Temperatures have been high in Montenegro for the last few days. Someone is cooling off at the sea, someone is in a room with air conditioning, and someone is working next to red-hot stoves.
Baker Bedri Đuraj is one of those who earn their bread from the unbearable heat. He has been engaged in this business for fifteen years. This twenty-eight-year-old has a wife and three children, whom he supports with the help of his trade.
He currently works and lives in Nikšić. When asked by "Vijesti" how he manages to withstand the heat during the summer, he answers "barely".
"Although, one gets used to it. Here, the enormous temperatures become bearable for us. Suffice it to say that the temperature in the oven is mostly 250 C, and in the bakery I don't even know what the temperature will be, but, as I said, one gets used to it", says Đuraj.
You really get the impression that he is completely used to working in difficult conditions. There is no trace of fatigue and exhaustion on his face, and he talks about work with a smile. As for whether there is anything he could compare such heat to, he says he doesn't know what working by the stove, when it's close to forty degrees outside, could compare to.
Before Nikšić, Đuraj worked in Sarajevo.
"It was easier for me there. In Sarajevo, summers are never this hot," he says. He emphasizes that his job is very demanding.
"Hygiene is very important. We are in the bakery for fourteen hours every day. We have no days off. "Bread is eaten every day," he states.
Family tradition
Đuraj says that when the heat is unbearable, he feels like leaving everything, but he is aware of what awaits him after that.
"I would do the same thing somewhere else".
This job is a tradition in his family, and he points out that family tradition and habit are what, above all, keep him in this job.
When asked if he can make decent money, he says that when he looks at how much he makes, the salary is not great. Đuraj is worried about the increase in the price of the basic ingredients of bread.
When asked if he can make decent money, he says that when he looks at how much he makes, the salary is not great
"I don't know how it will affect my salary," he says.
He emphasizes that he loves his job because it is an honest and clean job.
"Despite everything, it's nice to be a baker, if only we could find a solution to the heat," he concludes.
That's why, the next time you comment on how hot it is from your air-conditioned offices, think of Bedri Đuraj and others like him.
Bonus video:
