The Scars of the Erasure_web

Erasure_4a 10.1.11 20:29 Page 173ERASED RIGHTS, INVISIBLE DISEASES1731.2.3 Erased people among the war disabledThe last aspect that seems deserving of mention when analyzing the healthrisks for erased people is the wartime situation. Some erased people foundthemselves in the war-torn regions; many of them, although not all, as a consequenceof their expulsion from Slovenia (Vasović 2007, 171–176, cf. also thecontributions by Neža Kogovšek and Sara Pistotnik in this volume). Many thereforebecame soldiers against their will, and according to testimonies, some evenfought on the frontline. 17 Two of the 59 erased persons who participated in thePeace Institute research were seriously wounded during the war. Neither of themreceived adequate health care treatment either during or after the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Poor or non-existent health care treatment was mentioned not onlyby the erased persons who took part in the war, but also by others who after theerasure, as civilians – refugees from Slovenia – lived in the war-afflicted regions.The erased person with the pseudonym Amir described access to medical carein Bosnia-Herzegovina during the war:A: There was no health insurance. Nobody had health insurance during the war.Ž: So what happened if you were taken ill?A: You went to the doctor, he gave you tablets if he had them, if not, you returnedhome: to die, look for healers…M: But you paid for the examination, for the tablets.A: You paid for everything, for the examination too, everything.M: It was not only your problem, but everybody’s.A: Everybody’s, it was everybody’s problem. (Amir, 52)Amir’s testimony reveals the key factor that threatens the health of erasedpeople: i.e., the difficulty, or impossibility of accessing official medical institutions.The main part of the rest of this essay is dedicated to this issue.2. Between the Construct of an Uninsured Person and theInaccessibility of Health InsuranceThe obstacles to accessing official medical institutions were similar tothose encountered in other sectors, e.g., when arranging status at administrativeunits, or when enrolling in elementary, secondary or higher schools. However,while the dispatch issued by the Ministry of the Interior instructed theemployees at administrative units to consider erased people aliens withoutlegal status when processing their applications and to “ignore” their rights,health workers were not notified of the erasure or its implications (Lipovec Če-17 S: I was told that people who came from Slovenia were sent to the frontline. Is it true? D: Yes, it is. (Drago, 53)