Gordana Stojanović
1960
Gordana was separated by war and occupation of Baranja from her parents and brother who lived in Osijek. At the time, she worked as a physical education teacher in Kneževi Vinogradi. Under the conditions of physical disconnectedness and the blockage, maintaining communication was crucial for togetherness, emotional support, and reducing the feeling of isolation. For her peacekeeping work of connecting the families separated by war, Gordana was given the Pax Christi International Peace Award in 1997.
When the German peacekeepers asked me whether I’d engage in connecting families from both sides, I naturally agreed. Especially since my brother was in the Croatian army, and my husband in the Serbian one. You don’t see a way to escape that insanity and remain sane yourself.
The United Nations Transitional Administration in the Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (UNTAES) was established in 1996 for the purpose of peaceful reintegration of this territory into Croatia. With a free movement pass, passport and driver’s licence, Gordana carried letters and parcels during the blockade of Baranja to the Hungarian town of Mohács – a neutral point close to Baranja – which served for the exchange of letters, items and meetings of separated families and friends. The humanitarian convoys and private correspondence passed through Mohács until the official reintegration in 1998.