it is not stated, dynamics between the Roma community member who came from Kosovo during and after the war and those who were already here did arouse. Most of which, according to members of both parts, because that the latter felt that all the funds as well as the attention went to the first, making the domicile Roma citizens feel neglected and overshadowed.

The language barrier

When asked whether the situation is better with the Roma community in Kosovo or that in Montenegro, the pastor said that due to the language barrier being one of the factors, he sees the case of Kosovo as more promising compared to the situation or the Roma from Kosovo in Montenegro.

Here, there's always a language barrier. For some of them, Serbian is, like, their third language. For some of them, it's their second. So, some speak better, some speak worse. There's always going to be a wall between them and the rest of the population. So, because they came from where they came from, they also tend to self-isolate. When I think of Romani in Kosovo, there's probably less of that, that at some point, the chances for real integration are going to be greater. Here, it's going to be harder”, Siniša said while expressing his opinion.

People on these apartments not paying their fees

Vllaznim Batusha, an Egyptian who migrated from Kosovo after the war and currently resides in these apartments, expressed how challenging it is for these individuals to meet their financial obligations and support their families. He attributed this difficulty to the low employment rate, which results in a single member supporting a whole family, and the relatively low wages these individuals receive. However, he also asserts that maintaining one's space is a matter of personal responsibility. According to him, some families maintain their apartments in a responsible manner, while others cause significant harm to their neighbors by damaging mutual facilities.

CIN CG was there and witnessed very poor maintenance of these buildings.

Nadaždin describes the situation thoroughly while restating that law enforcement and order would’ve prevented this from being the case.

“You know, you see how people get wire from the wall, and then they plug in somehow to get their electricity. I mean, let's go down to the basement and see what happens there. There are frequent wildfires over there. So, when I say law enforcement, that's what I mean. There have to be some law and some order. Were they have to feel it. But now it's just survival. Now it's just getting electricity. To get electricity for their Internet. So, what I'm saying, people choose to pay for their Internet. They will not pay for their water”, said Siniša.

Although many things have progressed since the first days that the Roma community from Kosovo that came after the war was first placed in Montenegro cities, and their story, rather than a black-and-white one, is grey, by no means should it be seen as a success story. And the outside looks of their living areas now—once one digs deeper—are seemingly deceiving of what actually is the case. To this day, this part of the Roma community that lives in Podgorica, especially, is not integrated but rather lives in a ghetto, separated from the rest of the society. And when describing it as a ghetto, one could go further and put the adjective “modern” next to the noun. “Modern” because it looks nice from the outside, “modern” because it doesn’t look even close to the tents in which this community was first placed. And, yet, their living standards, on average, because even there one family differs from the other, are far from being compared to that of an average native Montenegrin family.

Why does this remain the case, and is the government supposed to do anything about it? According to Siniša, it is part of human’s nature to try and find the easiest, cheapest way out; however, it is the government that should not allow people to continue to live in these conditions.

“So, there are these situations where there's also poor management, poor culture of using things. You can't improvise forever. It works for a period of time, but then, people try to hook up this wire with this wire and that wire with that other wire. I've seen some houses over there where they try to save money on everything. So, they get windows from the garbage or they find pieces of wire that they connect together, and those pieces of wire that are poorly connected there, they're inside of the walls. First of all, people shouldn't be allowed to live like that. There has to be government incentive, but also there has to be government regulation. You can't just let people do whatever they want. And people will always try to find easy way out. In this case, cheaper way out”.

The political representation

Shortly put: there isn’t one. The Roma community does not currently hold seats in the Montenegrin parliament. For years now, a quota has guaranteed political representation for most other non-majority communities but not to the Roma and Egyptian communities. 

Writes: Hanmie Lohaj

"This article has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of CIN CG and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union."

Po broju maloljetnih kockara prednjačimo u Evropi. Iako zakon zabranjuje objekte za kockanje i igre na sreću u krugu od 250 metara od osnovnih i srednjih škola, u zoni zabrane samo oko podgoričke OŠ "Milorad Musa Burzan" ima ih šest

Tijana Lekić

Aleksej (pravo ime poznato redakciji) prvi susret s kockanjem imao je još u sedmom razredu osnovne škole. Bio je izložen vršnjačkom nasilju, pa je često bježao sa časova. U kockarnicu, nadomak škole.

"Tu sam osjećao kao da pripadam negdje i niko me nije uznemiravao", priča za Centar za istraživačko novinarstvo Crne Gore (CIN-CG).

Krenuo je s ruletom. Dopala mu se ta zabava.

"Nekad bih i zaradio male pare", prisjeća se.

Kada je napunio 18 godina počeo je intenzivno da kocka. Prvo je uplaćivao tikete po kladionicama, igrao takozvane leptire i voćkice na apartima, kladio se i onlajn.

Igre leptira i voćkica su veoma popularne na slot-mašinama. Ima ih u kazinima, automat klubovima, kafićima koji nude tu vrstu zabave, ali i onlajn. Slot mašine su aparati u koje se ubacuju kovanice od 50 centi do dva eura. Postoje i besplatne verzije tih igara, da bi se igrači navukli učeći pravila.

Nakon što mu je otac preminuo, Aleksej je počeo da se kladi na veće sume novca.

"Uplaćivao sam tikete, nekad i više od 50 eura. Očev odlazak je, vjerovatno, bio okidač. Osjećao sam veliku usamljenost, mučilo me mnogo toga što nijesam mogao da ispričam drugima. Ipak, vjerovanje da ću moći da ostvarim neki dobitak i pobjegnem od realnosti bilo je zabluda", priča s uzdahom.

Danas Aleksej ima 34 godine i jedan je od korisnika programa za rehabilitaciju u Javnoj ustanovi (JU) Kakaricka gora.

Istraživanje Evropskog Centra za monitoring droga i zavisnosti od droga (ESPAD) iz 2019. godine obuhvatilo je omladinu uzrasta od 15 do 16 godina iz 35 država. Najveća stopa učenika s kockarskim iskustvom je u Grčkoj i na Kipru (33 odsto), a odmah potom u Crnoj Gori (32 odsto), dok je najveći procenat adolescenata koji se klade onlajn na Kipru i Kosovu (16 odsto). Crna Gora je i po tom osnovu na trećem mjestu, sa 13 odsto, ali je na prvom mjestu u Evropi po broju studenata koji prekomjerno kockaju - njih je čak 35 odsto.

Igre na sreću tik uz škole, uprkos zakonu

Crnogorski Zakon o igrama na sreću predviđa da objekti s igrama na sreću moraju biti udaljeni najmanje 250 metara od osnovnih i srednjih škola, međutim, to se u praksi ne poštuje.

Novinarka CIN-CG-a je obišla prostor oko četiri osnovne i dvije srednje škole u Podgorici. Međutim, objekti za igre na sreću bili su daleko, ne 250 metara, već svega 250 koraka od tih škola. Najupečatljiviji je primjer OŠ "Milorad Musa Burzan" - u krugu od 250 koraka ima čak šest različitih objekata s igrama na sreću.

U Crnoj Gori nikad niko nije kažnjen što je objekat u kome se priređuju igre na sreću u zakonom nedozvoljenoj blizini škole. Takođe, nije zabilježen slučaj da je zbog nepropisne udaljenosti odbijen zahtijev za koncesiju priređivačima igara na sreću. Inspekcija za igre na sreću prilikom kontrole nije nadležna da mjeri udaljenost ovih objekata od škola. Naime, podrazumijevaju da je uslov neophodne udaljenosti od škole ispunjen ako je data koncesija za igre na sreću.

