Episode list

How do our elderly fellow citizens, who have no income, live? Those who can, are forced to continue working. According to the available data, it is estimated that there are more than 150 thousand people in our country who do not have a pension or some other income. Elderly people without income, of whom there are many more in rural areas than in urban areas, often live in isolation, forgotten and left to fend for themselves. In the first show of this season, we deal with exactly that topic - will social pensions become a reality, what are the state's obligations and is the current social assistance for the oldest citizens of Serbia sufficient?

The number of people living on the streets is constantly growing, and according to research by the Red Cross of Belgrade, it is estimated that there are more than three thousand homeless people in the capital. These people are the face and reverse of poverty, but also of social exclusion. Their life is seen much more as an individual problem than as a social problem. The process of getting out of homelessness is very complex, and without comprehensive support very few people manage to return to society, only one in ten. Since 2017, Milan has been living without a roof over his head and is trying to find a way to regain his life, a life worthy of a human being.

Around 300 thousand entrepreneurs are registered in Serbia, and women entrepreneurs make up almost a third. However, when they become mothers, they do not have the same rights as other working women. While on the one hand female entrepreneurship is encouraged, the 2018 Law on Financial Support for Families with Children reduced their rights that they previously had. The unequal position of female entrepreneurs was pointed out by the Protector of Citizens and the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, as well as citizens' associations. Over 40,000 signatures of support were collected through the initiative "Entrepreneurs are mothers too", and the goal is to equalize the rights of female entrepreneurs with the rights of working women.

Families with children with disabilities and developmental difficulties belong to the most vulnerable category of our society. Although for them, through the Law on Financial Support for Families with Children, an improvement in their financial situation was foreseen - the opposite happened. Mothers were conditioned to choose between two benefits, earnings and the one to which their child is entitled based on disability. What was the struggle for justice and waiting for the decision of the Constitutional Court, which declared that provision unconstitutional after two and a half years, who has the right to compensation and who does not?

Social housing, in addition to providing a roof over your head, also plays a role in helping you get out of poverty. However, in the Belgrade settlement Kamendin, for certain tenants - the opposite happened. They became debtors of unfathomable proportions. People with disabilities, materially disadvantaged families live in social housing. Because of high bills and low income - their debts have been growing for years. Over 200 families in Kamendin have problems. There are threats of eviction, life without electricity, bailiffs, reduced subsidies and increased levies.

Becoming independent is challenging for everyone. Young people, after leaving homes for children without parental care or foster families - are forced to grow up suddenly, overnight. For most, that moment occurs when they turn 18, when they leave the alternative care system.

Long-term court processes, enforcement judgments and unpaid wages, life in uncertainty, debts and agony - this is the situation in which about 80 thousand former employees of defunct social and state enterprises in Serbia find themselves. The debt problem, which according to union estimates exceeds 350 million euros, has been ignored for more than a decade. In Nis, over 6,000 workers have execution sentences. Many live without electricity, in debt and poverty. In what situation are former workers now, which path leads to justice, what the state does and what it does not do?

Hepatitis C is now curable, with innovative therapy and antiviral drugs. Since 2018, Serbia has also introduced this therapy, which many call revolutionary. However, for many patients, a cure is so close but still out of reach. Over the period of three years, about 250 of the most difficult patients received the new therapy, and the rest are waiting. There is a need to provide therapy for at least 500 patients a year, say infectious disease experts. Officials from the Ministry of Health and the Republic Health Insurance Fund announced half a year ago that there will be more medicines and that they will be made available to patients in the early stages of the disease. Still nothing has changed. It is estimated that more than 70,000 citizens in Serbia are infected with the Hepatitis C virus. The disease is usually detected late because it does not show symptoms for a long time, and if it is not treated, it causes liver damage and complications that can be life-threatening.

The constitution and election laws guarantee the secrecy of voting, but blind and partially sighted people still do not have that option. Although it has been pointed out for years that blind people could vote independently with the help of special templates or in some other way, that step towards equality has not yet been made. People with disabilities, on election day, also face other obstacles - how to achieve universal and equal voting rights when the polling station is inaccessible? What problems do our citizens face, and who is competent and responsible?

Dementia, a disease of the elderly, affects not only individuals but entire families. It is estimated that there are around 150,000 demented people in Serbia, and their closest relatives bear the greatest burden. Agony, depression, impotence - these are the words they use to describe their situation. The problem that affects almost half a million people is still not a priority of the state. A small group of enthusiasts is trying to change that. In the show "Dementia and the Society of Forgetfulness", in addition to expert interviewees, family members also participate.

What does life look like when there is no possibility of living under your own roof, but through no fault of your own? Damaged, collapsed, unsafe homes, a long-term struggle on the way to justice. Three families in Vracar and over twenty in Zemun are going through agony, because promises fade, years pass and there is still no real solution.

Naum is a four-year-old child with developmental delays. He just stepped into life and instead of finding support, he found stumbling blocks. His progress is interrupted, while he changes environment, because there was no place for him in three kindergartens in Belgrade - because he is "different". "He has absolutely no idea why he is unwanted? Why is he guilty of being ostracized and excluded? Why is it his fault? Why is my child guilty?", asks his mother, Jelena Jovanovic.

They did not allow a building to be built in their area. The building known as the "monster". In question are the residents of Block 37 in New Belgrade, who for two months last summer defended their neighborhood against the construction of an eight-story, 200-meter-long building. They demanded from the authorities of the city of Belgrade to solve the problem, and verbal promises were recently put on paper. The investor agreed to go to another location. This is the story of the "awakening" of a community and the united struggle for a common goal.

It's sowing time, but for the residents of the village of Radosin near Svilajnac, a problem has arisen - how to get to their 300 hectares of land across the Velika Morava, when the scaffolding is not working and there is no bridge. The scaffolding is prohibited for use until it is legalized. They have been looking for a bridge for more than a decade, but as the government changed in the municipality of Svilajnac, so did the decisions.

The children of Radivoje Desic were denied the right to bury their father. He died on March 27, 2020 at the Military Medical Academy, and his family was not informed about it. She was not even informed that he was buried in the Belgrade Orlovaca cemetery.

Few people have heard of Maternal Home, but such a place has existed in Belgrade for half a century. It provides the necessary support to pregnant women and women in labor, who have been rejected by family, partners and friends. Most of them are minors. In situations of unplanned pregnancy, they need support in order to make a decision of their choice. The new situation and misunderstanding of the environment brings many fears. The maternity home in Belgrade has 20 places, in Subotica there are 2 more and that's all in Serbia, and there is a need for more.

The service of personal assistance as support for the independent life of people with disabilities is extremely important, and yet, extremely underdeveloped. Out of 145 places in Serbia, only 17 have this service. Where it exists, those who use it say that the feeling of self-respect and dignity is invaluable. Where it is not there, it is sorely missed. "A personal assistant would mean a lot to me. To be able to walk somewhere, do anything, even if I'm sitting in the middle of the city center", says Ljiljana Lucic, a student from Zrenjanin.