<nettime> 3: GODDAMNED April Fools, No more Strauss, Aftermath

["Slobodan Markovic" <twiddle@EUnet.yu>]

       [these messages, sent 01 and 07 april, just arrived
        today--which suggests that at least one mailserver 
        with an active mailspool of at least seven days of
        traffic went offline and just came back online to-
        day. how? why? maybe other servers with other mail
        too? this could be a simple network problem, or it
        could be very interesting. --tb]
        
From: "Slobodan Markovic" <twiddle@EUnet.yu>
Subject: GODDAMNED April Fools
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 18:31:56 +0200

    It's April the 1st. If you are in Belgrade, you should sleep over 
    this day... here's one good reason why:

    Air-raid warning started at 8 am previous day. Most of Belgraders
    spent day in their homes, but went to shelters just after sunset. 
    It was pretty hectic situation, because it was said that "tonight 
    NATO will strike at army and police administrative buildings in 
    Belgrade downtown".

    Time: around 02:00 am
    Place: one atomic shelter, in my neighborhood, Belgrade downtown

    A little boy and his (also) little sister are in shelter now for 
    almost 6 hrs. Kids are bored to hell... Neighbors have been 
    watching after them, since their parents were preparing some food
    in apartment on the 5th floor in the same building. Suddenly a 
    boy rises and says that he will go up and check what his parents 
    are doing. Neighbors agree...

    Boy is walking the stairs with a cunning idea in his mind...
    He rings the door bell and his mother opens...

    "Mom, sister is getting sick down there, you better hurry!!!"

    That moment his mother started to change colors. Her face turned 
    pale and legs begin to shake. She almost fell unconscious. Very
    soon, boy's little sister appeared smiling at the doorstep to 
    check if April fools joke, they planned, worked out...

    Goddamned kids at goddamned 02:00 am, during goddamned air-raid 
    warning, remembered today is goddamned April fools day.

    I was lucky to sleep over large part of this day, but now I'm awake.

    Heart attack is the last thing I need right now. So, I think I'll 
    stay locked in my room until midnight... :-)

    Greetings,

            Slobodan Markovic   | http://solair.eunet.yu/~twiddle
            Internodium Project | http://www.internodium.org.yu

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From: "Slobodan Markovic" <twiddle@EUnet.yu>
Subject: No more Strauss
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 19:58:45 +0200

    The bridge over Danube in Novi Sad, the capital of Serbian 
    northern province of Vojvodina, was destroyed early this 
    morning in NATO air-raid.

    Nobody was killed, but my girlfriend's friend who lives only 
    couple hundred meters from that bridge says it was horrible 
    experience. It's really hard to describe her tone over the 
    phone this morning... All she could say is that she was sleeping 
    and in the moment of explosion all glasses on her house windows 
    broke into million little pieces. Everything was shaking so 
    badly I thought house is going to crush on me, she said.

    I think that destruction of bridges in capital cities is totally 
    senseless... I suspect the main intent of NATO was to harm only 
    citizens of Novi Sad, because NATO generals know very well that 
    army engineers can build floating bridge for army vehicles in 
    less than an hour...

    I'm just afraid that this could be an ouvertire for similar 
    destructions in Belgrade... I hope I'm wrong...

    Greetings,

            Slobodan Markovic   | http://solair.eunet.yu/~twiddle
            Internodium Project | http://www.internodium.org.yu

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From: "Slobodan Markovic" <twiddle@EUnet.yu>
Subject: Aftermath
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 21:45:09 +0200

    ========================================================================
    DISCLAIMER: I'm not affiliated with any of the sides in current conflict
    on Balkans. I'm a 21 years old student of computer sciences at the
    University of Belgrade. I don't support violence as a way of solving any
    conflict. You are about to read only one tiny part of my experiences
    concerning goddamned war in my living environment.
    ========================================================================


    In the past two days NATO strikes intensified. The most probable reason
    for that is forthcoming G-8 summit. Last night, I saw couple explosions
    (cruise missiles) in north-western part of Belgrade from my balcony.
    I also heard heavy AA defence gun fire during the attack on southern
    parts of the city (I could not see them all, because nearby buildings
    are partly closing my view).

    Real hell was in the other parts of Yugoslavia in the past two days...

    Aleksinac (small town of miners, 200 km south from Belgrade) aftermath:

    - 16 civilian houses flattened to the ground.
    - 3 buildings with 200 apartments damaged and not usable anymore.
    - Hospital and trauma centre heavily damaged.
    - 12 confirmed civilians died.
    - More than 30 wounded.
    - Not one military target destroyed.

    Nish (second largest city in Serbia, 300 km south-eastern from Belgrade
    and 100 km eastern from Prishtina) aftermath:

    - Tobacco factory hit. Total nonsense.
    - My friend from Nish told me on the phone that "one missile hit
      something near the bus station, which is damaged. Bombs fell in the
      centre of Nish also, and a few buildings which belong to University
      of Nish are damaged (Faculty of agriculture).
    - Some (long time empty) military barracks on the periphery is hit.

    Chachak (a town in southern Serbia) aftermath:

    - Largest factory of home and kitchen devices totally devastated.
      I never saw such a destruction in my life. Factory sections for
      production of vacuum cleaners, hair dryers and electric ranges are
      flattened to the ground. Total idiocy.

    Prishtina (multiethnic city, the capital of southern Serbian province
    of Kosovo, 150.000 citizens) aftermath:

    - Whole block of civilian buildings destroyed.
    - The exact number of casualties not available yet.
    - Many nearby government buildings damaged.
    - The same military barracks in Prishtina were hit for the seventh
      time in the past two weeks (barracks are evacuated long time ago).
    - Some (unconfirmed) reports say that one missile missed its target
      and hit one graveyard, damaging some 50 graves and a nearby chapel.


    I notice that all of that is VERY strange way of stopping anything
    or anybody on Kosovo... I can only see the anger, not the fear,
    growing in the eyes of people in Yugoslav cities... :-((

    Greetings,

            Slobodan Markovic   | http://solair.eunet.yu/~twiddle
            Internodium Project | http://www.internodium.org.yu

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