Life in Fresh Air

June 2003 – 52 mins



00:01:17:00.......................
LIFE IN FRESH AIR


00:01:32:04.......................
BY MID-AUGUST 1991, THE SERBS
OF ĐULOVAC PUT UP BARRICADES

00:01:36:12.......................
IN DECEMBER 1991,
THE SERBS LEAVE ĐULOVAC

00:01:40:08.......................
AUTHORITIES POPULATE EMPTY SERBS'
HOUSES WITH CROATS FROM KOSOVO

00:01:49:15.......................
SERBIAN REFUGEES ARE NOW RETUR-
NING, CLAIMING BACK THEIR HOUSES





00:02:30:08.......................
It was rough here
during the WWII,

00:02:34:13.....................
but this Chetniks' war
was the worst.

00:02:38:15.....................
They were killing civilians. They
went from a house to a house,

00:02:42:15.....................
killing everybody they found in.





00:02:47:03.....................
She was lying here, see?

00:02:50:17.....................
This wasn't here then,
they were firing from there.

00:02:54:10.....................
See these holes here?
I plastered them.

00:03:02:18.....................
I was in that barn over there,
which saved me.

00:03:06:22.....................
So I ran off to my neighbor's.





00:03:11:09....................
There's never going
to be peace here.




00:03:20:14....................
They won't stay here. They'll
sell this all the moment I die.

00:03:25:23..................
My kids, that is...





00:03:28:07..................
There'll be trouble here again.

00:03:32:13..................
It's best with you in Zagorje.

00:03:36:16..................
It's always safer there.

00:03:41:00..................
But what can you do?





00:04:43:21..................
Well, that's that...

00:04:46:11..................
Turn the lights off...




00:05:16:21..................
DRAGO HODAK
Head of Đulovac County

00:05:20:01..................
Here we are. Have you
ever seen this?

00:05:24:08..................
The things you're going
to see in your life...

00:05:28:23..................
A hell lot more than I.

00:05:35:23..................
That's enough now. 185!

00:05:40:07..................
Generally speaking, I'd like
to have a ranch of my own,

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a nice pair of Lippizaner horses,
a fair income,

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sleep as long as I like
in the morning,

00:05:50:24..................
and ride away...

00:05:52:20..................
Dubo, get over with it!

00:05:55:15..................
And you thought I was
prone to challenges?

00:05:59:22..................
Once I ran over a dead guy

00:06:02:20..................
on our way to Varaždin.

00:06:05:12..................
Couldn't tell if it was
a dog or a man.

00:06:08:19..................
This thing is fast, you can't
see well in the dark.

00:06:12:20..................
I only heard a thump
and knew we hit şsomethingł.

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Then they said the train
ahead hit a man,

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and that we only
confirmed it.

00:06:23:16..................
Everything O.K.?

00:06:25:06..................
When you think about
the war and everything,

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the sickness, the syndrome,

00:06:33:13..................
you just grow numb,

00:06:38:11..................
I guess I could run over
anything now,

00:06:41:05..................
and couldn't care
less about it.

00:06:43:16..................
Before, I'd ask
for a 7 days leave.




00:06:53:10..................
CROATIAN DEMOCRATIC UNION
ELECTION RALLY

00:07:17:04..................
We can proudly state that
Vukovije Community

00:07:20:17..................
and Đulovac District
were among the first ones

00:07:23:08..................
liberated in Croatia.

00:07:27:03...................
But you know what happened next
in former Yugoslavia,

00:07:31:18...................
Croats were exiled
from there.

00:07:37:01...................
So the problem was solved
here, but not there as well,

00:07:41:09...................
and the Croats from Kosovo
and Bosnia started pouring in,

00:07:46:13....................
paying the price
for Croatian victory here.

00:07:52:08....................
I live in a Serbian house, too,
not knowing for how long.

00:07:56:21....................
I'm a member
of the local government...

00:08:00:06....................
BOBETKO
A CROAT FROM KOSOVO
...and you can rest assured,
you can believe us,

00:08:06:14.....................
we will şnotł let you down.

00:08:09:10.....................
I think no one has yet been
thrown out into the street

00:08:13:11.....................
and I'm sure no one will be,
as long as the CDU

00:08:17:21....................
is in a majority
of the local government.


00:08:21:09.....................
The fourth in rank
in Peasant Party

00:08:24:18.....................
is a Serb who took up
arms against us

00:08:28:07....................
and then came back in 1996.

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The SWP is comprised
of the Serbs only,

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the Socialistic Working Party,
that is.


