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I am sitting in the classroom, bored to death and thinking about the upcoming weekend. Our biology teacher is giving us a lecture on some animals, or maybe viruses, I don’t really know and don’t really care… All of a sudden, we hear a terrible noise and the door opens. A bunch of students, all dressed the same, enter our classroom, screaming and whistling. They start running in circles, sprinkling water on us with water, pulling our arms to take us to the hallway. We are very confused, but willing to agree on whatever can save us from the boring lecture… As soon as we leave the classroom, there are plenty of things to see: our beautiful, tidy, prim and proper school has been turned into a mess. Some wild, half-drunk-looking students are running around, wearing colourful T-shirts… The noise is unbearable, but the sight is beautiful. They seem to be so happy, so free, so united, but on the other hand, somehow sad, as the time has come when they have to say goodbye to their school, their “other home”… This was when I first realized I couldn’t wait to be one of them. To take part in “Norijada”, one of the most popular gatherings among high school population of Croatia. “Norijada” is a celebration held for and by senior students who are to graduate soon. The very word “norijada” literary means “capering”, and stands for a day-long celebration that takes place at the end of May – the last day of school for high school graduates. The whole generation of students, a couple of thousands of them, get out into the streets, in order to celebrate the end of their obligatory education. Being a freshman, I was so envious watching them. I wanted so much to be a part of them, to have fun and to share the freedom… They seemed to be getting along so well together… This unity of theirs, now I know, was achieved not such a long time ago – they started getting along well on their graduating-class excursion, which took place a year before this celebration…This is when they started preparing for this day. First and foremost, they discuss the T-shirts they will be wearing. Namely, each class tends to be special, different, unique. Once upon a time graduates were more imaginative and used to have special clothes made for the occasion. Nowadays, they are modest and tend to show their identity by wearing “individualized” T-shirts. Designing their own “image”, they show their creativity, imagination, motivation and interest in becoming “the unbreakable unit”. The first thing they have to agree upon is the colour. This decision is usually a compromise between male and female students’ suggestions. If a school is famous (or notorious) for the lack of boys (as in my case), students will wear “girlish” colours, and vice versa. Anyway, when the colour is voted on and agreed upon, they have to decide on the text that is to be printed on top. It has a greater sentimental value than the colour, because every class puts a sign that means most to them, a kind of a “logo”, some internal joke known only to them, a part of a song they used to sing when on excursions, or they simply put a general, usually funny remark about education or educational system (which is the most common one). Actually, my generation was different. All the students in my generation wore blue T-shirts with Superman sign in the middle, and each class had its own letter (as classes in Croatia are distinguished by letters). The back of the T-shirts usually lists names of all the students in the class, as well as their classmaster’s. So, when finally the students have managed to agree upon the details regarding their T-shirts (which is not easy, believe me), they start negotiating the place of the event. However, no matter what, and regardless the time spent on finding out the new and original ideas, the outcome is more or less always the same, as well as the route of their “destructive pilgrimage”: First, they go to visit their “former” schools, to bother their teachers and to impress “the young and innocent” school population, who look up to them. They do it by running around and along the school, devastating what they can, showing freedom, independence, and, despite their age, a total lack of maturity. After the school, they usually choose to go to Ban Jelačić Square, to show the tourists and the rest of the world that being eighteen means not being adult at all. They display their savagery there for a while, and after that, having demolished several trams and facades, they start making for Jarun Lake, where the real party actually takes place. And when finally the D-Day comes, the city wakes up fearing the day ahead. People try to hide their cars to protect them from vandalism, they avoid the centre of the town, or, if they have to take the same route as the graduates do, they choose to put on old garments, as they may expect to be covered in flour, eggs, and water. The sense of eminent disaster is in the air, as if a stampede is about to devastate the city…And here they come: colourful, noisy, cheerful