Nachricht Nummer : 600
Übertragungszeit : 9 min 40 sec
Nachricht von    : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.apc.org (Wam)
Antworten an     : WAM@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.apc.org (Wam)
Betrifft         : Zagreb Diary 26 May 1995 (second version)
Erstellungsdatum : 27.05.1995 23:10:00 S+2

Zagreb Diary 26 May 1995

Dobar Dan,

Just another day in paradise

Three Jordan officers are hanging in the bar of Hotel Termal in Daruvar,
they are from the Jordanian UNCRO battalion, who were responsible for
the checkpoints in the southern part of UNPA sector West and the safety on
the "highway of Unity and Botherhood", at least for the part which went
through the former Serbian hold part of Sector West. The are drinking coffee
and soft drinks, smoking cigarettes, complaining about the UN, the ensure
situation, will they stay or will they go, and the beauty of the paradise
of West Slavonia. You put a seed in the ground and the corn comes out, what a
different with their homeland. Up to the beginning of this month they had a
relative easy job, controlling at the checkpoints and patrolling a bit, but
things were relative peaceful than, and with the opening of the highway back
in December last year, and the trainline soon, things look to change for
the better, a peace solution and integration of the Serbian held part was
in reach.

But strange things happened in paradise. After the Croatian police and army
operation "flash" paradise was turned up side down. A week after the action
things started to clear up a bit and the reality became clearer
(although not yet totally), the Okucani area, were almost 9000 people must
have been living, a lot of displaced people from north of the cease fire line,
which run from their villages in 1991, looked like a neutron bomb came down.
Beside from some chickens, cows, dogs and Croatian army and police men not a
single soul could be found. Not more than 150 people stayed back in that area,
the rest run of to Bosnia in such a chaos that surely a few hundred found
their dead in the huge exodus. A Croatian politician described said
that they probably weren't shot being on the run by the Croatian army,
or run over by Croatian tanks, but that their own militia and army was
in such a hurry to get out that they are probably responsible for the events
at Novi Varos. What really happened that night will be one of those many
events in these wars which never fully reach the daylights.

Almost 3500 people stayed back in the northern part of the Serbian held
territory, they surrender almost immediately. Some Croatian soldiers who
took part in the action really were surprised like hell, when they, fully
motivated for a huge fight, notice that there was no enemy army to fight
against, only scared civilians praying not to be killed. Things in paradise
happened fast, the UN who brokered the surrender of the remaining
Serbian defence forces offered all the Serbs who wanted to leave for
Bosnia an safe passing out. In order to have a smooth operation the UN
brought in NATO transport experts, since the local UNCRO battalions were at
first not really motivated to ship the people out, who they have been
protected in the 3 years before. The "transports" started to roll and in
10 days already more than 1800 people left their homes or their new
shelters they found after run away from their homes for the first
time in 1991.

Somewhere in the top of the UN it became clear that their action had a
strange up side down effect. Seeing the convoys leaving people got more and
more nervous and they all wanted to jump on the bandwagon out before it was
too late. The UN until their neck in an ethical cleansing operation finally
found out that they made a mistake. Instead of helping refugees to get
shelter, safety and convert they were producing more refugees and brought
them into a region which is highly unstable, with the sureness that they
never will be able to enter their alternative paradise in Serbia. Most of the
farmers and workers of West Slavonia have been there, but still they heard
nice stories of the Serbian Motherland and have seen nice performances
on Banja Luka and Beograd television of long leg blond smiling female
singers singing so-called turbo folk (a strange combination of Balkan folk
music, disco, techno and Turkish music). So live couldn't be so bad there.
And the UN provided with a free ticket at least to the Sava river.

What do this people know of economical boycots, they have living for 3
years on the end of the line. Not much came through the Brcko corridor
and Banja Luka finally to their area. The lived from what came through
and what UNHCR supplied them and last year even from the first products
of their still really good grounds, even without fertilizers and diesel
for tractors the harvest were great. What do they know of the stories
that the men immediately were picked up, got a riffle and send to one of
the frontlines in Bosnia. On the faces of the men in the convoy I can
see that that is the last thing they are hoping for, they look tired,
especially of war. What do they know about the long trail their
people made through Northern Bosnia and Serbia, to end up in the Serb
held part of East Slavonia (were the remaining Croats are now push out
of the area to make space for the new arriving displaced, as was done in
1991) after a long exodus of almost 10 days, controlled by police and
pushed forwards as unwanted geusts. It is all propaganda anyway.

