In Sunja again, and more

In spite of living on and off in Croatia for over 20 years, I had never heard of this small town called Sunja, till the day I passed through it with the Civil March for Aleppo, a brave peace march that happened to also cross that part of Croatia. It was March 2017.

Then in April 2018 I visited again the place with Alex, to meet the volunteers there and prepare the activities for the upcoming summer camp, which happened in July of the same year, and was an amazing experience both for our group of 24 volunteers and for the people of Sunja.

Jasmina, director of the library in Sunja, wrote us saying: “Thank you for choosing to come to Sunja to paint such beautiful murals in our place.

I also want to thank you for all the positive energy, peace, happiness, that you brought in Sunja and that you gave our young people new faith, a new life. You gave Sunja a new spirit.”

In Sunja we also also met Filip, a very idealistic and talented young man who made a beautiful video narrating the event.

So, it was time to visit again, also because in the meantime an invitation came from Franjo, a friend of Filip who works in the Tourist Department in Hrvatska Kostajnica, a very pretty town nearby, right on the border with Bosnia. The idea was to return during the summer with a team of volunteers, for something similar to what was done in Sunja.

So I set out to visit this area for the 4th time.

I was welcomed at the train station by Josip, Filip and Mato. So nice to see them again!

I stayed at Filip’s house, got to know  Marjan and Visnja, his parents, and enjoyed their wonderful hospitality.

So nice to see Ivana again, (it was the day of her birthday!) the director of the Bambi kindergarten where one of our murals was painted last summer and is still in top shape

The other mural is also in top shape. Everyone told me how amazing and unheard of is the fact that no graffiti or scratches have been “added”.

Visiting another old friend and volunteer, where Alex and I stayed last time: Jelica, here also with Josip, and with Angelka, whom I just got to know.

And with Josip and Jasmina, the very first people I met in Sunja, pillars in the volunteering work and simply some great friends and coworkers. Here at the library where Jasmina works and often organises cultural events.

The school were we stayed last summer is undergoing some needed renovation.

A peak on our mural

The town still bears many scars from the war, but right next to it…roses are blooming!

Went by the river Sava, where a ferry runs throughout the day.

Below, a picture of our first visit to Sunja in March 2017, with the Civil March for Aleppo team, and me right in the same spot, on May 29 2019.

 

Filip took me to  Hrvatska Kostajnica, around 18 km from Sunja, where I finally personally met  Franjo Znidaric, such a great young man very engaged in the betterment of his town. We discussed our visit from the 7 to the  9 of August:  murales, clowntherapy and more.

The river Una, which for the most part divides Croatia from Bosnia, recently overflowed, causing some damages, even though thankfully not as serious as the ones that happened in May 2014.

Franjo took us to see what is considered one of the most original and even more beautiful monuments in Croatia: the “Broken Landscape”,  dedicated to Gordan Lederer, a young reporter who was killed right here by a sniper on August the 9th, 1991, while filming Croatian soldiers in action. His camera recorded the whole event.

An oversized camera lens punctuated by a single bullet hole.

Leading up to the memorial is a curving pathway made of concrete slabs placed in black steel frames. Designed to resemble film frames, each of these represents a year of Lederer’s life. Needless to say, I was extremely moved by this sight.

With Jasmina, singing in the rain…

A short meeting/farewell with Grga Dragičević, mayor of Sunja, right in front of our mural, that on this rainy day was shining even brighter!

A memorable picture taken when we finished the mural, summer 2018. So, Sunja and Hrvatska Kostajnica: see you soon!