From: wam@zamir-zg.comlink.de
Newsgroups: soc.culture.yugoslavia
Subject: Zagreb Diary
Date: 6 Oct 92 06:14:37 +0100
Article-I.D.: ZAMIR-ZG.4nGKaDZJtC
Distribution: soc


  

Zagreb Diary
03-10-1992

Dobar Dan,

It is precisely 6 months ago that I arrived in Zagreb, with 
some clothes and my computer. I was a fool, with absolute no 
idea what I was going to do in this part of the world. Also 
with a lot of naive thoughts about war and why people fight 
wars. I realised in those 6 months that war is not more than 
a little less of what we normally understand as peace. You 
suddenly recognise a lot of symbols, which you think are 
specific for war in countries with so called peace. All of it 
I have been writing down and by now it is becoming a living 
document from a what still is a fool in Zagreb. It is great 
how this diary started to have an own life. Still many people 
seems to read it with many different thoughts about it. It 
serves as exchange of ideas and questions for help, I am 
hardly embarrassed that I haven't answered everybody who 
offered help yet in details what they can do. Sorry it will 
come.

If you like it I will continue, slowly the different parts of 
the machinery, which forms the Suncokret are falling together 
and maybe I even have some more time in the near future to 
dedicate to this diary. We furthermore hope to start a 
biweekly electronic publication by more people soon, which 
will serve more as facts and information bulletin, the 
"(Peace) Gardener". 

I have been shopping today in Zagreb, wondering about the 
different in prices between the different shops, even besides 
each other. After some time I found a shop where you only can 
pay with western currency. A lot like those stateshop in 
Poland where they cleaned foreign black money in to Polish 
state foreign currencies. Though I hardly can believe that 
these shops here in Zagreb are from the state. I guess they 
are from fast money makers, like all those other import shops 
where you can buy the strangest things from western and far-
east factories. One of the things I bought in those shops 
today where second hand bundespost (Germany Post) Siemens 
telephone, they are the standard telephones in Germany. Here 
in Croatia an used one cost at least 7250 HDR, which is about 
25 Dmarks, but most telephones you can buy, and which are 
often a lot better than the Croatian standard telephones are 
far more expensive, often over 150 Dmarks. Even the famous 
ISKRA telephone is about 35.000 HDR (about 130 Dmarks) and 
they seems to sell well since you see them every where in the 
shops (the Croatian nickname is "cowshit phone", he is very 
flat). 

In the European Parliament it was said today that at least 
100.000 people in BiH will die this winter, probably even 
when the relief aid stay on this level. That is much lower 
than other figures mentioned up to now, but still alarming. 
The news item on television was the arrival of a big aid 
transport from Bavaria. It has come together with an official 
of course who declared that he had the opportunity to look 
for himself in a refugee camp. 


I guessed right, my EX was Marjolein, the mother of Tyche and 
not Ulla, the mother of Pjort and Rik. In the evening this 
guy from International Red Cross proofed to reputation of IRC 
and found me, that is found my house, since I wasn't there. 
He hoped to surprise me, but news travels fast in Croatia. He 
was impressed with what he had seen in Gasinci what the 
workcamp is doing. But he said that it was a pitty that we 
could do something for the elder people and that we should 
have permanent camps and with volunteers from abroad which 
don't have to pay to work here. I agreed totally with him, 
but explained that the problem is money, how stupid that may 
sound.

The first project with a permanent camp in Savudrija are 
fantastic, the school which is build up there in the refugee 
camp by international, Croatian and volunteers from the 
refugee camp itself is going to be recognised by BiH 
government as BiH school. We of course feel honoured, but 
know that most of the work there is done by Ogi, he is just a 
hell of a guy. 

And poor Nina scream yesterday morning already, when Ogi 
visit us in Suncokret, "help two idiots in one organisation", 
when she heard Ogi and me talking about our plans for the 
future. I only say "Hajdemo"", what means "let's go" (and I 
add "for it", since I didn't figure out how that is said in 
Croatian).

One USAmericans Hercules aeroplane flew to Sarajevo today, 
the other 2 promised ones had to stay on the ground in Zagreb 
since the weather was too bad. The whole day showers, rain 
and is keeps getting colder. The pilots of the planes which 
didn't go were interviewed and they declared that there were 
less afraid of the whetter than of the thoughts what has 
happened one month ago with this Italian aeroplane.

The USA has putted forwards a resolution, as far as I 
understood, towards the security council in which it ask for 
total empty airspace above the whole of BiH, except relief 
transports. And the U.K. seem to be very happy with it and 
would have asked it them selves if the USAmericans wouldn't 
have done it first. I am not fully 100% understanding which 
steps will be undertaken to secure an empty airspace above 
BiH and what the effects are from violation, but I will find 
it somewhere in the newspapers on Monday. 
 
Another agreement is signed all POW (prisoners of war) will 
be exchanged before the end of this month, except those who 
have committed violations of the human rights. We will see 
what will happen, a lot of Croatians are not so happy with 
the law which passed last week Friday, in which a lot of 
warcrimes were given amnesty for. Some cartoons in newspapers 
were very clear about their thoughts. So we will see how the 
game will be played in the coming month. How many POW will be 
exchanged. 

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
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
to know what their father was doing all that time