Nachricht Nummer : 289 Übertragungszeit : 3 min 30 sec Nachricht von : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.zer.sub.org Betrifft : Zagreb Diary 22 October, 1993 Erstellungsdatum : 01.11.1993 18:57:00 W+1 Realname: Wam Kat Zagreb Diary 22 October, 1993 Dobar dan, Yesterday evening late we brought David to my house in Brace Domany and today he probably will spend sleeping and trying to get all his official cards organised. Anyway it wasn't such a bad evening, although somebody was coming to say good-bye, it was more an evening full of spirit and exchange of news. One of this small news things wasn't so fantastic. This days we lost our first volunteer, or rather at the moment that she was killed in Mostar, she wasn't a volunteer anymore from Terra or Suncokret, but she started he work in Hercegovina as one. Indeed she was involved in the first camp in this area of Suncokret, Posusje. And went with us to Ravno when we visit it the first time, later she was part of the group who started Terra in Citluk (near Mostar) in able to raise money and help for among other thinks the rebuilding of the Ravno area. About 6 weeks ago Natasja and Ivo told me in Zagreb that she started to help Goran, a young doctor (directly from the university into the war in Osijek and from there in partly charge of the medical department of HVO) in charge of all the war hospitals in HVO controlled areas. She helped him to sort out all those boxes with unsorted medicines which are coming from everywhere. When Ivo told it I didn't fully realised the danger involved in her job. Even during the hardest fights in the city I always had the feeling that the war hospital was a more or less safe place. I have been sitting their 9 months ago during a shelling from the "Chetnik" post near television tower on the mountain on one of the top floors. Goran and I were in the hospital when the shelling started and could leave the town, so we went up to the top floor and watch the shells come down for an hour. Of course the shells could reach the hospital, some indeed did at other occasions, but you strange enough don't think about it, when the shells come down in another part of the city. Colette lived in Mostar the last months and was killed in her flat by a lost bullet. She simply didn't went, like us, to the basements when the alarm was given. Her ashes have been send back to the states some days ago and now her relatives phoned the Citluk office to found out what she was doing all that time in that region. In her home town they tell a story that she was killed during an action saving other peoples live. Which is indeed true in a way. But nearly every person is a hero after he died. In my country they said from the dead nothing else but good words. I don't know if Colette would have stayed alive if she would have been in the basement that time, maybe during another fight in the town she could have been killed. In an area where the bullets are flying through the air more regular than birds the possibility that you get killed is there every day, it is a risk you are taking. Mostly you more or less consider it as a person own mistake if he or she get killed, they should haven't done this or that, at least here. This thing with heroes is more from abroad. I noticed that not only in this case, but also with the Dutch Soldier killed near Pakrac. In Pakrac you will hear that he broke all the security rules in the book, but don't tell that on Dutch radio. In the evening Ogi passed by, he is now working since January in the Danish refugee camp in Kutina and has become more or less the Croatian manager for all the Danish camps in Croatia (4). The Kutina camp, I have said it a lot of times is the best camp in Croatia, Ogi told me about all the activities they have undertaken in the camp so far, and I can imagine that some people don't even want to leave the camp at the moment. E.g. one of the refugees use to be a professional football player in Banja Luka and probably could so get a paid place in one of the bigger Croatian clubs, but he want to stay in his own little village, the camp. Ogi said that he almost has realised everything he had in his head for the camp in Savudrija and that it is time for him to go to do something else. At this moment he has started again with his theatre activities, not only in his camps, but also with ex-soldiers and his young criminals in Zagreb. He is walking around with the idea to start a new organisation, a bit like Suncokret, organising social work, but not alone with refugees in camps, but with everybody in social need, so also the soldiers who came back full of problems and with no future from the front. It is not a new idea, we actual talked about it together a lot last winter, but at that moment the time seemed to be not ready. Everything is now a year further and who knows it will work now. Anyway Ogi and I made the agreement that I will go with him and his dance and theatre groups to Dubrovnik if they are going there between Christmas and New Year this year. And who knows we will organise a kind of alternative cultural festival next year. When Ogi has something in his head it mostly gets reality. So maybe soon you will hear about another Grassroot organisation which gets realised in Croatia, hope you will be able to keep them apart, although they are all somehow connected. 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 ##