Uprava za igre na sreću, koja dijeli koncesije, međutim nije nadležna za kontrolu udaljenosti od škola. Uprava i ne zna kako se mjeri udaljenost - vazdušnom linijom ili tlom; od ulaznih vrata škole ili dvorišne ograde...

"Priređivači igara na sreću su u obavezi da uz Zahtjev za dodjelu koncesije, pored potrebne dokumentacije predviđene Zakonom o igrama na sreću, dostave potvrdu udaljenosti objekta u kome će se priređivati igre na sreću od vaspitno-obrazovanih ustanova", kazali su za CIN-CG iz Uprave.

Potvrda o udaljenosti je u nadležnosti geodetskih agencija koje imaju licencu i kojima se potencijalni priređivač igara na sreću obrati. Zakonom, međutim, nije definisan način mjerenja minimalne udaljenosti objekata za igre na sreću od škola, tako da ostaje širi prostor za interpretaciju.

Postojeće nepreciznosti i nelogičnosti, bilo zbog pravnog okvira ili njegovog tumačenja u praksi, ionako složenu situaciju na tržištu igara na sreću još više komplikuju, navodi se u Izvještaju o radu Uprave za inspekcijske poslove za 2022. godinu.

"To doprinosi konfuziji koja vlada u ovoj pravnoj oblasti, pa višegodišnje iskustvo upućuje na zaključak da je uz novi pravni okvir, prijeko potrebna reforma sistema - institucionalnog okvira za priređivanje i kontrolu priređivanja igara na sreću. Očekuje se da će novi zakon odgovoriti na uočene probleme", ističe se u Izvještaju.

Direktorica OŠ "Milorad Musa Burzan" Milica Vuković je za CIN-CG kazala da se njihov posao svodi na rad u školskom prostoru i vremenu, tako da ne mogu da znaju šta djeca rade van škole i nakon nastave.

Kad završe sa časovima, učenike već na izlazu čekaju kazina, automati, kladionice i slični sadržaji.

CIN-CG je slikao i brojio reklame na bilbordima po Podgorici. Krajem maja, samo na potezu od 500 metara u Ulici kralja Nikole, od Sahat-kule do hotela Hilton, bilo je čak pet bilborda na kojima se reklamiraju igre na sreću. Takve reklame imaju i skoro sva autobuska stajališta u gradu, a neki autobusi su pokretne reklame za igre na sreću.

Problem je što oglašivači ne ističu upozorenja o rizicima igara na sreću, kao što je to praksa u većini zemalja Evrope. Naprotiv, ovdje šire pozitivne poruke: "Od sreće se ne može pobjeći"; "Vrti i osvoji svaki dan, 9.000 eura mjesečno"; "Odigraj tiket i osvoj"; "Ti si moj jackpot"; "Uplati depozit, dobitak do 10.000 eura"...

Osim ovakvih obmanjujućih poruka, često ove reklame nemaju ni znak zabrane za maloljetnike.

Desetostruko povećan broj patoloških kockara koji traže pomoć

Aleksej, nakon godina s kockom, kaže da mu se dešavalo da ga djeca od 13 ili 14 godina mole da im uplati tiket. Više puta je vidio da mladi pitaju nekog punoljetnog, druga ili brata, da to urade za njih.

"Posebno je opasno kada stariji šalju djecu da uplaćuju tikete, što nije rijetkost, jer tako se počinje", objašnjava on.

Socijalna radnica Aida Kerović, koja radi u JU Kakaricka gora, kaže da raste broj štićenika koji se obraćaju za pomoć zbog patološkog kockanja.

"Broj klijenata s teškim problemima s kockom porastao je u posljednjih osam godina. Ranije je taj broj od ukupnih korisnika bio dva odsto, a danas je oko 20 odsto", kaže ona.

Porastu broja liječenih od ove bolesti zavisnosti doprinosi i veća svijest o ovoj pošasti. Činjenica je da sve više zavisnika i njihovih porodica prepoznaju ovaj problem, čiji je ključni uzrok upravo dostupnost igara na sreću.

Na liječenje od zavisnosti u JU Kakaricka gora mogu da dođu samo punoljetni građani i građanke Crne Gore. Međutim, ovoj se ustanovi često obraćaju i zbog pomoći maloljetnim osobama.

"Maloljetnike upućujemo u Centar za mentalno zdravlje, gdje postoji servis psiho-socijalne podrške", kaže Kerović.

"To je jedino što možemo da uradimo. Inače, u tom je dobu teško utvrditi da li se radi samo o problematičnom ponašanju ili patologiji", objašnjava ona.

Psihijatrica Branka Purlija iz Centra za mentalno zdravlje kaže za CIN-CG da se maloljetnici najčešće javljaju zbog problema koji su često posljedica njihovog stila života, s psihološkim tegobama poput anksioznosti i suicidalnih misli.

"Najmlađa osoba kod koje je ustanovljeno da ima problem s kockanjem javila se zbog vršnjačkog nasilija. Ta je osoba imala svega 16 godina", ističe Purlija.

Maloljetnici koji se obrate za pomoć Centru zbog problema s prekomjernim kockanjem najčešće se klade i igraju poker onlajn. Kako se ne javljaju s eksplicitnim problemima koje vezuju za kockanje, kroz dalji rad se otkrije da je to često uzrok anksioznosti i drugih psihičkih problema, objašnjava Purlija.

Ona konstatuje da se kockanje u Crnoj Gori još uvijek nedovoljno tretira kao problem društva.

"Rijetko se za pomoć obrate direktno zavisnici", kaže psihoškinja Maja Lješnjak za CIN-CG.

Lješnjak radi u Savjetovalištu Entera, koje je u sklopu NVO Zid, nude servis za psihološku pomoć i podršku osobama s problemom kockanja i članovima njihovih porodica.

Mladi se najčešće klade onlajn na sportske trke, trke pasa, zatim na tombolu i slot-aparate, ističe Lješnjak.

"U posljednje vrijeme starosna granica kada počinju s kockanjem se spušta. Djeca starosti od sedam ili osam godina u prosjeku prvi put dolaze u kontakt s kockom", kaže Lješnjak.

Skoro svaki peti patološki kockar pokušao je samoubistvo

Postoje tri vrste kockanja, kaže Aida Kerović. Prva se odnosi na takozvano društveno-rekreativno kockanje - kada se osoba u društvu kocka, s određenim, obično manjim svotama novca. Taj prvi stepen nema generalno neke ozbiljnije posljedice, više je vid zabave. Većina ljudi se kocka na taj način.

Druga vrsta kockanja je problematično kockanje, tada igrač pravi određene probleme u različitim sferama života - u partnerskim odnosima, finansijama, sa zakonom, ali ne u velikoj mjeri. U toj fazi kocka je problem i osoba se nalazi na ivici da razvije patologiju.

Treća vrsta kockanja je patološko kockanje i to je bolest koju prate različiti osjećaji - napetost i uzbuđenje koje osoba ima dok kocka, te osjećaj zadovoljstva i rasterećenja dok to radi. U klasifikaciji medicinskih bolesti, objašnjava Kerović, patološko kockanje ima posebnu dijagnozu u poremećaju kontrole impulsa, poput kleptomanije.

