Slovenia celebrates its day of independence on Monday. I will not bore you with details, neither with a guide to the ten day conflict which immediately followed the declaration of independece. What I had hoped to show you (but failed miserably) was a feature-length move about those fateful ten days. Instead, all I found is the video below, which uses clips of that same movie. I’d like to draw your attention (especially people who’ve never even remotely witnessed an armed conflict) to the fact that the video shows many of the places you’ve probably visited if you’ve ever been to Slovenia.
If you take a stroll up the Castle hill today, it’s kind of hard to imagine that cars are double-parked in the very spot where an anti-aircraft battery was stationed sixteen years ago.
Please, ignore the music. It’s got nothing to do with actual events
We were soooo lucky…
‘Hope, this doesn’t mean, there’ll be no special about that on monday 😉 Some more about Slovenia gaining independence would be interesting.
I will not bore you with details
have you ever bored us?
Yeah I hope one holiday won’t interupt the main schedule 😛
I almost died at the station in Zagreb when there was a bomb attack the day and time I was meant to be there. I guess I’m lucky 🙂
what`s the name of the band?
@cookie: The band is called Pain. And the song is Shut your mouth. It’s listed at the end of the clip. The song is a couple years old from 2001-2002 if I remember correctly. Unusual choice for a song IMO.
Even if it was ‘just’ a ten day conflict, images like these make the hard reality of it all the more real to those of us who weren’t there…
Uber-patriotic, reformed TV Slovenija comes to rescue 🙂
First link is directed to a full version of Slovenija na barikadah in real media format, sadly only with slovenian narration. Out there somewhere exists also the version with english commentary and subtitles. Emule would probably sniff it out.
Second one is a collection of news from back then, with some aditional documentaries.
http://www.rtvslo.si/modload.php?&c_mod=rplayer&id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rtvslo.si%2Fmedia.php?id=14601
http://www.rtvslo.si/modload.php?&c_mod=rnews&op=sections&func=read&c_menu=33&c_id=111246
P.S.
Scene with fireworks and musical background always sends shivers down my spine. Might be some latent patriotism?
ARF: the not knowing that it is going to last only for ten days also makes it hard enough. Because, basically, the future suddenly appears so hard to predict or imagine.
But there are many scenes in the video I don’t think I have seen before…
Alcessa, I’m surprised you saw it that way. Personally I find this video a tad melodramatic. My two main memories of the war were hoping that my math exam would be postponed and going to the cinema only to find it refreshingly empty. My parents even thought it was too lame to go to the shelter when we were required, so we stayed in the flat watching TV instead.I don’t think anyone really believed that war could actually last – which was indeed the case.
Hm, no idea why, Poulette, but in the province we did take it seriously. Maybe because JNA “occupied” the barracks in M. Sobota and no one was allowed to go out or in, while my male friends and relatives hung around the Austrian border, ready to fight (and drinking heavily, I was told afterwards)? Maybe also because they did destroy a church tower in G. Radgona with tanks, so we had to believe they were able and ready to destroy other things, too.
And some other stuff: chevaux-de-frise (I have just looked up the word, sorry if it isn’t correct) closing the bridges across Mura, military planes coming and going every day, … And Jelko Kacin didn’t make me feel better, unfortunately.
My biggest fear was not being able to attend my entrance examination in Ljubljana (it was postponed till September) and not being able to study… 😈
Only thing I remember hearing about back then was the tanks at Brnik & some of the airport/planes being damaged. There wasn’t too much coverage on the TV in the USA about Slovenia back then.
Funny thing was my family was going to fly to Slovenia on vacation (visit relatives) on 1 July if I remember correctly. Since the airport was closed we had to move our trip to August. 🙁
Into which s(t)inkhole did my comment dissapear?
I had to do my maths test (popravc) while they were bombing Krvavec. Where we have a house. Was not to pleased!
We were lucky indeed! Someone helped and I still don’t know who nor why…
I wish we would also change the government and be done with.
Happy holidays to all back home!
Pengovsky: Owl got your tongue? 😀
BTW, you have been tagged
@CX20RE: Sorry… Double links cause Aksimet to activate.
@All: Sorry for my sudden dissappearance. Will explain in next post.