Tiramola
Smuggling along the Italian-Yugoslav border during the 1920s and 1930s in the region of Pašac and Drenova
(speech on "Smuggling Anthologies" symposium)
Dear hosts, participants and guests of the “Smuggling Anthologies” symposium
I welcome you on behalf of the Heritage Society „Without Borders“. The society is based at Drenova, which is one of the oldest parts of Rijeka, the third largest city in Croatia and the largest port in Croatia. City with turbulent past, but more about that – later.
It is a great honour to present on behalf of our society. Let me begin with a few words about our young organization. Without Borders was established only two years ago. Heritage Society “Without Borders” is a non-profit organization established with the aim of preserving cultural heritage of Drenova and to establish Drenova’s Heritage Museum. Members of our society are not scientists with history degrees, but a group of history enthusiasts with different occupations in life: some of us are IT experts, some are administrative workers, librarians, journalists... or simply pensioners with strong desire to help in preservation of cultural heritage of Drenova.
We are all volunteers, and our first idea was to establish a modern virtual museum. Fortunately, our mission to establish Drenova’s Heritage Museum was met with understanding from our city government, and we found space for our museum in one old building in centre of Drenova which was formerly, in time between two Great Wars, check point for Italian customs. I must say that all this time the main driving force on this path was Mr. Damir Medved, co-founder and the president of Heritage Society “Without Borders”.
There is an interesting story about our participation in the project Smuggling Anthologies. When we saw the call for participation in the project of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Rijeka - which referred mainly to artists - we realized that our story fits perfectly into the required criteria. Because Rijeka region, and especially Drenova, was in time between two Great Wars a divided area, and the border between Kingdom of Italy and Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia) was in the middle of Drenova. Although we are not artists, and we have never participated in similar projects, under the leadership of Mr. Medved we have created a multimedia installation called „Nonićeva tiramola“ (Grandpa`s Crossing Rope) which was elected to Rijeka part of the exhibition Smuggling Anthologies.
The multimedia installation, if I may say, was very noteworthy. It was composed of enlarged and printed satellite maps of Rijeka region, and above the installation was a rope which is a symbolic representation of the real rope above river Rječina. By using this rope, people were smuggling goods from one riverside to the other, from one state to another. On the map, QR codes was pointed to the recorded stories of people who remember that era between two great wars, who remember the time of smuggling goods between two countries. These stories are very interesting, and I will talk about some, as well as the socio-political circumstances of the time. Don’t worry, just in few words!
As you probably know, and as you heard earlier, Rijeka was in the first half of the 20th century a divided city through a period of a few decades. Habsburg-ruled Austria-Hungary's disintegration in the closing weeks of World War I in the fall of 1918, led to the establishment of rival Croatian-Serbian and Italian administrations in the city; both Italy and the founders of the new Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) claimed sovereignty based on their ethnic populations.
In next few years, in 1919 Rijeka was under occupation by Italian nationalist irregulars led by the poet Gabriele D'Anunnzio. Then Rijeka was independent state in 1920 (on November 12th 1920, Italy and Yugoslavia concluded the Treaty of Rapallo, under which Rijeka was to be an independent state, the Free State of Fiume). But in 1924, however, Rijeka went to Italy by The Treaty of Rome (January 27th 1924), signed by Italy and Yugoslavia, but unrecognized by all other powers, which assigned Rijeka to Italy and Sušak to Yugoslavia.
During these years, Rijeka rapidly economic collapses and becomes a peripheral town. The outback of Rijeka shared the fate of its town. The unnatural border halved certain settlements in two, as was the case with Drenova and Zamet. This meant that parts of settlements and their inhabitants were left without some basic needs - their school, church, cemetery and workplace were in a different country overnight. In these circumstances, in the divided Rijeka region, the lives of ordinary people was very difficult. Unnatural border separating families, economy, the whole society. People are dissatisfied, but must take the daily battle for survival. For them, there weren't too many options, they had to learn to live with the border. The border made everyday life all too difficult, but sometimes it brought new possibilities.
One of the main ways people wrestling with social systems and state regulations was resorting to smuggling as one of the main ways of obtaining goods necessary for life. On both sides of the border is a chronic shortage of some items, and resourceful people in need become - smugglers. From Yugoslavia to Italy they were smuggling requested items - tobacco, sugar, flour, eggs, butter, cattle and wood, from Italy to Yugoslavia rice, coffee, fruit, wine, textile, umbrellas... Profits in such actions were very plentiful – over 100% profit for some articles!
Sugar was hidden in ladies shoes in little sacks and transported over the border, a little boy carried rice in his schoolbag to his teacher, little girl hid coffee in her belt with sewn-in sockets, while going to church with her mother in another country.
There are many examples, and some of them are very interesting and inventive. For the purposes of our installations members of Heritage society “Without Borders” have recorded several movies in which we record interviews with our fellow citizens. Some of them were witnesses of these times, and others have found about these events from their elders. In the interviews, they relate the events that marked their childhoods and the lives of their parents and elders.
Let me bring you closer to just some of these stories and testimonials. One of the most interesting stories is one about a craftsman who worked in the city – Sušak – and lived in Belveder. The man had a piece of nice and juicy ham that he wanted to smuggle to his family. But how to do it? His little son loved to ride „karet“, improvised children's little cart, with which it had no problem crossing the border across the bridge every day. The man decided to fix the ham under the „karet“, and the problem is solved! Father's only advice to his son was: „Son, be careful because of hungry cats!“
Children was often used in actions of this type. In elementary school in Drenova worked teacher who has lived in the city, and children are often smuggled to her rice and pasta. Children are often wore a special belt to hide and smuggling foods across the border – especially coffee. Children at the border generally was not controlled, but still suffer fear.
One family from Drenova experienced real odyssey with a brand new big stove, or cooker, they had bought in the city under Italian administration. But the stove had to be transferred to Upper Drenova, from Italy to Yugoslavia, without customs clearance. The stove is first transported to Drenova with simple horse-powered truck, then transferred - under the cover of darkness - with smaller cart to the wired fence. Several daring smugglers then punctured a hole in the fence, and the stove quickly changed nationality.
But the most dangerous actions were those around the river Rječina, which was partly a natural border between Italy and Yugoslavia. Brave smugglers have built a rope across the river, and by rope they are transported various goods from one riverside to the other – tobacco, oranges, lemons, coffee... These were dangerous actions because they could fall into the cold water from a high cliffs. Sometimes, when it was no time to set up rope, men and women were crossing the river with belts around the body full of various goods. Often in winter, and this actions obviously were not good for their health.
„It was not easy, it was a hard life...“, said one of our witnesses. „It was not a big scale smuggling, these people just wanted to their families survive“, one of our witnesses says.
Conclusion on this subject is best stated by Mr. Albert Mihich, painter from Drenova and witness of those times: „State borders are a bad thing. Divide people and create distrust and even hatred. Generally, do not bring anything good!”
With this thought, thank you for your attention and goodbye!