"Kao prvo, osoba je preokupirana kockanjem, kocka se i postepeno ulaže sve više novca. To je kao kad zavisnik od psihoaktivnih supstanci ima potrebu da uzima više droga. Tako nekome ko je zavisnik od kocke treba sve više i više novca da bi se kockao. U ovim slučajevima primjećuje se pojava nemira i razdražljivosti", upozorava ona na simptome patološkog kockanja.

Posljedice se, ističe psihoterapeutkinja, dijele u nekoliko kategorija. Osoba često pozajmljuje novac, a pozajmice su sve veće i veće. Dolazi do gubitka socijalnog statusa i ugrožava se finansijsko stanje, bez obzira na zaradu koju je ostvarivala prije nego što je počela da se patološki kocka. Gubi se i interesovanje za druge aktivnosti.

Aida Kerović kaže i da patološki kockari obično ostaju bez prijatelja, a u njihovim porodicama dolazi do disfunkcionalnosti.

"Često imamo klijente koji su razvedeni i ne žive s djecom, ostali su bez posla, a porodica je dugo vraćala njihove dugove", objašnjava ona, dodajući da su to često znakovi da osoba pati od patološkog kockanja.

Ona upozorava da je u ovakvim slučajevima često prisutno i nasilje.

"U fazama razdražljivosti, kada osobe nemaju mogućnost da stignu do novca da bi se kockale, mogu i da pribjegnu porodičnom nasilju. Patološki kockari često pate i od kliničke depresije."

Psihijatrica Elvira Kojić u istraživanju "Problematično i patološko kockanje" kaže da je kod kockara povećan rizik od suicida. Između 48 i 70 odsto patoloških kockara razmišlja o suicidu, a od 13 do 20 odsto liječenih od patološkog kockanja pokušalo je samoubistvo.

"Kad sam prokockao 13.500 eura u deset dana, rekao sam sebi: Ti si bolestan!"

Aleksej kaže kako u jednom momentu njegova plata nije više bila dovoljna da bi se kockao, pa je podigao više kredita.

"Na računu sam imao nekih 13.500 eura i to sam prokockao za 10 dana. Kada mi je stigla na telefon poruka od banke da je na računu nula, sam sam sebi rekao, sjećam se kao da je bilo juče - ti si bolestan."

Aleksej je mnogo puta rekao ovo je zadnji put, nikad više. I uvijek bi se vraćao kocki.

"Kada sam tek stigao ovdje na liječenje, još nijesam prihvatao da sam zavisnik. Ali, sad vidim, kada uporedim sebe tada i danas - to su dva različita svijeta", priča smireno.

Između tih svjetova, dugačak je put. Prošlo je mnogo vremena od trenutka kada je postao svjestan problema do priznanja.

"Kada sam napravio dug od 11 hiljada eura, koji sam morao da vratim u roku od mjesec dana, sva vrata oko mene bila su zatvorena. Tada sam se povjerio majci, slomio sam se u 100 komada i priznao sve", prisjeća se on.

To prvo priznanje se desilo kad nije više imao za šta da se uhvati.

"Majka mi je tada uz pomoć rodbine pomogla oko dugova, ali ubrzo nakon toga sam opet upao u problem. Još jednom ista situacija. Nije tako lako čovjeku da prizna da ima problema..., da je bolestan... Sam sebe sam takođe manipulisao. Govorio sam da imam zavisničku ličnost, a kad kažeš da si zavisnik, nekako to prilijepiš za sebe. Nijesam to htio kao etiketu zauvijek", kaže Aleksej s osmjehom, ali i grčem koji imaju samo ljudi koji su mnogo patili.

"Otkad sam bistrog uma kad vidim reklamu za klađenje - osjetim gađenje".

Socijalna radnica u JU Kakaricka gora ističe da je vrlo važno kako izgledaju reklame za igre na sreću.

"Ovdje postoji ozbiljna zamjena teza jer se glorifikuje kockanje kao način života. Plasiranje reklama s pozitivnim porukama, u kojima je dobitak jedina opcija, suprotno je od realnosti i posljedica koji takav način života može da ima", upozorava ona.

Tretman liječenja u JU Kakaricka gora traje godinu dana. Kada se liječenje završi, korisnik izlazi iz izolacije. Ta tranzicija je delikatan period tokom kog bi osoba trebalo da izbjegava bilo šta što je asocira na kockanje. U periodu tranzicije, koji traje još jednu godinu, korisnici mogu bilo kada doći u JU Kakaricka gora kad osjete potrebu za podrškom ili savjetovanjem.

Aleksej uskoro izlazi iz izolacije. Komentariše slike reklama.

"Sada, kad ih vidim iz ove perspektive, i bistrog uma, osjećam gađenje. Sjećam se svojih stanja, koja su bila zaista mračna. Imao sam i suicidalne misli".

I on upozorava da se u crnogorskom društvu promoviše, pa čak i glorifikuje, pogrešan način života. Ima i poznatih umjetnika i umjetnica koje gledamo svaki dan kako reklamiraju igre na sreću.

"Vjerujem da napolju ima mnogo momaka i djevojaka, koji pate i proživljavaju ono što ja prolazim. Bio bih srećan kad bi oni pročitali o mom iskustvu i odlučili da priznaju da su nemoćni pred svojom bolešću i obratili se nekome za pomoć", zaključuje Aleksej.

Bilo bi dobro da njegovu priču čuju u Crnoj Gori i oni koji odlučuju o zakonskim rješenjima i primjeni. Dostupnost igara na sreću već je uništila mnoge mlade živote.

Inspektori ne mogu kazniti ni vlasnike ilegalnih kladionica ako ih ne uhvate na djelu

U Izvještaju o radu Uprave za inspekcijske poslove za 2022. godinu piše da je u Crnoj Gori u toj godini bilo zvanično 1.079 objekata u kojima se priređuju igre na sreću.

Inspekcija za igre na sreću je odradila 555 kontrola u prošloj godini, što je oko 51 odsto od ukupnog broja objekata. Iste godine u Italiji su sprovedene inspekcijske kontrole u samo 20 odsto objekata koji priređuju igre na sreću.

Međutim, dok su u izvještaju iz 2022. u Crnoj Gori utvrđene 32 nepravilnosti (svega 5,7 odsto slučajeva od ukupnog broja kontrola) - u Italiji je taj broj čak 30 odsto.

U ocjeni stanja i predlogu mjera u ovom izvještaju crnogorske Uprave za inspekcijske poslove, uviđa se da je neophodno promijeniti zakonska rješenja, kako bi kontrola bila efikasnija.

"Još nije donesen novi Zakon o igrama na sreću, a činjenica je da nedostatak valjanog zakona i odgovarajućih podzakonskih akata predstavlja limitirajući faktor za efikasniji inspekcijski nadzor", ističe se u Izvještaju.

Iz Inspekcije za igre na sreću navode konkretne primjere slabih mehanizama kontrole.

"Činjenica da je u određenom prostoru prisutno sredstvo (uređaj na kojem se mogu priređivati igre na sreću) - ne predstavlja prekršaj iako za taj uređaj ne postoji saglasnost nadležnog organa, zbog toga jer je Zakonom o igrama na sreću sankcionisano samo priređivanje igara na sreću bez koncesije. To znači da, ako u momentu kontrole uređaj nije u funkciji, ili čak i kada je u funkciji, ali nije moguće dokazati priređivanje igara na sreću na njemu, inspektor ne može preduzeti mjere protiv priređivača, iako taj subjekat za te uređaje ne posjeduje koncesiju."

