Nachricht Nummer : 155 Übertragungszeit : 4 min 28 sec Nachricht von : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ZER.sub.org Betrifft : Zagreb Diary 15 June, 1993 Erstellungsdatum : 16.06.1993 09:33:00 S+2 Realname: Wam Kat Zagreb Diary 15 June, 1993 Dobar dan, Just after finishing my diary entry from yesterday I met Jasmina in the town and of course I wanted to know how her trip to Dubrovnik and Hercegovina was, since we didn't had a chance to talk much about it up to now. She had to admit, the same thing as I heard from others, Dubrovnik is shelled, but by far not as destroyed as people has said in the media. The people and especially the youth in that region, as well as elsewhere along the coast line are however in a lot worst situation. They use to be living in one of the riches regions from former Yugoslavia, but the tourist industry totally collapsed in the southern part of Dalmatia. The are hopes, but I think that the situation in northern Dalmatia has scared off a lot of potential holiday visitors. The parents are busy to one way or another make some money and the children and youngsters, especially when the school is out are left by themselves. In the past they could join all the activities in the holiday centres, but now there is nothing. Since the hard drug abuse in Dalmatia, especially in Split, but more and more also in Western Hercegovina is getting worst and worst the alternatives are not so hopeful. Jasmina was talking enthusiastic about possible programmes SunCokret could undertake in that region and the contacts she made for it. In Hercegovina the situation is getting more and more tens, we more and more face the situation that the coming of new Croatian refugees from central Bosnia is not particular helpful for cooling down the tensions. The area, which was already overcrowded with refugee is now really packed. Most of the new refugees don't really like to stay in the region they like to move on to Croatia, but also for Croatian refugees the borders are closed. During the same talk I heard that Joseph with his truck Emma had left from Zagreb for Tuzla, I was shock, since the last days the fights are not getting any better in central Bosnia. From that transport I was writing about not more than about 200 trucks have reached Tuzla at the moment. Most of them (about 250) are or standing at a roadblock somewhere, looted, shot at or lost. Not particular a safe idea if you hear that one person is going along the same road, he don't want UNPROFOR or UNCHR protection and he only want to get through, to come there, now others are afraid. This morning however a got a phonecall which relieved me a bit, he is still in Zagreb, and that means maybe we can convince him to stay or join the UNHCR convoy. Astrid and Tibor can't get out of Tuzla, that is clear by now, all what Jasmina tried to organised a faster trip out was blocked by the UNCHR bureaucrats. In many ways they, the UNHCR person are right, they are not running an operation to bring stranded aid workers out of zones they, the aid workers, were advised not to visit without contacting UNCHR first. But if you are here and heard the stories from the last months, how quiet and peaceful it was in Tuzla and how high the need for help, you don't think about it that it can change like the sunshine. Even the reports which came in on the day that the left weren't convincing enough. You have learned to life with this wave of tentions, mostly they don't take long. But in this case the situation is of course different. Anyway Astrid phoned yesterday with NeXus to tell that they are still alive and safe in Tuzla, beside some sporadic shelling there isn't much danger in the town and the best thing now is to stay there until the road clears up. When it really get's dangerous UNHCR will probably evacuated them with or without bleu pass. Tibor has got a job for at least two weeks in Tuzla now at some kind of food distribution centre and I guess Astrid also has enough to do. Alex at the peace centre received a fax from the German Mennonites calling for help. The 600 Muslims in a refugee centre in Promajna south of Split are ordered to leave the place. The authorities give them two alternatives, or they go to Gasinci, near Djakovo, or to Pakistan. They have given them about 48 hours to decide. Just when I thought nothing will be happening again today and went to the pub to blow off some steam and talk a bit about the situation in Hercegovina with some people just returning from there we bumped into one of those International Volunteers, who are not here to help refugees, but are here to fight. The guy listen to our stories for a while and jump into the conversation asking how long we were here and how much time we spend in BiH. Obvious he was not afraid or ashamed at all to tell about his adventures. For about 2 hours we had to listen to all the front-line stories, including the mates he lost in the last two years. He has been all over the frontlines, telling that his small group of volunteers was known were ever they went as the only real group of professionals. He was among the 20 foreigners who were defending Goradze when they got an attack from 20.000 "Chetniks" and decided that no place in the world is good enough to die for. For the moment he was in Zagreb to pick up his girl friend and go on a holiday as all International fighters in Burma. It is a long time ago that I met this type of volunteers in Zagreb and even longer that I met somebody who was so talkative. Normally they are more quiet and only loud when they are drinking, but this one really told where and when he went and obvious would have given me the list of his full fighting group if I would have ask for it. On the other hand the story continued when he finished all his stories and asked what I was doing and I told him my work. He changed immediately asking me if I couldn't help him finding a job to reconstruct houses and villages. He told me that most of his mate's would love to do the same thing, they are soldiers, but they also would like to get out of it. So we came on mine field clearing and made the appointment that I will try to raise money for him and his friends to come over and remove those bloody mines around the villages. With the BBS (ZAMIR-ZG) and the contact from the states about everything what could get wrong went wrong, for some or another reason our system refuse to function as it has been doing in the last months. Last night it hanged itself with our transmitting computer in Vienna and the line were used for at least 10 hours, when the telephone bill come at the end of the month we will be about broke I think. But Bill Mendell tried everything to phone here, but no way, I was sitting with wet hands in front of the computer, using up all my nerves, but it became a none success, hopefully this don't mean that he wouldn't try again. When I finally found the mistake I felt asleep behind the screen and waked up around 4 o'clock in the night, realising I missed an appointment with Klaus Vack, who was in town. 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 ##