00:08:37:12....................
They formed the SWP, which is
unfortunately a Serbian party,

00:08:42:14....................
then the Socio-Liberal,
the Social-Democratic,

00:08:46:03....................
and other parties.
The Croatian Peasant Party

00:08:50:03....................
with that Grahovac guy,
are all rooting against you,

00:08:54:00...................
throwing dust into your eyes
about building the road,

00:08:58:01...................
giving you fertilizer.
But that was his duty!

00:09:08:01...................
I don't talk much.
But have trust in us,

00:09:12:09...................
we won't let you down.
Thank you.





00:09:57:00....................
Oh, Lord, we still need
half a million kuna.

00:10:00:14...................
The chandelier, the roof,

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the floor, and then
the furniture.

00:10:07:23..................
They say, glitz is
the most expensive.



00:10:15:05..................
I'll be frank. I was the only
one looking forward

00:10:18:18..................
to their coming and accepted
them wholeheartedly.

00:10:22:20..................
They are our people,
no matter what.

00:10:26:08..................
The Serbs weren't any better
when they'd come here.

00:10:33:20..................
They've brought
different customs,

00:10:36:09...................
but it'll change with time.
It already has.


00:10:40:15...................
They told me, "Go to
Croatia, you mother",

00:10:43:24...................
and I had to keep
my mouth shut.

00:10:47:09...................
"Go to Croatia, you Ustasha".
They bullied me in the end,

00:10:51:11...................
but we used to be
like brothers before.



00:10:57:02...................
We went to
Macedonia by buses,

00:11:01:11...................
then switched
the buses there,

00:01:07:00...................
and came here. We traveled
two days and two nights...

00:11:16:01...................
Three days and three nights.
-Yeah, something like that.

00:11:19:24...................
When we reached Đulovac,
they told us to get down.

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I was with my four kids.

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Everybody else went
to their families,

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but we stayed in front
of a groceries store.

00:11:34:18...................
An old lady came
and took us in.

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There was no running water,
and I had little kids.

00:11:41:17...................
There was no basin for me
to wash my feet.


00:11:46:16...................
When they came, people looked at
them as if they'd been Gypsies.

00:11:51:13...................
When the war ended,
the next day I told a boy,

00:11:56:04...................
whose parents and brother
were killed, I told him,

00:12:00:08...................
"I'd gladly accept
the Gypsies from Rumania,

00:12:05:04...................
just as long as
the Serbs never come back".

00:12:10:21...................
So I accepted Croats
from Kosovo as well.


00:12:16:07...................
Some people here
have ten children,

00:12:19:20...................
receiving humanitarian
aid. And what do they care?

00:12:24:13...................
But you should send kids
to school, buy them cars,

00:12:28:10...................
get them married, help them,
not just have them.

00:12:33:05...................
Now here it's hard
even to have only two.

00:12:39:01...................
It was different
in Kosovo.


00:12:42:02...................
I took only four suitcases,

00:12:45:13...................
and left everything else.

00:12:49:05...................
We were crying, you know.
It was like when you

00:12:55:06...................
take a coffin out.





00:13:49:24....................
These are with jam.

00:13:52:14....................
Don't mix them up.
- Maybe I took the wrong kind...

00:13:57:02....................
So now you'll maybe
regret it.

00:14:01:16....................
She was saving nuts like...
How goes the saying?

00:14:09:03....................
MILAN GRAHOVAC
Local CPP leader

00:14:12:05....................
I don't know...

00:14:15:03....................
Is something
missing, perhaps?

00:14:21:11....................
The elections will be tough.
It just came in,

00:14:25:15....................
that the Serbs will
have the right to vote,

00:14:28:17....................
in Beli Manastir and in Vukovar,
on two polling places.

00:14:32:08.....................
And if the SWP organizes them,
we're in for it.

00:14:46:13.....................
So they'll have
the right to vote...

00:14:49:02.....................
Four years ago they also
had the right,

00:14:52:06.....................
but there was no response.

00:14:55:01.....................
If the SWP organizes them now,
we'll be in trouble.

00:15:01:07.....................
And the CDU is roasting
lambs on sticks,

00:15:05:07.....................
and the Serbs got almost 5 percent
in Daruvar on January 3rd elections.

00:15:09:11.....................
I got scared...




00:15:18:21.....................
CPP ELECTION RALLY

00:15:34:18.....................
They're coming here,
showing you movies

00:15:37:19.....................
about the late
president Tuđman,

00:15:41:00.....................
and we're presenting you
the bills on incentive,

00:15:45:02.....................
agriculture and farmland.
You all know

00:15:48:11.....................
this is cattle raising
and farmland country,

00:15:53:07.....................
and we have to live of it,
like it or not.

