Vesna from Pag in tears: “I want my children to have somewhere to live”

“I have five children and six grandchildren. I want my children to have somewhere to live.” Vesna Čavić from Pag delivered the line in tears at Zagreb’s Main Railway Station, where supporters gathered for the “Walk for Lika, Walk for Croatia” protest.

The demonstration was prompted by an affair involving hazardous waste in the area around Gospić. The crowd included not only people from Lika, but supporters from across Croatia. Banners at the station read “Water is life”, “Our poor homeland, beloved polluted land”, “Nature screams, garbage stays silent” and “We are not a landfill”.

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I have five children and six grandchildren. I want my children to have somewhere to live. They have been stealing from us since the war. I look at Velebit from Pag, our jewel. They have been stealing from us for 30 years. We are aware of it, and today’s gathering will bring change.

Čavić said she could see Velebit from Pag and called it the country’s jewel. “They have been stealing from us for 30 years,” she said, arguing that the gathering could bring change. A protester from Zagreb’s Prečko district said the situation existed “nowhere else, only here”. Demonstrators from Pula said Istria stood with Lika and demanded responsibility.

Several thousand people were expected to walk to Ban Josip Jelačić Square, including public figures and opposition politicians. Jozo Tičinović, a war veteran from Kostanje, said local abuses of power produced similar problems in his area. He rejected claims that the protest was anti-Croatian, saying he defended the country during the war and continued to defend and love it in peacetime.

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This exists nowhere else, only here.

The civic initiative “Gospić Is Our Home” called on the government to present a complete buried-waste remediation program within 20 days, with binding deadlines. It also demanded that 33,000 tonnes of waste be removed within three months, that the Rakitovac municipal landfill be included in the waste-management plan, and that independent experts prepare a long-term monitoring plan and risk assessment.

The initiative also called for broader changes, including collective protection under the Environmental Protection Act and the inclusion of all known environmental “black spots” in the national waste-management plan.

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Politicians’ statements have become disgusting. This must stop. The protest will be good, we demand responsibility.