Macedonians Turn Out to Help Flooded Neighbours

Photo by: Sinisa Jakov Marusic

Towns squares in Macedonia were filled on Sunday with people donating and packing shipments of food, clothing and other equipment, as part of a nationwide effort to help flood victims in Serbia and Bosnia.

In the main square of the capital, Skopje, people arrived throughout the day, bringing what they could buy in stores and donating it to teams of Red Cross volunteers who sorted and packed the items, readying them for shipment to the disaster-struck areas.

"We are overwhelmed by the turnout. People are generally following our instructions and mostly bringing fresh water, canned food, candles, blankets, diapers and baby food," Stefanija Stanojkovska, a Red Cross volunteer, told Balkan Insight on the square.

Volunteers packed and loaded the items onto trucks that headed off to the flooded zones.

Media reports said that by Sunday afternoon the Red Cross in Skopje had collected 20 tons of food, 10 tons of cleaning supplies, 60,000 litres of water, 1,000 blankets, a ton of baby food, three tons of milk, ten tons of clothes and 1,000 pairs of shoes.

All municipalities in the capital joined the action on Sunday, turning local squares into gathering and packaging areas for donations. A special telephone line was opened for donating money to the disaster relief fund.

"Skopje of all cities should know the importance of solidarity and humanity," said Snezana Markovska, a pensioner who lived through the Skopje flood of 1962 and the devastating earthquake of 1963.

"We survived and rebuilt our lives only thanks to the help that arrived from the entire world. We know all too well what a helping hand means in times of need," Markovska explained.

Photo by: Sinisa Jakov Marusic

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