00:15:56:22.....................
Choose for yourselves,
but humanitarian aid and history

00:16:01:05.....................
will get you nowhere. I'm asking
you to give us your votes...


00:16:10:01.....................
Bobetko can't bear the fact
that he's not

00:16:13:03.....................
on the second place
on the list.

00:16:19:00.....................
They've spread
in three different parties.

00:16:23:03.....................
On the outside,
they're warring,

00:16:26:06.....................
but they really want
to take over the District.


00:16:30:01.....................
Understand?

00:16:35:04.....................
One of them came to me
yesterday, telling me

00:16:38:00.....................
about their secret meetings.
I keep telling Drago,

00:16:42:04.....................
but he won't listen.



00:16:45:14.....................
I disagree with the list.

00:16:49:03.....................
We, the Croats from Kosovo,
who have come to live here...

00:16:53:13.....................
Our representative is
at the eighth place.

00:16:58:01.....................
I'm asking now, why isn't he
ranked a bit higher?

00:17:02:22.....................
Why can't we have our
representative

00:17:05:07.....................
among the first three or
four on the list?

00:17:11:06.....................
Regarding the county,
we welcome the new roads,

00:17:16:02......................
waterworks, the sewage,

00:17:18:14......................
but the main problem
to the Croats from Kosovo

00:17:21:24.....................
is the housing problem,
the future of our kids.

00:17:26:14.....................
There's no future for Croatia
without children.

00:17:31:06.....................
Thank you.


00:17:39:05.....................
The man from Kosovo
is where he is on the list.

00:17:43:02.....................
For 10 years you've been
avoiding this party.

00:17:47:18.....................
Then we can't vote
for the CPP!



00:17:51:19......................
ĐULOVAC CONUTY

00:17:57:24......................
I beg you,
please do it for us.

00:18:01:08......................
There are three of us,
three brothers,

00:18:05:07......................
each one wanting
his own room.

00:18:10:11......................
I'll buy a pig and roast it
on a spick, believe me!

00:18:15:09......................
There are old people here,
its not only for me.

00:18:18:08......................
I've got enough money
to buy a car!

00:18:21:10.....................
My mom's got
sick nerves...

00:18:24:16.....................
Do you know how much
he's asking for it?

00:18:29:10.....................
He did mention s number.
-Tell me.

00:18:32:03.....................
About 47,000 in German Marks.

00:18:35:09.....................
That's not much.
-That's what he said.

00:18:39:02.....................
He knows the maximum is
47,500.

00:18:44:03.....................
Yeah, he's not stupid.
-They know the maximum,

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and they're just waiting.

00:18:56:12.....................
Fine, but don't tell him
you're definitely going to buy,

00:19:00:14.....................
otherwise he'll never
lower the price.

00:19:03:12.....................
You just need to
soften him a bit.

00:19:07:22.....................
Yes, but he's the owner. What
if you were in his shoes?

00:19:14:01.....................
We'd put the elders downstairs,
you know how it goes...


00:19:19:07.....................
I beg you, do it for us.





00:19:27:17.....................
I'd never sell if she were alive...
PETAR DOBRAć - A SERB RETURNEE

00:19:33:07.....................
Not for the gold bars.
I was born here,

00:19:36:16.....................
so were by granddad,
and his dad before him.

00:19:40:12.....................
I'd never leave.
The life is good here,

00:19:43:08....................
if only I had someone
to be with.

00:19:59:15....................
I've come back to leave
my bones here...

00:20:10:12....................
Of course I regret it.


00:20:15:01....................
But what can you do?

00:20:21:15....................
I regret because of the
people, I was born here...

00:20:26:16....................
I have to look for another
place now, new friends...

00:20:32:09....................
I was born here...

00:20:36:15....................
I regret all of it,
the land, everything.

00:20:43:09....................
I'm like a kitten, taken...



00:20:48:11....................
Can I see comrade Hodak?

00:20:53:23....................
You know me, don't you? -Yes?
-It's that house of ours...

00:20:57:14....................
We came back on 31st, but
we can't get into our house,

00:21:03:02....................
because there are people in it,
who haven't been provided

00:21:05:23....................
with their own place yet.

00:21:09:01....................
They want Pero Dobraš's house.
-They can want

00:21:11:17....................
what they like, but the agency
needs to buy it from him first.

00:21:17:23....................
Reality is a different matter
altogether. -I understand that.

00:21:21:19....................
My husband doesn't know
I'm here,

00:21:25:14....................
but it hurts me, I can't sleep.

