We arrived in Croatia and as we drove east through the northern part of the country we were shocked to see an enormous amount of abandoned villages and houses. We’re not talking about the amazing ancient stone ruins that we saw in Ireland, rather entire towns lying abandoned, dilapidated and in ruin.
As we drove on, we soon realized that this was not an isolated pocket, but a trend that spanned literally hundreds of kilometers. Even where there were signs of life, occupied houses were still dotted amongst the ruins.
As we looked closer, we soon saw that many of the abandoned houses had bullet holes sprayed on their decaying walls, often focused around the windows.
It soon occurred to us that these once rural farming villages that we were driving through had in fact been the frontline of the Croatian War during the early-1990s. It was chilling to get a glimpse into the tragic reality that civilians are usually the first and worst impacted by war, and an insight into the long term impact that this has on local communities.
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