Nachricht Nummer : 199 Übertragungszeit : 3 min 35 sec Nachricht von : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ZER.sub.org Betrifft : Zagreb Diary 19 July, 1993 Erstellungsdatum : 22.07.1993 10:01:00 S+2 Realname: Wam Kat Zagreb Diary 19 July, 1993 Dobar dan, Hello America, they have the tapes at ABC and they seem to be good, but they are not broadcasted yet, they said that they will announce it when they are ready with the cuts. So hopefully that will be soon. Another news item from America make me thing today, they broadcasted a part of CNN on HTV in which there was a report of young Croats and Muslims , which were in the states when the war started and who followed a special course to do work with traumatised children and women in these countries. A noble aim and surely necessary, these country can need all the help they can get. Why I react is the whole setting around it, it looked a lot if the situation here is somewhere in the dark ages and that nobody yet thought about those poor women and children. Suncokret started precisely one year back with their work, on the basis on nearly the same analyses but with the help of a lot of volunteers from Croatia, which already were doing this work voluntary since months. I know that the situation in Croatia is not ideal and that it will take a lot of work to get it so far, but I have seen it a year ago and I have seen what is change for the better (and worst) in that period. I can't help, honestly, I know how stupid it is, but still it is stupid to hear somebody talking as the professional that nothing has happened yet. Beside Suncokret a dozen other organisations are active in this region with the social welfare of people. Something has happened. Another discussion interest me however more at the moment, outside the country there seems to be a discussion going on about yes or no boycotting Croatia. I follow this discussion with fear around my heart, not really able to see the long running effects of such a boycott. It would be a way to get all those foreign products of the market, but it is surely not because of that. When I was talking with some friends in the Netherlands by telephone I understood well what is going on. The coming week everybody around the world will discuss it and everybody will agree that such actions should not endanger the safety and health of the civilians. Follow the Beograd diary and see what the results can be. The effects of a boycott will be not particular helpful for the young democracy in this country. Like our friends in Beograd I feel me sitting between two fires, and with me a lot of people. We form more or less the opposition in these countries. We disagree with what is happening at the moment, but we are also living here. I don't know if you realise the feeling, Live in Zagreb get more and more like at home in the Netherlands, a lot of small new business has been started over the last year. Besides the pubs, gambling houses and discotheques also a lot of "normal" shops started. Mostly in the suburbs you can find a new small minimarket or a videoshop, a new burec place, or any form of small shop. The minimarket around the corner lives mostly from the factory workers, who use it as cheap pub. What I realised time after time is that the people working in those private enterprises are mostly speaking good english or German, at least a lot better than to what I am use to in the big state owned supermarkets. More and more houses in the area are becoming workplace and offices. That's is the other side of Croatia, a country in transmission. One of the nicest example of the "free market spirit" I found in Pakrac. The women who use to cook in the hotel there, which is now used by the Canadian UNPROFOR battalion obvious realised that it would take years before she will get her job back. So she started to open her kitchen for friends, ten days ago we found out about it and now it is our favourite restaurant. She cooks fantastic, the vegetables are coming straight from her garden and the prices are unbelievable. The only problem is that you should not come with more than 4 people at the same time, since she is all alone in her kitchen and it takes a while before you get served. The lady on the upperside of the street from her is also not stupid, she use to have a few hair dressing saloons, but they all were destroyed during the war and none of them of course had any insurance against it (you can't insure building against wars). She after building up their shops over many years she lost it all in a few months. Now she just finished rebuilding one of their saloons and started a shop for paint and plaster there. The first one after the war in Pakrac and since about everybody in Pakrac is more or less involved in rebuilding houses she is doing fine again. In this war area's it was said that building materials would be cheaper as in Zagreb, at least I remember something like that said months ago. But even here people have to pay the 10% extra war tax on their products and the prices are the same as in Zagreb. It was told to us that we could 10% off for being a non-profit organisation, but by the time we could have the papers together the price would be 40% higher, so what to do. On such moment you realise how strange it is that these people have to pay themselves for rebuilding their houses. They were so unlucky to live in the front-line and first they pay with the war and now they have to pay for their homes. Somewhere that sounds unfair to me. 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 ##