SKOPLJE – BELGRADE – feminist detective story

Monday, 27 June 2005 04:14

We open our archive and give you a note from 1995, about four brave women and an incredible antiwar project. In order to even publish the note on an mailing list, we had to leave out all the facts, so after seven years it is difficult to understand what really happened then.

To leave the note in its original shape, to make it testimony of state of war, Serbian fascism, and the fear we were living in, in the beginning we will give you few facts in order to make it clearer:

• The event in question happened after conference in Macedonia, with women's groups activists from states of former Yugoslavia, which was organized by the feminist foundation STAR; 
•  In those years feminists from former Yugoslavia loved to meet each other and sometimes they called them selves formers (Former Sisters Unite!), and sometimes they called them selves exers from the term ex Yugoslavia;
• Belgrade team had three feminists: Nadezda Cetkovic (at a moment Radovic), Duda Petrovic and Ljiljana Zivkovic, who were then activists and volunteers of the SOS Hotline for Women and Children Victims of Violence. First two of the above mentioned are founders of the Women Alternative Flea Action ZABA, second hand store, another feminist action for women, and third mentioned is founder of Labris;
• One of the conference participants came from Sarajevo, during the state of war when Sarajevo was still under the siege,
• with a wish to get to Montenegro to see her two daughters who were in hiding;
• During the conference, we were making various plans how to concretely support Bosnian sister to get to Montenegro;
• A plan most likely to succeed was the plan that four women should go by sleeping car on the night train Skoplje – Belgrade, which they did; 
• At that time, people with Muslim name, middle name or the last name couldn't enter Serbia and Montenegro;
• ZAMIR/WOMEN was the mailing list for the activists from Croatia and Serbia, and it begun as part of the antiwar campaign;  
• The note was written in a form of a letter. 

 

 ***

 

To: /ZAMIR/WOMEN

From: lepa.mladjenovic

Subject: feminist detective story

Date: July 5, 1995. 1.35 PM

Dear sisters, I got the permission form the actresses of this feminist story to present it to you through our joint fe-mail.

After a known to you women’s meeting on the south of former homeland organized by STAR/TRANS, one group of women went off by train to northern countries, i.e. the one I am now in. Disloyal to the state by their preference, feminists from Belgrade worked out a plan for an activist from Bas carsija how to get to her two daughters currently situated in the country known as Montenegro Blues.

 

Since we know about the lines of limit beyond which there are guns and shotguns and passports and visas are wanted, and some lines cannot be crossed even with passports, the plan meant that and activist crossed the line as if she did not cross it.

The project consisted of an idea that we filmed women’s party in the train with three actresses plus one invisible from Bas carsija. Two great founders of Zaba and one saleswoman from Zaba, one activist of Labris (all three of them from SOS Belgrade, and those are the most dangerous ones) bought beers and other elements of a usual train party. After train left off the Invisible one was

very excited, i.e. all three days of the lake meeting, it is understandable, because the plans changed all the time.

At leaving the Princess, one Zaba woman Founderess was shaking with fear (when the other Zaba woman Founderess came she was shaking out of post-fear) but it all went according to the plan. The princess’ task was to act heterosexually in a classic way so that all the conductors, custom officials and other uniformed creatures are swept off their feet by her presence. The other Founderess’ task was to control their whereabouts so that she could stop them if they exaggerated in searching and checking departments, and the third, Labris’ activist was supposed to support the Invisible one and take care of her mental health.

Of course, it is not true that women do not plan things. 

 Let’s continue. We are in a couchette with three beds in a department with three SOS women and the Invisible one. They drank bears, told their impressions of formers, and watched the passage. The Invisible one was folded up on the highest bed. Since the SOS volunteers passed many training courses with the experts from different countries of Europe and world, mental health coordinator remembered a good exercise, “safe place”; and she started to talk to the Invisible one…and drag her into the safe place of her childhood, by the river Una, somewhere in Bosnia.

 And so, quite unexpectedly, under tranquilizers and soothing voice of Labris woman, the Invisible one fell asleep. It was fantastic. The Invisible one was sleeping and the other three were drinking beer and talking, full of all possible fears! Then, one by one, the uniformed creatures entered the compartment, and the Princess lifted up her legs and drank bear, Zaba Founderess told some

bitter stories, Labris woman drank also, shoes were everywhere on the floor. They entered in uniforms and saw some strange atmosphere in the compartment.  Let’s not forget that these men had limited crime capabilities. Then one of them said: There is something suspicious here (correct!) …and looked under the down bed (mistake!) and smiled (for nothing!) and got out of the compartment. Then the four of them came in, one by one. And so it all went well. They woke up the Invisible one to have fun.

And in the morning they arrived.

Somewhere around noon Seher Sarajevo woman called me to express her gratitude to us for being so wonderful and good and I was at that night time probably sitting here by my computer and read about women’s conferences. But still, our other sister from Bas carsija cried on the phone so sincerely. She saw one daughter after two years and in the evening of the same day she saw

the other one.

She was so beautiful in her joy and I was like a fe-mail chronicler of our women’s time. I wish on this occasion to hand feminist ribbons to all actresses of this crime story and to share one women’s happiness with you.

P.s. Another detail is chronologically important. After crossing the line and waking up, our dear Seher Sarajevo woman wanted somehow to pay off to our brave activists. She pulled out a DM bill and told Labris woman that it was meant for printing lesbian newspaper “Labris” – that she edited together with another Labris woman in Belgrade. Since all actresses of this Macedonia express were very excited that blue bill walked for some time on the air line of the compartment until the three activists managed to support our dear Seher Sarajevo woman to keep the bill for her brave daughters.

Love, Lepa

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