Than another Day arrived in paradise. On leave from his assignment as UN civil
affairs officers in the Bihac pocket, where he organised the biggest exchange
of prisoner of war, Graham Day was send to Daruvar to put the plug back in and
stop the flush of people running out. And for ones it weren't the NGO's, who
looked for help from the UN, but the big blue looking for help from them.
Three days after his arrival he already knew that he could find more help in
the hangouts from the Pakrac volunteers and new arrived NGO's (mostly connected
to ARK (antiwar campaign croatia)) than in the canteens of the UNCRO in
Daruvar. And it seems that for the first time an relationship on equal basis
is getting established which may stop the flood, or at least will be able
to prepare the returning of people to the area.

At Friday 26 May it was finally so far, Day got his first day in paradise.
The first convoy under his command. The day's before all kind of volunteers
of different NGO's visit as many people as possible to express their worries
that people are leaving for Bosnia. Explaining them that Croatia state is
offering them all the rights. And that with help of them and the UN maybe
West Slavonia can become a peace full paradise again. Or that they at
least should get themselves a domovnica (paper of Croatian citizinship)
and a pasport, so that they could travel to the north rather than to the
unclear south.

But the seeds of fear were already seeded and they are so strong that even
the farmers are willing to give up their corn seeds which they just planted
in their fields in the weeks before. Nevertheless some promised to stay for
at least another week to see if something would change for the better. Not
easy to do, since although the majority of the Croatian police forces who
are brought in to secure the area are acting very correct, some of them
have the habit to make so-called social house calls. They drop into a kitchen,
"Dobar dan", taking the first empty seat and sit down with their flatjacket
and riffle on their lap, having a nice chat about how beautiful the area is,
how safe Croatia is and inform if the women maybe have some rakija left.
Or they are driving around with war-trophies on their cars. And during the
market day allmost thousand of people from all over the region are coming up
to Gavrinica to buy for next to nothing the cattle from those who have decided
to go. After the deals and the cheap beer and rakija they go for a sight
seeing tour.

During the Friday morning almost 260 people, with 27 tractors with trailer,
20 cars and 3 UN busses are forming the convoy at the collection point in
Gavrenica. Graham Day, Vejlko Dzakula, volunteers from the human rights groups,
centre for women victims of war, me and a lot of others are running around,
talking, discussion, hoping to change their mind. Also the new situation in
Bosnia, after the NATO airstrikes is explained, the UN personal and vehicles
will not drive over the Sava bridge, since Zagreb HQ fairs that otherwise
more International will be taken hostage by the Bosnian Serbs to stop the
airstrikes. Almost 20 decided to stay and wait for another week. All that time
Croatian police guys with their flatjackets and riffles are watching and
surrounding the groups of discussing people. In the main time down the road
coming down from Gavrinica and in Lipik, the route the convoys took up to this
moment, spectators are gathering to see the exodus. During the earlier
convoys I looked at them, hardly recognised any of them as locals, most
came by car from all over the region.

2 Hours later than planned the convoy leaves, to be immediately be stopped by
Croatian police who want to check all the property papers of all the cars,
tractors and trailers. Half an hour later the convoys starts moving again,
to be stopped 50 meter further, although agreed to take another road this
time, not passing the former front-line, the officer at the spot refuse that
the convoy takes a detour of 300 meter. Again half an hour is lost and a
drive to the police station in Pakrac is needed to see the high chef who
finally agrees about the 300 meter detour.

Again 500 meter the convoy is stopped to recheck all the papers of the
vehicles. An action which at least takes another half hour in the burning sun.
Than finally the long line of is allowed to drive on. The spectators in
Pakrac and Lipik are waiting for nothing, the convoy would pass them today.
Only a hand full are waiting south of Lipik in order to shout at them for
the last time. An action which is soon stopped when some UN people start
to discuss with them. An a few seconds later the long exodus of sad
looking people on their tractors, cars with bullet holes, completely
overpacked, the last cubic centimetre is used, knowing that all what they
left behind probably will disappear in the coming days (like is disappearing out of the houses in the Okucani area), sleeping
trailers or broken cars, also packed to the last possible place, overcovered
with UNHCR plastic (given to them to cover their broken windows in the
last years), is passing by.

I recognise again people in the convoy who I knew from the last two years
working in this area. But all of them are looking like a shadow of what
they were before. The will and spirit of the men who were in jail is totally
broken, they look with empty eyes to the road in front of them. The long
hilly road to Okucani is starting, most of them never have been so far away
from home in their lives, and this is just the start of their long
journey. The convoy is almost a kilometer long, it looks like a funeral
and that is also a bit the feeling in my head. Slowly paradise is dying,
the Serbs who lived here for hunderds of years are leaving. When these
are gone, probably also others Serbs from the area will start to leave,
a Serb from Daruvar told me, there are no jobs for us, only in the UN
and they will go now, when everybody is gone, no job for them to do here
anymore.

