Topic: Zagreb Diary 
** Written  5:28 PM  Jul 30, 1992 by wam@zamir-zg.comlink.apc.org in gn:yugo.antiwar 
Zagreb Diary
21-07-1992

Dobar Dan,

So I think I reach or the level that nobody is reading my diary anymore, or nobody is taking it serious anymore, since for weeks I haven't got any critic on what I am writing and also that is new experiences. 

We feel ourself in Croatia a little bit in a harder and harder position, now students around Europe have their holidays and so also the hard core out of the peace movements are out on vacation. You really have the idea that it is time that the war goes on strike as well.

The decision of the Croatian government to close the border to BiH for refugees from there is hard, not totally unexpected but still, it has recall already strong reactions outside of this country. On this moment nearly 20% of the population in Croatia are refugees or displaced people. The knowledge is that app. 1 million or more people from BiH wants to come over if they can, the borders to Hungary and Slovenia are also closed. Big countries as Italy wants to take only 6000 refugees (in fact Germany decided today to be willing to host 6000 refugees (more), that is less than 1 % of the total amount in Croatia, we are looking for 98 other countries), the money needed to support all those people never arrived. The inflation in the last month was 2300% and so on and so on.

I am not agree with their step, since it is unhuman to let people standing on the borders, knowing that the fights are continuing and becoming harder with the day it seems. But it is understandable, the problem of refugees is becoming political pressure from Croatia on the outside world. And when not fast something is done the refugees are going to get the blame from a lot of things. Since it is clear that they, the refugees will be blamed by the Croats if the economical situation gets worst (the 100 million dollars, which is now promised by the UN is just enough for 1 1/2 month (the Dutch spend about 1 billion dollar every year only for cat-food, it has nothing to do with this but it shows the absurdity (the new Euro Fighter Aeroplane, the ones who the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy want to build, but from which project Germany run away, will cost app. 170 million Dmarks per piece, to use another comperence)).

When I am writing this there is a big interview with Izetbegovic on Croatian television, he is in Zagreb now, about the military cooperation which he and Tudjman agreed. He may change his nonviolence standpoint but I still like the guy a lot. I would buy a second hand car from him, if that say enough (I dislike cars, but that's an other point, Simra explained that they, the Muslims in Sarajevo, feel real close with him, he is like their father). Through the open window I hear repeating shots from an automatic guns, different ones, not many shots, but still much more than I ever heard in my life before (I came to Croatia). I don't know if some local street gangs had some fights during the night but it repeated itself at least 6 till 7 times last night (since weapons are everywhere and not hard to get they are also used in domestic violence, horrible is the stories of a boy from 8, who had bad marks on school and committed suicide in the bathroom, by putting a handgrenade of his father between his tooth and pull the pin).

We can expect that the official engagement of HV in BiH will come soon now, after this talks with Izetbegovic, as said unofficial HV (Croatian Army) is already for months in BiH, but more and more people I know are asked to go with their brigades to BiH.

The messages from Osijek, where I will go this Friday are getting more tough. In and around Osijek the local and national brigades are practising for going into Baranja. The local and national Brigades in Osijek are busy to get themself ready for the "last" fight. I am  sorry to tell this, but it is the most likely thing which will happen. More and more parties, surely not only Paraga's HSP (who had today a very well visit election meeting), are calling for the same thing.

Lost's of my friends had a dilemma the last weeks, getting Croat and be able to vote and maybe are called up for the army are staying Yugoslav for as long as it was possible, have no voting rights, but also no change to get called up. Lot's of them elected the second alternative, other stayed Yugoslav since they had no time to get their papers ready and stand in line for some days. Now it is too late, since they can't go voting anymore, so they have some time to get it done before the next voting or when they need to travel abroad, with Croatian rather than Yugoslav passport. Some came to the nice conclusion that at the last vote they got their voting card and now they didn't, even when they had their papers filled in and organised everything.

Our first workcampers had their first encounters with the refugee children in Zagreb today, it went great the children were very happy with their new playmates. And of course very over active after having been doing anything for weeks, poor workcampers. Most of the children from Vukovar are however not anymore in town, they are at holidays to families in Germany or to other organised holiday camps abroad. But we have enough Bosnian children, so we don't have to be afraid of running out kids. Also the kids from the women shelter are having a great time, we pick them up from there every morning and bring them to the school were the workcamp is.

During some telephone call the last day with friends abroad I found out that the rest of Europe really don't understand anymore what is going on. Since they haven't been able to follow the fighting so close and detailed as we here, the new fights in BiH came as a shock to them. The closing of Sarajevo airport yesterday was also a giant shock, are they crazy shooting at relief planes ? they ask me. But as you know it is normal procedure, it is happening since the first day, only most of the World thought that the fightings in Sarajevo were over when the Airport was taken over by UNPROFOR and that is surely not the case.

But most impact on the west had this trains with refugees at the Slovenian-Croatian border, you could notice that, people were really shocked by that. Still it is a normal site for weeks now at the Zagreb main station there are always trains with refugees.

With Love from ZA-mir-GREB,

Wam:-)



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