Nachricht Nummer : 250 Übertragungszeit : 3 min 11 sec Nachricht von : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ZER.sub.org Betrifft : Zagreb Diary 25 August, 1993 Erstellungsdatum : 03.09.1993 07:35:00 S+2 Realname: Wam Kat Zagreb Diary 25 August, 1993 Dobar dan, Leire I arrived here more or less 5 weeks ago - I don't remember exactly, for me is like if I was here since one year ago - with a group of 23 people. I think that we didn't know why we were here, we were working cleaning houses with a group of Croatian women, we made a lot of friends and we heard that some day we were going to the "other side", but it was very far away in time (we thought ok !, we can take some photographs of the checkpoint or maybe one with a kalashnikov and a Serbian soldier to show to my friends how brave I am). The 8th of August this people went back to their houses at their home countries and I decided to stay longer. A new group of 13 or 14 volunteers arrived and soon I felt confortoble with them. But the most important event in all the time that I have been here was going to happen one week after, yes, we went to the mysterious other side. To say the truth, I didn't notice any difference between the two sides. We only stayed there 2 hours and we talked with the mayor, who had very good intentions, we drank rakija, it was a very hot day (I had a terrible headache from the wedding party the day before) and we took some photographs of the check point (good ! at last !). But on Monday, when we returned to the working places, we were going to see the real feelings of the people. For them we were like traitors who went to the Serbian side (the OTHER side) to talk with the Chetniks about them (perhaps to inform them about the number of txekitxs taxkes and bottles of rakija they have). Some women didn't talk with us and they said that the hated us. It was very hard for us because we have been working with them for 6 weeks in my case and we were for some of them like their daughters. A visit of 2 hours changed completely the relationship we build during long hours of "pauzes", rakija and kava's (and some times, some work too, but not too much) We realised in that moment the distance there was between the two sides. There is a wall that divide them build with blood, revenge and hate. It's easy to break a wall (it's only a physical job, we have done it several times with our txekitxs) but it's very hard work to make a hole in this invisible wall inside people's hearts. Often you feel disappointed because you see that we only make noise with our txekitxs, we can't throw the wall down, or even move it. Maybe one day we will be able to throw it down or open a little hole to feel fresh air coming through it. In that moment perhaps we will be glad because we were part of that people who worked on that hole or at least we tried to make some people smile. Although I'm sad because I think that some people who have stayed here for 3 weeks didn't realise that we were trying to break that wall and they worked 8 hours per day cleaning houses without wondering why they were doing that. PS. Ah! One (or two) advise for Spanish or Basque girls who will come in the next groups. By very very careful with the Argentinian soldiers. If you talk with one of them say to him that you are married or you have a steady boyfriend. You will see that they are never alone, suddenly 7 Argentinians will appear shouting "Mola muchacha espanola" ! If you are Basque, be prepared to suffer all the jokes about your language and your English accent and be ready in every moment to explain that you feel Basque (nobody will understand you, but don't give up), but that you aren't a terrorist from ETA (even you will have to sing a stupid patriotic Basque song). Ah! Don't forget that you have to arrive the last at the school every night to keep our reputation of gaupasos very high. But, anyway, don't give up, Basque power. So now it is Wam back again, maybe in one of the coming days I will again use some of the stories of our volunteers. For the time being this diary could be better changed into the Pakrac diary since it looks like to I will stay here for some time. Just a couple of days ago I have been asked to become consultant for the UN and CARE Austria in order to advice them on economical reconstruction of the area. Today we signed the contract for renting a new house for our volunteers, we estimated that repairing the damage will take us about 4 weeks, some hole's in the walls and in the roof, but it has a good feeling to reconstruct a house. After we rent it the owner told us that he wasn't the real owner, the house was, is, from his mother in law, who is Serbian and lives at the moment in Pancevo in Serbia, but will return back to Pakrac in the future, god knows when...... Bok I Mir from Zagreb, Wam ------------------------------------------------------ Zagreb Diary can be found on a lot of different electronic networks, it is copyright free and can be ported to any network or other means of communication you like, but please drop my a line, you can reach by sending a message to wam@zamir-zg.comlink.de or wam@zamir-zg.comlink.apc.org. Zagreb Diary is dedicated to Tyche, Pjort and Rik, so that they found out what there father have been doing all that time in Zagreb. Financial support for Grassroot relief work in Croatia or BiH can be send to Kollektief Rampenplan (atn. Lylette, Postbox 780, 6130 AN Sittard, Netherlands, tel:. +31-46-524803 and fax: +31-46-516460 or to Zagrebacka Banka, Zagreb, accountnr.: 2440291594, to Kat, Pieter Jan Herman Fredrik, Brace Domany 6 6fl nr3, 41000 Zagreb. Please notify me if you send or have send any donations. ## CrossPoint v2.1 ##