Siniše Glavašević: Stories of Vukovar
Glavašević was a native of Vukovar, finishing primary and secondary schooling there and entering the University of Sarajevo, where he graduated with a degree in Comparative Literature. During the Croatian War of Independence, he was the chief editor of Vukovar radio station.
During the Battle of Vukovar, Glavašević was regularly reporting from the besieged city. He is particularly remembered for a series of stories he had read to the listeners, that talked about basic human values.
On October 16, 1991, Glavašević said on Croatian Radio:
Vukovar submits to Croatia, Europe and the world - either the Croatian authorities will do everything to obtain a permanent cease-fire, or they will send the necessary and efficient assistance, of the military kind, or they will evacuate the entire civilian population of this area. There is another option, and that is the complete and final destruction of the city and a massacre of the population, as well as two hundred and fifty heavily wounded. However, that option isn't on anyone's mind here. The heroes of this city are necessary for some time yet, as living witnesses of this war. Thank you Zagreb. Don't cut this part...
On November 18, 1991, Glavašević sent in his last report, which ended with:
The picture of Vukovar at the 22nd hour of the 87th day [of the siege] will remain forever in the memory of the witnesses of this time. There are infinite spooky sights, and you can smell the burning. We walk over bodies, building material, glass, detritus and the gruesome silence. ... We hope that the torments of Vukovar are over.
Glavašević disappeared during the fall of Vukovar. It was later found that he was executed by the Serbian paramilitary forces along with hundreds of others in the Vukovar massacre, between November 18 – 20. In 1997, his body was exhumed from a mass grave in the nearby farm of Ovčara.
In 1992, Matica hrvatska printed Stories from Vukovar (Croatian: Priče iz Vukovara), a collection of stories by Glavašević. English translation of the collection was published in 2011. These lyrical stories are his only preserved literary attempts.
Sources: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sini%C5%A1a_Glava%C5%A1evi%C4%87 and Stories from Vukovar.