and still pretty tidy. They haven’t met with the rest of their class yet and they still haven’t bought the booze. Songs and the sound of whistles fills the streets of Zagreb, and passers-by who happen to be around are still not endangered, as the students are at this point of the day harmless and “just childish”. Their destination: the meeting point from which they will make for their respective schools. At this point, their pockets hide water pistols and similar weapons they will try to smuggle into their schools in order “to punish” the ones who used to tortured them. The school has already prepared its defense lines: there is a front line to be passed – a barrier made from their invincible teachers, and they cannot enter until their pockets are checked and emptied. However, someone somehow always finds a way to smuggle a pistol or two, so the school cannot be spared of the mess… Although disarmed and weaponless, the students are not discouraged – they will find a means to damage something… They start running along the school, singing, screaming and whistling, until they get short of air. In the meanwhile, all the other students (freshmen, sophomores, juniors), still part of the school, envious and sad, and the teachers, nervous and angry, are looking at them, “the savages” who show their independence and power, freed from authorities and able to do whatever they want to. It reminds me of the book by William Golding, “The Lord of the Flies”, in which children, as soon as they find out they are alone on the island, far away from civilization and society, start to behave like savages. When they finally pull themselves together, the program can begin. And the program is what they prepared in class while still being at school. Their performances are more or less successful (it depends on the state they are in), and once they finish, they call out their teachers’ names, as a sign of respect. This is their way of expressing gratitude and this is the only occasion when the teachers actually enjoy and are able to smile, maybe because they are flattered or they simply feel relieved because they know this is the end of this farewell party, as the crowd will soon leave the premises and start making for another destination – Ban Jelačić Square. When they reach Ban Jelačić Square, the students are not as “tidy and dear” as they were in the early morning. They have become loud, unruly, aggressive and willing to fight. The square turns into a huge arena and at this point there is no one who approves of their behaviour. People are shocked and disgusted and determined to ask the authorities to ban this savagery in the centre of the town. Actually, that was what the authorities wanted to achieve: the central celebration would be held far away from the centre of the town, but no one could stop the students from coming here. After a series of egg-, tomato- and flour-fights, the graduates try to tidy themselves up in the fountain situated in the middle of the square. Some of them will never reach the final destination – Jarun Lake, as they will be taken to hospital. Those who “survived” will finally realize it was time to leave and, living a mess behind, they will stampede towards Jarun, vandalizing trams, cars, facades on their way. Once they reach the Lake, their excitement reaches its peak, as they meet their peers from other Zagreb high schools. The government has done their best to please them and to avoid further destruction – the most popular Croatian singers have been invited to entertain the young and to raise the atmosphere. However, there are other options: the students fond of music but not of the unbearable crowd, may entertain themselves in bars all over the lake shore. And the third choice, my favourite, is sitting on the beach, the whole class together, singing and playing the guitar (if it survived the turbulent day), remembering the school days and enjoying their last days together. That is a very emotional situation and a beautiful experience (for those who are sober enough to remember), and this is probably the purpose of this day. The celebration usually takes place until the early hours of the morning, when they all have to face the cruel reality and accept that their school is over and that they are on their own now. The day after usually shows the bad side of this seemingly idyllic and harmless celebration. As soon as one opens the newspapers, one gets confronted with titles depicting a series of catastrophes that occurred the day before: “3 boys jumped into the fountain and broke their necks – critical condition” “42 students suffered minor injuries in a fight yesterday” “7 students ended up having a gastric lavage done because of too much alcohol” “27 students brought in yesterday for their delinquency” “7 trams vandalized in yesterday’s rampage” “A tram-driver attacked by a group of drunken students” … Every year the government is trying to do something to prevent this vandalism and the rampage through the town, but in vain. And although young people themselves disapprove