3. Dubrovnik
Now the Croatian side. Dubrovnik was "70% destroyed" in 1991 by Serbs and the nice Montenegrins we listened to yesterday. Shelled the place from the surrounding mountains. Map in town square shows where shells hit. Gouge in wall in museum has a circular wooden frame around it, with a caption: "Shell impact." Keeps the desire for revenge alive. In Montenegro our lecturer Jack Delf, an Australian whose day job was promotion of tourist sailing around here, couldn't have trips between Herceg Novi and Dubrovnik because, the Dubrovnicians told him, "the Montenegrins will smash our boats." No deal, no sea traffic between the two cities. "The Montenegrins believe the same about the Dubrovnicians, " he said. "And nobody has ever smashed any boats."
"Park a car with Serbian license plates in Dubrovnik and the windows will be smashed," admits Igor, our Croatian lecturer. "No Serb accents are served in restaurants. It's the same way in French-speaking Switzerland. Order in Swiss-German and they won't serve you." We're doing what the world does. (Only we who have lived in French-speaking Switzerland know that it doesn't do that there.) Among the T-shirts being sold outside the Dubrovnik cathedral was one saying, "Lord, protect me from evil people."
Time is short so I'll close with words from the Slovenian toast in our brochure:
God save our land and nation
And all Slovenes where they live,
Who own the same
Blood and name,
And who one glorious Mother claim.
Let thunder out of heaven
Strike down and smite our wanton foe! (translation)
This reminds me of when we returned to the US in 1993 after four years. Yugoslavia had disintegrated while we were away, and I thought to express my condolences to my proud Yugoslav-American friend who grew up in mining country outside Pittsburgh. "Oh" he said "That was a GOOD thing! We're Slovenian!"
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