Čak ni kod internet priređivanja igara na sreću bez saglasnosti nadležnog organa, Inspekcija ne može preduzeti prekršajne mjere, jer to Zakonom o igrama na sreću nije propisano kao prekršaj.

U izvještaju o radu Inspekcije za igre na sreću još piše da se od 32 pronađene neregularnosti najveći broj odnosi na rad bez koncesija, višak automata za igre na sreću u regularnim automat klubovima i učešće maloljetnih lica.

U Engleskoj, Italiji, Monte Karlu ograničenja, u Crnoj Gori sve dozvoljeno

Kada je riječ o igrama na sreću države se mogu podijeliti u tri kategorije - one koje su zabranile igre na sreću, u kojima je sistem poluliberalan i one koje su liberalizovale igre na sreću.

Crna Gora je u ovoj trećoj kategoriji. Međutim, liberalizacija ne znači da ne postoje jasni zakoni i pravila.

Sektor igara na sreću predstavlja jednu vrstu zabave, podstiče turizam, otvara radna mjesta i donosi prihod državi. Ali je takođe važno zaštiti javni interes - kao što je zaštita stanovništva od zavisnosti. U zemlji u kojoj je aktivan kockarski turizam, a takva je Crna Gora, postoji i dodatna odgovornost da se zaštite mladi.

Evropski standardi iz preporuka Evropske komisije iz 2014. godine predviđaju konkretne načine oglašavanja igara na sreću.

U oglašavanjima ne bi trebalo biti neosnovanih izjava o mogućnostima dobitaka, niti bi se smjele prikazivati kao društveno privlačne i sadržati iskaze slavnih osoba kojima se sugeriše da igranje doprinosi društvenom uspjehu. Takođe se ne bi trebalo tvrditi da igre na sreću mogu riješiti društvene, profesionalne ili privatne probleme. Posebno je opasno sugerisati da kockanje može biti alternativa poslu, rješenje za finansijske probleme ili oblik ulaganja.

Države treba da osiguraju da se u oglašavanju uzimaju u obzir i rizici. Natpis "zabranjeno igranje za maloljetnike" morao bi da stoji na svakoj reklami. To važi i za reklamiranje besplatnih igara.

Često se u reklamiranju kockarskog turizma za Crnu Goru kaže da je Montenegro Monte Karlo Balkana. Ali, u Monte Karlu državljani te zemlje ne mogu da uđu u kazino i zabranjene su reklame o kockanju.

U Italiji je od 2018. godine reklamiranje igara na sreću ukinuto. Ta promjena zakona je uvedena baš zbog porasta patoloških kockara.

U Engleskoj su zabranjene reklame koje prikazuju, odobravaju ili podstiču kockarsko ponašanje koje je društveno neodgovorno ili može dovesti do finansijske, društvene ili emocionalne štete.

Po engleskim ulicama bilbordi upozoravaju na rizike kockanja:

"Kockanje me vezivalo u čvor dok nijesam razgovarao s nekim."

"Nisam mogao da se fokusiram ni na šta osim na kockanje dok nijesam progovorio."

Načela i pravila Etičkog kodeksa obavezuju tužioce da moraju biti moralno odgovorni za postupke koji su u suprotnosti sa Kodeksom. Državni tužioci u svom radu moraju poštovati etička načela savremenog društva. Prilikom obavljanja svog posla, državni tužioci moraju učvršćivati ugled kako na ličnom tako i na tužilačkom nivou.

U poslednjih pet godina utvrđene su samo četiri povrede načela i pravila Etičkog kodeksa, od strane državnih tužilaca i rukovodilaca tržavnog tužilaštva.

DESPITE THE CLEAR MESSAGE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION THAT FOSSIL FUELS ARE THE PAST, AND THAT THE FUTURE IS RESERVED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND RENEWABLE ENERGY AND DESPITE BAD EXPERIENCES FROM THE REGION MONTENEGRO STARTED DRILLING THE ADRIATIC BOTTOM. ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS ANNOUNCE THAT THE PROTESTS WILL BE CONTINUED AFTER THE TOURIST SEASON

Branko Vujičić, an experienced fisherman, searches in vain for shrimp and prawns on the bottom of the Adriatic. The fish stock is declining, he says, and he attributes that to drilling the seabed in search of oil.

"They live on the bottom of the seafloor so drilling is probably causing some vibration that affects the fish. There are no shrimp anymore, we cannot catch even two kilos, and we used to catch a hundred. Their price has now dropped to three euros. This is not the case only in Ulcinj and Bar, but also in other cities – I have been fishing for them all along the coast, but it seems that shrimp are gone. Shrimp and sardines are food for all other fish ", Vujičić says in an interview for the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG)/Monitor.

The Topaz Driller giant metal jack-up rig started drilling operations looking for possible oil and gas deposits on March 25 on 20 kilometers from the coast, between Ulcinj and Bar. The investor, the Italian-Russian consortium Eni-Novatek, will search for black gold to a depth of 6,500 meters. Whether there is oil in the Montenegrin submarine will be known, allegedly, at the beginning of September.

The oil and gas exploration continues despite the warnings of environmentalists that this is a risky endeavor and violation of the Paris Agreement and the announcements of the new protests at the end of the tourist season. The fishermen's complaints regarding the decline in fish stock due to the drilling are also in vain. However, the drilling continues with the blessing of the current Government, which in this case continued the work of the previous Government.

Not even enough fish to cover the cost of fuel

In a statement for CIN-CG/Monitor, the Ministry of Capital Investments says that according to the information they have, "ongoing oil and gas research has not in any way affected maritime traffic and the work of the Port Authority. The traffic flow is normal and everything is in the right order."

"They forbid us to approach that platform within a few kilometers. And our sea is small, if I take a boat ride from Ulcinj in the morning, here I am in Croatia in the afternoon ", Vujičić, who is also the president of the Association of Professional Fishermen of Budva St. Nikola, says.

Dragoljub Bajković, president of the Association of Professional Fishermen of Bar, believes that fish from the seabed, including shrimp, began to disappear with the first seismic surveys that preceded the current drilling.

"A couple of years ago, seismic surveys were done, during which the pressure at the bottom was 3,000 bar. Then the fish from the bottom were killed, or migrated to the other side where there were no such surveys - towards Albania and Boka," he says.

Bajković is convinced that the current drilling will seriously affect fishermen.

"It affects the fishermen of Ulcinj, Bar, all the way to Čanj. They go fishing from morning to evening, 10 -12 hours, and bring a minimum of fish, enough only to cover the expenses of fuel. I catch bluefish and I went fishing 29 times from December to July - 10 times I threw nets, and 19 times I came back, because the fish wouldn’t bite. There are some underwater vibrations from drilling. The fish is running away like wild. Something is completely disturbed. And a lot of us make a living from fishing.”

Before the start of drilling, a meeting was organized with the representatives of the fishermen's association at the Ministry of Capital Investments.

"Fishermen told them that they were not looking forward to that research, but if the state decided to carry out these explorations, we must accept it," Milun Anđić, president of the Association of Vessels of Montenegro, says.

At the request of fishermen to form an equalization fund that will help the development of fisheries, the Ministry answered that it will be formed as soon as oil exploration begins.

Government: Everything is fine

"We emphasized the importance of environmental protection and received assurances that they have quadruple systems. They explained to us that the depth at which oil is extracted is 110 meters and that it is accessible to divers, devices, valves so that in case of a leak everything can be closed immediately. They gave guarantees that the ships specialized for oil leaks are ready in Italian ports and that they could be there in 10-15 hours to suck up the oil ", Anđić says.

He assesses that the fishermen had no choice and that they gave tacit consent to the assurances that the fishing industry and the oil industry could work together.

According to Anđić, previous research on fish stock was done arbitrarily and not properly. That is why the fishermen complained to the institutions: "That research was carried out by ships that aren’t specialized. No fishing boats were taken. It was all financed by investors. "

Bajković also says that the investor and the Institute of Marine Biology should have determined the initial state of the fish stock during this year, which, as he says, does not exist.

"The Institute of Marine Biology did not conduct a study of the impact on fisheries. It monitored fishing activities before and after seismic, i.e. analysis of the catch structure of small-scale coastal and large-scale commercial fishing. We are not engaged in current activities related to the platform in terms of fisheries monitoring. We may be involved after the completion of activities related to the platform", Dr. Aleksandar Joksimović, director of the Institute of Marine Biology, says for CIN-CG/Monitor.

The beginning of drilling was marked with environmentalists' protests who pointed out the numerous environmental risks of this exploration, while the new Government convinced them that there was no room for anxiety. Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić said that the concession agreement, signed in 2016, was rarely a good decision made by the previous Government. He also assessed that the possible impact on the environment is negligible.

Environmental organizations and activists voiced their opposition to the start of drilling, while the ruling Civic Movement United Reform Action (GP URA) called for a referendum. The Prime Minister suppressed the opposing views by claiming that the termination of the deal with Eni-Novatek would cost the state around one hundred million euros and that the referendum would be technically unfeasible in the conditions of the corona crisis, at a cost of around two million euros.

Minister of Capital Investments Mladen Bojanic also claims that this is a good project. He has said many times that potential oil and gas reserves are measured in billions of euros.

Bojanic: It's all at their expense

"The main characteristics of the contract with the Eni-Novatek consortium are that Montenegro has not invested a single penny in the research and that the concessionaires bear all the costs," Drasko Loncar from the Ministry of Capital Investments told Monitor/CIN-CG. He explains that Montenegro has provided guarantees, "on the mandatory work program", and that the concessionaires have unlimited and joint liability to compensate the damage and lost profits to the state and third parties in case of an incident, and most importantly, that the state provided profits between 62 - 68 percent.

Loncar explains that the obligatory work program that the Eni-Novatek concessionaires have committed to includes: 3D seismic research, geological and geophysical studies, and two exploration wells of 6,500 and 1,500 meters.

In case the concessionaire does not fulfill the obligatory work program, according to Loncar's explanation, Montenegro could activate the guarantee of 84 million euros that it has provided and possibly hire another company to continue with exploration.

The Ministry of Capital Investments points out that, if no commercial hydrocarbon reserves are found, the entire cost of exploration will be borne by the concessionaire, without any obligation on the part of the state to participate in it.

"This is a business that is unprofitable, risky, and harmful to the environment and the economy of Montenegro, primarily tourism and fishing," Mustafa Canka, a journalist dealing with this issue for decades, stated.

He points out that the officials are only talking about financial benefits and percentages, without publicly stating that "in the best case, in their most optimistic scenario, we can earn around 60 million euros a year. And only in a few years."

"To find oil, more wells need to be drilled, more analyzes conducted, so in the best case the exploitation would start in three years. Until then, we will question everything, especially tourism from which in the case of a good season, the state earns a little over a billion euros, while at least a third of the income remains in the gray zone ", Canca says for CIN-CG/Monitor.

A romantic turtle saga

He wonders if it is profitable if we compare 1.3 billion with 60 million. He stated that guests from the West are not thrilled to have a view of the oil platforms. He notes that the damage done to the flora and fauna in the sea will never be calculated, as will the damage suffered by fishermen.

However, the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism is not worried about this project and its impact on the environment. In addition to the obligation to respect domestic regulations that regulate the field of environmental protection, this Ministry also states that the contract envisages two special mechanisms for compensation of possible damage. The first is the Parent Company Guarantee of the concessionaire which covers payments of all obligations under the contract in case of non-performance, as well as all non-contractual obligations to third parties in case of direct damage or losses incurred in connection with these activities (including pollution or incidents). This guarantee, as they explain in the Ministry, means that the concessionaires guarantee the value of the parent company and not the one registered in Montenegro, which is incomparably smaller.

The second mechanism is the Mandatory Comprehensive Insurance Policy for the Oil and Gas Industry, which covers the complete operations performed by the Eni operator, including all their subcontractors.

"Montenegro has ensured that in case of any damage to the environment, it has the possibility of reimbursement of costs, including damage to third parties. In this particular case, that means, for example, that the compensation for possible damage would be paid to the fishermen as well ", they say from the department that also deals with ecology.

The Ministry of Capital Investments also claims that "a large number of ecologists" have a positive opinion on the project, as well as on all the studies done on the protection and preservation of the environment.

"The commitment of the concessionaire towards the environment should be emphasized. For example, during the seismic research, a turtle appeared in front of the ship and the operations were suspended until it moved away to a safe distance. The cost of waiting or stand by installment was about $ 150,000. Therefore, we emphasize that the concessionaires have high standards when it comes to environmental protection ", they say from this Ministry.

The oil spill response exercise

Zenepa Lika, an environmental activist from Ulcinj, is not convinced of these standards, claiming for Monitor/CIN-CG that this venture is risky. She explains that it relies on an environmental impact assessment study conducted by the investor.

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) returned the document for revision several times, which means that Eni did not respect Montenegrin legislation. As far as I know, there is no contingency plan in case of oil spills, techniques and projections for recovery ", Lika claims.

The Environmental Protection Agency confirmed that the Environmental Impact Assessment Study, carried out by Eni Montenegro, and prepared by Italian experts, was not done following the rules. In October 2019, the Agency requested certain amendments from the project holder. The revised Study received the consent of the Agency in December of that year.

The Ministry of Capital Investments claims that in case of emergency, there are plans: "There is a reaction plan of the concessionaire, a reaction plan of Montenegrin institutions responsible for this project, as well as a reaction plan in cooperation with the concessionaire." Also, in June, the oil spill response exercise PLATFORM 21 was held, in which the Administration for Maritime Safety, the police, the army, the Port Authorities, and the Hydrocarbons Administration participated. Of course, in addition to these plans, there are other plans for reaction to all foreseen incidents. "

They also claim that the inspection supervision is constant and that it will remain the same during the entire project.

"The Inspector for Hydrocarbons as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, based on the results of  Center for Ecotoxicological Research (CETI) analyzes, are closely monitoring and controlling this project, both at the plant and in the logistics base. For now, the process is completely safe and secure for the environment and staff, as well as for the approved project itself, " the Ministry stated.

In early April, Ulcinj's parliament unanimously adopted conclusions expressing great skepticism about seabed drilling.

"The Municipality calls on the Government to participate transparently and cooperatively in the reviewing of decisions related to offshore oil exploration, taking into account the views of the citizens of coastal municipalities, environmental and economic aspects of demographic data," it was written in the adopted conclusions.

Lika says that from the very beginning of this non-transparent and undesirable project, the former, and unfortunately the current Government, violated the constitutional right of the citizens of coastal and other cities because they were not timely and adequately informed.

