Bosnia - Flooding - 2014
Getting there
It started on Thursday morning. Actually the day on which I planned our annual hiking day with THW comrades. But this year the comrades went on a hike without me. Meanwhile, I was on the way to the local THW station in Kirchheim / Teck. There, the entire team was put together, the luggage loaded on the bus and at 13 clock, it started. From Kirchheim via Munich to Austria. Continue through the Karavanke tunnel to Slovenia always in the direction of the Balkans. After a little more than 16 hours drive we arrived in the area of operation.
Accommodation
It is 5:30am and there is a lot of activity in the "Base of Operations" (BoO). There are currently about 160 people here. We are housed in a sports park. It is apparently the only reasonably well-available building with sufficient sanitation and enough space to house the emergency services. The task forces come from the Czech Republic, Belgium, Latvia, Austria and many other countries. Partial civil defense, partly military. Austria is represented by a large military service. We receive from the military a brief introduction to the rules of conduct, to deal with mines that may appear. The problem are the mines from the last war, which were then buried in their by thousands. These are now partially washed out by the water and swim in the flood. Since the mines are still dangerous, we have to be very vigilant and pay attention to a few things. One of the most important rules: never walk in the tall grass where floods were previously.
Our missions
After we set up our beds in the rooms of a tile shop which was located in the sprot park as well, the first briefing is already at 10 o'clock. The teams will be set up, the shifts will be divided and the deployment sites announced. Then it can start.
When we arrive in the area of damage, the extent of the flooding becomes visible. I am quite surprised at how extensive the flooding is. Here we will have to pump for a very long time. The country is very flat. And the water has spread over large areas. It will probably be opened the dikes to Sava in some places, so that the flood can flow back into the Sava faster. But Sava´s water level just has to drop a bit further.
It stinks partly miserable for filthy water, rotten animals and burnt rubbish that people just kindle somewhere. A garbage disposal that sets up large containers there is simply not exsiting.
Currently in use: HCP modules from Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.
Pumpe that are running: • 2x Börger (5.000ltr/minute) • 2x Hannibal (5.000ltr/minute) • 2x Dia (15.000ltr/minute) -> in 3-shift operation.
I am in the morning shift. Our first task in the morning (after breakfast) is to fill up the pumps with Diesel. They were quite thirsty at night. After handover, we wait for the Diesel tanker. He comes twice a day, around 9 o'clock in the morning and sometime in the evening and again. Then every time we let in just around 500 liters of diesel in our six pumps. What is enough for another 12 hours. Even more thirsty than the pumps are the mosquitoes after our blood. But vast amounts of Autan help to drive away the beasts.
The road we are on is the only connection between the next village and the outside world. All vehicles have to pass by, in and out. That's a problem with the trucks. They quickly break the wooden ramps due to their extreme weight. That was our main "fun" today. Again and again we had to exchange broken boards. We also tried to optimize the substructure. We were just done with it, when a big truck with a trailer drove too far to the right on the ramp. It slipped down and then hung on the ramp. After some underbuildings, the truck could then drive backwards and try again with the crossing. After that, the ramp was unfortunately at the end. Although we did our best to repair the ramp, it was actually over. Around noon, a worker from the yard came on a scooter, with boards under his arms and a chainsaw in a basket on the luggage rack. He then renewed the ramp along with some other people. Unfortunately, we did not have much other equipment besides pumps.
Shortly before the end of the shift, a Boerger pump then quit the service. From the pump housing came so loud noises, that I decided to turn off the pump quickly. After some searching on the open pump the cause was found. The clamping bolt of a rotary lamella was broken. Thus, this beat against the case of the pump. The spare part was on site and so the pump could quickly go back to work.
The water is falling!
First every few days, but then more and more often we have to move the pumps so that the suction baskets do not draw air. Actually, this is not a very exhausting job. But through our work on the water we have the mosquitoes stirred up and they attacked us. Whole swarms !! The yellow reflective stripes of THW clothing were almost black.