00:21:28:03....................
So the Croats from Kosovo and
the Serb returnee should have

00:21:32:05....................
good relationship.
-Sure! It's a normal thing.

00:21:35:10....................
Well, the situation is a bit
tight now on both sides,

00:21:41:11....................
but I believe it's going
to be OK.

00:21:44:13....................
I just want to get into my house,
even if I die the very next day.

00:21:48:01....................
Although I'd like to live in it
for a while.




00:21:57:11....................
During the first Chetnik attack
eight of our boys were killed,


00:22:03:19....................
all of them from Đulovac.

00:22:35:07....................
There was Boro,
a wonderful guy...

00:22:39:13....................
What's the point in listening
to what someone hates

00:22:45:14....................
and who did what to somebody?
For instance,

00:22:49:13....................
Boro mostly listened
to folk music,

00:22:53:09.....................
his favorite was a Serbian
group, The Morava Rockers.

00:22:57:08.....................
He'd always tell people
about it, didn't care at all

00:23:02:09.....................
about politics.
He was a great guy.

00:23:05:13.....................
His dad never let him
get an education,

00:23:08:00.....................
so he finished only
the first four grades.

00:23:10:21.....................
When his dad died,
he bought a tractor,

00:23:14:03.....................
starting some serious
farming,

00:23:17:18.....................
and things looked promising
for him.

00:23:21:05.....................
Then the war came, forcing
him to defend his own.

00:23:25:17.....................
He was in the unit
that stayed here.

00:23:28:12.....................
We went on, but they
stayed here because

00:23:31:10.....................
they got their weapons
later than we did.

00:23:34:23.....................
They killed him
on his tractor,

00:23:37:18.....................
and he wouldn't have
killed a fly.

00:23:42:02.....................
As a kid, I wanted my sister
to marry him,

00:23:47:06.....................
although he was
uneducated and poor.

00:23:54:09.....................
But he was such
a good soul...

00:23:58:08.....................
He'd have given you
the shirt off his back.

00:24:02:14.....................
And you can't understand
people like him can get killed.



00:24:09:17.....................
It was all wrong.
NIKOLA BOSANAC - A SERB RETURNEE

00:24:14:02....................
For the both sides.

00:24:17:03....................
But I think it had to happen.

00:24:24:00....................
You know why?
Looking back though history,

00:24:28:01.....................
there was always a need for
certain cleansing of nations,

00:24:35:16.....................
because wars are devised
by greater minds

00:24:39:05.....................
who know it all better
than I do.

00:24:44:22.....................
And I see it all
from my own perspective.

00:24:48:17.....................
So there's cleansing of nations
every 50 or so years.

00:24:51:08.....................
There has to be a turmoil
to get rid of scum.

00:24:54:23.....................
For instance, the special
units were comprised

00:24:58:17......................
of convicts on both sides.
And most of them survived,


00:25:03:05.......................
while the good guys got killed.



00:25:10:02.......................
The old man was alive back then.
He was a Partisan in WWII.

00:25:15:11.......................
When we came to talk to him,
he said,

00:25:20:05.......................
"Boys, you're doomed.
There's too many of them".


00:25:27:00.......................
My dad died just
before the war.

00:25:31:02.......................
He told me that things were not
resolved in the previous war.

00:25:36:22.......................
I did not understand that then.


00:25:41:14........................
We slept here that first night.

00:25:44:23........................
Soon as they came out
armed publicly that morning,

00:25:49:11........................
started putting up barricades,
rounding up our people,

00:25:54:06........................
I saw there was no time to lose.
There wasn't many of us Croats,

00:25:58:19.........................
maybe 30 or 40 guys
ranging from 20-30 years of age.

00:26:04:12.........................
There was no time to lose.

00:26:09:21.........................
I told my mother, "Pack up,
it's over, they'll get us".

00:26:17:05.........................
She said, "They won't touch me,
Branko will stand up for us".

00:26:23:21..........................
Branko was the head
of the subdistrict,

00:26:26:15..........................
but he pretended
not to know them,

00:26:30:03..........................
although we used
to be good friends.

00:26:33:22..........................
So I told her I had to go. She
gave me 400 German Marks.

00:26:44:02..........................
I took only
my railroader's uniform...


00:26:48:16........................
These are not
ordinary things.

00:26:52:15........................
My old man told me,
and he was in the war,

00:26:56:03........................
he knew all about fighting,
but wouldn't talk much.

00:26:59:16........................
Still, he told me never to let
my blood up in war,

00:27:02:24........................
for then I'd get killed.

00:27:07:18........................
So I always tried
to remain neutral.

00:27:13:18........................
I knew only
I needed a weapon,

00:27:16:19........................
and although they were stronger,
we knew we harmed nobody,

00:27:20:23........................
and that there was
no time left for talking

00:27:30:08........................
So whenever somebody tries
to say that we were to blame,

00:27:34:09........................
I say, that's not true. We tried
talking till the last moment.

00:27:39:13........................
And though I knew we were
a lot weaker, and for months


00:27:42:18........................
I even thought we were going
to lose, I didn't care.


00:27:47:03........................
We, the Serbs, were armed from
head to foot, like Indians,

00:27:52:01........................
as people might say. We
were trying to prevent them

00:27:57:11........................
from driving us away. -We
left without them driving us away!

00:28:06:21........................
But when we wanted to come back,
they said they didn't want us.

00:28:10:23........................
But I did no harm to anybody,
I just got out of the way.

00:28:15:02........................
So why wouldn't I come back?
The moment Tuđman

00:28:18:21........................
opened a hole this big,
I said I was going back.

00:28:23:00........................
I said, I left everything mine
there. And I did come back

00:28:27:11........................
and nobody did anything to me.

00:28:29:17........................
I had a crush on his sister.


00:28:32:03........................
We went to school together.

00:28:36:04........................
Sometimes as a kid, he would
exhibit his extremism


00:28:39:06........................
against the Serbs.

00:28:43:01........................
Maybe he inherited it
from his parents,

00:28:46:21........................
but he didn't like me
to come to his house,

00:28:50:03........................
although his sister
liked me a lot.

00:28:54:00........................
It was a children's crush.

00:28:57:10........................
We were both
excellent pupils.

00:29:00:16........................
Several times he rounded up
his friends to beat me up.

00:29:06:15........................
I was three years older, so I'd
beat them all up instead.

00:29:12:20........................
I also have good
memories of him,

00:29:16:13........................
but I remember as a child
that he'd gather round

00:29:20:12........................
only Croatian kids
to beat me up.

00:29:24:23........................
But I also remember him
for his kindness to my mom.

00:29:29:12........................
If it weren't for him...
He told her, 'Mom...'

00:29:33:08........................
It sounded silly for him
to call my mother 'Mom',

00:29:37:03........................
but he told her not to worry,
she'd get her old house back.





00:30:36:10........................
I see these things every so often.
-So you've got used to this.

00:30:40:04........................
No, I'll never get used to it.
-But it's easier to watch

00:30:43:22........................
other people's trouble,
than your own.

00:30:47:17........................
But I see it as my own.



00:30:51:09........................
I think it's our common
interest

00:30:55:12........................
to resolve this matter
in a way that would maintain

00:30:59:08........................
good ethnic relationship.

00:31:03:03........................
If you don't mind, let's determine
the deadline within which

00:31:06:19........................
the agency should buy
that house so that

00:31:10:19........................
the gentlemen could
leave your own house.

00:31:14:02........................
Granddad, let's hear it. You're
my counsel, we've shared both

00:31:18:01........................
good and bad things all our life.
We built this together.

00:31:22:16........................
Ten days by far.
-That's what I think, too.

00:31:26:24........................
No more gatherings,
police, court orders.

00:31:30:23........................
When gentlemen move
to Dobrać's house,

00:31:35:06........................
the same day you'll pick up
your keys from the Committee,

00:31:41:00........................
and get back
into your own house.

00:31:45:21........................
But please let's have it
in writing... -Sure.

00:31:50:01........................
...because everybody
wants it that way today.

00:32:02:20........................
There used to be a coop there,
it's no longer there.

00:32:07:02........................
But many people
lost even more...

00:32:10:16........................
In wars nothing can be
the way it should be.

00:32:16:09........................
I understand that, but
I still have good memory.

00:32:19:20........................
But you were lucky
he was in here...

00:32:23:06........................
You see all this...
-I know, I know.

00:32:26:15........................
I was trying to keep it
for myself.

00:32:30:10........................
It's a good thing
they were here, otherwise...

00:32:34:14........................
I know and understand
it all.

00:32:40:09........................
Hot damn, what have
you done with this?!

00:32:45:12........................
But he knew it wasn't his own.
-I'm myself am not like that.

00:32:51:18........................
I couldn't make big repairs
knowing it wasn't my own.




00:35:04:01........................
I think, if you've accepted
me to be the first on the list,

00:35:08:22........................
as indigenous,
born and raised here,

00:35:14:24........................
then someone from Kosovo
should be the second on the list.

00:35:19:11........................
Either Tuna or Bobetko.
-I'll do what the Party says

00:35:24:15........................
and defend it with my own life.
-It won't be necessary.

