Nachricht Nummer : 607
Übertragungszeit : 9 min 58 sec
Nachricht von    : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.apc.org (Wam)
Antworten an     : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.apc.org (Wam)
Betrifft         : Zagreb Diary 17 June 1995
Erstellungsdatum : 26.06.1995 21:10:00 S+2

Knocking on heavens door......

A story about the last series of convoys from the former Serbian held part 
of UNPA west to UNPA east, since the Sava bridge was blown up by a 
lightning at the 2nd of June. This is for the time being the last convoys 
since the UN have declared a stop on them for at least a few weeks.

"Allah has said that homosexuals wouldn't come in heaven", the young 
commander from Jordan finish this sentence with a look in his eyes if the 
American and I just have used the most unholy word which is existing in 
the world on earth. He takes up his cup of coffee and looks us straight in 
the eyes, "find a reaction against that argument" is what his eyes seems to 
say. The female from the States reacts emotional, "How can you say that, 
you drink wine and smoke cigarettes, Allah forbid you also to destroy your 
body". "Allah only talked about alcohol, he never said something about 
cigarette or wine, but the Koran is clear about homosexuality" he reacts 
back. "If heaven don't exist and Allah is just an imagination of 
Mohammed" I try, hoping to bring the conversation to a more philosophical 
level. But my trying is hopeless, Allah exist and so does heaven, and the 
only way to come into heaven is following the Koran. "Isn't heaven be 
possible on earth, isn't heaven the place where you feel good and safe" I 
try again. We order another round of  (long)drinks, but it is clear that we 
never will agree about what heaven is or could be and surely not how to 
reach it.

Half an hour later I end up in an rather expensive pizza place in Daruvar, 
this is where the officials from the UN and the Croatian army normally go 
for their dinner. Tonight the place is occupied by a bunch of Croatian 
officers, some in uniform, with lot's of stars on it, but most in blue jeans 
and T-shirts. It is the last night in heaven for one of them, the day after he 
gets married they tell. Three hired ladies with a lot of make-up and 
oversexy dresses are trying to improve the atmosphere around the table, 
sitting on the lap of the still unmarried victim. But it is mainly the alcohol 
and the uncovered dirty jokes which are making the atmosphere. "I thought 
that getting married is a entrance into heaven", I asked, remembering what 
the local priest told me when I asked him what he tells the people who 
want to get married, but the reaction comes immediately, "No it is a step 
into hell, being a free man is heaven". I start to understand that the baby of 
the both will be born within less than 9 months after the next Saturday. 

Besides me sits a Major, but a Major without an army, he explain to me. 
About 6 weeks ago he and his platoon where the front-line fighters in the 
Croatian action to liberate his part of heaven on earth. That night he never 
will forget he told me weeks ago. Last week he went back to the area he 
liberated, this time he left his uniform at home, he wanted to visit an old 
friend from whom he know that he had stayed on the other side from 
Pakrac the last 3 years. But the friend had left for Bosnia already on one of 
the convoys which are organised by the UN. "I can't understand why they 
are leaving", he looks at me with red eyes, "We handled it absolute 
correctly and our government have promised them all the rights we have 
got. Don't they know it is hell in Bosnia ?". I explain him that the last 
weeks the reasons that people are leaving has not any longer to do with the 
fact that they are afraid directly for their lives. Last weekend we drove 
around the whole area to share a few tons of food we received as 
humanitarian aid from some Italian friends. During that weekend we came 
in a lot of families and elderly people houses in isolated villages and found 
out that the 200 kuna the people got 6 weeks ago is already more than 
spend. Those who haven't got any land (or who are not afraid to work on 
it, the rumours go around that all the fields are mined) and no animals 
mostly already have sold their worthy things like television, washing 
machine and so on and simply see no future other than starving to dead. 
"People are leaving since they don't see any future for them in this area" I 
tell him.

"What will be my future" is his reaction, "At the moment I am well paid as 
soldier, but in a couple of months they don't need me anymore and than it 
is back to that war invalid pension, and maybe some extra kuna's I make 
with my photographs, but there is nothing exciting anymore to take pictures 
of, the war is over here." Yes heaven don't comes cheap you know. 
"Imagine for example this place, when the UN leaves it soon will go 
bankrupt, since beside some sporadic parties as tonight, this place lives 
mostly from the UNPROFOR, excuse me, UNCRO". We talk on and 
come to the conclusion that heaven is a long way to go. When the UN will 
send 2/3 of it's troops from this area, a huge part from the artificial 
economy in Daruvar will collapse. And it almost exclusively will hit the 
Serbian population, since most of the local people in this area who work 
for the UN or rent their houses to them are of Serbian nationality.

