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Most people join Twitter to talk about sports, post pictures of their friends, or inform the world about the importance of their morning coffee. Miroslav Raduljica is not most people.
The 26-year-old Serbian big man is a month removed from finishing his first season in an NBA uniform, but his mind has understandably been elsewhere since flooding ravaged the Balkans a week ago. Over 70,000 people have been displaced and over a million people have been affected overall by the flooding, the worst in the region since rainfall measurements began over 120 years ago.
On Monday, the Bosnian government reported that one million residents - a quarter of the country's population - were cut off from clean water, and 100,000 buildings destroyed. Both Bosnia and Serbia have declared a state of emergency, as have a number of Croatian villages. Serbia's prime minister said the damage would cost the country hundreds of millions of euros. Thousands of landslides were triggered by the flooding and the tens of thousands who have been evacuated from the affected regions will likely be forced to rebuild their lives from scratch. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Wanting to help get the word out, Raduljica joined Twitter on May 21 (@MRaduljica) and has since then been tweeting updates--in English and German (while wearing an Aaron Rodgers jersey)--about the situation at home and how people can help:
In serbian basketball arenas we are playing one of the hardest games in Serbian history #SerbiaFloods pic.twitter.com/EQFw7zkmLh
— Miroslav Raduljica (@mraduljica) May 22, 2014
Up to now 798 people missing in #Serbiafloods. 215 found. The search continues pic.twitter.com/02mOuN8g7P
— Miroslav Raduljica (@mraduljica) May 21, 2014
Raduljica isn't the only sports star trying to help. Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic donated his entire $500,000 prize for winning the Rome Masters tournament to relief efforts across Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia, while Magic center Nikola Vucevic has teamed with the Florida chapter of the American Red Cross to accept donations.
If you'd like to make a donation, you can check out the charities listed on Miroslav's Twitter feed or head over to UNICEF.org/Serbia.