Play to Commemorate 31st Anniversary of Refugee Convoy Rocket Attack

Arterarij announces a new play, "In Our Garden Only the Grass Is Not Mowed," set to premiere on September 18, 2026, in Zagreb. The timing of the announcement deliberately marks the 31st anniversary of a tragic event: the rocket attack on a refugee convoy on Petrovačka cesta, between Bosanski Petrovac and Ključ. Ten civilians, including two children from Donji Lapac, Nevenka and Žarko Rajić, died in the attack.

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The society is free only when it can afford to remember the whole truth and take responsibility for it.

This date often passes unnoticed, overshadowed by celebrations of the freedom won in Operation Storm. The play's creators highlight that a society's maturity is measured by its ability to remember all its victims, even those history might overlook, without diminishing its own victories. True freedom, they argue, allows a society to acknowledge the entire truth and take responsibility for it.

The Arterarij production does not question the legitimacy of Operation Storm or the sacrifices of Croatian defenders. Instead, it stems from gratitude towards them. The artists believe it is possible to be proud of liberation while remaining honest about actions taken during the war that went beyond its justified objectives. Through theater, they aim to bear witness to the two children whose journey became their last and to the people whose futures were cut short by war's divisions.

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The victim remains a victim regardless of the side from which they come, and remembering the innocently perished children is an act of humanity rather than a political act.

The play is based on the idea that a victim is a victim regardless of which side they were on. Remembering innocent children is presented as an act of humanity, not politics. The title, "In Our Garden Only the Grass Is Not Mowed," serves as a metaphor for untouched, unhealed places within a seemingly ordered garden, overgrown with unmanageable memories. The production intends to express empathy for all parents who lost children in the war and to call for a societal remembrance that prioritizes humanity over divisions, thereby giving freedom's celebration a deeper, more lasting meaning.

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In Our Garden Only the Grass Is Not Mowed is a metaphor for a garden that, despite apparent order, holds places that remain untouched, unhealed, overgrown with memory that cannot be tidied.