Meanwhile, it no longer stinks of rotten animals that bum in the water. People are gradually returning to their homes. They start to make their broken possessions out of the houses. First, everything is thrown in front of the house, from there people load everything on trailers, drive it with the tractor out of the city and throw it on a big pile. They then light this pile twice a day. That's why it now stinks miserably of burnt plastic and so on. But what should people do? I can understand that somehow. It is not as easy here as in Magdeburg (Germany) during the Elbe flooding. There, the city cleaning picks up everything.
The water level drops further and further. Many fields are clear of the water again. The fields are drying slowly and a new problem arises. In the dry dust there should be Hanta viruses. That's why some comrades are quite worried. But people tend exaggerate a bit. However, I have already seen some people in the city walking around with masks on their faces.
The next morning...
After transferring the shift and checking the pumps, the Diesel tanker comes. Once again, several hundred liters of diesel go into the six pumps. After refueling was actually some free time for us. But unfortunately something unpredictable came between. Such a dork in his "low liner" truck drove with too much speed against one of our hose bridges. This was completely demolished after the action. With all sorts of material, we tried to get them back in order. Around lunchtime, a couple of locals came up with boards to build something new. I hope that lasts a while. I sat with them on the dam for a while, after work was done. The guys rated the girls who drove by. Three classes: good ... is ok ... does not work. They have also called each girl the result in Bosnian. However, the echo was very divided ....
Mines
A very tiresome and dangerous topic. The Austrian Army had given us some information about those dangerous things on the very first day. Mines were also an issue in THW's Basic Course for Foreign Assignments. Unfortunately, there are far too many of these sneaky killers. As already mentioned, many of these mines were buried here in the area during the Balkan War. That people can live there reasonably safely and, for example, be able to grow their fields, experts are constantly busy looking for and disposing these old mines. The mines unfortunately are still dangerous today. Depending on the nature of the terrain only centimeters per day can be done by hand. With machines this is significantly faster and safer but only possible in flat areas without any obstacles. We have seen a few of these machines. And we have also seen that they have come across these deadly remnants of the war again and again. Impacts and dents on the machine's thick armored windows are dumb, sad witnesses.
Country and People
Maybe something general about the situation here in Orasje. Parts of the city are still under water. The whole area is flat. The houses are usually only at ground level. Maximum one floor. As a result: When the water came, it took a lot of peoples belongings. Insurances does not exist as in Germany. And if, then these are very expensive. So most people are not insured. There will be nothing from the state, because the state does not have money, too. The people who built something up after the war, have to start from scratch again. When I think about my house at home, I get a stomachache.
We were in town today after dinner. The border with Croatia is only 5 minutes away by car. The area was very fought during the war. Not only does this lead to the painful theme of mines, but other things have struck me:
The people here are either very old (over 60) or not yet 20 years old. My generation is missing somehow. Well, 20 years ago the war has started and people went to war at the age of 18. The cemeteries of the city make it very clear. Big as football fields, gravestones everywhere, as far as the eye can see!
The size of the city of Orasje is not clear to me, but there is a very large shopping mall here. There is really everything. Supermarkets, shoes, clothes and so on, huge! (But not so much people who can afford to buy something there...) I did a little shopping there and my stock of sweets is well filled up again. It is alwasy good to have something with you, when you are in the mission area. Just I case the lunch does not arrive you and your team mates.
A few days later, the water has fallen and slowly the pumps suck air. We put a pump in the yard of a resident. He lives in Germany and so the communication is not a problem. First all the bulky waste in front of the entrance to the property had to be gone. If we handle the stuff anyway, then we can charge it right away. The guy promised to organize something. And behold, half an hour later comes a .......... tow truck! How the hell will the stuff remain up there?
But notice: Balkans, everything is possible !!
We throw the whole shit on the tow truck. One of the black, stinking clouds on the horizon will probably have been the stuff ....
Fellows
Operational forces from all nations were housed in the camp. The communication in English was rarely a problem. A large contingent of operational forces came from Austria. And we could easily talk to them. Austria did not only send the military to support, but also firemen. Parts of this firemen took care of the food. For a few hundred hungry people, not such a simple task. But the food was really great. Why am I writing this in here? Well, because the food is really an important factor, whether the mood in the camp is good or not. Who does not feel like this: with an empty stomach you do not sleep well. And hard work is even harder.