"I note that, for example, the citizens of Ulcinj were surprised when they found out that oil would be explored in our sea 'again'. They were also denied participation in a public hearing organized in Bar. On the same day, a public debate was held in Ulcinj on a special purpose plan for the coastal area. So, the first part of research is planned on the coast of Ulcinj, and citizens were prevented from giving their opinion ", Lika says.

The Ministry of Ecology points out that the oil and gas industry is not unknown in the countries with which Montenegro shares the sea borders: "So far, about 1,500 wells have been drilled in the Adriatic for the needs of both exploration and oil and gas production."

Albania's bitter experience

Eni's Environmental Impact Study specifies that there are 1,440 wells in the Adriatic Sea (for exploration, production, and other purposes), of which 1,350 were drilled by Eni S.p.A, and that no eruption was recorded in any of them.

"Neighboring Croatia has declared a moratorium on all new oil and gas exploration, even the 'oilmen' from Croatia themselves oppose drilling in the Adriatic Sea. They think that oil and clean sea simply do not work together,” Lika says.

She points out that Albania does not have a platform at sea, but exploitation is done on land. She warns of pictures and footages from 2015 when a big accident happened in the village of Marinza in the south of Albania when the entire settlement was flooded with oil so the citizens were forced to evacuate, while a strategic investor from Canada, Bankers Petroleum, simply pleaded not guilty to the incident.

Referring to the Albanian experience of oil exploration, Canka also says that "it indicates that Montenegro should not enter this dangerous deal".

"Since 1990, research has been conducted on large global companies in the Albanian part of the Adriatic, and there are no concrete results. "Only in a few cases oil was discovered, but it turned out to be an unprofitable exploitation," Canka points out, noting that sweet dreams of "Albania floating on oil" were also dreamed in that country during the 1990s.

"After three decades, the illusions dissipated in the Adriatic and, unfortunately for us, reached the official Podgorica," Canka says.

Montenegro has started drilling the Adriatic, despite the European Union's clear message that fossil fuels are the past and that the future is reserved for environmental and renewable energy.

In November 2019, the finance ministers of the countries of the European Union agreed that the financing of projects that include oil, gas, and coal should be stopped. On that occasion, they called on the European Investment Bank, the World Bank, and other financial institutions to stop giving loans for those purposes. It was the first time that senior European government officials sought to end funding for all fossil fuels, taking into account sustainable development and energy needs, and the energy security of partner countries.

Environmentalists remind that Montenegro is a signatory to the Paris Agreement, by which 200 countries committed themselves to gradually abandon the use of fossil resources.

"With this project, we are violating the agreement and forcing the exploitation of fossil fuels, even though we know that this type of exploitation affects climate change and certainly the quality of our sea, regardless of the opposite claims," Lika concludes.

Under the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, the EU has mobilized up to nine billion euros for innovative and green ideas and projects. Environmentalists believe that it would be better to use this opportunity for long-term environmental and financial benefits than to drill the seabed.

The actions of environmentalists against underwater drilling, as announced by the interlocutor of CIN-CG/Monitor, will continue.

The actions of environmentalists against undersea drilling, as Lika announces, will continue.

"We have not given up on our demands and we are asking for the suspension of oil and gas exploration and exploitation. We have stopped the protests during the tourist season because we sympathize with the citizens and we do not want to spread an even more negative image of our country ", Zenepa Lika says.

A small amount of oil sufficient for great damage

Only eight grams of oil is enough to pollute a cubic meter of seawater. One cubic meter of spilled oil depletes oxygen from 400,000 cubic meters of the sea, the report of the State Audit Institution (SAI) states, which published an Audit of the Efficiency of Intervention Management System in Case of Sudden Pollution in the Adriatic Sea in April.

The audit found poor cooperation between national institutions, non-compliance with outdated strategies, and that no coastal municipality has a plan and risk assessment in case of sudden sea pollution, as well as lack of adequate equipment to respond to large-scale pollution…

The SAI's document also states the Hydrocarbons Administration's response regarding the current exploration works: "Measurements of the fish catch in the zone of the proposed activities were performed both before and after the geophysical research by the concessionaire, to compare data on the fish catch before and after the activities. Also, since the fishing activities during the geophysical research were difficult, the concessionaires compensated the fishing associations for the time during which the geophysical research activities took place, following the measures from the study on environmental impact assessment."

Predrag NIKOLIĆ

One firefighting plane that can fly, another one that is being serviced in Germany, and a helicopter in perspective is the whole firefighting aircraft that The Directorate for Safety and Rescue (DPR) can count on throughout this year’s fire season.

It seems that this year again, firefighters will be looking towards the sky, rather than towards their scarce equipment, which is seldom renewed.

Although Montenegro’s protection and rescue system prides itself on successfully preventing human losses, wildfires cause several hundred million euros worth of damage.

According to the EFFIS, Montenegro suffers an average loss of more than 180 km2 of forestland, and protected areas are no exception.  That is a significantly higher figure than that of many times larger France, where fire annually swallows up approx. 110 km2 of forest area.

From The Forest Service, they state that the surface of the ”burned forest area in state and private ownership” for the last decade is half the number of EFFIS- 901, 39 km2.

Despite the difference in figures and calculation methods, in Montenegro, which is still considered to be the country with high forestland percentage, wildfires, as well as illegal logging threaten to change ecosystem and micro-climate.

Protection from the wildfires, which swallow up great spaces, isn't in any way better prepared compared to the previous years. Specialized unit for the wildfire suppression, like some neighboring countries have, is still not on the horizon.

The majority of the wildfires are set by people, but long and ineffective investigations and the scarce and light sanctions don’t seem to discourage arsonists, showed the investigation of the Centre of Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG).

At the moment, Montenegro has only one working fire airplane, “air-tractor”, on disposal.  Of another two that the Directorate for Protection and Safety owns, it is possible to count on one, which is currently serviced in Germany, until the beginning of fire season.  The third one is useless, according to Zoran Miljanic, state secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), so that “MIA would begin negotiations with the Government about the procurement of 10 million worth multi-purpose helicopter“.

Two helicopters MIA currently has on the disposal date back to the 70s, and the “youngest” one is from 1998. Therefore, the first goal of DSR under the new management would be upgrading the used- up aircraft unit, Miljanić told CIN-CG.

Still, the reinforcement can’t be expected during the ongoing season.

“MIA will propose the helicopter procurement to the Government only after the budget adoption. We will also apply for international donations, which would be the best way for the funding. “, Miljanić explained.

He states that, as before, the municipalities will be in charge of funding human and material resources of the local services for protection and rescue. MIA and the army will help during the season, when the resources of the local services deplete, while the international assistance will contribute only if the state’s capacities turn out to be insufficient.

Still, Miljanić announced readiness of DSR to hear all the complaints and solve the issues they are in charge of.

Big funding, even bigger damage

According to the Wildfires Report by the State Audit Commission, fire damage for the period between 2012-2018 is more than six million euros. However, non-governmental organization KOD, published in their Forestry Brochure the results of their own damage assessment, using EU criteria, according to which the total damage amounts to 700 million euros.

Vuk Iković, biologist and member of KOD, explained that the difference in figures is the consequence of methodology that in Montenegro officially calculates only direct damage, which is the loss of wood mass, while the indirect damage is incomparably higher.

Wildfires damages are classified as direct and indirect, while the total damage is the sum of both, Iković told CIN-CG.

He states that wildfires cause the forest to lose its crucial value for humans- oxygen production, while many species permanently lose their habitats and food sources.

“It takes at least 40 years for the forest to recover from a wildfire. Fire causes instant vanishing of everything that have been forming for the decades, or even centuries, while the land loses its biomass, becoming permanently barren.”, Iković told CIN-CG.

Nusret Kalač, recently removed as director of Forest Service, states that it is not their responsibility to take care of ecological losses, but only economic ones.

According to KOD, throughout the last decade, the budget of DSR has been increasing, while the wildfires damage has been on the rise.

“DSR’s budged for 2012 was 1.962.389, 27 eur, and in 2019 it raised to 3.497.529, 33 eur, while the burned area from 2011 to 2013 is smaller compared to the 2017- 2919 period. (564 km2, compared to 673 km2)”,  it is stated in KOD’s Forestry Brochure.

From DSR, it’s been told to CIN-CG, that the budget has been spent on payments of wages, contributions, equipment and maintenance costs, and various money transfers for which they didn’t state identities of recipients, aviation unit taxes, civil protection campaign costs, system upgrading, etc.

Environmental crime still not recognized

Iković states that the wildfires are mostly human-caused, arising from burning for land clearing, mushroom growth, land development, or for the purpose of covering up the illegal logging.

According to him, the lack of a legal framework with regard to wildfires prosecution and environmental crime, in general, significantly contributes to the greater number of wildfires.

Basic State Prosecutor in Podgorica told CIN-CG that there’s no record of wildfires per se, as this is not a separate offense. Instead, wildfires fall under the category of offenses causing danger.  Unlike Basic State Prosecutors in other municipalities, Podgorica BSP didn’t send their records on wildfires to CIN-CG.

While the information from other BSPs for the period of 2010- 2020, show a very low rate of persecutions, Forest Service recorded 1001 cases of wildfires during the same period.

Therefore, though there have been 222 cases in Pljevlja, local BSP had only three cases, which all ended without the sentence.

The greatest number of cases regarding wildfires throughout the last decade has been recorded in Bijelo Pole- eight of them. Two of them were concluded with the official note stating that there’s no basis to proceed, three charges were dismissed, two cases are in progress, and one case is in the phase of the investigation.

Except for Podgorica, there have been only five prison sentences, two recommendations for psychiatric treatment, and two suspended sentences. The shortest prison sentence was 40 days, there were two six-months sentences, and one of ten months, while the longest one was one-year sentence.

The forest land concession holders don’t pay attention to the protection of wildfires, either.

According to the State Audit Commission’s Report on Wildfires Protection Success from 2019. „No concession holder on the territory of Montenegro brought up the plan for wildfires prevention“. Penalties range from 500 to 10 000 euros.  From Administration for Inspection Affairs, it hasn’t been answered to CIN if forestry inspection controlled concession holders during 2020, whether any and how many of them were penalized.

National parks also endangered

Degree of disregard for the natural resources is obvious in the lack of the protection in National parks, where, despite the detailed plans, wildfires often break out.

Source of CIN-CG, an expert informed about the situation in national parks, states that the Tara canyon in NP Durimitor burned 12 years in row, until the 2019, which, consequently changed the structure of the forest.

Where there was a conifer forest, now there’s deciduous one, and vice versa, said this source.

He explained that in the canyon of river Draga ( NP Durmitor) it was not possible to execute deforestation of the burned forest, because it would lead to soil erosion, so the burned conifer forest stayed there, infeasible to regrow.

From The National Parks it’s been told to CIN-CG, that since 2017, there hasn’t been any damage from the wildfires. For the period from 2010 to 2017 possible- to- regrow burned area has been about 3.390 ha, while non- renewable amounts to 550 ha.

They didn’t answer CIN’s request to deliver data about damaged areas where the forest hasn’t been completely burned or other burned ecosystems like swamps and maquis.

In September 2020, in NP Lake Skadarsko, a swamp area of 12, 13 km2 burned for four days. From The National Parks, they explained that the area has been inaccessible, and for the cane-grass is easy to regrow species, there was no need for the damage assessment.

Bojan Zeković from The Center for Protection and Research of Birds of Montenegro states that the just like forests, swamps are highly endangered habitats, invaluable for biodiversity.

“Swamps are even worse off than forests, due to the general attitude that it is worthless territory- mosquitos and reed.  But swamps are invaluable for the fight against the climate change, especially on Mediterranean that will be hit hard”, Zeković told CIN.

Firefighters lack basic conditions

Quite a few firefighters expressed their dissatisfaction with the working conditions in services.

.“We are not ready for the season. We have ten water backpacks, but we need at least 50 “, Goran Tripković, member of the service for protection and rescue (SPR) in Nikšić told CIN-CG.

This year, members of SPR Nikšić, got protective masks and boots for the wildfires, for the first time in more than 10 years. Procurement of the new uniforms has also begun, and it will be done by June.

“For years, we have been barely managing with uniforms more than 10 years old, which haven’t been properly maintained, and thus are highly toxic. Fire uniform has a limited shelf- life, even with the proper maintenance, for which there’s no equipment in Montenegro. “, Tripković told CIN- CG

Although SPR Nikšić has two high quality fire engines, Tripković states that they are unusable on Montenegrin terrain.

“In 2007, we have been given by DSR two Mercedes Unimog fire engines, tailor- made for German well build fire- roads, but only making our jobs harder.

From Directorate for Protection and Rescue, they denied impracticality of these engines and emphasized engines’ great firefighting capacity. They told CIN- CG that the procurement was made in agreement with then regional commanders for protection and rescue.

At the beginning of the current year, a new, significantly smaller vehicle, Nisan Navarra has been procured, as told from Municipality of Nikšić to CIN- CG.

“This vehicle hasn’t been prepared for the wildfires yet, but still, it is not sufficient” said Tripković.

During the wildfires season, the goal is to protect civilians and property, states Slavko Tadić, also member of SPR Nikšić.

“In our circumstances, we barely manage that. We are waiting for Kornati to happen to us, so that someone pays attention, said Slavko referring to the tragedy on the Croatian islands of Koranti in 2007, when 12 firefighters fatally died during the wildfire suppression, and only one survived severe burns.

Tadić states that Montenegro lacks specialized response team for wildfires. He participated in one unsuccessful attempt by DSP to form such team in collaboration with EU. The goal was to form a fully equipped and trained team that would work with wildfires in hard-to- reach areas, according to the highest standards.

Although professional equipment has been provided for the trainees, they didn’t actually had access to it.

“Team has never been formed.  Portable water pumps, hoses, firefighting wyes, water buckets for helicopters, and many other wildfires suppression equipment has never been used, and it is not known where it is stored.”, said Tadić.

From Directorate for Safety and Protection, they told CIN-CG that this equipment is supposedly stored in warehouses, as a part of the mandatory reserve.

As to why specialized unit has never been formed, they answered that due to the lack of the training centre, Montenegro also lacks teams for responeses to the various types of hazards.

Local services for rescue are also bothered by lack of personnel, state sources of CIN-CG.

Ratko Pejović, president of Firefighters’ Trade Union of Montenegro, and member of SPR in Pljevlja, states that  the number of 30 firefighters in the service it too small considering great forest areas, that often burn during the summer.

“Only three members stay on duty in the case of an urgent intervention.”, states Pejović for CIN-CG.

Immolation instead of the civilian support unit

“Citizens who clear their land by fire, only need to make a call so we can send our patrol to safeguard the process, Predrag Milikić, a firefighter in the SPR unit in Podgorica and president of firefighting trade union at the Association of Trade Union, told CIN-CG.

.Although SPR in Podgorica issues warnings every year, land owners usually don’t call when burning the land, Milikić explained.

The citizens are ignorant of the importance of the timely intervention which is also obvious in the lack of wildfires reports, especially when they’re far away from the houses.

Only six voluntary firefighting units and civil support unit “on the paper”, confirm the lack of civil involvement in the process of the protection from wildfires.

From the DSR, they told CIN-CG, that during the previous10 years, two attempts to establish Civilian Support Unit failed due to the lack of funding and inability to find the appropriate unit members.

Miljanić states that there won’t be waiting for civil support unit formation for another 10 years.

“We will decide very soon, whether to completely shut down the civil support sector, or to finally make it work. “, said Miljanic.

Aerial assistance- ineffective

Zlatko Ćitović, engineer of the fire protection and commander of the SP unit in Herceg Novi told CIN-CG that the effectiveness of the three “air- tractors” Montenegro owns, is incomparable to that of the “canadairs”, Montenegro lacks, but that were used in ex- Yugoslavia.

“Canadairs” can scoop up to 6000 l, while air tractor scoops up to 3000.  Besides, “canadairs” are incomparably faster because they pick up water while flying “, he explained.

.From DSR they told that they don’t plan “canadairs” procurement , due to the high price, planes always being purchased in pair, and very high maintenance costs.

Milan Gazdić, forestry engineer, and one of the authors of the KOD brochure states that “ if we have estimated the damage to be 700 million of euros, than “canadairs” are not an expensive option.

During 2017, when, from June to September there was a record number of 350 wildfires on the territory of Herceg Novi, the greatest contribution has been given by Croatian “canadairs”, states Ćirović.

This was not a part of the international aid in MUP organization, but Ćirović’s friends from SPR Dubrovnik answered his plea for help.

Ćirović told that the aircraft aid in 2017 was extremely unorganized, and waiting for the plane throughout the whole day, was not uncommon.

From DSR, they state that during the summer of 2017, 3125 wildfires were identified, and it was impossible to cover everything with their resources (one half- working and two working planes).

“Priorities were set according to the emergency level “, they said.

Without the solid aircraft, during the critical situations, Montenegro will have to rely on international help, which is sometimes inadequate, such as was  the case with the  Ukrainian airplane in 2017, that didn’t prove deft on Montenegrin terrain, states Ćirović.

According to the explanation from DSR, international aircraft aid in 2017 has been made of two planes from Israel, a helicopter from Bulgaria, a plane from Ukraine and a helicopter from Switzerland, with approx.30 members of crew. Costs amounted to approx. 70 000 euros, while the Switzerland team realized everything at its own expense.

Learning from the EU contries

Gazdić states that responsible and unified operating can significantly reduce consequences of the wildfires. He worked on the wildfires forest protection on Sicily, where, according to him, the responsible institutional work led to multifold surface reduction of the burned area, while the number of wildfires stayed the same.

The first step is risk assessment and the making of detailed plans. Wildfires database, modeled on the European one, is also necessary.

“It encompasses all the information about wildfires risks and answers the main questions of wildfire emergence – who, when, how, where. We don’t have such data “, states Gazdić.

Modernization and new technologies are also necessary, as well as technology for wildfires tracking and prevention.  Collaboration between the institutions such as The Forest Service, Police Department, judiciary, concession holders, safety and protection services is also necessary.

Gazdić also warned on the danger of climate changes and the requisite of adaptation by the systematic upgrade.   “In the north of Montenegro there are already significant climate change consequences- due to drought there are hundreds of thousands cubics of dried trees.”, states Gazdić.

Call 112

From the Forest Service, they state that in the case of wildfire, they count on 190 rangers, 80 guards, and in the case of firefighting, all of 130 engineers and technicians are obliged to help. Besides the two tanks of 10 cubic, they have 250 hydration packs, 150 fire brooms, cars for the transport, and tools.  On the meeting with the Government, on the May 12th, it’s been decided for them to deliver the list of the equipment they lack. They warned the forest users to behave responsibly, organized duties in the management units and activated an alert system- unique call number of the Operative- communication center- 112.

In Slovenia, they are all “Gamsi”, when needed

The president of the professional firefighting association of Slovenia, Milan Korošak, states for CIN-CG that the decentralized system isn’t effective in Montenegro due to the lack of human resources and under-equipped SPRs.

In Slovenia, according to him, the whole system operates under the MIA, including volunteer fire associations, who work in synchronization.

The number of volunteer firefighters in Slovenia amounts to incredible 165 000, of which 35 000 qualify as professional firefighters, Volunteer Firefighters Association of Slovenia told CIN-CG.

“Putting out wildfire starts five minutes from the start of the fire, and all the citizens are working on the prevention“, states Korošak.

Professional services purchase new fire trucks every five to seven years, upon which they give them to the volunteer associations. Uniforms are procured every 5 years, and earlier if needed.

“Specialized company works with the uniforms, and examines the level of toxicity after each usage.”, said Korošak.

For the wildfires at inaccessible terrains, in Slovenia, there’s a specialized unit called The Gamsi, meaning chamois in Slovenian, which symbolizes their dexterity. They operate under the full equipment and stay on the terrain for days, when needed, said Korošak.

Boat owners gave hand

“I’ ve never seen such a horror before. At the Cape of Veslo some 150- 200 tourists surrounded by the fire, and there’s no chance to approach them “, Zlatko Ćirović commander of the SSP Herceg Novi, recalled for CIN- CG the events of the July 17^th 2017 night.

According to Ćirović, as the only possible way of evacuation was by sea, he contacted Maritime Security and Army of Montenegro for the help. However, the adequate reaction was missing, due to unpreparedness of these institutions to answer.

“Luckily, big enough number of people with private vessels gathered and started evacuation on the Cape of Veso“, states Ćirović.

“The only thing we could do as the service for safety was to spread the message to those people to put some cloth on their face as the carbon monoxide protection. “.

Maritime Safety told CIN-CG, that their vessel needed some time to arrive, and that they ordered to the private vessel owners to participate in the action. They explained that they currently have only one fireboat, but they are working on improvement of their equipment.

Navy didn’t answer the question, but they stated that they reached the beach in the early morning hours, and that the army helped later during that day.

Ćirović states that DSR behaved irresponsibly during the big fires in Luštica in 2017.

“They sent firefighters from other municipalities without the funding for accommodation and food, so that the whole organization fell on us, in the moment of the greatest crisis. We ate fast food and slept in front of the fire trucks, without any organized place for a break. “, states Ćirović.

From DSR they told CN-CG that the costs of the firefighters’ stay were covered by MIA, but in the case of the stays longer than one day, costs were the municipality’s responsibility.

Nobody’s an expert after six hours training

Zlatko Ćirović states that he refused to send his unit on the training for hazardous substances “from 9 to 15h”.

“One-day training for hazardous substances with two coffee breaks, won’t transform anyone into an expert. If some hazard happens, I would have to send members of my unit and state that they have been trained. There are countless hazardous substances: chemical, nuclear, etc. and in Montenegro, we don’t even have protective equipment for something like that.“

Asked about the duration and implementation of this training, DSR answered that in the majority of municipalities there’s no adequate personal or collective uniform, nor the adequate training that would continuously take place.

Đurđa RADULOVIĆ