Emina came from the US, nine months ago, where she works and got stuck in her hometown due to the pandemic.
“Surviving earthquakes together feels similar to surviving the war. Much of what we have been experiencing over the past two days evokes memories of those times when fear and basic survival became the primary identity. Today we sat on the meadow behind my house, while all being refugees. Once again. Perpetual refugees. Traumatized and somewhat resilient,” she writes.
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit central Croatia on Monday (December 28), which was felt in nearby Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Serbia and Slovenia, and parts of Italy. A 12-year-old girl was killed in Petrinja, Croatia while five more people have been discovered dead in the nearby town of Glina, and one more was found in the rubble of a church in Zazina. The search for the missing is still ongoing.
Many people are afraid to stay in their homes, and they stay outside, in shelters improvised in public buildings, sleeping in their cars, or just living in the area that is the most affected. According to the local media, hospitals in Sisak and other cities are struggling to deal with the cases of injured people.