The next morning I hitch hike early with some UN cars to Gavrinica, 
during yesterday afternoon, it became clear that the original plan to take all 
the people who wanted to go on the convoy of the 2nd of June, which had 
to return back to Gavrinica since a lightning from heaven set the mines of 
on the Sava bridge to Bosanski Gradiska (now almost 70 meter is missing), 
and said during their special interview this week by UN people to be 
willing to go to East Slavonia, can't take place as planned. The Croatian 
authorities in Zagreb have told to the UN yesterday that they don't want to 
see big convoys anymore. On the list of today therefor there are only 5 
families, all in all 18 people. When I come up in Gavrinica it looks 
however if a lot more people has to be transported today, the place is white 
of UN vehicles. Everywhere there are people discussing and asking why 
they can't be on the one-way convoy to their chosen "heaven" today. And 
when it became clear that one family of 5 persons has decided at the last 
moment to cancel their trip, others really don't understand it anymore, but 
the guidelines are strict, only those on the list for today can go.

The chaos is enormous, due to the shortness of time the UN didn't had any 
possibility to inform the almost 175 people who wanted to go, so some 
people have loaded there stuff on trailers of families who go today, but 
they themselves are not allowed. The visit of an Argentinean general, who 
came sightseeing his troops abroad is not really helping to clarify the 
situation. After nearly 4 hours from talking, organising, and a lot more of 
delaying things more, finally 3 tractors and 4 trailers are loaded on to 4 UN 
"low-bits" (translation such transporters which normally transport tanks), 9 
people in a UN van and 4 in a private Yugo, which nearly collapsed from 
the weight of the people, the goods and the heavy trailer behind it. The 
convoy finally sets of for their chosen heaven, although most people 
actually wanted to go to Serbia, they will be brought to Lipovac, at the new 
end of the old highway of Unity and Brotherhood. Beside the 4 low-bits, 
the van and the private car, 21 more UN vehicles and 5 Croatian police cars  
join the convoy in order to bring the 13 people safely to hell, as somebody 
from the Croatian police described the East Slavonia part of Serbian 
Krajina to me. 

In less than half an hour we reach Okucani, a lot faster than the earlier 
convoys, in front of the former restaurant "little heaven" a group of 24 
people is waiting to jump on the convoy, due to the chaos somebody has 
forgotten them to tell that they are not allowed to join it today, they have to 
wait a few day more. The convoys stops and a few people go up to the 
group to explain the situation, the convoy start to roll again and the people 
are showing off their frustration and angryness. Today the crowd of people 
watching them is not as big as the weeks before, but nevertheless the 
hilarity when load up their luggage onto the wheelbarriers of friends to go 
back to their homes to wait for the next possibility (some cases that is 
almost 8 kilometre walking) is big. Okucani has have a clean up last week, 
Franjo Tudjman passed by last week in a train and all the Cyrillic slogans 
of before, and the new Croatian slogans of the last 6 weeks, which were on 
the walls are painted over with purple paint. You can't read the slogans 
anymore but you very well can see where they were standing. Okuncani is 
also rapidly resettled at the moment, the swapping of houses between 
Croats from Banja Luka area and Serbs from Okucani seems to become a 
big success. The broken windows of a kiosk are still full with at least 
another 100 houses which are offered in and around Banja Luka, there 
aren't even so many Serbian families left in this area, besides the qeustion if 
in a case of swap they will be able to reach the area, the Brcko corridor is 
shelled again, and nevertheless the new creation of a new state between the 
Serbian republic and the Republic of Serbian Krajina it is still an open 
qeustion, for us at least, if people who the UN brings now to East Slavonia, 
will be able to go to Bosnia.

We enter the highway through the only checkpoint which not yet gives you 
a ticket for the motorway, this still surprises me, all the other things were 
so well organised, but you still can drive over the highway to Okucani and 
go off there without paying. The convoy increases it speed, the Yugo with 
the trailer can't keep up and after 15 kilometres the car finally goes to the 
side with an overheated motor. Some UN mechanics fix it, but I am 
surprised that nobody in the spare 21 cars, a few of them are completely 
empty trucks, offer the family to take over their load. After a 10 minutes 
break the car is able to continue it's way, the way to heaven goes through 
under hell burning sun today. 

After 2 hours driving we come at the end of the road, here the famous 
highway goes into the line of separation. The local Croatian police is not 
really informed it seems since they asked the convoy leaders what they 
have in mind. For almost one and half hour we stand in the burning hellish 
sun waiting until somebody will open the checkpoint (in the main time I 
found out that the car in which I am hitch hiking has a well equipped bar in 
the back and we enjoy a still cold beer). Nobody seems to know what will 
happen after we passed this last turning point out of the Croatian heaven or 
hell (as some of the people in the convoy seems to think) into the Serbian 
controlled heaven or hell (as much more people at this point seems to 
think). On our fax of instructions stands that the convoy have to drive up to 
the point of de-loading and return, but where this point is seems for the 
most the big miracle. The drivers of the "low-bits" already make a start 
with de-loading the tractors and trailers, but get stopped by the Croatian 
police, finally some people from the UN civil affairs post in Sector East 
arrive at the other side of the barrier. 