of what they are witnessing those days, they still can’t wait to become a part of this mob and to do the same… It is sad to see that young people don’t cherish the most beautiful days of their lives and don’t know how to enjoy them. There isn’t much to do, actually, but to wait for young people to come to their senses and realize what is important. Maybe future graduates will prove their maturity (after all, the exam which is ahead of them is called a “matura” exam, which means “a check of their maturity”) by refusing to descend to the level of savages and behaving the way reasonable young people would – they should set an example for the next generations who will look up to them. When this goal is achieved, when added some dignity and sense, “norijada” will become the most important and the most beautiful experience of their school days. |
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I still remember it as if it had happened yesterday and if I had not been a girl. Why is the fact that I am a girl so important for the story? Well, it is not of crucial importance, but you will see why it is at least curious. It was a beautiful summer afternoon, and there was nobody in the streets although it was a beautiful summer afternoon. Everybody was at home or in a bar and nobody was alone at home or in a bar. Everyone was in groups of three or four to a few thousands – that is how many people later gathered at our main square in Zagreb. All of us functioned as one because all of us desired the same thing – to beat the Germans, the bastards who had unfairly defeated us years ago. The word bastard is not strong enough to express the rage and the tension that Croatian football fans felt. It is easy to guess now – I am talking about probably the most famous football match in Croatian history, about the match against Germany in the 1998 World Cup. Football is one of the most popular sports in our culture, but this match was of special importance because it was perceived as a chance for Croatia to avenge itself after the match against Germany two years before then, which ended in 2:1 for the Germans. If we had been fairly defeated, we would not have said a word. But we were not fairly defeated, and that was what caused the eagerness and a desire to show the world how powerful our team was. During "the most unfair match", as it was known, one of our players got a red card although the foul was not so bad to deserve one, and a German player did not get one when he cruelly and thoughtlessly knocked one of our players down, proceeded to the goal and scored. It happened during the 1996 European Cup, when our team was recognized as a potential champion, but that fatal match wrecked our opportunity to continue the championship. The Germans won the gold medal. That infuriated the fans in Croatia, and finally a long-awaited opportunity for the Germans to pay for that came. I said "WE wanted to beat the Germans" although none of us was actually in a position to do that, but the whole nation was united in its desire to win the match so that we functioned as one, that is as one of the members of our national team. People use to identify themselves with their national team and it is impressive to which extent they can do that. Then the national team represents the nation itself. This metonymy is used so often that we do not even notice it any more. Although we were determined and strong, we had to admit that we were also a bit scared because the German team had a certain prestige in football and the Germans had a certain status in the world in general, and we were only a small and undeveloped country nobody had ever heard of. That particular day I was at home with my parents and my brother. We eagerly waited for the match to begin. Mum had invited my uncle to watch the match with us. A few of our neighbours and my Dad's fellows were also there. Everything was ready for the big day. That is, litres of beer were ready for the big day. Finally, the match started. In the beginning, everybody was rather calm and the atmosphere was quite peaceful. Our eyes were riveted to the television and nobody could utter a word. As the match progressed, the tension was growing and passions were running high. "Come on, pass the ball! Look at him! What does he think he's doing? PASS THE F*** BALL!" My uncle was furious. "Oh, come on, get up! He hasn't even touched you," my father flared up when a German player was fouled. When our player was fouled he shouted: " Look what he's doing to him! He'll break his legs! Where's that referee now?" Every now and again someone jumped from the sofa and shouted, tearing his hair. Suddenly the commentator's voice raised and he started to speak more quickly and excitedly – one of our players was heading towards the goal. "Jarni has the ball! He passes one German player... and the other one... Jarni still has the ball... Jarni! Jarni!" Everybody was up, staring at the screen with their mouths open. "GOOOOOOOOAL!" The enthusiasm of the Croatian's fans after that goal was unbelievable, impossible