ELECTRONIC INFORMANT FOR WOMEN
WOMEN’S VISION VISION APRIL-JUNE
Educational trainings for women throughout Macedonia
Year 2012, no.04
In June the Women’s trade union organization within UNASM with the support of CNV Internationaal from the Netherlands started with the realization of the PME programme dedicated to women in Macedonia. During this year several educational seminars in the field of discrimination, mobbing, human trafficking, labour exploitation and family violence will be realized. The first educational seminar was realized in Kichevo on: “Discrimination and mobbing” and was organized in cooperation with the Commission for social activities and the NGOs from the local self-government of Kichevo. Very interesting topics were tackled at the seminars such as introduction to the international and domestic legislation in the field of discrimination, then Law on prevention and protection from discrimination, causes for mobbing, types of mobbing, individual consequences from mobbing, social surrounding and economic development and other topics that the people attending the seminar were very pleased to hear and talk about.
CONTENTS: INFO News
2
Story of a victim
3
About 37 representatives from Kichevo, police, trade union representatives from the department of education, of basic court Kichevo, unemployment, employed in the field of defense, private sector, center for social works etc. attended the seminar. The seminar took place from 20th to 21st June, 2012. Mrs. Lidija Kekenovska- Pavikj and Mrs. Biljana Shtramshak Grujovska were lecturers at the seminar.
INFO NEWS
Employment- pone of the solutions to help vulnerable groups
Victim of family violence
Women victims of family violence are usually unemployed and financially dependent from their husbands. According to the business community ensuring jobs for them is the first step towards handling violence. In the countries from Western Europe the situation is not better either. The ambassador of the Netherlands gave a concrete example for that. She says that
in her country there are a lot of cases of family violence, but only 220 percent of the victims have enough courage to call and declare the violence. The Ministry of labour and social policy pointed out that if enterprises employed people from the vulnerable categories, they would contribute to development of the society for which they
will have certain benefits. Experts believe that raising the public awareness and making people from the marginalized groups used to the working habits will contribute to improvement of the social situation in the country.
LET THE VOICE OF THE WORKER RAISE ! The workers are to blame for the bad situation they are in because they do not fight for their rights. Nobody will give you more money or rights if you do not ask or fight for that. Employers must be aware of the fact that labour results in profit. They must stop intimidating and threading with dismisses and humiliating salaries and should ensure conditions so that in future each worker will be able to work without fear. Satisfied worker puts extra effort and gives better results. However, in our country the consequences of the bad economic and social results are suffered by workGroup of workers on strike ers because the country does not have proper social for their rights policy and justice in this country. Collective agreements have not been respected, the unemployment is increasing, and there are a lot of informal jobs, stop for poverty, trafficking, corruption, criminal and gray economy. Employers are not aware that they should unconditionally respect the laws and to create possibilities for decent respect of the labour because it is the only way for them to increase their capital. As long as we are quiet and do not clearly express our stance, as long as we suffer injustices with our heads down, things will not change. It is time for workers to shout, to unveil all tortures, all pressures, all threats. Enough with the silence! It is time to fight for our workers’ rights. Decent life is our right and nobody can deny or take it away!
Pp. 2
WOMEN’S VISION
The sad life of Biljana P., a woman who was constantly abused by her husband, mother-in-law and brother-in-law I would have thanked God if I was a whore, because whores lie better. “You have three children with him. If he beat you, you must have deserved it” – was the advice given by her aunt. If life is a dream, do we have the right to dream it differently? Or it is written somewhere that some people should wake up from a bad dream and to dream another one, even worse? - I can say that I have been unhappy since I was born. I was born 25 years ago in a village near Vranje. Her father died when she was 5. Her mother was poor, illiterate, and live in the village was not prosperous at all. She married an alcohol addict who just beat her and left her pregnant. What could she do?! We were poor, did not even have bread to eat, and if we had a penny he would have spent it on alcohol and we would have been left hungry and without food. He hates me from the bottom of his heart. I have to sleep outside when he kicks me out of the house. He did not even let me to go to school- I barely finished elementary school. Neighbours laughed at me. They said “He is like your stepfather. It would have been better for your mother to go to a facility when your father died”....She tried to protect me, but he beat her too – Biljana, mother of three kids, quietly started telling her story. When she was 14, Biljana worked in a cafe owned by one of the neighbours who lived near their house. It was a very short period in order to cope with the poverty. Then, she met him- worker in a brewery. At the beginning he was very nice and polite. He immediately asked me to marry him...I was the only one for him... Before dying his father has said to him: “Marry a poor girl, she will be respecting you the whole life.” My friend and her boyfriend convinced me to go to his house and visit him. Short after we arrived, they left and left me alone with him. He started laughing: “What were you thinking that we are going to only sit here? You have nowhere to run, this is the end!” I was only 16. He raped me and the following day he invited the neighbours for a treat, Biljana says about the misfortune she could not escape from and that included her husband, mother-in-law and the disabled brother-in-law. She was 18 when she gave birth to her first son. Everybody beats her. My mother-in-law says:”Whore, you have worked in a cafe! Your mother sold you; Albanians had intimate relations with you”. I would have thanked God if I was a whore because whores have better life. I always wear trousers, so that neighbours could not see the bruises. He took me in a church and married me when I gave birth to the first child. My mother-in-law said: “Why should I organize a wedding, for a worthless waitress?!” He beats me with a stick until the stick breaks. Once he did not want to put the clean trousers on and told me to wash, iron and dry the dirty ones in half an hour. I said:”I can’t. How am I supposed to do that in half an hour? It is not my fault you have 2 pairs of trousers, not 20! That is how many you have bought! ” Then, he took a belt with studs and beat me like cattle. I tried to run to my mother and aunt, but I returned because of the children. My aunt told me: “You gave him three children. If he beat you, it must have been because you have deserved it”...My oldest son stutters. When he enters the room, he is very stressed out... I do not have money. I depend on them. If I need 2 denars, I have to ask them and their immediate reaction is: “Why do you need it? I drink now; I don’t have money to give you.” I can’t even go to the neighbours to have a coffee. One day, I could not stand it anymore and I asked him: “Why do you treat me like this without any reason?” He answered: “Maybe I have another one, younger and better!” I said: “Then why do you keep me as a slave?” Biljana has lost all her patience and self-respect. Last time when I run away, he spread the word in the village that I am crazy, and told the children that I was in a psychiatric hospital. He threatened me on the phone saying:”They have your picture in the police and you are recorded as a missing person”. When they find you, you will be arrested because you have abandoned your children. You will never be able to get an ID. I am warming up the steel so that I will have a tool to beat you with when you come back.” I had to come back, I had nowhere to go, nor did I have another solution. Always was and stayed beaten, poor and miserable. I go to church to say my prayers, to light a candle for better and more peaceful life, to wake up from this and to continue in better dream!”
Year 2012, no.04
Pp.. 3
www.ozunasm.weebly.com
TRADE UNION ORGANIZATION OF WOMEN’S ORGANIZATION WITHIN UNASM
St. Vasil Gorgov no.39 1000 Skopje Republic of Macedonia Phone. +38923230307
Publisher: Divna ZMEJKOVSKA Publishes: SOOZ within UNASM
Hotline for help to the victims of mobbing +38923220252 email. ozunasm@gmail.com
Editor:
Rubincho ARIZANKOSKI Electronic informant UNASM Newsletter
E-mail. unasmbilten@gmail.com