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66 out of 300 Croatian Lipizzan horses returned home |
By Ivan Pušćenik |
Published
10/15/2007
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Environment , Community , Events , Human Rights
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Unrated
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A part of our soul has returned after 16 years
Awaiting Croatian Lipizzan horses in the town of Lipik during the night, October 12/13th, 2007, at 2.20 in the morning. The first horse entered the Lipik Stud at 2.40. (photos by Ivan Pušćenik)
66 out of 300 stolen Croatian Lipizzan
Horses returned home from Serbia Ivan Pušćenik, Lipik
The returned soul of Lipik The atmosphere was magical. Lipik was trembeling on its feet during the whole night. The Ergela was crowded with people, the fog has blended people with trees, the city sank into the darkness and the glow from the people's eyes was lightening the road for the horses, a road to their hometown Lipik. After 16 long years, Lipik's horses, of lipizzian breed, Croatian national treasure, were brought back to their home made stables of the Ergela Lipik, where they were taken from and stolen at the end of 1991, at the beginning of the attack on Lipik. After several years of negotiations and attempts for horses to be returned to Lipik, in the October 12th, 2007, the horses went from Novi Sad to Croatia. Saturday, October 13th, around two o'clock in the morning, the convoy of five trucks with 66 horses arrived to Donji Čaglić, a little village near the entrance of Lipik. The convoy of hope with Lipik's horses was comming back the same road they were taken away in 1991. The first who welcomed horses were mr.sc. Milan Božić, the prewar director of Ergela Lipik, the Minister of agronomy, forests and waters Petar Čobanković, the Lipik's mayor Antun Harmija, Zdravko Ronko, the mayor of Pakrac mr. Davor Huska, the reporters from Pakrački List, the members from comunities of young people in Lipik. The convoy of hope went trough the streets of Lipik followed with sirens and lights. People went outside their houses in their yards and stood at their windows even though it was 2.21 AM. When the convoy arrived in Lipik people cried watching the comeback of their horses who were emerging out of fog and the darkness that took them and prisoned them in 1991. On the Ergela itself, there was a spontanious group of 200 people from Lipik and Pakrac who were up all night waiting for the moment thay thought would never come. It is hard to say who was at the Ergela that night, but every single part of Lipik was. All prayers and hopes came alive that night. On the pathway to Ergela, people were lightening candels for the horses to come to ther home. People were crying because that pride and joy of Lipik was brought back to where it belongs. Straight after arrival of convoy, the horses were shifted to the stables and comming out of the first horse was followed with joy and thrill. Sixty six horses had been brought back to Lipik, but only 8 were the originals kidnapped from the Ergela in 1991, while the rest of them are the children of the kidnapped horses. Among those 66 horses there were two ponies, who aroused a particular joy among the youngest citizens of Lipik, who were also waiting the whole night "the event of the decade". There were the representatives of all institutions in Lipik, comunities, organizations and enterprises, the television entertainer Siniša Cmrk, TV crues, the reporters of the daily and weekly newsletters... The members of the comunity "Lijepa naša", Lipik branch, who initiated the story involving the comeback of the horses by organizing the petition on the last streetball in August 18th 2007, which was followed by circuling the petition around the world and gave the result of comming the biggest dream truth, were the most proud. After initiating the petition, which was signed by almost 4.000 people by now, including Croatian medias into the story, but also keeping track of the whole situation on the world level, which should be especially thanked to prof. Darko Žubrinić from Zagreb, to our musician Nenad Bach from New York (www.croatia.org), and to proud Croatian diaspora, the question of comeback of the horses to Lipik was actualizing again. Everybody started moving, from national medias and reporters, who were truly, from the first moment, like a concious of the Croatian society and true values, they stood straight behind the attempts of returning the horses. Croatian emigrants were also in it. They felt the puls of their homeland. Proud population of Lipik and whole Croatia who kept dreaming, 16 years of persistance, and the Croatian goverment which stood behind Lipik and did everything neccesary to make this dream come truth. The first honest (emotional and factual) layout about trying to bring the horses back to Lipik, which was published by mr. Sc. Mato Čačić and finally announced the truth and problems that Croatian side went trough during the negotiations involving the return of the horses, stays remembered. It will always stay remembered the hope of all those proud man and womem in Lipik, their prayers and tears in their eyes for every time when they saw their horses on pictures or TV during this 16 years. Our defenders will also stay remembered. They defended our Lipik and horses those weeks at the end of 1991, when Lipik was left on it's own. Everyone who lived for Lipik all of these years and believed that one day it will be better, will stay remembered. Now that we know that our horses are sleeping under the same sky as we are, everything seems easier, somehow it is easier to fight, because, if our horses survived waiting for so long to come back, than nobody of us has the right to give up of Lipik. Now that the soul of Lipik has been returned, life showed us that everything gets its meaning eventually, but also that all of the dreams really become truth. (translated from Croatian original by the author)
Ivan Pušćenik, Lipik
Vraćena duša Lipika! Atmosfera je bila magična. Cijeli Lipik je cijelu noć bio na nogama i drhtao, Ergela je bila prepuna ljudi, magla je siluetama stapala ljude i drveća, grad je bio utonuo u noćnu tamu a pogledi ljudi i njihov sjaj u očima osvjetljavali su konjima put kući u njihov Lipik.