to describe. We were all jumping, shrieking with laughter and hugging each other regardless of our age, sex or relationship. That was the moment when I realized that I was hugging my uncle's cousin whom I had not even noticed in our flat before the goal. Our flat was getting more and more crowded. More and more people were coming in spontaneously and freely, carrying a beer crate and joining the gang. Finally, we managed to control our passions after a while and we continued to watch the match. We felt so powerful – we were leading 1:0. We felt as if there had been nothing they could do to us after that. The most interesting thing was that it really was like that – they could not do anything to us, literally. We beat Germany by three goals to nil! Can you imagine the satisfaction it gave us? Can you imagine the delight we took in it, the pride we felt? Croatia won by three goals to nil against Germany, against a country in which there were more football players than there were inhabitants in Croatia! Croatia, a small and undeveloped country suddenly became significant and important. A country that nobody had ever heard of before suddenly became well known all around the world because it reached the 1998 World Cup Finals. It was amazing. Our team was some kind of a phenomenon and our country won renown and achieved instant fame. An interesting thing to mention here is the fact that there was a war in our country few years before that World Cup, and people were able to hear about it on the news all around the world, but not until the World Cup did Croatia come to be known. It is obvious that that success filled the Croatian football fans with pride. Men are football fans by definition, but not only did it fill them with pride. Women, girls, people of all ages and sexes were proud of their national team. It was the first time that women got so involved in what used to be a male sport. Football and that particular match brought us together. It brought the whole nation together. The sense of unity was as strong as in the war. We celebrated so enthusiastically and our euphoric mood lasted for a few days and nights. After the match had finished, everybody went out. There were crowds of people in the streets and they were all singing patriotic songs and hugging each other. The crowds headed towards the main square and continued to celebrate one of the greatest victories in the history of Croatian sport. All of that started spontaneously. Nobody had organized the celebration. Although football matches are known as a cause of an outbreak of rioting and public disorder and although there are always some people arrested after a night of civil disorder, this match did not have such consequences. It could not have had them because of the sense of unity that the whole nation felt. Nobody wanted to spoil it. Even today, six years later, we still remember that match as our greatest triumph and it is still the Germans' sore point. It is incredible how much people can involve themselves in sport, especially football. Watching the matches is a special kind of gathering that connects people and draws them together closely. It unites them and they all feel they have something in common, that they have the same aim and the same desire – that their team kick the hell out of the other one. That desire is even stronger when their national team is playing because of the identification of the supporters with the team and the identification of the team with the entire country so that way they express patriotism. Beer, swearing, yelling and singing play an important role in supporting your team. It is quite common to have a bottle of beer next to you while watching a match. The time when there is some World Cup is the time when there are the most beer commercials both on the radio and on television. I watched this match as a fourteen-year-old girl who had no idea about football and about men watching a football match, and that is why it made such a strong impression on me. Today, seven years later, I still remember it in detail and it still sends me into raptures when I remember it. |
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Mateja Mikulec It is the middle of July and I'm having such a great time here on Cres (an island in the north of the Adriatic). I am 7 and my brother is 4. We are sitting on the beach, playing with our toys, making castles from the hot sand and soaking our feet in the sea, which is the only way to put up with the unbearable heat. We are laughing, running around, and obviously enjoying the vacation as much as only a child can. All of a sudden, a group of children playing nearby start throwing sand at my brother and me and yelling at us. They speak in a strange way and I don't understand them so I take a hold of my brother's hand and decide to run home. Next day, the same thing happens, but this time they don't throw sand at us, but are destroying our sand castles and taking away our toys. I can hear what they are saying, but again I have difficulties understanding them (a