Why Have We Returned To Vukovar?

[Vrganjko]

What does life look like in a city where acquaintances are not coincidental? Two girls born in Vukovar offer the answers.

The city which has created Croatian independence is remembered by most Croats only on November 18, when they light up a candle as tribute to all the killed heroes. “Trips” to other cities are organised even, politicians wander off to Vukovar in order to score points and the citizens have had enough. Compassionate glances cannot promise them a brighter future, give them wings to do something and change.

For years, youth has been growing up in a poisonous and unhealthy environment, acquaintances are not coincidental, as well as friendships. This is why November 18 must not be forgotten, but there must be a way for Vukovar to stop being the first and final stop of the election campaign. It is a true metropolis in all Croatian hearts and has to be developed as such.

Even though 16 years have passed since Vukovar`s sacrifice, the wounds are too deep. We asked two Vukovar-born girls what are the lives of young Vukovar citizens like. Even though they were born in the same city, the Croatian Homeland War has changed their life paths.

Two months without information about their parents

Sanda is 28, she has lived in her home town until the beginning of war. Although this topic is still painful for her and she is trying to repress it from her memory, she agreed to talk about the Vukovar tragedy for Javno web site.

This is a trauma I have been carrying around since childhood, I don`t want to remember it, let alone talk about it – said the dental medicine graduate. After some persuasion, she opened that locked part of subconsciousness and remembered everything.

- My parents got me out of Vukovar at the very beginning and I lived with my cousin in Djurdjevac for a while, where I went to school. I had no idea if my parents were alive or dead for two months. My mother worked at the Vukovar hospital as a nurse and my father was imprisoned, as I found out later on, the 28-year-old says.

City of ghosts

She says she will never forget the day Vukovar`s defence crashes, November 18, 1991.

- I came home from school, it was a quiet autumn day and somebody was at the door, ringing. It was my mum with a litter bag over her shoulder, all in drags – Sanda depicts events that occurred 16 years ago.

After the war, Sanda visited her home town twice. She barely recognised her house the first time.

- Everything was destroyed, as if I arrived at ghost city, nothing was familiar - she remembers, claiming that even today Vukovar is not the city she remembers as a 12-year-old girl.

When asked if she would return to Vukovar, Sanda flatly says she would not, since is done with it, repressing a trauma from her memory. Still, she points out that Vukovar is slowly coming back to life, but it will never be a healthy environment.

- It is divided to Croatian and Serbian cafes, young people have precise places where they go to and older people still weigh who is Croatian and who is Serbian, and socialise with people according to this division - she explains the gap between people living in the Slavonian city.

Fights are unavoidable part of Saturday night

On the other hand, 22-year-old Nevena returned to Vukovar with her parents in 2001. She left her home town at the beginning of war, finished primary and secondary education in Zagreb, where she lived in a shelter at Kennedy Square. She claims it was a great shock for her to return to the war-devastated Vukovar. Still, she found her bearings soon and says she cannot imagine a life without Vukovar.

According to her, the situation is still delicate in the city, fights are unavoidable part of every Saturday night out. The local “Quo Vadis” disco club is a place where everybody goes out and nights usually end with incidents. Protagonists of such conflicts are mostly young people, aged 16 or 17. Serbs and Croats rarely socialise and most often, friendships between two nationalities are made in schools. Even though there are primary and secondary schools that have Croatian and Serbian programmes, there are kids who receive education in a language which is not their mother tongue.

- There were 5 or 6 Serbs in my class who attended classes in Croatian and continued using their expressions . Nevena says, adding that there were cases when the teacher would complain to them, and the pupils would feel threatened. It is this feeling of being threatened, Nevena pointes out, that puts Serbs in a better position than Croats in the city.

Most expensive city in Croatia

A great problem of Vukovar`s is that the average monthly expenses are greater than in all other Croatian cities and income is low. Prices of apartments surpass Zagreb`s prices. This shortcoming is now evident to the young Vukovar citizen.

- We only have one big shopping mall, a Maxi Konzum retail shop, while other cities have a range of shopping malls. The only thing left to do is buy at small “neighbourhood” shops where prices are twice as great that otherwise – she explains.

Youth is leaving Vukovar as they find it impossible to find employment. Nevena is one of those who would like to build their future in their home town, but still:

- It all depends on work – concludes the third year Osijek Law School student and is not afraid to say that it is easiest to find employment if you have “connections”.

Although Vukovar has matured enough not to be called a victim any more, its name is still charged with negative connotations. Commemoration of the city`s defeat should be ended and it should be liberated with dignity. Once again, it should be erected from occupation which tortures the youth and makes it impossible for them to create a healthy life together. It is high time Vukovar is mentioned in brighter topics.