Nakon 16 dugih godina lipički konji lipicanske pasmine, hrvatsko nacionalno blago, vraćeni su u matične štale Ergele Lipik odakle su bili oteti i ukradeni krajem 1991. godine na samome početku napada na Lipik. Nakon nekoliko godina pregovora i pokušaja da se konji vrate u Lipik, 12. listopada 2007. godine lipički konji su krenuli iz Novog Sada prema Hrvatskoj.
U subotu, 13. listopada, oko 02:00 sata ujutro kolona od pet kamiona s ukupno 66 konja stigla je u Donji Čaglić, malo selo na samom ulazu u Lipik. Konvoj nade s lipičkim konjima vraćao se istim putem kojim su i odvedeni 1991. godine.
U Donjem Čagliću prvi su konje dočekali prijeratni direktor Ergele Lipik mr.sc. Milan Božić, ministar poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodnog gospodarstva Republike Hrvatske Petar Čobanković, lipički gradonačelnik Antun Haramija, župan požeško slavonski Zdravko Ronko, pakrački gradonačelnik mr. Davor Huška, novinari Pakračkog lista, članovi udruge Lijepa naša ogranak Lipik i članovi udruga mladih iz Lipika. Nakon formiranja kolone, konvoj nade je, uz sirene i svjetla, prošao ulicama Lipika na kojima su ljudi izlazili na dvorišta i prozore iako je bilo 02:21 sati ujutro kada je konvoj stigao u sam Lipik. Ljudi su plakali promatrajući povratak naših konja koji su izranjali iz magle i tame u koju su bili odvedeni 1991. godine.
Na samoj Ergeli spontano se skupilo oko 200tinjak stanovnika Lipika i Pakraca koji su cijelu noć bdijeli čekajući trenutak za koji se mislilo da nikada neće doći. Teško je reći tko je sve bio na Ergeli tu noć, ali svaki dijelić Lipika je bio tamo. Sve molitve i nade su tu noć tamo zaživjele. Na stazi prema Ergeli ljudi su s upaljenim svijećama osvjetljavali put konjima prema njihovoj kući, njihovom domu.
Ljudi su plakali jer su taj ponos Lipika i ta duša Lipika vraćeni tamo gdje pripadaju. Odmah po dolasku konvoja konji su prebačeni u staje, a izlazak prvog konja popraćen je uzdasima i oduševljenjem.
U Lipik je vraćeno 66 konja od čega je tek osam (8) izvornih sa lipičke Ergele otetih 1991. godine dok su ostali potomci otetih konja. Među tih 66 konja bila su i dva (2) ponija što je izazvalo posebnu radost kod najmlađih stanovnika Lipika koji su također u velikom broju cijelu noć čekali događaj desetljeća. Bili su ondje predstavnici svih lipičkih institucija, ustanova, udruga, organizacija i tvrtki, zatim televizijski voditelj Siniša Cmrk, televizijske ekipe, novinari dnevnih i tjednih listova...
Posebno ponosni tu noć bili su članovi udruge Lijepa naša - ogranak Lipik, koji su pokrenuli priču oko povratka konja organiziranjem peticije zadnjeg dana streetballa 18. kolovoza 2007. godine, nakon čega je njihova inicijativa obišla svijet i rezultirala ostvarenjem najvećeg sna.
Nakon pokretanja peticije koju je dosada potpisalo više od 4.000 ljudi, uključivanjem hrvatskih medija u cijelu priču, ali i praćenjem cijelog problema na svjetskoj razini što se treba posebno zahvaliti prof. Darku Žubriniću iz Zagreba i našem glazbeniku Nenadu Bachu iz New Yorka (www.croatia.org) te ponosnoj hrvatskoj dijaspori, pitanje povratka lipičkih konja ponovno se aktualiziralo. Svi su se pokrenuli, od domaćih medija i novinara koji su zaista od prvog trenutka, kao savijest hrvatskog društva i istinskih vrijednosti, čvrsto stajali iza pokušaja da se konji vrate pa do hrvatskog iseljeništva koje itekako osjeća puls svoje domovine, od ponosnih stanovnika Lipika i cijele Hrvatske koji su 16 godina uporno sanjali pa do hrvatske vlade koja je spremno stala iza svog Lipika i učinila sve što je bilo potrebno da se ovaj san ostvari.
