Nachricht Nummer : 315 Übertragungszeit : 3 min 33 sec Nachricht von : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.comlink.de (Wam) Betrifft : Zagreb Diary 27 November, 1993 Kopienempfänger : /APC/YUGO/ANTIWAR, /CL/EUROPA/BALKAN Erstellungsdatum : 06.12.1993 15:25:00 W+1 Realname: Wam Kat Zagreb Diary 27 November, 1993 Dobar dan, Coming on the "other side" you can immediately noticing it, here you don't see much work to get the snow of the road. Actually you don't see much people at all, only a white world and icy roads. Most of the traffic in this part of the sector you only see when they are a few meters away from you, in their white cars they have the best thinkable camouflage in this landscape. Later in Okucani were heard that the price of a litre of petrol is no over the 5 DEM, so that explains a lot. The small amount of people are outside are mostly carrying food home in boxes with UNHCR and EC on it, some use their bikes for it, but that is dangerous on this ice. The all wave at us, it is probably, beside the car from the Austrian volunteers the only car in this area with a numberplate different from UNPF (UNPROFOR) or Okucani. We see some UNPROFOR soldiers from Nepal standing around their Russian jeep, which UNPROFOR got from the Germans (rests from the East-German People's army) and from which it is know that they mostly refuse to work. In Okucani we park in front of the UNCIVPOL house and go in to tell that we have arrived, although we have all the official documents from UNCIVPOL in Pakrac and Okucani, nobody in the building know that we are coming, but they are so nice and let us stay. We walk through the snow to the building of the International Red Cross, where we are expected at a small party. Help Age, an International organisation, loosely connected with the UN, which is funding project in developing countries for elderly people has decided to give their yearly award to the Help Age people in Okucani. In my mind they could have better if they would have given to the total Help Age project in Sector West, so on both side off the line, but they decided different. The guy who get the price, beside a nice official document also a trip of a few months to a training's course he can choose himself, explains that he don't get the price alone, but also all of his workers and especially his teacher, who can't be here today. His teacher is a well known professor in Zagreb and he asked the representative of Help Age to go there and tell her that he is doing fine. Asa and Teet are taking up their instrument and the local Help Age people are bringing in cakes and snacks, typically something for this area, they hardly have any food, but when there is something special and there are guest's to come with the best if there is no war, no hunger, no winter at all. I even saw that in area's as desperate as Tuzla. Suddenly I heard behind me "Hello Wam Miauw" and I turn around and look in the laughing face of Simo, who I haven't seen since he was arrested months ago in the Croatian part of Pakrac. He is nearly a month out of jail now, but still haven't shown up in our part of Pakrac yet. UNCIVPOL said to him that he better could stay on this side. We, the women from the UN and Help Age, Anette and me, have to leave the party half way and I say good-bye to the peace circus, promising them to come back soon. Back in Pakrac there is a whole delegation of UNPROFOR and UNCIVPOL waiting for us in the new office house of the volunteers project. Dr. Platzer arranged a meeting and invited the deputy sector commander, the both head of operations of the Argentines on both side of the cease fire line, the station commander of UNCIVPOL Pakrac and his deputies for Humanitarian aid and Investigations. Since we have no chairs in the new office they all have to sit down on the matresses on the floor, a giant circle from about 30 people to discuss our co-operation in order to start activities on the other side of the cease fire line. In the last months our, the volunteers, relation with UNCIVPOL and UNPROFOR has changed a lot, with the Canadians we hardly had any contact, but already for two months the Argentines are bringing us food, they anyway have too much and ask us to distribute what we can't use to the local people, since they are not allowed to do it. The two new Danish guys from UNCIVPOL who arrived to this station some weeks ago we already know well, they drop by in our house almost every second day and the big question is always who is informing who. From this, Croatian, part of the sector we know a lot more than they do. Although the room is full of officials fast the informal atmosphere takes over, what do you want with our "hippies" from Poland, our drop-outs from the UK (one a former hell angels with tattoo's all over his body, but peace full into the last vain of his body), the peace freaks from Germany, our charming Canadian girl and me not really knowing what to do. We start the meeting and the people from UNCIVPOL and UNPROFOR put all kind of feathers on our heads (a Dutch impression), thanks to us the situation has changed a lot in the sector, especially in Pakrac, they see us for the first time as part of the UN family, when I came here I never thought that would happen to me, but what the hack, as long as we can do what we want it is fine with me. The meeting last night went on to the small hours, dancing with the uniform guys in our small house, therefor I didn't do much today, but it is weekend and cold anyway. 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 v2.92 ##