Apathy

The past two weeks our organization through constant communication with a Belgrade women's organization found out that our former client, is currently in Serbia and seeks for protection. Namely, the woman has a long history of brutal psychological and physical abuse and violence which she suffers along with her 3 underage children from her husband.
The woman after all the trauma she survived, physical, psychological, verbal attacks, aggression, humiliation and open threats to her life, decided to left the home and go in Serbia where she was born.
Even though, she knew the risk of coming back home in Macedonia, she couldn’t stand to be apart from her children and to suffer even more. So, she asked for help.
Yesterday, the woman returned to Macedonia and as she arrived, from the train station early in the morning she was immediately taken to the center which provides shelter up to 48hr, until finding long term solution. I was suspicious that there are no more people who are concerned to help in serious situations, but my coworkers unconditionally agreed to take a part in the whole procedure. I have no words to thank them for everything they done and for the way they are.
As a part from the solution was to send a request with official act to the Centar for Social Welfare from X city , that we need urgent protection and shelter for the woman. Still, the procedures of making formal decision from the above mentioned institution take some time, and having that on mind, we took the woman from railway station to center where she can stay up to 48h, while receiving an answer for her further protection and sheltering. 1 hour ago we received an official act from the Centar for Social Welfare that our request (singed from 3 institutions involved in this case) is refused
The act beautifully states that:
1) the Centar for Social Welfare acts upon cases where there is an open threat of force where someone’s life could be in danger.
According to them everything what previously happened the woman, all official acts previously submitted to the Center and to the police where the case was several times reported goes up in smoke !
2) According to the law on blablabla, users of social welfare are citizens of Republic of Macedonia. Just for clarification, the woman is Serbian citizen and has not Macedonian citizenship . She was married in 1992 in Macedonia, where she lived, except of occasional stays in Serbia, where was escaping due to escalation of violence.

So, this professionalism from the Center for Social Welfare fully to be harmonized with the legislation I find incredible and marvelous! Makes me for a moment to feel so miserable and insignificant. I nearly wish to have their rigid professional expertise!

So, it is ignored that in the meantime the woman may be killed, the possibility of happening of brutal violence over again is ignored as well, no attention is paid to the entire history of physical violence, psychological torture, violence against her children, the basic reason for existing of institutional protection is ignored entirely, but it is beautifully emphasized the harmonization with damn official gazette , article such and such in order to meet the inviolable expertise of system’s institutions .

I want to take a bow to the Centar for Social Welfare, to express my humility and to apologize for my arrogance for seeking their help and cooperation for such case which clearly wasn’t challenging enough for their attention. Maybe, if tomorrow a woman dies, they are sorry for that, but they are simply doing their job, fully harmonized with the existing legislation. Applause, please!