Croatian Road Trip: Part II--Yugoslav Wars

The Yugoslav Wars, from 1991 until 1995, were the first "conflicts" to be formally judged as genocidal since World War II.  Keith was 10 when these armed conflicts erupted.  It was the first real international affair he paid attention to.  The brutality of the wars deeply impacted him. Even when we were getting ready to move to Hungary, Keith was anxious about living so closely to Croatia because in his mind that was, "where you go to die."

The conflicts were primarily based on "ethnic tensions."  The Serbs against the Croats and Bosniaks and Slovenes...and then the Croats against the Bosniaks.  (Later I will get into my problems with "culture" and "being different" and how it fuels the fires of hatred...when really 99% of our genes are the same...but another time)

The Yugoslavian Wars are made up of three wars:
1. War in Slovenia 1991
2. Croatian War for Independence 1991-1995
3. Bosnian War 1992-1995

Slovenia Flag

The war for independence in Slovenia lasted 10 days.  88 people total (Slovenes, Yugoslav nationalists, and foreigners) lost their lives.  Slovenia officially became a European Community member on January 15, 1992 and a member of the United Nations on May 22, 1992.

Croatia Flag

The Croatian War for Independence was fought between forces loyal to the Croatian government, which  declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFR Yugoslavia),  the Serbian-controlled Yugoslav People's Army (JNA).   In Croatia, the war is primarily referred to as the Homeland War (Domovinski rat) and also as the Greater-Serbian aggression (Velikosrpska agresija).

Driving through Croatia we saw a lot of the the scars from the war--mostly what looked to be houses that had been shot at.  I've been told that people have left many houses with the scars as a reminder of the war.  Across the street from our bed & breakfast in Plitvice was one of these houses. 

View from outside the house

Bathroom

Living Room - tree and moss growing inside.  Someone's socks drying...indicating squatters.

The owner of the B&B told us that an elderly couple lived there during the war and it was burned down.  Although the children live up the road from here, they haven't done anything with the house.  Obviously, we had to explore.  I was too scared to go in, but Keith snapped some photos. 

Bosnia Herzegovina Flag

The Bosnian War becomes even more complex and hate filled due to "ethnic differences."  This territory of Yugoslavia eventually became the country of Bosnia & Herzegovina
More on this later.

Serbia Flag