Cista Mala is a small village in the Sibenik hinterland. At the moment its population consist of 60-odd elderly people. Nevenka and Nikola, just like the others in Cista Mala, are Serbs, an important detail in this case. Another also rather important detail is that in early hours on May 14, a group of young men, all ethnic Croats, entered Nikola's house and bestially maltreated him. They came from the neighboring village of Cista Velika with mostly Croatian population.
Unfortunately, both sides have grown accustomed to disrespect and humiliation of these old people, Serbs returnees, "for Chetnik crimes in the past war". Some by choice, others by necessity. So, it is really not surprising that most of the people in Cista Mala sleep, eat and spend most of their time together (at the time we were there they've been cooking the soup from greens). Although, they're all used to insults and empty bottles hurled from passing cars of their neighbors from Cita Velika, none of the scared Serbs was prepared to reveal his or her full name. Can't be careful enough!
Of course, if they're prepared to eat up a portion of insults (of the type: "And what are you doing in Croatian bus?") they are welcomed by on the bus. Fortunately, the local Serbs state that bus drivers are civil and frequently try to protect them.
"Perhaps I should have been more careful. I thought I had no need to hide in my own village. I have never locked the front door, so I didn't think I had to start now", were the first words by Nikola Samardzic, spoken in a broken, dejected voice.
"Luckily, my wife went to sleep at another house here in the village, and I stayed at home and slept here on the couch in the kitchen. At least, that's what it used to be", Nikola tried to made a joke, showing us the interior: a couple of tin pans, a small radio, ancient TV set used only as a postament for a vase with flowers and a gas stove.
"I was awakened by the noise from the yard. It was around six o'clock in the morning. Since the front door was open, I heard someone coming into the house. Three of them came in, all young, in their twenties, and the fourth man was on the street in the car. They asked me if I had cigarettes, and I gave them some. Then they asked if I had wine; I gave them that, too. But they didn't want to drink. That's when I started to wonder what they wanted. It wasn't wine."
When the young men went out into the front yard, Nikola thought that the party which for the young men had begun the evening before as the farewell party for one of their friends, was finally over. But...
"I saw them walking around in the yard, then going into stable, so I went after them."
At this point Nikola stopped to light up his cigarette and remember the times when the people in this mountainous part of Croatia weren't divided by their nationality. It was the time when Nikola as the only, locksmith and blacksmith in that area did jobs for both Serbs and Croats, among whom, as he said, he had a lot of friends. While continuing his story, Nikola Samardzic sounded as if he were trying to apologize for nausea that his story was likely to bring to the listener.
"Then the blond man came closer, took out his, pardon my language, penis and started pushing it in my mouth. He screamed: "Blow it, blow it!"... Then he pissed on me, masturbated, whatever... I managed somehow to move away from them and to get back to the kitchen. They came after me and started to break the windows, and the few glasses I have. The leader tried to hit my head with a handle of a shovel. I somehow managed protect my head... The leader, the blond man took a knife and started to cut me all over. He cut my skin on four places, forehead, arms and the chest. They told me: "We'll slaughter you in your sleep", then: " Where is your wife, we'll rape her in front of you!" The one from the car called them to come back. While they were going out they tried to push me back so that I would not be able to see the car. But I managed to see that it was an old, red car. Finally, they threatened to kill me if I said a word about this to anyone". These were the last words of Nikola Samardzic's horrible story.
As he said, he understood the frustrations caused by war, but couldn't understand what he had done to anger anyone. "I couldn't go to Tito's Army because of disability, let alone to the Serb Army. When the war began, the Army took over our house [Cista Mala was on the front lie during the war] so we moved in with my wife's family in Deverske. We lived there until the operation 'Storm'". Then the they fled to Beli Manastir and finally, in February 1997 came back to their own home.
"Well, isn't Croatia my country, too? My father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all born here. I have two married daughters. They live in Zagreb. So, where am I supposed to go and live?", wondered Nikola Samardzic remembering another "incidents" when people from Cista Velika came and smashed things in his yard. Without punishment.
This time, the Police showed up after only 10 minutes together with a physician. It is Nikola's guess that one of the neighbors called the Police from the telephone booth next to the Orthodox cemetery, the only link of Cista Mala with the rest of the world.
By the way the young, blond leader's name is Ante Pesic (21). He is at the moment in custody in Sibenik. Criminal charges still haven't been filed with the State Attorney's office.
"They know what they did. We were not attacked by strangers, but Serbs from Cista Mala. I saw it with my own eyes while at the front", says Bore Storic - also known as Cvik. "Serb returnees are rude and arrogant, because they know that the Police and foreign human rights organizations protect them. One of them, quite recently, painted a well in the colors of the Serbian flag. Clearly, that well didn't survive for long! And now they want coexistence, as if nothing has happened". He showed us the place where the [Catholic] church was located until 1991.
Regarding the incident in Cista Mala and Nikola Samardzic, people from Cista Velika share the opinion of Neven Pesic who also remembers the war because of a wound in his right calf: "I think people suffered psychologically from the war. So it is almost normal that something simply snaps inside you. I think that's the reason. It is not these old people's fault, but perhaps, even I can go off tomorrow, you know what I mean...?"
We visited the local grocery. "That young man just blow up completely. I know him, I visited him yesterday. He lost a part of his leg because he stepped on a mine. Well, I have to admit he couldn't have chosen a more innocent Serb in the village, but, well, it happens", said one of anonymous customers, while drinking his beer. Then he added: "Who wants to forgive and stop can, we won't!"