phenomenon hardly explicable to me). I am scared now, but my little brother is terrified so we again decide we’d better go home. This time I tell my dad everything and ask him about the unfamiliar word they kept saying: ‘PURGERI’. A smile occurs on my dad’s face and, without explanation, he tells me to call them ‘TOVARI’ and to destroy their castles. One has to listen to his dad, doesn’t one? This was when I first heard of those two words (i.e. 13 years ago); terms that nowadays one cannot get away from in our society, especially if one lives in Zagreb or in Dalmatia. The word ‘PURGER’ refers to the pure-blooded inhabitant of Zagreb, while ‘TOVARS’ are Dalmatians with Split as their center. Both of these words are used as an insult, although each ‘region’ is proud to be called that way. These two towns, or better to say, these two regions, have always been ‘at war’. The hidden hatred between them has been present for centuries, and nobody knows the exact reason for that. However, the most probable one is jealousy. Zagreb is, after all, the capital of Croatia and the biggest cultural, financial and educational centre of the country. There are all kinds of different universities in Zagreb and broader education is offered. Students from different parts of Croatia, including Dalmatia, migrate to Zagreb in order to make their careers and succeed in life. They come to study and stay forever. On the other hand, Split is the center of Dalmatia and the second largest town in Croatia. It is a huge cultural and historical center with the most beautiful architecture from the ancient times. Another thing, probably the most important one to make ‘purgers’ jealous is the sea. Our Dalmatia has a beautiful coast with a lot of small islands surrounded by the bluest sea in the world, one can only dream of. Diversities are what make our country special and unique. We should be proud of what we have and try to work as a team. The last thing we need is a competition between the two most important towns in our country, turning them into rivals. Nowadays, either of the two cities is just waiting for the other one to make a mistake, just as if they were participants in some kind of sport. I think ‘SPORT’ is the key word here. It is true that this Zagreb-Split competition has its roots in the ancient times, but we can overtly admit that the competition is today stronger than ever. The thing that mostly contributed to it and made separation and hatred even greater is definitely soccer. Each of these two towns has its representative team and they both are always on top of the Croatian National Championship lists. Dinamo, the team of Zagreb region, and Hajduk, the team of Dalmatia, are the main rivals in fierce fights for the ‘throne’. After all, is there a sport that has no rivals? However, the problem is not in the teams, but in their fans. In 1950, Hajduk got its first fan group named Torcida (after a fan group from Brazil), which is one of the oldest ones in Europe. The year of 1985 marked the foundation of Dinamo’s fan group Bad Blue Boys (BBB), whose name was derived from at that time very popular movie ‘Bad Boys’ (Sean Penn). Although both of these fan groups were founded in a good cause, such as to help and support players, to follow them and be present on their matches, they eventually turned into vandals. Supporting the teams by mere cheering, yelling, singing and whistling, was not enough and it has recently included soccer hooliganism. Fans started beating up everyone who was not ‘their’, especially supporters of their main rival (BBB vs. Torcida). This supporting turned into zealotry, and Hajduk and Dinamo into biggest enemies. Each time the match between the two takes place, either town has to take the toll: Trams and buses are ruined, cars smashed, people hospitalized – this is a typical picture of the town if the hosts lose. When the guests lose, they usually try to get home safe and sound if possible (because being a minority, they wouldn’t get much by attacking the winners). The newspapers are packed with articles about deviant behavior after a match, and this is exactly the indicator of our society. Fights, graffiti and vandalism unfortunately turned into an everyday phenomenon. Nobody even pays attention to that. Nobody is trying to solve the problem and get rid of the prejudice that we, Zagreb citizens, have towards the Dalmatians, or vice versa. If only the problem was just in fan groups… Their philosophy, their primitive ideas, their uncorroborated opinions mirror our society. The question ‘Who do you root for?’ is a very common one here, and as soon as you come up with an answer, you are automatically ‘profiled’ and categorized into either ‘a friend’ or ‘an enemy’ group. Almost everyone in Croatia is a supporter of either of these teams, and in similar situations or with alcohol in their blood they wouldn’t differ much from soccer hooligans. This is who we are and what we do. Our people in general like to make fun of other people, destroy as much as they can, because this is what they need to feel powerful and superior. The prejudice that we have is partly inherited and partly acquired. I obviously acquired it 13 years ago when those children called me ‘a purger’ and I rejoined with ‘a tovar’, even though I didn’t know then what that meant. If our nation is like my dad (and I am pretty sure it is), who didn’t even bother to explain the problem but just told me to retaliate, I don’t really think that values like tolerance, mutual appreciation and the awareness of the fact that local patriotism is not real patriotism will ever catch on. |
