CROATIA
Continued from Page 32A
nteuumn* ui ineir organi*
zations. so we said to them that
we were acting on our own as
well With small numbers, we
lost hope for the protest. We
went back to Mennonite's
house and let the teen-agers eat
something (They didn't - or
couldn't - eat anything on that
day.). After a bit of chatting, we
went to sleep
In the next morning. Harky. Jim. Gert, the teen
agers and I headed for Makarska at 6 We reached
Makarska before 8 and sent hack the teenagers
from the closed gas station to the hotel, linrkv had
to go back to Split to attend the U N briefing, so
the rest of us stayed there. Without any back-up.
the only thing we could do was to observe the sit
uation. The buses to pick up Muslim refugees
came to the reception area, and a police car came
as well We observed the situation and sometimes
went up to the compound far away from the recep
tion to tulk with the circus families. In the recep
tion area. Muslim refugees reluctantly gathered
around the buses. Italian peace activists with a
parliamentarian had arrived by that time. One 70
year-old woman who had a heart problem was sent
to a hospital. Those who had health problems were
to stay in the hotel for several days but had to
eventually move to Obonja. We went back and
forth between the reception area and the com
pound where the circus families stayed In the
reception area, one woman asked me about the
conditions of Obonja while crying All 1 could say
was that the security should he ensured because
some humanitarian organizations including Men
nonites were staying there and many observers
and journalists visited and would visit there.
Another Muslim woman was trying to report about
physical insult against her by Croats to one police
man. Sasha asked me to come to the compound, so
1 left Jim and went up to the compound When I
left. I saw some soldiers coming from the rehabil
itation center. Jim saidlO soldiers came and tried
to intimidate Muslims by saying that they would
kill them. Jim was trying to defend the refugees,
but the soldiers threatened to kill him because
they believed he was a journalist. Policemen just
stood there, not really protecting people. People
and Italians begged policemen to stay there, but
they loft soon after buses were gone for Obonja
even though there were still some Muslims in the
hotel. In a country engaging in a war. it's very dif
ficult to deal with soldiers because they are to be
respected.
The circus families refused to go to Obonja.
They wanted to stay somewhere in Split until they
could get in touch with the German group We
respected their opinion, and Jim made a decision
that they should go to Mennonite's house. Then,
an "escape operation" began We helped to carry
their belongings to the old gas station With the
Italians' help, the circus families were brought to
the bus station with me to catch the bus for Men
nonite's house. Later on. Harky came to take all of
the baggage and picked up |im and Gert. In the
bus. I talked with Saya. Sasha and Jasmin, who
could speak English very well. Saya is a smart girl
and tried to do a translation job to a large extent
Sasha is an innocent boy. who was always smiling
in the presence of people His father is a Croat,
who is fighting as a HiH soldier in Sarajevo. But
because his mother is n Muslim (she said site is an
atheist), thev had to move out. Jasmin and his
mother had already prepared a document for
immigration to Germany, but later on the Embassy
told them to wait for a month to get a visa We
talked about the United States. Japan and Bill, and
finally all of us got off at the bus station near Men
nonite's house At that time. I was staying in a
hotel, hut I decided to stay in Mennonite’s house
until their immigration was confirmed.
On the next day . Harky obtained new informa
tion from UNHCR. There is another hotel i ailed
Osejava in Makarska. 10 minutes away from Hotel
Kiviera by car. The hotel had a mixed population
of Muslim and Bosnian Croats refugees, hut Bosn
ian Croats moved out and filled the place of Mus
lims in Hotel Riviera If the circua families want
ed. they hod to check in the hotel before 7 in the
next morning. Harky decided to talk about this
with the families after dinner, and he let the moth
ers cook a Bosnian meal in that evening, we had a
small dinner [wirty and all enjoyed n taste of Balka
ns. Kids wore trying to make Bosnian coffee and
proudly serving for us It was a nice moment with
a family-like atmosphere.
After the party, Saya (as an interpreter). Sasha.
Jasmin and all of the mothers remained In the din
ning room and talked with us about what they
were going to do By that time, Wolfgang came
hack from Brai and joined the discussion Harks
explained the information from UNHCR All of
them said "no" to the Makarska plan I'hey were
afraid of going back to Makarska, particularly the
mothers Who can blame them after their severe
experiences there' What the mothers worried
about most was their children's safety They would
not want to go hack to the town, where even kids
and elderly were harassed although Hotel Oseja
va was a hit away from Hotel Riviera There were
several options, going to Obonja, moving to anoth
er refugee camp in Varazdin and finding private
accommodations They didn't want to go to Obon
ia. Varazdin was not an option provided by Croat
ian authority, and they were not invited from that
camp in first place As for private accommoda
tions, it would be very difficult to put 17 |>eoplo in
one place, and it might lie dangerous. They had a
consciousness as one circus group, so their wish
was to stay together whatever might happen to
them.
Wo wore moved by solidarity and love among
the circus families in times of c risis At the same
time, we knew that they were facing a harsh reali
ty. They had to decide where to go because it was
not absolutely safe even in Mennonite's house and
Turn to CROATIA, Page 34A
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