Metropolitan Porfirije of Zagreb and Ljubljana received the help of the City of Belgrade, which was sent to Petrinja, and he told Tanjug that it is necessary to provide people who lost their home in the earthquake with accommodation and sleep.
The Metropolitan stated that more prefabricated houses are needed because a large number of people were left homeless in the earthquake. “There are a lot of older people. They spend their nights in cars, not only those whose homes were destroyed, but also those where they might sleep, but for fear of constant recurrences of earthquakes, they do not dare to spend the night in their homes,” said Metropolitan Porfirije.
The help of the City of Belgrade consists of 22 prefabricated houses intended for families who were left without their homes and without accommodation in Glina and Petrinja after the devastating earthquake, and Metropolitan Porfirije expressed gratitude to the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade and other institutions and individuals for their help. He said that a total of about 40 containers have been brought so far, that there are about 20 left, and that in the meantime other donations are arriving, such as the donation of the Province of Vojvodina, but also private donations.
“Now we are trying to provide what is most urgent and contribute to the general action of the Croatian state in solving the most basic needs,” said the Metropolitan Porfirije. The Church expects to deliver a total of about 100 containers. He stated that in addition to the containers, more help will be needed for the people in the earthquake-affected area.
“It will be necessary, when homes are built, for the Church and other Serbian institutions to come to the rescue as much as possible. We expect that the greatest burden will actually be borne by the state,” Metropolitan Porfirije said. He also added that it is important for the representatives of the Church to visit people in the places affected by the earthquake in order to encourage them and to show them their care and that they will not be left alone.
“Like the pandemic, the earthquake as an elemental natural disaster does not know who is who, does not choose and does not divide people according to the way they pray to God, to which Church they belong and to which nation, everything is treated uniquely. So, at this moment we are trying to be open to all who need help,” Metropolitan Porfirije said. He added that at this moment they will still be more concerned about Orthodox believers and Orthodox Serbs, but also that they will not skip anyone in providing help.
Describing the situation in Petrinja and the places affected by the earthquake, Metropolitan Porfirije said that everything seems very dramatic, like a biblical cataclysm. “You come to those villages and everything around you is destroyed. People’s homes and barns were destroyed, some were left with nothing. Everyone sleeps in cars or in something improvised,” Metropolitan Porfirije stated. He also said that there are many temples that were completely destroyed in the earthquake. “We believe that at this moment we should help people, and when life returns to normal, we will build churches,” Metropolitan Porfirije said.
Source: Serbian Orthodox Church