00:35:27:17........................
How many votes
you can vouch for there?

00:35:33:07........................
There's 500 of you.
-I say, 300 odd, 350!

00:35:41:16........................
Kristo alone will get 40,
with his in-laws, it's 70.

00:35:49:19........................
Kristo, sure.

00:36:16:22........................
MITAR KRSTIC
A CROAT FROM KOSOVO

00:36:19:07........................
Now my children will live
well finally.

00:36:28:07........................
And I with them.
Seven sons

00:36:31:21........................
and two daughters.
Nine altogether.

00:36:37:06........................
I raised them all,
working till I retired.

00:36:46:02........................
I worked all for my children,
now let them work,

00:36:53:00........................
and I'll help as much
as I can.


00:37:31:08........................
Go on and watch the house!

00:37:42:02........................
Nobody else can milk her.
She'll try to... like this...

00:37:48:00........................
She only lets me.
She knows me.

00:37:52:09........................
She grew accustomed
to me.

00:37:55:01........................
Here's the little one.

00:38:24:15........................
Calm down!

00:38:31:07........................
She wants to kill me!
Fuck you!

00:38:43:16........................
Leave it there...


00:39:18:02........................
They exiled us and we had to come
back as returnees to Croatia,

00:39:23:12........................
so we could live peacefully.

00:39:30:15........................
I respected Serbia, let alone
Croatia, which is my homeland,

00:39:38:11........................
when it makes it possible
for me to live better.

00:39:43:12........................
They've bought me
this house...

00:39:47:23........................
The Croatian State helped me
to be able to live as a Croat.



00:40:33:14........................
LOCAL ELECTIONS 2001

00:40:37:17........................
Croatian Socio-Liberal Party,
Sabina Kićek the bearer,

00:40:42:24........................
The Independent County list...

00:40:51:15........................
Choose anyone from these
six... only one, please.




00:41:29:14........................
CDU! CDU!


00:41:49:21........................
It's a real thing!

00:41:52:02........................
I thank everybody
who took a vote!

00:41:56:04........................
Long live TuĐman... the late!

00:42:02:12........................
Boy, we outdid them.
Fucked them up good.

00:42:06:06........................
The Coalition
trampled underfoot!

00:42:09:02........................
The CDU will win statewide, too!
Tell them that!




00:42:35:04........................
For eight years, the same
people have been leading us on,

00:42:39:16........................
and they still vote for them...
Because they can't read!

00:42:56:15........................
So it's a tie, then.


00:43:09:07........................
THE MORNING AFTER
AT THE COUNTY

00:43:11:11........................
According to preliminary
unofficial results,

00:43:14:12........................
out of 11,646 registered voters,
5,185 took their vote.

00:43:20:17........................
Most votes were received
by the CDU.

00:43:26:00........................
They started throwing
their weight around,

00:43:31:05........................
thinking they'd get more,
but they didn't.

00:43:34:06........................
We are still a stable
and a strong party.

00:43:38:01........................
And the electorate turned out
to be just like I said,

00:43:41:23........................
without us having to push
or encourage anyone,

00:43:47:02........................
as opposed to them.

00:43:51:08........................
What did we do?
-Nothing...

00:43:53:17........................
What do you want? Žarković
brought us 100 Serbian votes!

00:43:59:07........................
Fuck, that's why we
put him there.

00:44:02:22........................
How many votes?
-At least 100 Serbian.

00:44:06:00........................
And more...

00:44:15:21........................
I'm telling you! How much you
feel these votes will help you,

00:44:20:00........................
that's entirely your
party matter.

00:44:23:23........................
Judge for yourselves if it's
an advantage, or a drawback.

00:44:28:16........................
That means, one third of your
voters come from the Serbs.

00:44:38:00........................
There are 70 odd of them
in Batinjan.

00:44:41:11........................
You know who I remembered
just yesterday, from Batinjan?

00:44:47:10........................
Mišo Bosanac.
-I know him.

00:44:50:21........................
He'd have done something for me
there, and I remembered him

00:44:56:23........................
only yesterday. I used to fool
around with his daughter.



00:45:01:06........................
They have to understand that they
can't be the main party here.

00:45:05:16........................
People have to know
who is the strongest here.

00:45:09:05........................
157 for the Independents,
113 for the SWP,


00:45:12:19........................
112 for the CSLP and so on.

00:45:16:22........................
The SDP didn't even
achieve the minimum.

00:45:22:13........................
The government can't
achieve the minimum,

00:45:26:18........................
and those who have nothing,
and promise the world, they can.