"No, no, this is not the de-loading point" Goran shouted, he is a UN Civil 
affairs person from Sweden, but with ancestors from this area. The people 
from Civil Affairs from Daruvar, with whom I am hitch hiking on the 
convoy seems to be surprised to seem him here. Normally he is posted in 
Banja Luka and the last what they have heard from him is that he had house 
arrest and wasn't able to move an inch. That seems to be old information 
since he is now here and very inspired to make the best out of it. He 
instructions seems to be different than ours, but what the hack, we have 
been on the road the last hours and the radio in our car can receive the 
messages from "former" sector West, but broadcasting anything to there 
you can forget. Knowing the reality we are not confused that things can 
have changed in the main time, the last months the UN don't really shows 
that it is consequent in it's orders. 

I walk down the line of the white cars and end up at the van in which the 9 
people are sitting we are suppose to bring to their new heaven, the 4 of the 
private car have joined them. They are a bit unsure about what is happening 
to them and complain that there are at least 6 persons for which there is no 
transportation. At this moment in time almost everybody thinks that we will 
drive a few kilometres more and de-load at the camp of the Russian 
battalion half way the zone of separation. But before we are allowed to 
continue the Croatian wants to make a list of all the people who will pass 
their checkpoint. Suddenly the barrier goes open and we are allowed to 
pass. At right side of the road we see through the trees the remaining of a 
totally destroyed village, that is Lipovac I assume, the people in my car 
can't tell me anything, they never have left sector west so far. We pass the 
first Russian checkpoint and the convoy continues. On the cassette recorder 
Bob Dylan is singing "Knocking on Heaven's door" when we finally pass 
the last Russian checkpoint and enter the Serbian held part of East 
Slavonia. 

Without really noticing it we have passed both of the Russian checkpoint, 
suddenly a guy looks into our car, the camouflage uniform he is wearing is 
almost similar to the ones we saw in the Russian UN barracks when we 
passed by, but although he has no identification marks on his uniforms it is 
clear that this is not an UN soldier. The driver of the car I am in tell 
between the lines that in the last 3 weeks 9 UN cars where hi-jacked in this 
area. "Nowadays they don't check your identity card, but they like to have 
you car keys immediately". And what that results can be of refusing it 
shows the killing of two UN soldiers almost a week ago. The guy who 
looks at our car is carrying a dangerous looking gun with a silencer on top 
of it, for the first time that I come in the Republika Srpska Krajina I start to 
feel as the German say "Unheimis", sweat not only from the sun is running 
down my back. During the ride here the driver and now more or less owner 
of this car has explained me all the good parts of it, and in the eyes of the 
guy outside I can see that he don't need such an explanation, we have the 
best car in the convoy. The last time that I had this feeling was when I was 
waiting almost 3 years ago at a late night tram in front of the central station 
and about 10 black uniformed HOS fighters came from their building 
shouting that every body had to show their ID card and when it wasn't 
Croatian they would be shoot at the spot. I cool myself down with the fact 
that I was saved at that moment by a tram which came just before they 
wanted to see my ID.

"Shit, the Argentineans have 3 Croatian translators" my driver remembers, I 
don't know where we are going, but those girls are for sure not feeling if 
they just entered heaven. In front of us stands the private car in convoy, 3 
women inside and 1 man, they have a nice conversation with the guy who 
just had a special look at our car. The convoy will go to Tenja, about 35 
kilometres down the road. That is too much my car sharers thinks, we like 
to bring people at the edge of their heaven but going with them all the way 
is not our job. The Croatian translators are collected and brought back in 
top speed to the last Croatian checkpoint, the convoy continues. It drives to 
a landscape of destroyed villages, this is looking almost the same as the 
villages on the road to Pozega, I think myself, but difference is that this 
village show obvious the traces of fighting, in the countery to the earlier 
names villages in which most of the house don't show any traces of bullet 
or grenade holes, but just are burned out. Finally the convoy reach it's 
destination, a school in Tenja, the collection point in their heaven is looking 
almost the same as the departure point from their hell, I think. Just 10 hours 
ago this people left the school in Seovica, where there was hardly any 
water, and most of the windows destroyed. The place is crowded with men 
in uniform carrying all kind of weapons, at least the police force in the 
place they came from looked more organised, goes through my head. 
There is no big welcome for our travellers, just complains from they people 
who arrived here a few weeks ago from the same area that the place 
already is overcrowded.

When we finally come back in Daruvar I hear that there is an official list of 
people who left West Slavonia since the first of May and want to return. 
Again this whole thing starts to make no sense to me. The UN promised a 
safe passes from an assumed hell into assumed heaven and now people 
want to come back. When I picture myself at in one of the former Serbian 
strongholds looking at the valley of the Pakra, the place from which the 
heavy guns of the JNA have been shooting at Pakrac and Lipik almost 3 
1/2 years ago (up to 2000 grenades per day) I understand what heaven is 
(not becuase of the shells, but because of the beauty you can see from here 
(you are not able to see the destroyed houses)), but when I am down in the 
valley I understand that it was a hell. I remember the words of the 
Jordanians some weeks ago "This land is so rich, there is enough water for 
everybody, why for the hack are this people fighting, they lived in heaven". 

Ones more it is all clear to me if people are not aware that they are living in 
heaven they can make a hell out of it.
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