Two Roma families with more than ten members, Ljendita Bisljimi and her brother-in-law Naim, have been fearing for days that the makeshift home they live in in the former children's resort in Sutomore will be demolished.
The ruined and abandoned building served as a shelter for these families even after a fire that broke out 13 years ago, when only a dilapidated shack remained in the corner of the Capital City property.
By decision of the Capital City, the demolition of the former resort began at the end of April, and a parking lot is planned at that location.
Boris Spalević, Deputy Mayor of Podgorica, told the media at the time that the Capital City had launched an initiative to clean up the location where the Children's Association "Kekec" used to be located, and that this year the plot would be used as a parking lot.
As Ljendita Bisljimi told "Vijesti", they lived in a makeshift home, a shack, in front of the former resort for almost a decade, and her children mostly stayed in the mostly destroyed building, depending on the weather conditions.
"They told us we had to leave, to take shelter, that they were going to demolish the shack. We didn't want to, because we had nowhere to go, but they said they would bring the police if we didn't leave ourselves. The municipal police also came to warn us," she recounted the course of events that forced them to leave the place where they had lived for more than ten years.
They had no choice, she claims, so her brother-in-law only moved some of their belongings to a nearby meadow, after which the resort they considered home was demolished. On the street, under the open sky or in a van, this is how she answers the question of where she will spend the nights if, or when, the shack is demolished.
They were visited, she claims, by an official from the Bar Municipality who offered them a one-time financial aid. However, according to her, this does not mean much to them, as they need adequate accommodation with basic living conditions, something the authorities have not taught them for two decades.
The Municipality of Bar unofficially told "Vijesti" that the information that the official visited them in either a private or official capacity is not correct, and that they do not know who the Bisljimijis spoke to and how this, as they claim, misinformation came about.
A source from the top of the Municipal Police in Bar told the newspaper that it is not true that their police officer was there to assist the contractor, but only, as he claims, to make an official note and warn families that work is being carried out there, as part of which the demolition of the building in which they live is planned, and that they should take care of their own safety and that of their children.
As "Vijesti" has learned, the contractors contacted the Bar Municipal Police regarding this issue, but, as the source said, they were explained that the case was under the jurisdiction of the Capital City, and that their jurisdiction was limited, and ultimately fulfilled.
"The municipal police have nothing to do with this specific demolition, nor the project," said the newspaper's source.
Due to the hardships that befell the Bisljimi family from Sutomore, Danijela Boljević, a woman from Bar who has been helping her fellow citizens for years, contacted the authorities in Bar and Podgorica.
She wrote to the first man of Podgorica, Saša Mujović, demanding that these families not be evicted from the aforementioned facilities and, if necessary, asked that the Capital City provide them with accommodation.
She also addressed the President of the Municipality of Bar, Dušan Raičević, with a similar request:
"You personally, with your associates from the Municipality of Bar, had a meeting on May 17, 2023 with representatives of the Ministries of Labor and Social Welfare and Human and Minority Rights, Mr. Sokolj Beganaj and the Ombudsman, and the reason for the meeting was precisely accommodation for the family of Naim Bisljimi and Ljendita Bisljimi. However, you did not provide them with accommodation."
On this occasion, she also addressed the Chief of Police of Bar, requesting that the Police Department officers not assist in evicting the families from the buildings they were living in. She claims that she did not receive any answers from any of the addresses listed.
The Capital City did not respond to "Vijesti's" questions about this case.
Bonus video:
