The first centre of the Serb National Council (SNV) in Sisak-Moslavina County has opened in the town of Petrinja, a place from which all humanitarian campaigns will be coordinated and which will be the headquarters for volunteers and everyone else involved in humanitarian activities.

The centre is located in two connected containers, a present from the City of Belgrade, and another container will be added soon, which will be the seat of Petrinja parish priest Saša Umičević, who has lost his home.

As SNV president Milorad Pupovac said during the presentation of the centre and the project “Banija is Our House”, a similar centre would soon open in a house in Glina.

He thanked many associates who had been participating in humanitarian activities, the City of Petrinja and Mayor Darinko Dumbovic for their cooperation.

“I believe the system for the reconstruction in Sisak-Moslavina County will be different than in Zagreb,” Pupovac said, noting that it is difficult for a serious reconstruction to begin while the ground is seismically active.

“We expect a new quality of reconstruction and living,” he said.

Good cooperation between SNV and town of Petrinja

Pupovac added that the project “Banija is Our House” would be carried out in coordination with all non-governmental organisations and other associations, the civil protection team, Croatian army, the task force in charge of dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake and all other bodies, and that it would be even more organised.

“We are just one segment in the entire system and cannot act independently,” Pupovac said. “We must be and remain partners in the interest of our citizens’ well-being.”

Mayor Dumbovic said that the city of Petrinja and the SNV were now connected by human tragedies and that despite some differences, very good cooperation had been achieved.

“We are all equal in this tragedy,” he said, adding that all of them in Petrinja, Sisak, and Glina want high standards to be reached in the reconstruction, and as soon as possible.