Oct 3, 2017
Experiencing Vukovar: The Sad Balkan Reality of Divided Societies
Divided societies are often a symbol for the Balkan countries, especially for those that were a part of the former Yugoslavia. The many wars in the region — beginning in 1991 with the break-up of Yugoslavia, and ending with the armed conflict in Macedonia in 2001 — left deep scars in the societies in these countries and tremendous consequences on the coexistence between different ethnic communities, which previously lived in peace for more than 50 years.
The Croatian city of Vukovar is arguably one of the deepest scars from the Yugoslav wars. Located on the Danube, which here can be also seen as a natural border between Serbia and Croatia that is, the city has a population of about 25 thousand. Before the war and the dissolution of Yugoslav, that number amounted up to 50 thousand at least. From the current population, about 15 thousand are Croats and 10 thousand are Serbs. If you are a foreigner who visits Vukovar for the first time, and not knowing anything about the history of the city, to you it will seem like a small and quiet place where nothing is happening.
However, the silence in the city speaks volumes about what was happening during the 87-day siege in late 1991. Same is with the remains of the ruins that can be seen around Vukovar. According to some estimates, during that three-month period, the city suffered the destruction of nearly 90 percent — something that cannot be seen at first glance but can be felt through the conversations with the locals. What has been deeply destroyed, not during, but for 25 years after the war ended — is the trust between the Croats and Serbs, and it doesn’t seem that it can ever be rebuilt.
The best example about the level of trust and understanding between the Croats and the Serbs in Vukovar is a kindergarten in the neighborhood of Borovo Naselje — where there are two separate entrances for the children, depending on their nationalities. Inside the kindergarten though, children share the same space — making the decision even more perplexing. In addition to this example, the division of society in this small town is also reflected through everyday life, says 43-year-old Mario, a Vukovar local.
“I know several Serbs, but we do not go out in the same cafes and restaurants. Usually, the Serbs go to certain cafes throughout the city and Croats in other cafes. If we meet each other in the city, maybe we will greet, but that’s it.” Mario explains. He tells us that he lost a close relative during the war, a cousin who was killed in the Ovcara massacre — a farm near Vukovar where on 21 November 1991, 200 prisoners of war were killed by members of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA).
Almost every resident of Vukovar today has either lost someone during the war or knows someone who has lost a close relative or a friend. After heavy bombing during the siege, the city finally fell on November 18, 1991. However, the Vukovar battle largely exhausted the JNA, and this influenced the outcome of the war between the two sides.
During the three-months siege, tens of thousands of Croats were displaced, but today there are also many who are returning to the city. One of them is 38-year-old taxi driver Almir, who after many years in Zagreb, last year decided to return to Vukovar.
“During the war, we had to leave Vukovar and move to Zagreb. But last year I decided to return. This is my home and I want to live and work here,” Almir says. “Have you seen the main attraction of the city, the Water Tower? You have to go there,” he told us as we left his taxi.
We listened to Almir’s advice and went to visit the Water Tower. Sadly, this was just another testimony to the destructive power of war. A picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case, and much more.
Katarina Kruhonja a peace activist and director of the NGO Center for Peace, Non-Violence and Human Rights from Osijek, explains that the reconciliation process can always be difficult, and sometimes even impossible.
“Before the war started, I had a normal and fulfilled life. When all those things started happening, I simply couldn’t believe and did not want to accept what was going on. After the war, there were many organized meetings between the Croats and Serbs, and in the moments before those meetings, I often felt pain” Katarina says in a trembling voice.
When you ask political analysts and experts about the current conditions in Vukovar, you will hear different answers about what are the reasons for the division of the city, the common conclusion being that Vukovar should be a lesson for all of us.
“Vukovar is a symbol of how neighbors can commit crimes and turn against each other because of the deterioration of nationalism, in the context of the economic decline. The example of former Yugoslavia could be important as to how to face the potential failures of systems such as the European Union.” political analyst Michael Lambert notes.
For Lambert, the division between Serbs and Croats in this region is, at the same time, physical and psychological.
“The division between Vukovar and the rest of Serbia is purely geographical, as Serbia and Croatia here are divided by a river. Still, none of them wants to build a bridge, whether for traveling or to stimulate the economy of both sides. The division is also psychological, with the Serbs and Croats are living in the same city, but do not share the same history”, Lambert explains.
For Lambert, who has spent most of his life in France and Germany, it’s inexplicable how in a big country like Yugoslavia, where people lived together in peace for more than 50 years — thus having many different nations, religions, and languages — the horrors of war still managed to prevail at the end.
Vesna Terselic, a peace activist and one of the leaders of the Anti-War Campaign in Croatia during the war, says that for her, the dissolution of Yugoslavia was something that was very much anticipated, mostly because of the democratic developments in the country. “In that Yugoslavia, in the end, the lack of democracy and freedom of self-determination did its part” Terselic sighs.
At the end of our journey, we leave the city with deep unrest… However, there is still a small dose of optimism, hoping that the Vukovar events will remain as a lesson that will never be repeated.
