Commemoration of Homeland War victims of Borovo Naselje ends

The commemoration of the Homeland War victims of the Vukovar district of Borovo Naselje ended on Wednesday with the laying of a wreath and lighting of candles at the Monument to Missing Persons.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Croatian Veterans' Affairs Tomo Medved, who attended the commemorative events in Borovo Naselje, said that the large number of people gathered yesterday in Vukovar and today in Borovo Naselje shows that awareness of the sacrifice, suffering and horrors that Vukovar experienced is very present among the Croatian people.

“That is why we are here with the families of the victims, we are in constant contact and inform them about everything we are doing to find the missing and resolve the fates of all the missing. Our achievements so far are an indicator of our focus and determination that we will never stop, regardless of the complexity and difficulties. Perhaps Petrovačka dola reflects all our energy that we invest in finding the missing and we will never stop. We are asking everyone who has information about the missing to share it with us so that we can speed up the process,” said Medved.

He also stated that the search for 54 missing persons from the Borovo naselje area is still ongoing.

“All our efforts are focused on resolving these fates, with direct contacts and accessibility to families who are still searching for their loved ones. We will do everything to find the last person missing in the Homeland War,” said Medved.

The president of the Association of Children of Killed and Missing Croatian Defenders from the Homeland War, Sandra Rapčak Škomrlj, called on all those who have information about the fate of missing persons to report such information.

“We must appeal to those who have information to submit it in any way possible, especially to Serbia, which refuses any cooperation with Croatia, to finally open its archives and provide the necessary data. Until we resolve this issue, we cannot look to the future,” said Rapčak Škomrlj.

Commemorative gathering 'Victim of Borovo Naselje for the Homeland'

The commemorative gathering "Victim of Borovo Naselje for the Homeland" on Wednesday in the former Borovo Commerce, where a war hospital and shelter were located in 1991, marked the anniversary of the Greater Serbian occupation of Borovo Naselje and the suffering of the inhabitants of that part of Vukovar.

At the memorial plaque among the remains of Borovo Naselje in memory of the fallen, murdered and missing defenders and civilians of Borovo Naselje, numerous delegations lit candles and laid wreaths.

Honor for all the victims of Borovo Naselje was paid by laying wreaths and lighting candles by family members and representatives of the Association of Parents and Families of Captured and Forcibly Deported Croatian Defenders "Vukovar Mothers", the Union of Associations of Croatian Civilian Victims of the Homeland War and the Association of Children of Killed and Missing Croatian Defenders of the Homeland War, a delegate of Croatian Parliament, MP Nikola Mažar, the delegate of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Croatian Defenders Tomo Medved, the delegation of the Vukovar-Srijem Police Administration consisting of Acting Deputy Chief of the Police Administration Dragoslav Živković, Commander of the Police Intervention Unit Ivan Matić and Chief of the Vukovar Police Station Vlado Božić, then the Prefect of Vukovar-Srijem County Ivan Bosančić, the Mayor of the City of Vukovar Marijan Pavliček, and delegations of other cities and associations, as well as many gathered citizens.

Among those gathered was Dalibor Đurđek, the son of missing Varaždin policeman Ivan Đurđek, who, together with 185 members from Varaždin and Međimurje counties, came to Vukovar on September 18, 1991.

“We know that he was wounded in these days and was in Borovo Commerce, but we do not know what happened to him,” said Đurđek, who is still searching for his father.

“Unfortunately, many of us have still not found the truth about our loved ones, but while we are alive, we hope,” said Dalibor.

According to data from Vukovar victims' associations, at the time of the occupation on November 19, 1991, there were about 800 civilians and wounded in the hospital and shelter in Borovo Commerce, and after the aggressors entered the area, 115 defenders and civilians were forcibly taken away, tortured and killed.

On the day of the occupation in Borovo Naselje, 51 people were killed.

On the day of the occupation in Borovo Naselje, 51 people were killed

In the three-month siege of Borovo Naselje, 176 defenders and civilians died, and the fate of 48 defenders and civilians from that Vukovar settlement is still unknown.

One of the victims of Borovo Naselje is Željko Budimir, who was killed on this day in Borovo Commerce.

“My son's remains were found and I buried him. It's strange to say how happy I am that I buried him and know where his grave is, but it's like that because many are still searching for their own. I'm still searching for my brother Ivan and I hope they will find him too. Although 34 years have passed, the pain does not go away, it even seems to me that it is growing. They say that years heal wounds, but that is not true because every year adds its own wound,” said Milka Budimir.

The participants of the program in a column headed on "The Path of Memory and Light", through the streets of Borovo Naselje, to the Church of Our Lady of Fatima, where a memorial mass was served.

The commemorative program continued on the banks of the Danube in Borovo with the throwing of wreaths into the Danube and the lighting of candles along the banks, and then by lighting candles at the Memorial at the Lovas Farm and the Memorial to Persons Missing in the Homeland War in Borovo Naselje.

“On the banks of the Danube, we remember all those who were killed, captured, taken away, killed somewhere here. Especially those who were thrown into the Danube, whose remains we are still searching for today. We found some of them, they were in graves in Serbia. We hope to find all the others,” said Ljiljana Alvir, president of the Union of Associations of Families of Detained and Missing Veterans and Civilians.

“I feel happy that I can do something, light a candle for those who died for us and for our city so that we could have everything we have today,” said Sara Briševac, from the Blago Zadro Elementary School.

“The last words: "Mom, everything will be fine". I turned my head so that he wouldn't see that his father had died,” recalls Katica Majić, the mother of missing Robert.

“War wounds heal very slowly when you can't light a candle on the grave of your loved ones even 34 years after the Homeland War, of course it hurts. And the answers lie in the surrounding towns with a majority Serb population, but also in Belgrade,” said Marijan Pavliček, the mayor of Vukovar.

On Thursday, the people of Vukovar will remember the suffering in the Velepromet and Ovčara concentration camps.

Source: HRT