00:45:32:12........................
Unofficially, and regardless
the monastery,

00:45:36:02........................
you have one representative.
-Fine. Bye.

00:45:53:01........................
Come on, pal, you did fine.
Let's shake hands.

00:45:59:16........................
6 for the CDU plus 2...

00:46:03:14........................
Today you're happy,
tomorrow you'll be fucked.

00:46:07:10........................
You want me to cry?

00:46:11:09........................
6 and 2 are 8, and
he wants me to cry?

00:46:18:14........................
We'll talk when you
totally sober up.

00:46:22:19........................
He's been filling the post
for 4 years, and we're happy

00:46:27:15........................
that Drago Hodak
remains the head.

00:46:43:15........................
Merry moment has arrived,
Jesus came to us all...



00:47:33:10........................
THE SECOND MORNING
AT THE COUNTY



00:47:35:14........................
They all conspire against us.

00:47:40:05........................
We don't have
absolute majority.

00:47:45:14........................
And they want now...

00:47:50:00........................
They won't budge?
-No. They say,

00:47:54:04........................
they can form a coalition
with the governing Six only.

00:47:59:08........................
Fine, let them.

00:48:01:22........................
They have four evictions coming,
let him resolve that.

00:48:06:13........................
But he publicly said to Croats
from Bosnia and Kosovo

00:48:09:06........................
it was none of his concern.
He said, he didn't care

00:48:12:23........................
where they came from, and he
wouldn't try to solve it like you.

00:48:17:16........................
Jurica the waiter told me that.

00:48:33:22........................
The CDU offers us any
position we want in the county,

00:48:39:23........................
promising no interference
whatsoever.

00:48:49:07........................
But we wanted to hear
the other side out.

00:48:54:14........................
Now the other side
was very reserved,

00:48:58:18........................
with members who were
not holding important posts,

00:49:03:23........................
but who told me not to vote
for the CDU,

00:49:08:21........................
suggesting we should
oust them.

00:49:11:09........................
The CPP, the SWP and I
sat together and talked.

00:49:17:11........................
The CPP had no argument,
they had no plan or program,

00:49:22:11........................
they were only against us.
The SWP heard both sides out.

00:49:28:19........................
I told them they could join us
only the following way...

00:49:33:00........................
We are what we are,
right wing or not,

00:49:38:00........................
that doesn't matter,
but we are open for talks

00:49:42:17........................
and we play with open cards. I
deal with the Serbs all the time.

00:49:48:13........................
So we were offered any position
in the County we'd like,

00:49:54:21........................
but the Center from Zagreb was
against joining forces with them.

00:50:04:02........................
Though based on some logic
regarding existence here,

00:50:10:14........................
it would've been better
for us if we had.

00:50:13:20........................
They claimed we were
a right wing party,

00:50:17:00........................
and they could not
work with us.

00:50:22:00........................
We did everything, made it
possible for 300 Serbs to return,

00:50:26:06........................
and now we're
a right wing party!

00:50:30:05........................
Their personal ambition and
hatred, well they can stuff it.

00:50:35:17........................
If I'd have hated anybody,
I could have told them

00:50:39:02........................
to fuck off long time ago.
But what can you do...

00:50:44:15........................
Let's just remain
men of honor...


00:50:48:07........................
I tried to explain our party
leader who Hodak was.

00:50:53:06........................
He has better education
than Milan,

00:50:57:05........................
he's into it all,
he knows the area.

00:51:05:07........................
Although there are several
extremists behind him,

00:51:09:03........................
that guy from Kosovo,
who's worse than a child,

00:51:14:10........................
you heard him,
he's full of it.

00:51:17:08........................
The affidavits are here...

00:51:20:01........................
I'll sign nothing,
I won't even sit here!

00:51:24:10........................
I'm going home!
-Come on, don't...

00:51:28:16........................
I'm going home to my mom!
-Ease off, will you.

00:51:32:04........................
Take power from us,
but you'll see...

00:51:39:17........................
Sit down!

00:51:43:15........................
We clobbered you like hell,
and now we can't rule!

00:51:53:07........................
Let everybody know how the CPP
joins forces with the Chetniks!


00:52:14:04........................
Before we start, let us observe
a moment of silence

00:52:17:14........................
for all killed
Croatian defenders.

00:52:29:03........................
May their memory
live forever.

00:52:33:18........................
One, two, three...

00:52:37:08........................
Eight votes in favor...

00:52:41:00........................
The motion has been carried,

00:52:44:12........................
and the new County head
is Milan Grahovac.

00:52:47:15........................
Who is in favor?