Ostaje upamćen i prvi iskreni (ali i emotivni) činjenični prikaz o nastojanjima da se lipicanci vrate koji je objavio mr. sc. Mato Čačić i napokon svima obznanio istinu i probleme s kojima se susretala hrvatska strana u pregovorima oko povratka konja. Ostaju upamćene i sve one nade ponosnih Lipičanki i Lipičana, njihove molitve i suze u očima svaki put kada su u prošlih 16 godina naše konje vidjeli na slikama ili na televiziji. Ostaju upamćeni i naši branitelji koji su branili Lipik i naše konje tih tjedana krajem 1991. godine kada je Lipik ostao sam. Ostaju upamćeni i svi oni koji su svih ovih godina živjeli za Lipik i vjerovali da će jednog dana biti bolje.
Sada kada znamo da naši konji spavaju pod istim nebom kao i mi sve je nekako lakše, nekako se lakše boriti jer ako su naši konji preživjeli toliko dugo čekajući da se vrate tada nitko od nas nema pravo odustati i dignuti ruke od Lipika već se moramo svi zajedno zapitati što to svatko od nas može učiniti za ovaj Lipik. Sada kada je vraćena duša Lipiku život nam je pokazao da ipak sve jednoga dana dobije svoj smisao, ali i da se snovi zaista i ostvaruju.
| Croatia has the largest number of Lipizzan horses in the world! There are more than 1000 Lipizzan horses in Croatia out of the total number of 6-7000 in the world (15-16%).
| Lorries with a part of stolen Croatian horses. Note a flag with the Lipik Coat of Arms, depicting Kursalon and a Lipizzan horse.
From 66 Lipizzan horses returned from Serbia, 8 of them are originally from the Lipik Stud, while the rest is from the progeny of the stolen Lipizzan horses. Counting progeny, it is estimated that there are altogether 300 Croatian Lipizzan horses in Serbia. A part of them starved out of hunger and inappropropriate treatement in the infamous Bukinac stud in Serbia. Many of stolen Croatian Lipizzan horses have been already sold during the past 16 years, most of them within Serbia, and a part of them in Western Europe.
| Cheerful citizens of Lipik: "A part of our soul is back in Lipik again!"
Again at home, in the Lipik Stud...
Mr Milan Božić, dipl.vet. med., shining with happiness. He was director of the Lipik Stud before the Serbian aggression on Croatia in 1991. The stud has been empty for as many as 16 years.
Croatian Lipizzan horses, perplexed with unexpected attention after many years of humiliation and hunger in Serbia.
Mr. Petar Čobanković, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Croatia, and Mr. Siniša Cmrk, with a mare.
Skinny and hungry Croatian Lipizzaners that survived humiliating conditions in Serbia since 1991, are back home in the town of Lipik only in 2007. This web page, recently conceived by Nenad Bach, will try to collect data (texts, photos, films) related to surprisingly old and rich tradition of horse breeding in Croatia.
We shall also try to describe how is it possible that Croatia has the largest number of Lipizzan horses in the world. Yes, dear reader: more than Austria, more than Germany, more than France, more than England, more than Spain, more than Russia, more than Italy, ...
| We expect the remaining approximately 250 Croatian Lipizzan horses to come home soon !
Formated for CROWN by prof.dr. Darko ŽubrinićDistributed by www.Croatia.org . This message is intended for Croatian Associations/Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions/articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know!
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Comments
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Comment #1
(Posted by Hilda Marija Foley)
A heartwarming report about the return of the beloved Lippizan horses, yet at the same time also sad and disturbing that Croatia had to wait 16 years for their return. There should have been much more demand for their return made on Serbia by the Croatian government over the past years - then we would not have had to see only 8 of the original horses come home. Some of them are in deplorable condition with sway-back and their ribs showing. Serbia should be held accountable for their condition. And yes, the rest of the horses should also be returned - no further delays.
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Comment #2
(Posted by Ed Andrus)
Excellent article. Most I've seen on this topic anywhere!!
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Comment #3
(Posted by Laura Wiener-Smolka)
As of June 2008, what is the status of the poor remaining Lipizzans still in Serbia? I would like to help.
Laura
www.Lipizzan.com
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Comment #4
(Posted by CHRIS SEXTON)
VERY TOUCHING..OVER THE WKEND MY SISTER AND i SAW THE WORLD FAMOUS LIPIZZANER HORSES SHOW IN GLENS FALLS
NY, AND IT WAS BREATHTAKING... I ALSO BOUGHT THE DVED OF THE '63 MOVIE'MIRACLE OF THE WHITE STALLIONS.. I HOPE THE REST OF THE HORSE S COME HOME..AND NO, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT CROATIA HAS THE MOST LIPIZZANS! THANKS..
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Comment #5
(Posted by ivan)
Nice story happy ending,,,,
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