Marko Pilepić

„Your escapes, how many timed have you tried?“ „Two times.“ „Can you tell us about the first and seconf escape'“ „First time I was very young. Actually it was three times. First time I was caught at Monte Grando.“ „At Monte Grando?“ „Yes. There was a group of us wanting to escape to Italy, and we arrived at Monte Grando, later two of them went to buy bread and ham, we were supposed to go forward later..When we have arrived at Monte Grando, agents of UDBA were waiting for us.“ „Where at Monte Grando?“ „At the gas station.“ „There were a gas station in those times?“ „No, no it was all deserted. Only a porterhouse little to the left.“ „What was it's name?“ „I can't remember. I know that porterhouse exists today, but modernized.“ „A yes it's Turković, actually „At Sonja's“ porterhouse.“ „That's right.“ „Yes, yes.“ „There UDBA was waiting for us, they were taken into car, a I was taken into the forrest by this cop, this UDBA agent. He put a gun on my back pushing me deep into the forrest, I saw my mom and dad..no dad, but whole my family flashed through my eyes. I thought he is going to kill me, that it's all over. He pushed me with his gun. He said: „Where did you tried to go?“ I was scared...I said across the border. „Mother of yours, go home!“ I was so happy that he didn't killed me.“ „When did that happened?“ „That was...how old was I?! I was probably 11 years old, something like that.“ „So in 1951.“ „That's right.“ „And if you came in 1952 from Rovinj to Pula?“ „In 1952, I arrived from Rovinj to Pula so that was later in 1952 or 1952.“ „So in 1953...you were a complete crew?“ „There were several of us, at least four or five of us...young, all kids. That was the first time. The second tme I was with a Montenegrin, we aboarded a train and arrive in Divača, and in Divača we were discovered so we escaped into the woods I came near Škufija, a village, where we were captured.“ „Škofije? You've said Sežana a little earlier.“ „Škofije, Škofije.“ „Škofije. Why did you hid in a train?“ „Yes, we hid in a cargo wagon, there was one of that kind.“ „Aha.“ „So we entered.“ „How have you met this Montenegrin?Has he lived here?“ „He lived near the citadel, his family arrived from Monenegro, there were a lot of children, a she was accompanied by an Italian who was, I think, a prisoner of war during Italian administration. They've all escaped, the whole family. The were succesfull. I have never seen them anymore.“ „And the third time?“ „The third time I was succesfull.“ „Can you tell us about that?“ „My friend and I...he didn't want to go in the army. He asked me how about we try to escape..I wasn't feeling here...I returned from the army so I wasn't able to find a job, a lot of paperwork, a lot of a** kissing, I was very bored with that so I said: „I am going across the border.“ He said. „Let's go.“ „I'm sorry, but when have you returned from the military?What year?“ „In 1963.“ „1963, so you were 23 years old.“ „Yes.“ „Were you stationed at Kornati?“ „No, no. I was in Banja Luka.“ „In Banja Luka...“ „Yes...“ „That's where the tank drivers were?“ „I was in artillery.“ „Artillery..you have returned and decided to run away?“ „Yes...“ „Can you tell us what season was it, how did you planned it...? „It was this time of the season. It was this season when I met his friend and got the call for the military. I was supposed to go to the military...I said that we have to go across the border. I was going by bus from here to Kopar.“ „What kind of bus?“ „A regular bus.“ „Name of the firm'“ „I can't remember.“ „You were going from the old bus station?“ „Yes, from the old bus station.“ „We arrived in Kopar, came down and continued on foot. We were going, I could orientate myself easily beacuse I was in the military Inknw how to do that, and we were going at night, so we were watching the sunset. We arrived in Škofije, again, there on the cemetery we waited for the whole day and night.“ „Athe cemetery in Škofije?“ „Yes.“ „Maybe you were suspects?“ „Nobody saw us. There was nobody at the cemetery. When someone would come we would hide, we would wait on a hill. Whole of Škofije were under the hill. We waited for night to come and as it come so did the big rainy clouds right from Italy. I said to my friend that it's best to go when the clouds come near the coast. So we made our move, it was raining hard, we couldn't see anything. We arrived right in the middle of tana. I took a look and could see houses and a soldier running. I said: „My God where have we arrived!?“ We were lucky, I could see it when we crossed the border. It was clear, a big place, it was clear, no trees no bushes. That's we managed to escape. „You escaped to Trieste.“ „Trieste, yes.“

„I would like to return to the beginning, you've said that your father was killed in partisans, don't you know where he died?“ „Somewhere near Labin, there's even a memorial site. It was written on it..in Labin there is an encyclopedia of Istria.“ „Istrian encyclopedia'“ „Yes, his name is there. Pilepić Marćelo.“ „Let me ask you, he parctically died as a war hero, and nobody seemed to care when you were growing up...? „Nobody cared, nobody asked who I was, what I was.“ „You were a hero's son and that's how you were treated?“ „Yes, he returned from Italy to fight here, for Istria. They were really wealthy family, I heard that, my mother didn't speak our language, couldn't manage, and nobody ever helped me about that, ever. One time, a sailor, young sailor, I don't know exactly what he was, there was an argument about sailing because that was very popular back then. He told me. „We're going to put an anchor around your neck a throw you into the water, right here.“ I said to him that it is easy for him to say that since my father gave his life so that he could say such things. He got scared, started to apologyze, that he didn't mean that, but you did say that so what do you want more. I was a little cocky to him because he was rude to me before. He was still apologising. I had problem with the army as well. Army, police. They said I was a criminal. But who made me like this? I didn't kill anybody.“ „Where have you sailed'“ „In Uljanik, and later Mornar.“ „Mornar there at...“ „No, Mornar was here near Uljanik bridge. Mornar was where the rowing club was.“ „There were sailing Mornar and rowing club Istra, all in one'“ „Yes, all in one.“ „Have you ever heard about Angelini, the swimmer?“ „No, I wouldn't know.“ „Was it here where the gates of Uljanik are located?“ „Yes.“ „Yes, yes, yes...“ „Let me ask you something, I'm acurious about one thing. Your friends, those killed in the sea, how old were they?“ „One was 19 year old. 18 or 19. They weren't any older than that.“ „So they were pulled over and shot?“ „Took their ID's and shot them. Everbody in Pula knows that. Škorija's mom, she went...his mom and my mom werefriends. She came in our house and started talking how she saw her son's ID card and recognized it, but she was told that her son is being questioned, they lied to that poor woman. That's what she told to my mother. I heard that. Everybody knew.“ „Have they been buried?Where are the bodies?“ „There are no bodies.“ „So the case is still open?“ „I heard they were so massacred that there was nothing left, they even found a part of the boat full with bullet holes. Bodies have never been found.“