Nachricht Nummer : 403 Übertragungszeit : 4 min 6 sec Nachricht von : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.comlink.de (Wam) Betrifft : Zagreb Diary on 9 February, 1994 Kopienempfänger : /REG/NEWS/DIARY/WAM, /APC/YUGO/ANTIWAR, /CL/EUROPA/BALKAN, /SOC/CULTURE/BOSNA-HERZGVNA, /SOC/CULTURE/CROATIA, /SOC/CULTURE/YUGOSLAVIA Erstellungsdatum : 10.02.1994 12:09:00 W+1 Zagreb Diary 9 February, 1994 Dobar dan, It was really very very late when I wrote my entry in the diary yesterday, since somewhere in the text I mixed up Zagreb and Pakrac and when you knew the different you would never made that mistake. Anyway today again I prepared myself for a day trip from Zagreb to Pakrac and back, this time with this ARD film team. When I met them yesterday I had this feeling that I have met thousand of journalist up to now but that this would become a heavy day. They always have thousand and one ideas in their heads and want to make the story, which never been made before. And I know my way around a bit on the "other side" and know "my children" (volunteers) there and know that they don't like to act in front of a camera. And the other hand the people who are interesting to meet are not there at the moment, they all went to Beograd in order to try to free Dzakula. We met in the lobby from Intercontinental and I had to wait at least half a hour before they had finished all their payments. And than in their space car up to Pakrac, on the highway again empty convoys returning from Banja Luka or further on, it seems that some of them are now getting through even to Tuzla as I have seen on some papers. Anyway the convoys from Beograd to Tuzla seems also to drive without much problem, but they suddenly have to pay extra tax for their fuel, which is almost doubling or tripling the real cost. Listening to some nice Austrian music tapes we were in no time in "my little town". At the police station we met Manfred, who just went their to get some official papers and told me that again the rumour is going around in the police station that our volunteers are dealing or at least taking drugs (the first rule in Pakrac, by the way, is no drugs), something from which I am absolutely sure that it is not happening. The journalist went afterwards to buy a bottle of Brandy for somebody he knew on the "other side" from yesterday and I couldn't resist telling him that that was something as bringing water to the sea. with all the official papers checked and stamped it was not a big thing to go over the checkpoints and get the permission from the local Militia chief, the same one who send me back 15 kilometres yesterday, now he was friendly as I never seen him before. He even give us a Militia soldier as "volunteer" to show us the town (which I later took to a bar and gave some beer so that the filmcrew could make some street interviews). Next aim was to find back my Muppets and Lynette. They were waiting in one of the pubs of course, at least mala marley and hendrix (as they are now nicknamed by the local people). Piro the local person in charged of the rebuilding told me so, they had to wait since today it is the big day that the first container would come over and had to be placed and they had to walk our with a waterstick, or what ever such thing calls to measure if it is done well. But as always the co-ordination between UNPROFOR and locals was going so well that the containers were brought to the wrong place and they of course sat at the other side of the town. Just if it was organised we arrived at the same moment as the trucks at the spot of the containers and the BritBat guys pull off a great show for the camera. After this theatre, my two Muppets were motivated to climb in the rain on the roof and acted if they were doing a great and important job trying to fix a giant grenade hole. The camera team was satisfied for the moment and during their shooting I had a long talk with our translator on the other side, who opened up her heart and explain that if the situation will continue in this way she will leave the country soon. Since she didn't like her child to be brought up in this situation any longer. Afterwards it was of to find the other two volunteers, who we met on the road coming down from their sleeping place, Lynette, as fullblood USAmerica immediately understand the hint and staged in the school a lesson English, which of course disorganised the whole village and the schoolday, we produced in 5 minutes one of the biggest coming together at this part, which I ever seen. Some "red barrettes" (the special force from Serbian Krajina army) joint the crowd and told in so many words that they were preparing a big action for to night, but since the preparation basically happened in one of the pubs and the revolvers only contained about two bullets each I didn't really got afraid from this story. Of to one of the three "supermarkets" (on the Croatian side they would have been called mini-minimarket), in order to show that they have now Pepsi and Coca Cola for 6 DEM per one and half litter and a lot of other expensive USAmerican candy bars, god knows how they have come here, besides that two more shelves were filled with batteries and light bulbs, even some sucker is now available. The store lady was filling 100 gram plastic bags with coffee from the half kilo packages, since nobody has money to buy this big amounts, she told us. The next stop was half way on the mine field, I told the filmcrew that they had to walk 15 metre behind me, so nothing could happened if I lost the path and ended up a mine, a we shoot the "street of hope" (Ulica Nada), which is the other, not used, connection between the both sides, situated near the hospital and totally shoot apart, the asphalt of the road is blown up and covered with grass, so the houses are standing in the middle of nowhere. We dropped off our Militia man and drove slowly back to the checkpoint, on the way the camera team made some extra interviews and filmed in the "houses" of the old ladies who are living the basements of the houses at the "official" street between the both sides. Normally you wouldn't see them, because you never would expect somebody living in such environments. By the time we said good-bye in Lipik we had become friends and they promised to come back soon, since during the day they found out that even 4 days filming is not enough to tell this story. Mir from somewhere in Hrvatska, 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 . 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 (postbox 33), 41000 Zagreb. Please notify me if you send or have send any donations. Old numbers can be found by sending a message's with as subject "FILES" to pakrac.info@ZAMIR-ZG.comlink.de, to order a file send a message with subject "SEND " to same address. ## CrossPoint v2.93 ##