Giovanni Tanconi

- ".. and behind my house, live here across... now can say it only on italian: ..and he escape with boat „batana“! That was ... that was crazy! Unbelievably! - Please, can we come back to your way of escape. What time of the year was? - It was ´56. - Not year, the time of the year, summer, fall, winter..? - It was July 31st . August 1st was in Italy. - How much time did you plan this escape? - It was spontaneously. Not like we … as we were already four years in the club, Rowing club Rovinj. And we never plan to escape but was … it was enough, we were full of …. poverty, hunger what ever you want. Decide to go away and goodbye. I didn´t tell my mother, or sister or my brot.. no one knew. After let them know I am safe and alive, that I came. - In the morning you woke up, meet your friends and decide tonight we go? - Yes and that was it! Corect! Just like that. My aunt Pina, as I have large family, (Stanković???) 600 of them in Rovinj.. in Istria. Only she and Luca gave me a piece of bread and short pants, that was all I had. Didn´t had any wine, or water or nothing. Hhhhh.. - Where is Paron Bello? What is this? - That was … something like .. pairs. As Rino, who died a while ago champions in Istria … Istrian coast. And, when we came to Italy, they return this boat to Yugoslavia. It was named Paron Bello. - Where was this boat? As we will need to take photo of .. - Here at Lokva a Rowing club was positioned. -(third person): .. I will show it to you. - Right where.. is now.. a bank Za.. - (third person): Privredna bank.. - ..Privredna bank, there was our club. - (third person): and one resident building is.. - There was an device, „zatara“ we called it, where we use to carrie boats, and then went around island Katarina...till the Hospital ... - Following ... - Yes, slowly. - So, you start in the evening? - It was 20:00 hours. Our company and the others .. rowers, where my friends were Yugoslavian champions, went on Bled, and we to escape. - Four of you? - Four of us. Then we change each other, two by two. - Tell us the itinerary, it means, who did you start, you start …? - Start from Delfin. - Did anyone ask you anything? - No one ask us, there were .. it was Zaharija and .. Romano Bratović. They pushed us, we passed by our fisherman, guards, fish.. Italian guards, Italian fisherman, and in front Venice was … 5-6 o clock in the morning, something like that, as we rowed for 10 hours. And they picked us up, and save us. Otherwise we would drown. These wind “bura” around Trieste, you know…."

"... disaster... as already there I was ... 17-18 years of age... there was a group of people, friends, young man, crazy, at that time was like ... like „inn“, to run away at that time ... I don´t have anything again.. told you, politics don´t interest me but what can you do … and then during Yugoslavia we lived well, and nobody like it, and Tito this and that… but I won´t talk about politics as I don´t like it. We did not, don´t care about it…. not interested. And when was 19 years old, four of us agreed, from Rowing alliance, their names Paron Bello, Rovinj, by Delfin and some of my friends pushed us and we escape to Italy. Came to Venice where fisherman saved us and took us to Trieste. Stayed there for a month but not in San Sabba, there are two San Sabba in Trieste and can be mixed up…. As there were a refugee center, in ´56. At that time was Italy, during Hungary … if you know this time …. when Russia attack… (??).. yes, ´56. When Hungarian came as refugee. O, a thousand people from Yugoslavia came. Daily. Daily! We found out this in .. in Italy. And then others run away like refugee from Hungary at that time, when Russia attack Hungary. And then I went to (??), there was also for a month, and then go to Gaeta, close to Napoli and there stayed for 6 months as have to wait for visa to go to America. When not got it I escape again from Italy to France. Across the hill… -Cross over Menotne Ventimiglia? - Menotne Ventimiglia to Pariz. Board in train and woke up in Paris."