April 15 1992

What a difference three hundred kilometers makes to one's way of life, one hour you're amidst the ravages of war, the next in peace. This country of ours is split with borders everywhere. We have an indefinite border established along our front line, this border is only temporary as it will not be long before we push the bandits of Milosevic back to the cages of Belgrade zoo. We then have a border between war and peace within our country, a border between two other independent countries and lastly a border with ex-communist Hungary, I had my first holiday from the Croatian army and decided to go to the coast Opatia. When I left my home town of Osijek there was a general alert on and everyone was in their cellars, no lights on outside and everyone praying that they would see the the night through and then the light of day. It was the third night in succession that there was a alert, who was it in Zagreb said stupidly that the war was over people are dying and getting injured in our city and all over the front line, I do not think that Dr.Tudman has told the Serbs and Chetniks that they in Zagreb have decided that the war is over, I left Osijek in darkness thinking how good it was to be leaving for the coast. By the time that I had reached "ballerina city" I had changed my mind,all over Zagreb the lights were blazing with people walking about not having to worry about dying, I started to think about the people that I had left behind, the people in daily peril, was it fair of me to leave, I don't know but I had to have a break or I would have had a nervous breakdown and probably with deadly circumstances. The only thoughts that were in my mind were about those that I left behind, my friends that I love and my enemies that I hate and despise. Wouldn't it be good for Osijek, Slavonski Brod or Vinkovci to be swapped with one of the peaceful cities, perhaps Tudmans Zagreb should swap places with Osijek, I wonder if he would be as happy then to say that the war is over, I doubt it, he would probably move his government to Austria in exile. The only war that the people in peaceful Croatia is what they see on television, I wonder if they really knew what it is like. As I left quite and peaceful Zagreb I looked out of the window of the train. There were no mortar holes, no artillery craters, no blood spattrred pavements and walls, all the houses had roofs, all the cars were in one piece, the whole city was alive. What a difference three hundred kilometers makes, one city dying the other lives in peace. The UN will not do anything, the EC have not done anything, Tudman just enjoys sitting in his comfortable chair, in his comfortable office not having to worry about anything. Why won't anyone in the peaceful parts of Croatia realise that until they accept that there is a war in Croatia it will not end until all of our resources are utilized to return the red's back to where they belong. Give us on the front line the tools to do the job and in exchange we will put our hearts, bodies and minds to undertaking and completing the task. We the people on the front line will take our borders back, we will take Vukovar back, then and only then will the war be completely be over.