Written by Valentina Krcmar, Bedem Ljubavi - Toronto Chapter, 2017.
When preparing this material for publication, I was left speechless not only with the amount of work, but also by the amount of time that was put into that work! It is impossible to say who was working more than us, women—members of Bedem Ljubavi in Toronto—because each of us worked wherever she could.
Please do not look at the signatures at the bottom of the letters, because each and every letter was composed in agreement with several members of the organization, and the one who was closest to the computer and fax would usually sign it. In our case—the case of Bedem Ljubavi—I was working on such matters, and that is why my signature is very frequent. Unfortunately, a lot of letters or documents were lost due to the passing of time, and now it looks like this is the only collection of documents and letters, as far as I know.
Each and every one of us gave our best on the job we were working at. I must mention some members of Bedem Ljubavi, although each one of them was exceptional. Bedem had four presidents: first, Valentina Krčmar, then Rose Andrachuk-Bukovac, then Nevenka Ocvirk, and Rose Janjicek (still today, although the organization is not active anymore). Vice-presidents were Biserka Butković, Katica Gašpar, and Rose Andrachuk-Bukovac. Each and every president and vice-president left her mark, but we never considered that they were the most important members. Each of us—every member—was very important, because she gave her best where she could, and I very proudly mention their names because they left behind a huge and indelible mark for future generations.
I still remember Lela Mutic and her two sisters, who baked for Valentine’s 48 cakes in the form of hearts—and they even apologized because of that! I cannot forget my tears then—how touched I was! Nevenka Ocvirk did a magnificent job in Toronto City Hall, because only due to her work did everybody there know of Croats and our struggle for freedom. Thanks to Mrs. Ocvirk, many Canadian-Croatians received medals from the City of Toronto, which is not a small matter. She also organized the participation of Canadian-Croatian organizations, especially Bedem, in the manifestation Thank You, Canada ‘92, as gratitude to Canada for everything it gave to us since we came here.
Ana Osmokrović and her whole family—her daughter Lidija and grandchildren—worked tirelessly for wounded defenders and invalids. Whenever she could, she visited hospitals in Croatia, looked after the wounded as their own mother, and constantly wrote them letters, encouraging them, raising funds through her constant garage sales. Radojka Semrov, a beautiful and busy lady, would always organize food at our events and look after wounded children in Croatia. She wrote them letters, and her motherly love extended to us all—she looked after us just like our own mothers.
We had the best treasurers: Ljubica Bukatko, Lidija Perry, Ljerka Ivic, Mira Mayer, and Mira Vuletić. I don’t know which one was more careful or better, but they didn’t just look after the money—they also worked on everything. Our Lidija Perry, a great worker, organized the first charity event where we sold antique objects and sent proceeds to Croatian children and the wounded.
Some of them were not even aware how much they did. Thanks to Katica Gašpar, we found out that Lewis MacKenzie, the infamous UN general in Croatia and Bosnia, was running for a seat in the Canadian Parliament somewhere in the north. Two of us went there, and I deeply believe that he lost his seat only because of us—our pointed questions put him in hot water. We didn’t realize at the time that CBC televised it all over Canada, and we were overjoyed when we found that out!
Every member had her duty and her strong side. I proudly mention Biserka Butković, who was excellent in interviews with journalists and wrote countless letters; Zora Heršak, thanks to whom the Croatian Women’s Choir was later formed; and Rose Andrachuk-Bukovac, whose deep understanding of Canadian law helped us immensely.
All our members gave their best all the time—Zrinka Šarić, who led prayers at all our demonstrations; Dragica Tanković, Ana Arhanić, the late Ajka Antolov, Bianca Benković, Mirjana Vraneš, Cynthia Ashberger, Rose Galić, Slavica Sandanska, Neda Hristovska, Helen Boljkovac, our Canadian friend the late Barbara Taylor, Silvana Radovan and her two daughters, Sima Bukovac, Blaženka Fucec, Maja Vlah, Jagoda Heilman, Vesna Slavina, Mira Pilinger and her husband, Marija Blažanin, Jagoda Smeh, Lidija Žiger, Ankica Moguš, Mira Vuletić, Marija Komeš and Kathy Sercl, Dubravka Leko, Ljubica Kosavić, Slavka Šilardović, Kathy Lelas, Ljubica Stefanac, Milie Škrtić, Ana Ivanković, the late Ankica Bukovac, Lidija Toth, Zlata Kralj, Ljerka Bosnar, Nada Cian, Vanja Grunwald, Božica Koprivnjak, Betty Kovacs, Mira Mikša, Zdenka Novak, Ana Pavela, Andelka Puhalo, Stefanija Vidžom, Darja Vlahović, Vera Zorko, Marija Zubek, Stephany Raven, Nada Mihić, and many others.
We had a few honorable members: Nevenka Herak and Carmen Lončarić. We should never forget our late members Ljubica Cacic, Ana Pavela, Barbara Taylor, and Nevenka Herak, who opened her home to help Bedem. If I missed a name, please forgive me—there were so many of you wonderful ladies!
We worked on so many things—the first democratic elections in Croatia, “Sisathons” (hairdressers donating their services to fund our work), fashion shows, dinners, and garage sales. A special highlight was the Christmas Art and Craft Sale, where our members showcased handmade art, cookies, and decorations to raise money for Croatian children and the wounded.
We also organized events like Valentine’s Lunches, Octoberfest, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gatherings, blood drives, charity dinners, and collections for victims of aggression in Croatia.
Our husbands were also an essential part of our work—without them, everything would have been much more difficult. We remember Luka Osmokrović, the late Tony Semrov, John Andrachuk, Vlado Heilman, Ivan Vuletić, Krešo Mayer, Rafael Radovan, Mr. Fucec, Mr. Vlah, Mr. Pilinger, Slavko Butković, Tihomir Janjiček, the late Mr. Smeh, Mr. Ocvirk, Tomislav Lelas, my husband Vladimir (my constant mentor, who saw almost all my letters and often censored many of them), and many others.
We met with representatives of the Canadian government, often traveling to Ottawa, organized demonstrations that always began with the anthems of Canada and Croatia, prayers, and tears. We monitored media, reacted to lies and falsifications, and worked with other Canadian-Croatian organizations, especially AMCA.
We are deeply grateful to the radio program Sounds of Croatia and its owners, Carmen and Ivica Lončarić, who always believed in us and never charged for announcements. Their program was the information hub of the Croatian community in those days.
A lot of work is behind us, as shown by these documents. To us, the ladies of Bedem Ljubavi, nothing was too hard or too complicated. We gave our best at a time when our Republic of Croatia needed us most.
I am proud of every lady who worked in this organization and grateful to everyone who helped us in our mission. Hopefully, this collection of documents from Bedem Ljubavi stands as our great thanks to all members of the organization, to those who helped us, and most of all, to our brave Croatian defenders who sacrificed their youth, health, and lives for our free, democratic Republic of Croatia.
Valentina Krčmar
August 2017