The THW has put together a large team for this mission. And as I have already described on the descent, the comrades came together from all parts of Germany. Thanks to nationwide uniform training, this is actually possible without major difficulties. That's the advantage with a federal organization.
The camaraderie in the team was really good. The team leaders have made a great effort to put the teams together in such a way, that there were specialists (electricians, mechanics, plumber etc.) in each team. To get to know and to divide the teams, there was enough time on the 16 hour journey by bus to Bosnia. When you work together and the pumps run, there's time to learn more about the people in the team. Since everyone is in the THW organisation, there are always some topics to talk about. I was very happy to meet new people. And I've seen one or the other again, who I meet earlier during exercises or other events.
Return
The decision to return home was made on 3th June. We will pump here the last day tomorrow. Tomorrow evening the pumps will be stopped. There are no suitable jobs anymore. Where there is still something to pump, there are definitely too many mines. No discussion, that's not for us. So we will go to Zagreb on Thursday morning. There the equipment is cleaned and on Friday the return journey to Germany starts. On Saturday, an overnight stay in Rosenheim is planned, so I'll probably arrive on Sunday in Kirchheim or Stuttgart. That's the current plan. It is a pity that the Balkan adventure is coming to an end sooner than expected ....
But it was not that fast as planned! Because the mission came to an end for all forces (also those from other countries), there was a big party on the last evening. The mayor of Orasje came with a delegation in the evening to a visit. He had a music group and lots of free beer. Especially the beer was very welcome after such a long time. When the party mood was on the top, the news came in, that there was still a flooded village to pump. Well, when everything is packed and loaded and you are happy to be on the way home soon, such a message is not so welcome. The party mood had unfortunately disappeared quite quickly. A detailed assessment of the situation in the village was not possible until the next morning. So they said: "wait ..."
After breakfast, the assessment team returned. No further mission! Departure home is approved. In the truck collective we drove across the border and on through Croatia to Zagreb. At the fire department school in Zagreb we have accommodation for one night. The next morning we continue in the direction of Germany. In Rosenheim we have the next night. The local THW sub station of Rosenheim offers us accommodation for one night. There, too, the paths of our teams separate. Some operational forces from Hamburg and Berlin fly from Munich directly to the north. So it was already time for saying goodbye in Rosenheim. The rest of the team drives the vehicles and pumps back to Stuttgart. In the afternoon of 7th June we reach the THW sub station in Stuttgart. Here the mission is over for me. Two of my comrades from Leonberg pick me up there and drive me and my stuff to Leonberg.
Summary
The THW mission in Bosnia was my first assignment abroad.
For me, it was a very successful mission. At first I got into the bus, which brought us from Kirchheim to Bosnia with rather mixed feelings. I did not really know many people and I did not know much about what to expect there. Flooding. That much was clear. But because we had good leaders, all people in the team were motivated. And we could see that the help was recognized by the people there. Finally, it really is a pleasure to help.
I have followed the newspaper carefully every now and then, when it came to read something from Bosnia. Unfortunately, these were mostly not good news. Often money that should be used for the rebuilding of the affected areas is unfortunately gone in dark channels. Unfortunately, corruption is a rather sad but commonplace phenomenon. When I cycled along the Danube in 2015 to the Black Sea, I wanted to make a detour to Orasje. Although it was only 150 or 200 kilometers that Orasje was away from the Danube, I unfortunately had to do my cycling tour without this detour for reasons of time. I gladly would have seen, what has become of the houses and gardens of the people. But I suspect that, unfortunately, it would not have been nice and enjoyable impressions. Corruption (as the newspapers wrote it) simply destroyed too much money. So in the end I'm glad, not to have made the detour. I only feel sorry for the people, who have lost all their belongings during the war and are now faced with nothingness again. I wholeheartedly wish these people the strength, that they can make a new start again. I hope some money will come to them...!
Vehicles
Finally, a little extra. A few pictures of the vehicles that have been used here.
