Amna Cerimagic in Dobro Polje,Bosnia and Herzegovina
It's still a difficult peace for many elderly in Bosnia as they struggle against isolation, poverty and inadequate social provision. But a special Red Cross programme has been helping out - with basic provisions and a little human warmth.
Down the narrow steep road that takes you to the village of Dobro Polje, 50 kilometres from Sarajevo, one has to cross a makeshift wooden bridge which shakes with every step, to get to Rade Przulj's house. He crosses the bridge every day, skilfully carrying his now 104-year-old frame across to the village from his home and back again.
It was his birthday and the Kalinovik Red Cross branch were paying a special visit, bringing in their hands a big parcel of necessities as a birthday present, as well as warmth in their hearts. His face lights up at the sight of the visitors and he stands to welcome them, politely telling them that he is hard of hearing and asking them to speak up.
Apart from that and the cataract which weakens his eyesight, though he does not have any other health problems and moves about quite easily using just a stick. All of this in spite of the fact that he has smoked for at least 60 years.
"Oh yes, cigarettes, I love them," he mumbles.
Rade is considered to be the oldest recipient of Home Care in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was admitted to the Red Cross programme in 1996 when it first started. The programme, which is run by 2,000 volunteers, helps 13,000 people regularly and another 2,000 on a more temporary basis by bringing food and doing chores for those who are house-bound.
Jelena, his elder daughter, herself 74, lives with Rade, while his other daughter, Ljubinka, comes at least once a fortnight to help with washing, housework and paying bills.
As the visitors arrived, she was cutting firewood supplied by the Red Cross.
"We're grateful," she says, "as we couldn't afford this ourselves." Neighbours also help out by working a small plot of land to grow vegetables, as well as bringing milk and some additional food for Rade and his daughter. But this essential service is under threat as funding is becoming ever more difficult to secure while the numbers of people needing help from the programme are rising. According to the Red Cross, there are about 30,000 elderly people in real need of assistance, but it can only help up to half that figure.
Meanwhile, Rade makes it clear he doesn't really think it's a good idea to live to his age if you don't have your own house and an assured way of supporting yourself. His own house was burned down during the war. The relatives whose house he lives in now are due to return soon and it's much too small for all of them.
"If only I was 20 years younger, I could build myself at least a wooden house," he mourns. Rade once had two houses and a saw mill in the hills above Kalinovik and earned "decent money" to keep his family. "We had more than we needed," he says with eyes that seem to be looking back to a far off and much happier time.
His wife died 10 years ago at the age of 80, but "granny," as he calls her, is always in his thoughts.
"I wish I was well enough to take you to my house up in the hills where granny lies," he says in a voice heavy with sadness. His wife is buried next to the house.
The beautiful sunlit scenery takes one's breath away at first sight. But actually living here is a different story. Rade counts on the Red Cross parcels he gets every month and looks forward to the Red Cross volunteers' visits. But his house is not always accessible as the bridge and the meadows around it can flood in heavy rain or during the spring thaw. In the winter snow, Rade can be cut off for as long as four months and they have to live off the food they save from the parcels and their home-grown vegetables.
The local municipality has given Rade 200 German marks as a birthday present, but otherwise they don't get any regular state benefits. He's entitled to welfare, but the funds don't stretch to everyone in need - his case is not the only one. During the month-long Red Cross Home Care campaign, which ended on October 20, the main electricity company promised to write off electricity bills for vulnerable people. Jelena told us they owed 200 DM and couldn't afford to pay.
Rade doesn't know why he was given the gift of a long life and adds that he could go on for another decade. However, he regrets losing his sight as he loves reading and writing and he can no longer watch the television. He began losing his hearing even before his eyesight, so radio is difficult to follow too.
So Rade has only one wish now, pointing somewhere above with his cane. He would like to be up in his own house in the hills, "where my granny is waiting for me", he says, wistfully.