From Krapanj to San Pedro, and back to his roots

For the past three years, Denis Svirčić Miškov, born in San Pedro, California, has worked tirelessly to create a family tree, not only for his family, but also for the entire island of Krapanj, where he draws his roots and deep connections. What began as a personal project out of love for his own roots has grown into an extensive genealogical tree related to that small, miraculous island in the Šibenik archipelago: more than 30 thousand names, 10 thousand photos and a multitude of family stories from Krapanj preserved for future generations.

A few days ago, this tree was presented for the first time in Krapanj, in front of his father's house. About eighty Krapanj residents gathered. Many of them had not seen each other for years. After a speech that Denis Svirčić Miškov gave together with Roko Tanfara Likin, they headed to the museum, where the tree is now available to everyone, digitally.

His family story is in many ways similar to others. His parents, father Ivan Svirčić Miškov and mother Albina Banovac, emigrated from Krapanj in the 1970s with the hope of returning in five to ten years. Instead, they stayed in America for more than half a century. Denis grew up on American concrete, but his childhood smelled of Krapanj. Almost every summer he returned to the island where his father and uncle still share a house. His children, born Americans, found their second home there.

Denis and his wife Nicole, whose roots are from Mljet and Konavle, decided that their children would not know Croatia only from postcards. They got married in the Church of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik, and although they were born in the USA, they preserve the language, culture and faith, things that are easily lost today and difficult to regain.

“My children adore the island. There are no cars there, they have company, freedom... everything that is hard to find today,” tells us Denis, who decided to preserve their roots not only through memories, but also through facts, names, stories and pictures.

“The story of the family tree,” as he says, “began about ten years ago.” Denis's father and brother Adrian tried to make a family tree.

“They reached about 150 people and gave up. I told them I would take it over and they didn't believe me. My brother even said to me: 'Why would you do that...' Why would I? You'll see. And so in three years I managed to get 30,000 names, 10,000 pictures and 90 percent of the new and old cemetery in Krapanj is on that tree. Then I thought... well, this is not just for my family, but for all the people of Krapanj, not only in Croatia, but all over the world. I called the sponger Roko Tanfar Likin and presented him with the idea of having the tree in his museum, so that all of our people could come and look at it at any time, research it and add pictures or dates, basically anything they think is missing. And here we are today,” he said.

He started with grandparents, uncles and aunts, then connected with relatives through social networks, used archives, church books... He photographed every grave in Krapanj, wrote down every name, every date, every trace of the past.

“I must have met 300 relatives through Facebook and many people helped me to expand the tree. I told everyone that it was not just a collection of names and dates, but the history of Krapanj,” he told us, adding that through the creation of this tree he heard many stories, many happy ones, but also less happy ones because he realized that almost every family has someone with whom they are not on good terms.

Many stories are also painful. Like the one about the woman who gave birth 12 times, and only one child survived for more than a few years. Or those family disagreements that drag on for generations, often because of land or inheritance. But Denis keeps some stories to himself, not wanting to disturb anyone's peace.

And there were also comical moments. A relative, whom he contacted with information about her great-grandfather, thought it was a scam and announced that she would report everything to the police.

“I claimed that someone was her great-grandfather, and she claimed that he wasn't. I said to her: 'How are you going to call the police if I'm in America?' I told her to call her first cousin to explain everything to her. Then she called back and said that everything was fine. I understand her... there's a lot going on online these days,” he continued.

The day before the tree promotion, Denis buried his grandfather Mate in Krapanj. It was hard for him to give a speech the day after the funeral, but he knew he had to and that his grandfather would have wanted it. When people started to gather, when he saw how much this project meant to them, the tears started flowing.

“That was the moment when I knew that the effort had paid off. I think people were satisfied and happy that we were all here together. Some said that so many people hadn't gathered in one place in the last 30 years,” he added.

For now, the tree is stored digitally and can be viewed in the museum, with data about living people blocked, out of respect for privacy. He doesn't know what will happen next. Maybe it will be expanded, maybe it will turn into a permanent exhibition, maybe one day it will turn into a book.

But what he does know is that it is important to convey more than just symbols to the younger generation, especially those outside Croatia.

“I consider myself not young anymore. And for the youth and the new generations, I don't know where it's going, the world has completely changed. Americans say that the old generation always blames the new generation. That's not me. The world remains for the young. And the Croatian youth living abroad must understand that it is important to learn the language. Forget those tattoos of the coat of arms, of Hajduk, of anything... Then I would recommend everyone to learn the history of Croatia, the history of Krapanj, the history of their lineage and where they came from,” concluded Denis, and in the end he said “Blood is not water”.

Source: sibenik.in