Botched privatization processes and the subsequent bankruptcy and closure of many once prosperous public companies in Bosnia over the past years have left tens of thousands of middle-aged people without employment or hope of new jobs.
While all Bosnians face a struggle searching for work, the middle-aged face even bigger difficulties in a mostly unregulated system that often discriminates openly on the basis of age and gender.
Many job adverts in Bosnia include such specific requirements as “younger woman needed,” or say: “Position is recommended for younger persons.”
Ranka Veselinovic, aged 50, from Pale, a Serb-dominated municipality some 20 kilometres from Sarajevo, is one of those who feel they are up against the system.
