Organized by the Network of Antifascist Women of Zagreb (MAZ) on the Sava Embankment, near the Freedom Bridge, the seventh edition of the Trnje Bonfires was held on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the liberation of Zagreb on May 8, 1945
BY: N. Jovanović / Novosti
This is the first official event, after the virtual version in 2020 and the unofficial lighting of bonfires a year later, which was marked by a rich and well-attended programme. In addition to sewing, dancing, and bicycle repair workshops, an ecology quiz, and a virtual exhibition of the Museum of Victory and the Liberation of Dalmatia from Šibenik, MAZ and Zagreb Pride stalls, the audience was entertained by numerous choirs such as: “Le Zbor,” “Domaći gosti,” “Partizanski zbor,” “Ličko prelo,” and “Zborxop.” The songs that they performed were met with a warm reception. Many remembered the times when the series “A Better Life” (“Bolji život”), was broadcasting, the melody of which was performed by “Domaći gosti,” but also the times when, before the war, visitors would gather in much larger numbers, with a longer and richer programme. There were an estimated 1,000 visitors this year, as some were deterred by a downpour that took place early enough so as not to disrupt the programme.
This year, the Mayor of Zagreb, Tomislav Tomašević also spoke at the Trnje Bonfires, emphasizing that since 2015 we have been celebrating the day when Zagreb was liberated from the fascist, i.e., Ustasha occupation.
– During World War II and in difficult times of occupation, Zagreb was never conquered – said Tomašević and reminded that in the four years of war, many citizens of Zagreb, including a significant number of women, were part of the partisan movement or they fought illegally in the city against the occupiers and the Ustasha NDH (Independent State of Croatia). Out of about 50,000 people that were involved in the NOB (National Liberation Movement), about 30,000 of them died in struggle or at the hands of the Ustashas and the occupiers.
– The units that liberated Zagreb did so on the wings of social justice, faith in equality, and internationalism, which are the values we need to inherit today – said Tomašević and stressed that our society should be built on class and gender equality.
We should also add that the representative of the Zagreb neighbourhood of Trnje addressed the audience, that the program was successfully hosted by Rebecca Duras and Marijan Klišanin, that the lighting of the bonfires was accompanied by the drumming of “Drum’n’bijes,” that the visitors could enjoy the characteristic bean and sausage soup, and that the honour of lighting this year’s bonfires went to the leader of the “Domaći gosti” choir, Jovana Lukić, and two other members of this choir. After the program, the Močvara club organized the 11th Antifa Night Party, which featured numerous performers.
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