Stanislav Vale

-"So you.. run away to .. where? Across the sea where did you go? - Straight to Chioggia. - To Chioggia? - Close to Venice, yes. - Chioggia is known as a fisherman place .. - Yes, yes, fisherman … they saved us up there in the sea. As from Friday night, till Sunday at noon we were in the sea. Already got lost, .. but just before Sunday morning … we noticed lights, in the night, far away from us. So what we do? Searching in the sky a seagull to see as a sign that the coast is close - then use to say this is Venice! This is Chioggia, this is this or that. When approach, then seagull is gone and we are lost again. Then nothing for a while. Then after …. we saw, look, where … “Like ship in Venice”, Gabre use to say, today he is dead. He had the whole family, daughters and wife, they all cried. “But now,” he said, “ but jus a little bit more and we are there”, he keep moral high to this family all the time. After a while we noticed a light. “ O my good”, saiz Gabre, “there is no light”, “What is this? There is a light. What is this? And then nothing, when saw this light: “Do you have a matches?” I ask. “Yes”. One of us had matches and other a paper. We set the fire, and you know what I have done? As we had a gasoline I took my jacket pour it with gasoline and tide it around the row. On a row. Manage some how. On a row tide my jacket and a coat(use to warm me up in the night) and pour gasoline. Lift it up and set on fire.. they gave us a sign they have seen us. After an hour; they came as they were far away from us. But before they came I set on fire all of us in a boat. We were all on fire! People start to jump into the sea, as there was a gasoline all around. We were all on fire, eyes and hair, and .. there was everything. We were saved, blowing and watering ourselves with water and … O live me in peace. One hour later came to us and ask us on Italian:”Who are you?” “We are a refuge from Pula, would like to enter in Italy”. Who ever was at that point, even if they were partizans, we would go, just to be saved. They came close and took children first… down stairs, came to boat and bring children up; two children and there we were ….they asked us: “Where do you want to go?” “Would like to go were ever you want, to Venice, it is good enough”. “No, lets go to Chioggia as all refugee are accept there”. “Ok”. Do you understand Italian? - Yes. It is ok. - Ok, they take us to Chioggia and gave us everything; coffie, milk for children, pasta, food and drink, really this sailors, fisherman they were. - Police waited there, they phone them and all of us drive to some hotel. When came to hotel, they prepared a food, prepared tables, everything and one musician was playing for a good celebration. After two-three days went to Udine, where camp was like a central camp, like ...Campo profungho."

-"… and I was in Monfalcone after, then around Italy, two years working… when I saw they won´t let my wife in I came back home. Told them: “Won´t live my wife.” As I go without a passport I came back without it. Came back .. did not tell anyone anything, was thinking if I go, in the evening I went to cross the border and follow direction to Pula. Police came there: “You? Documents?” “I don´t have anything”, told them. O no, no, did have a document with me… as before I went to consulate in Trieste, now remember. There they gave me some document so I can go free to Yugoslavia…but before I asked will they put me in prison. “No, thou you will go for a questioning but in prison no, as you didn´t do anything, do not have any “debt” in Pula, not at all, and you are free to go. Not you.(…) Asking some people, Slovenian was there other recuperators…so asking. One said to me: “Listen, since when you did not see your family?”, “A, two years already”. “You are going to prison” he said, “to Ljubljana, so it is better to go to Pula first to see them otherwise you won´t see them at all.” “…ok.. this train will come soon?” Didn´t finished sentence, heard train coming there in Divača. Went on a train directly without documents, no money, no nothing, straight … to Pula. And came very early in the morning. And…. So. Nothing, when came.. - (third person): you came at 6 in the morning. - .. you all slept still, she was sick, and there were their parents, today all are dead, and sister, all three of them have died. Then police came looking for me, as.. police followed my documents and person is not here. Where he go? Then they saw, it was written from where I came from and all other information so they came to look for me at Valkane. By your house. When came:” Is Vale Stanislav here?” “Yes, my cousin came, he said:”yes, he is here”. “Let me see him” he said, “here”. “Come here. Come close here.” And nothing happened. “Good morning, good day, yes, this is my name. Was hungry, tired, and people said to me that I will not see my family”, told him that, “so then I first came to Pula. Not because some other reason. Sorry”, told them, “ now you do what..but I will if I have to, do everything, just came to see my family”. And then ..”ok, you can prepare and get ready, you will go to the station with me”. “ O no, this is not an option”, I said, “now. As just got home, need a rest, to eat and then I will come”. “No, no you have to!” Then asked a father, to .. to “ you are guarantee that he will come to the station and then we need to go to Ljubljana”, they say. “I will come with him”, her father said. So this is how it was, they went and in the evening I - … (third person): at 8 o clock in the evening you woke up.. and went to Ljubljana. I spent there for a week… - (third person): o nooo, three or four days... - ...three – four days for a questioning, this..fir… first night was doing in prison. Every once a while they came and ask:”Are you sleep?” then I say: “No, I am playing”. Hahahah…this-that the whole night in prison. There was three-four days, they informed I didn´t do anything wrong and in Pula I did had a best friends, Bepo Škuflić, he was a butcher, he is dead, so many people died who were my friends …. and he guaranteed for me, he was in the Party, guarantee for me, as we were big friends and best man to each other. Brigadier Pliško, who died, was a police commander in Pula, my greatest friend, as I have never done something.. and Vareško, they were . brigadiers. And nothing then …. they saw I was a good man, never done something wrong..(??) I payed all, payed my debt and gone away clean. Not to look for me after."