** Topic: Why the Zagreb Diary ** ** Written 10:05 PM Jul 19, 1992 by wam@zamir-zg.comlink.apc.org in gn:yugo.antiwar ** ## Nachricht vom 18.07.92 weitergeleitet ## Ursprung : /DIARY ## Ersteller: WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ZER WHY THE ZAGREB DIARIES ? Every ones and a while I like to point out why I am writing this diaries and what the meaning of those diaries are. First of all this diaries are my private activities, they don't reflect any political vision of a (peace) organisation, neither from Croatia, neither from elsewhere around the world. They reflects just my point of view, being a Dutch guy wondering around in a country at war. Secondly I don't write this diaries as a kind of neutral reporter for any type of magazine, newspaper or other type of media (that newsletters all over the world take parts of my diary and print them was just their response and not mine intention, they are free to edited anyway they want, that is their responsibility, I put my originals up, the be sure that it is absolute know how I wrote it, cause I can explain and defend why I wrote something that way on that moment). I write what I see, what I think. Thirdly I am Dutch, I am NOT native English speaking, already years I have so my private conflict on the basically englo- networks, networks dominated by native English speaking participants. I think that the most important part of communication is that we can communicate, not if we can write mistake free English. By publishing my diary in it's pure form, how I write it I want to show that we, not English speaking natives, don't have to be afraid of using the nets. As long as we get each others point we don't have to be perfect in English. 4th I finance this project myself, if I get funding for it and I need funding for it, I receive that thankful, but also in the opinion that it is for my diary, the way I write it and if not it should not be given. So 4 points and I can make 50 this way. But most important is that I know that I am not 1005 accurate, I know that I can't write one sentence in English without making a grammar or spelling mistake, I know that I am full of prejudices, that I am not neutral and I many more. Still who is...... I started to write this diaries to update my friends around Europe (and the world), could have used other media of course, but E-mail is fast and normal life is fast here, days change from day to day. It are as it were open letters to friends of mine or people I consider as friends. The most important point that I want to stress once more is that I am Dutch, I am part of a culture in the North West part of Europe. We have so our own thinking, our own way expressions. The English we use to communicate is our Eurolish, an English based Esperanto, which is a mixture of our own languages, phonetic writing words and dictonairies With the people on ARK and the Centre I discussed this dilemma, and all of them agree that this was my private project, they stand behind it, but feel not responsible for the political content. They think I should continue and have no problem with what I write. I hope that nobody out there misunderstood the meaning of this diaries before and took them as official reports from ARK, which they aren't, as said a lot of times before. They are my unique documentation of my experiences in a war, a western guy. A big part of their value is that I keep on getting them out, not delayed by all kind of official and unofficial barriers. The speed is necessary for me, since I want to be ahead of worldnews. Preparing you, out there that things are happening in the near future, which will make it through to your television news and newspapers. But on this moment just in our (Croatian) news. But I also want to call upon all those none-englo people on the nets, hidden in the computer networks afraid often to join this English conferences. Scared for there English and being misunderstood because of your leak of words. Your local orientated style. I can assure you that it is for me a lot easier to follow an English letter from Germany or Italy to read then from the States or the UK. Basic reason is that I know your languages, and a lot of your culture and can imagine your accent if you talk English, so if I write your messages out loudly I found out what you mean, even when your spellingchecker (my spellingchecker don't knew the work spellingchecker e.g.) got wild. Please all people in the Scandinavia, German and Russian nets, try to join in, don't let you be kept away from joining by your English. Everybody can write and spellingcheckers are there to get the most ugly mistakes out, but keep your cultural mistakes, keep it understandable for all of us. I don't feel impressed by high class words and by mistakes. In notice that in Germany on Zerberus in German also discussions are going on and I am sure that in their native languages people are discussing on the Scandinavian nets. And I would love to know what is happening on the French networks and on Camel Snooze and other Dutch nodes. It don't makes it to here (besides Zerberus since a week, refreshing I must say). Come on make it to here..... Let's communicate....... Love from ZA-mir-GREB :-)WAM ** End of text from gn:yugo.antiwar **