Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 01:27:00 CET
From: wam@zamir-zg.comlink.de
Reply-To: wam@zamir-zg.comlink.de
Distribution: world
Newsgroups: soc.culture.yugoslavia
Subject: Zagreb Diary 8 November 1992
Organization: Zamir = for peace, Zagreb
Content-Length: 7203    
X-Gateway: UC xclhh [UZERCP V3.99]


Zagreb Diary
08/11/1992

Dobar Dan,

So another Sunday, it is quiet in the house, people try to get 
a bit of a free day, even when you are feeling a little bit 
guilty inside, since the war has no free days it goes on and on 
and on. Attacks with small arms, as they call it, were reported 
in Croatia in the area around Karlovac, Gospic, Zadar and again 
in Vinkovci. But the fights in BiH were as always more heavy, 
in Sarajevo on Wednesday the electricity lines and due to that 
telephone and water supplies were broken again when a shell hit 
one of the distribution lines. During today some parts of the 
town got their electricity back. 

Also a strong fighting took place in the Mostar region.  
Different UN humanitarian aid convoys on their way to Sarajevo 
had to return to Croatia. But still 7 flights came in on 
Sarajevo airport. Much attention was given on Croatian news to 
a threat given by Serbian commander in BiH that if Croats and 
Muslim don't stop fighting they would attack Dubrovnik again 
and even open shelling on Zagreb. We in Zagreb, living 30 
kilometre away from Sisak, were the front line is, know that 
this threat is always possible to put into practice, but I 
would sleep less this night.

My brother is having his birthday today, he becomes 30 and when 
I phoned him to give him my blessings he promised me to come to 
Croatia soon to help me with some things, theatre making, in 
the refugee camps.

Also today a good friend from the past died, the former 
president from CSFR (in those days of his presidency back in 
'68 it was called CSSR). A small powerless looking man, who 
became a hero of his country with the Spring of Praha. It would 
take 22 years more before it was realised. But him and Jan 
Palach became names who I never forget. When I met him the 
first time, just before the revolution in CSFR I couldn't 
imagine that this small man was the great hero of those past 
days. Vasek, another friends of mine from Praha, wrote me by 
Email that there were demonstrations in Bratislava by the 
students, who were not so happy with the planned split of the 
country.  

Small, meaning less people who are doing great things. That was 
what crossed my mind when Faruk introduced us yesterday to 
another guy in uniform, without any signs on it. A guy with 
strong glasses and build if he couldn't hurt a fly. A 
bookkeeper you would say if you see him on the streets. "This 
is" Faruk said "The commander of the unit of BiH who went in 
first in Gorazde. His unit fought it's way through the lines in 
order to bring food to the people there. I looked again at the 
man and thought, when I looked at him looking down on the 
ground like somebody who is ashamed to look you in the face, I 
never ever would have known, but you helped thousands of people 
to survive starvation. 

Demonstration also today in Trieste in Italy, a few thousand 
neo fascists went on the street to declare Dalmatia as part of 
Italy (during the second world war the Italians fascist 
occupied that part of Croatia) and 65.000 people signed their 
petition. Hopefully it would become more, since already Greece 
is involved in these conflicts, we don't need a strong right 
wing block of people West from us as well.


In Berlin 300.000 people went on the street for a total 
different thing, they demonstrated against the violence in 
Germany towards foreigners and refugees. During the 
demonstration Kohl and von Weisacker were thrown at with eggs, 
according the first Croatian news it was done by ultra lefties 
and the second news said it where ultra right wingers who did 
it, so we are still wondering who was it. Knowing Germany it 
were probably Chaoten from which it is always unclear to which 
political wing they belong. Anyway 300.000 people is a large 
amount and it is hopeful for the big demonstration in Bonn next 
Saturday. 

Something else I forget to write yesterday was a scream for 
help from Faruk, director of Merhamet in Zagreb (Tomasiceva 12, 
41000 Zagreb, Croatia, fax +38-41-450521), not only could you 
send all goods to him you would like to send to us, we fully 
trust this organisation and they have a good distribution 
system build up during the last months. But they are also 
looking for foreigners, with cars, who like to help them 
searching refugees in and around Zagreb. Everywhere around the 
country side small camps and centres are build up and the 
people from Merhamet really like to help them, but have to find 
them first.  

Astrid is still ill, but looks a lot better now, when she 
described what she was feeling it looked a lot like the illness 
I had months ago. A form from being overworked. Day after day 
she is busy with her medicines and has help thousands of people 
in the different camps and centres with the help of all those 
people who passed buy. Unfortunately there is still coming in 
bad medicines. All in all we have collected now about three big 
boxes full of them (about 250 kilograms), but that is the top 
of an iceberg. Our volunteers mostly have done the sorting out 
themself, so imagine the figures which come in by other people.

When I talk it over with Faruk from Merhamet he took me to a 
big pile of boxes in a corner of his warehouse, all medicines, 
all useless. "Lucky that we have so many refugee here in the 
center" he said "that there are always people who can help me 
sorting it out, but still". Than he took me to an ever bigger 
pile of boxes "And this he said is our dirty laundry, clothes 
which are coming in, even before they are washed. Totally 
useless nobody really wants them and most of them can be thrown 
away anyway since they are too old to be used again". In his 
office I had seen already a big pile of shoe boxes with shoes 
from Italy, high heals, up to 10 cm high, according to a 
fashion which is long gone, probably in the old days very 
expensive shoes, now worthless and useless.
 
In the evening a technician from the computer firm who sold us 
the computers came by, he worked with Hans for about 10 hours 
on the computers and they were able to repair at least two of 
them. Not that they are now fit to do anything more than some 
wordprocessing, since the new disk we wanted to put in one of 
them really didn't communicated with the computer. It look by 
the way more like a private class of Hans in computer knowledge 
than the other way round. Most people in the house really gad 
red ears from listen to them, but they didn't understood a word 
of it. Together they made a nice couple, around one in the 
night the man left the place, we still need working computers 
to do our work.

With Love from ZA-mir-GREB,


                            Wam :-)
--------------------------------------------------------
Zagreb Diary can be found on a lot of different computer 
Networks. If you can port it to another, please do. It has no 
copyright and may be used in all forms of further distribution 
among all types of media. But please if you use something drop 
me a line. You can reach me via wam@zamir-zg.comlink.de. I 
dedicate Zagreb Diary to Tyche, Pjort and Rik in order that 
they will know what their father was doing all that time in 
Zagreb.