The convoy drives on, the speed often not more than 5 kilometre per hour.
The sun is burning and all what the UN is able to offer them is water and
if needed some petrol. Some trailers and tractors get flat tires, the last
3 years living without any technical supplies haven't done much good to the
already old machines, some of them far over the 20 years. We pass by Bijela
Stijena, another place like Novi Varos, where International monitors
weren't allowed to come until "the road were cleaned with water
sprayers" as an UN Military Observer put it some weeks ago. Slowly, hours
later we reach Okucani.

The road signs are brand-new, they were already prepared before the police
and military action started and were laying in the last army truck, was
explained to me by somebody of the battalion who fought here. Like the
signs for the Opcina (town hall), the Zagrebacka Banka and the HPT post
office. On the road sides Croatian construction compagnies are hasty bisy
to lay water, electricity and telephone lines. In front some of the
empty houses I see cars with foreign number plates, probably relatives
which came to see if anything still is there to be brought in safety
after the crazy exodus of 26 days ago. But I think the are too late, the
last weeks it has been self service around here, was told to me by somebody
of UNCIVPOL who has been patrolling in this area.

The bars, where I only show Krajina Militia men before are
overcrowded with Croatia army, new people took over the place from the owners
who left in a hurry and are making good business, since Okucani is suddenly
the hottest place to go to in West Slavonia, tonight the Croatian
folkband "Zlatni Dukati" will play in the main restaurant and already a few
hundred people have arrived, from Novska, Novi Gradiska, Slovanski Brod,
even as far as Zagreb and Osijek. The passing convoy has to
drive through a thick line of shouting, half drunken people, I can't follow
all they are shouting, but it surely not "Sretan Put" or "Vidimose"
(have a good travel and see you again). The 9 people which will be
picked up by the convoy here are hiding in UNCIVPOL station, they look
even more scared than those who are already in the busses.

We pass the railway, which should have opened on the 15th of April, but
Krajina authorities delayed it (again), now that is no point anymore and
ofcourse just at that moment the train Zagreb-Slavonski Brod is passing by.
We leave the convoy at Novi Varos to check at the Sava bridge. Waiting at the
police check point a few kilometre before the bridge the police agents offer
us a cold beer. But Graham says that he has to drive back to
Zagreb, The police guy reacts that that isn't a problem, since he would get
no police control in his UN vehicle. It is already around 8 o'clock in the
evening when the convoy finally arrives at the bridge. The mines and the
metal barricades still have to be removed. We can look to the other side,
seeing the high houses of Bosanska Gradiska, on the roof there are people
with sniper riffle a guy from Croatian Television tells me (I talked with him
a couple of time in the last 2 weeks, since they are almost every day
around in the area), looking to the zoom lens of his camera.

Together with Kruna from the Osijek Peace centre, I spread the small leaflets
we made this morning, in my simple Croatian I explain that on the leaflet
there are the telephone numbers from UNHCR in Banja Luka, Sector East and
Beograd, as well as the telephone number and address from the Centre of
Antiwar action in Beograd. Try to make them clear that if they need any help
over there they can phone these numbers. People thank me, have tears in their
eyes, kiss me good bye, my feelings are hard to hide, I try to look positive
and hopeful when I wish all of them personal a peace full journey and the hope
to see the again. In takes me almost an hour, which is probably one
of the hardest in my live, the only thing I can give them is a shitty
piece of paper.

Now I see every person individually I recognise more and more of them,
poor people, just farmers and simple workers, tricked by their leaders. In
one of the first cars I recognise Doktera Peric, the 72 years old doctor of
Gavrenica, who was to only doctor who stayed behind after the war in 91. Not
an easy person to work with and surely no angle, but to see him here in his
sportcar, with whom he was always driving proudly through the area and his
last belongings on the back seat is not easy, and although the Croatian police
agent is looking very angry on me I decided to stay a bit longer with him and
talk some more in German, only foreign language he knows,
like with the other peoples there is not much to say.

I see to people busy taking of the numberplates of their cars, it are
Croatian number plates from Rijeka, the two probably decided to join
their relatives and leave with them over the Sava river. Soon the convoy
start driving again zig zagging through the anti tank barriers, under the
big name plate of the bridge (Brotherhood and Unity) in the evening sun
into their new dark future.

When all the cars and tractors finally are over, the first bus of the UN "Maybe"
bustours (named after the UN airline to Sarajevo) is driving up to the bridge,
today they are not allowed to cross. The driver unload his passengers and
comes zig zagged backwards back. One and half hour after we have arrived here
all is over, we drive full speed through Okucani, the bars are fuller than
ever before and the whole town is full with cars, "Zlatni Dukati" have a big
success this evening. And half an hour later we are back in Daruvar,
I went to my room, take a glass of Zelko's rakija, the CARE worker who was
killed by the first grenade on the first of May and try to forget this day
in paradise. When I go to bed I hope that I will dream about how this
Graham Day can help us to make this place paradise again, but I am not
so sure....
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