My purpose is to give hope to those who have lost hope. Without hope, we remain lost in the Shadow Lands. |
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Although the Hankin rough rule says that all thuggish regimes have a maximum likely lifespan of between 80 and 100 years, sometimes the lifespan is shorter.
Croatia was forced to become a part of the Communist country called Yugoslavia when WW2 finally finished. Other countries forced into becoming part of Yugoslavia were Bosnia and Hetzogovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia. Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and a ferocious war broke out when the Yugoslav Army tried to crush Croatia. The siege of Dubrovnik lasted from 1991 until June 1992. Although Dubrovnik is a recognised World Heritage site, the Yugoslav Army tried to destroy it and its people.
The Croatian War of Independence finally finished in 1995.
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The new city area of Dubrovnik, Croatia. The port is exquisite and cruise ships visit regularly and it is easy to see why. No one would guess from looking at this peaceful scene, that death regularly fell out of the skies all over Dubrovnik.
John Hankin photo taken in Dubrovnik, 26 September 2013.
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Dubrovnik is surrounded by mighty mountains. The Yugoslav Army tried to conquer the high places on the mountains so it could hurtle death on the people below.
John Hankin photo taken in Dubrovnik, 26 September 2013.
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The narrow, astonishingly steep walkways that thread Dubrovnik.
John Hankin photo taken in Dubrovnik, 26 September 2013.
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A rusting remnant of the siege of Dubrovnik and the Croatian War for Independence.
John Hankin photo taken in Dubrovnik, 26 September 2013.
Dubrovnik city harbour at 11.00 pm on 25 September 2013.
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Help yourself to heal Help others heal Give Love Always |
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The ghosts of the dead should always be listened to; they are beautiful people. The ghosts are everywhere in Dubrovnik as well as in Poland.
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Diary Entry Made at 8:40 am on Thursday 26 September 2013 We are in Nicky's Guest House in Dubrovnik. Nicky picked us up from Dubrovnik airport and talked to us until just after midnight. He is a very kind man. I am on the balcony overlooking the Dubrovnik harbour. The view is extremely beautiful. The harbour is like a bowl, with steep hills on the other side of it. The hills are covered with more housing, but they are also covered with thousands of trees. The day is full of gorgeous sunshine and the air has a cool, crisp quality to it. There isn't the same level of heat blanket that there always was in Spain. We left the Be Dream hostel at about 3:50 pm and took the Metro to Clot. Then we had a confusing few minutes trying to find the Renfre platform where you board the train to the airport. Renfre is the national railway system. The Metro is run by Barcelona City. The Renfre train took us to Terminal 2 at Barcelona airport. Then we had a long (but free) bus to Terminal 1. The plane (a Vuehling flight) left on time at 7:35 pm and got us to Dubrovnik airport at 9:45 pm. Croatia is on the same time zone as Spain. Nicky is an engineer and returned 3 days after working for 7 months as a ship engineer in Cuba. He says Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and had 5 years of war before independence was confirmed. Dubrovnik was under siege by the Serbian army for (I think he said) 9 months - an astonishing story. |
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Dubrovnik: Part 1 (Thursday 26 September 2013 at 6:45 pm)
Dubrovnik is situated in a part of the Adriatic that pushes itself into a wall of steep hills. The hills dominate the water. The hills are dominated by trees and buildings. The buildings have not yet completely overcome the trees; They probably will in the future.
This morning there were two cruise ships in port. Now there is only one. It is relatively small; Perhaps it isn't really even a cruise ship. The holiday season rush is now over, So tourist numbers are smaller.
Dubrovnik is a network of houses that have been built into the sides of the hills. Flat spaces exist only around the harbour. Today we visited the new city. Tomorrow we visit the old city. The sun has now vanished behind the hill. The evening has a crisp feel to it.. Voices in the adjoining houses speak Croatian. Cars pass on the main road uphill from the guest house. This is not Spain. This is Croatia. After being almost overwhelming this morning, The sense of dislocation is fading. Yes, This is Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is in Croatia. |
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Courage is the only way that we can ever create the Paradise that should be here on Earth.
Hatred only perpetuates the Hell we have already made on this planet.
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The photos in this Blog were all taken by me in Dubrovnik. When I visited Dubrovnik in 2013, it had mostly covered up the physical scars left by the War of Independence. The mental scars were much harder to heal.
Why would anyone want to stop the Croatians – or any other people – from governing themselves? There is only one eternal answer – because of greed and stupidity. No other answer fits all of the facts.
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