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To be frank, I don’t know how I can look at myself in the mirror day after day. How I walk down the street pretending that everything’s all right, that I’m an upstanding citizen, just going about my everyday errands…I’ve killed. Let’s face the facts. I know now that I did it. It was quick and painless. This is my confession…there’s a dead carrot lying on a plate in my kitchen right now. Apparently everything began with Adam and Eve. They ate fruit. See, God established a system in which plants re-create themselves, and humans nourish themselves, trough a mutually beneficial collaboration. Plants can’t move, so we eat them and spread their seeds. All humans are born frugivores- organisms physiologically predisposed to eating fruit. However, they choose to be meat eaters or vegetarians…or fruitarians. Fruitarian is a person who chooses a diet predominating in fresh fruit. The rest of his/her diet consists in nuts, beans and grains. Tomato is a fruit so he/she eats that. Also everything from trees and bushes. But there are no animals, birds, insects, no cabbage, lettuce, celery or root vegetables in their diet. Because if you have to plant it again- it means that you killed it before. The question you all must be asking yourselves is WHAT?! But I’ll just tell you why. Theories even exist that fruit is the human kind’s natural diet. ( I can’t explain how the minds of the people who said that work, but if you ask them- they work better than mine because fruit is food which most supports brain development, consciousness, mental and emotional peace.) Firs of all, fruit are non-violent food. You’re not killing the plant, or robbing it- it is given food. Animals you have to kill first and it is said that what they went through- injury and death- remains present in the aura of fear. So when we eat them we ingest the pain and suffering into our systems and that affects us. Not to mention that it’s healthy and economic. Fruit has everything we need- fiber, vitamins minerals and natural balance of solid and liquids. It purifies the system (unlike other food that clogs the arteries) and in the process makes us look gorgeous. We get to be 100 years old, we mature but don’t age! And fruitarians never get ill so they don’t have to pay the doctor. Those 100 years of our lives we don’t spend in the kitchen because fruit is rarely cooked, it’s mostly eaten raw. Fruit does tones of stuff: breaks addiction (replaces addictive chemicals), it’s a natural anti-depressant, chewing apples relaxes mouth and body muscles…You can single-handedly reforest the world and prevent erosions and mud sliding (somebody should call the green peace and let them know!). I will now write my all time favorite fruit-related quotations just for laughs. Be prepared… Fruitarianism is the highest moral concept of nutrition. Fruitarianism increases the will to live. Fruitarianism develops a new form of conscience and attitude towards life, it gives you much more spiritual awareness and a right to use will. Fruitarianism increases the capacity of decision. Fruitarianism helps the growth of new hair. Significant reduction or elimination of menstrual flow for a woman (maybe twice a year or even nothing at all…) is a benefit of fruitarianism. I had to write the last one because there is a very funny joke in Croatian that after all this information has a new meaning for me. It’s about paradise. Eve made Adam eat the apple and God said that she’d have to pay in blood. So you see- it all started with an apple, so it may as well end with one too. It is also said that fruitarianism comes with evolution. The world is changing every minute, and so are we. We question ourselves to find who we really are and then adapt our lifestyle to that. One day we should all outgrow our present selves. We will become more aware and thus respectful of life in all its forms and manifestations- and turn to fruitarianism. Well, I don’t know how to explain everything that fruit can do for you. But don’t ask what fruit can do for you; ask what you can do for fruit! Eat it, spread it around, reforest the world, evolve as a species! Let us all spread good vibrations! With all this newly acquired conscience I just might go and apologize to my plant for keeping it in confinement. I can plant it on the meadow in front of my building. Even if it freezes, ill be happy cause I’ll know that it has lived a full life. END. |
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