00:52:51:08........................
Eight votes in favor.

00:52:54:11........................
The new deputy head
is Nikola Bosanac.

00:53:00:21........................
Think well about
what you just did.

00:53:06:02........................
You know how many of my
people are in this county.

00:53:10:21........................
They gave their vote
to the CPP,

00:53:13:24........................
but today I'm so glad, because
they wouldn't listen to me,

00:53:19:03........................
they listened to individuals
who let them down just now.

00:53:25:20........................
So I'm telling them to think
about who have they placed

00:53:29:16........................
their confidence in.


00:53:31:12........................
The fact remains that
Croats from Kosovo

00:53:34:03........................
represent more than 50 percent
of the population here,

00:53:38:05........................
and have no representatives
in the authorities.

00:53:43:00........................
I have a moral obligation
to speak out today,

00:53:47:02........................
and on our next meeting
I'll resign from the position

00:53:52:01........................
in the County Council.

00:53:54:21........................
Please wait for the
legal explanation...

00:54:01:17........................
You haven't got the guts
to hear us out.

00:54:06:08........................
No, we never ran away.
We didn't run in 1991,

00:54:09:21........................
so we won't run now.

00:54:12:19........................
I'm asking the gentlemen
for the CDU

00:54:17:00........................
if their president, Mr. Marko
Źolić, came last Friday

00:54:20:21........................
to my husband's surgery,
threatening of behalf of the CDU...

00:54:24:16........................
Yes, as the local CDU president,
he organized Croats from Kosovo

00:54:29:18........................
to take their medical files.

00:54:35:23........................
My file is with him as long
as I trust him.

00:54:40:12........................
If I lose my trust,
I'll go elsewhere!

00:54:45:23........................
You can't forbid me that!
But I do trust him

00:54:49:10........................
it's you I don't trust.

00:54:51:16........................
Let's go, those are
personal matters.

00:54:58:13........................
All the previous meetings
would end up like this.

00:55:01:10........................
Have Croatian people
gone sick in that war,

00:55:05:00........................
or what, to show such hate
towards other nation.

00:55:40:21........................
It's so high...

00:55:42:22........................
NIKOLA BOSANAC
THE NEW COUNTY VICE HEAD

00:55:46:02........................
See you in Zagreb.

00:55:48:24........................
I'll come as a
Parliament Member.

00:55:51:17........................
Yeah, sure you will.
-You never know...



00:55:56:02........................
Everybody took their
side in the war,

00:56:00:06........................
and he was stopping
regular policemen

00:56:04:00........................
at their checkpoints, and now
he's the County vice head.

00:56:09:10........................
That just can't be,
except in real life...

00:56:18:16........................
He can't come to a bar,
people would attack him.



00:56:52:18........................
Fuck this...

00:57:13:09........................
DRAGO HODAK
RAILROADER

00:57:17:12........................
This guy Grahovac learned
everything he knows from me.

00:57:24:02........................
When he came, he had no
clue on local government.

00:57:31:08........................
I taught him everything.

00:57:34:12........................
I also learned things
along the way,

00:57:37:19........................
but at least I knew basics.

00:58:02:14........................
Perhaps it's better this way.




00:58:05:04........................
MILAN GRAHOVAC
THE NEW COUNTY HEAD

00:58:07:20........................
Something should be done
before the Committee,

00:58:10:19........................
so the people could see
things are changing.

00:58:14:24........................
You saw Vinko mowing
around the church and the store,

00:58:19:17........................
He'll do itin a couple of days,
and the people will see

00:58:24:08........................
there's someone
to give orders here.

00:58:27:05........................
The priest didn't support us
at first, but now he does.

00:58:34:11........................
It will be tough,
you saw for yourself.

00:58:38:02........................
It all depends on Drago and
when he will calm down.

00:58:43:06........................
I hope he does soon. We'll
wait for a while longer,

00:58:46:06........................
then we'll snap back,
there's no other way.

00:58:49:02........................
Two months were
more than enough.

00:58:52:58........................
I regret it, you know.
We worked so hard.


00:58:57:14........................
Especially when you know

00:59:01:04........................
that I could have stopped all the
returnees from coming back

00:59:05:10........................
by not signing agreements
with ASP and IFC,

00:59:10:14........................
no 200-300 returnees
and case closed!

00:59:25:12........................
War is something...

00:59:29:07........................
If it weren't for the war,
you wouldn't be here now.

00:59:34:15........................
Would you? Of course not. Why
would you come shooting

00:59:38:24........................
an engineer who retires
at 40-45 years of age.

00:59:44:17........................
That would make no point.
The war is to blame.