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With his country at war, medical student Vicko Gluncic had to grow up fast. Among air raids, injuries, and the stories of tragedy, life had to carry on

I was a medical student at the University of Zagreb when the war broke out in Croatia in Easter 1991. Around 27000 Croatians were wounded as a direct result of the war, which lasted four years, and 7000 people were killed. About 30% of industry was destroyed, and major communication networks and electricity routes were cut off.

We carried on with our studies in Zagreb and also did our best to help in the war. Medical students organised first aid courses, worked with refugees and orphaned children, joined humanitarian convoys, and helped the wounded in Zagreb's hospitals. It was difficult to witness such tragedy and continue with our studies but the importance of our work kept us going.

The Ministry of Health asked our medical school to gather information on war casualties and human rights abuses at the beginning of the conflict. Information was needed to register the number of refugees and to draw up plans to provide them with accommodation and food. At the end of the war it was estimated that over 1000 people were victims of massacres and extrajudicial or summary executions, 8000 civilians were wounded, and a few hundred thousand homeless and refugees needed shelter. But the total number of casualties is unknown as the data were based only on medical examination and autopsy records.

Our school set up the division for medical information and research. We worked 12 hour shifts and brought sleeping bags for the night shift, while the school provided us with food and drink. We held interviews at the hospital to collect medical data on wounded civilians and soldiers. This was difficult as patients often could not remember the circumstances in which they were wounded, nor the weapons used against them. It was particularly painful interviewing badly wounded men, the same age as us, who had lost arms or legs, or both. We felt guilty for not having taken part in the battlefield but detested the war that had inflicted terrible injuries on these young men.

Counting the wounded
To ensure the data were as accurate as possible a testimony had to be confirmed by at least two witnesses. Our reports were then checked by staff from the health and defence ministries, and these acted as preliminary records for further data collection. Students were trained to use the computer network and software for the database, and we always had qualified medics on hand to help us. We used standard forms for compiling and recording the daily inflow of data. We compiled data under different categories: civilian casualties (including medical personnel, children, and women); prisoners of war; victims of torture and rape; and missing, displaced persons and refugees. We sent regular reports to humanitarian organisations such as Amnesty International and Helsinki Watch. We also sent daily reports to the United Nations. We were often contacted by professionals, such as journalists and humanitarian organisations, for reports and medical data.

The siege of Vukovar
We also used the communication system to collect medical data from regional medical centres directly under attack. The system functioned incredibly well--the data from local medical centres flowed in continuously, even during the heaviest sieges. The last report we ever received from Vukovar was on the morning of the occupation of the hospital and the fall of the town. Vukovar had been under heavy attack for six months and completely encircled for three months. After its occupation, a surge of over 5000 refugees made their way towards the free territory. I joined the medical teams awaiting the arrival of the convoys. The medics entered the buses as they crossed the front line to deal with the wounded. Students were assigned to collect basic data on the refugees in order to assist them in finding their relatives and friends, and to gather preliminary information on the number of people from Vukovar who were dead, missing, or captured.

Stories of atrocities and killings were widespread, and people were eager to give and receive information. We started compiling data on Friday, the day the refugees reached Zagreb, and worked at this throughout the weekend. By Monday, we were able to send the United Nations a list of 2500 missing persons. The bodies of most of the people on this list have still not been found.

Today, it seems difficult to believe that this actually happened. Over time, the data simply became rows of figures which had to be processed and we thought about it as little as possible. If you deliberated too much and overempathised, you could not have continued doing this work.

The hardest part of the job was listening to the horrific stories that refugees told us. However, we had many people to interview, which helped to distract us from the full horrors of war. We found it very hard to give information to relatives about the imprisoned, missing, or killed people, especially to child refugees who were looking for their parents. We survived by concentrating on saving those who were imprisoned and by reuniting families where possible.

During the war, students were also involved in other ways. One team of 58 students and doctors helped prepare thousands of first aid kits. We organised over 300 first aid and resuscitation courses for university students, members of the army, the police, and the public. We gave talks throughout the country on human rights issues and the Geneva convention. We felt uneasy about teaching older people and other important members of the community, but believed that if they knew about the humanitarian rules in war it would alleviate violence.

Work with orphaned children
Medical students also worked with refugees and orphaned children. We would do 45 day stints in refugee camps, giving school lessons and organising holidays for the children. We also helped charities collect food and clothes for the children. After initial resistance the children became quite attached to us. The work was very fulfilling but harrowing as the children shared their fears and nightmares with us, and shed tears for their parents. It was so difficult to leave them at the end of our stay as the children experienced yet another separation, and we felt we had betrayed them.

Medical students who had originated from Bosnia and Hercegovina joined the humanitarian convoys to their homeland when the war broke out there in 1992. This required particular courage and endurance, but it also enabled my Bosnian colleagues to get food, medicine and psychological support for their friends and families at home.

Medical school curriculum
Throughout the war we managed to con-tinue with the normal medical curriculum. It was not easy and needed total reorganisation. There were frequent air raids. Each of the school's premises had a shelter in its basement. If an alert occurred during a lecture we usually attempted to continue it in the shelter. However, this was often impossible as these were generally crowded with students from other classes. There was a good atmosphere in the shelters; we felt safe as the school buildings were constructed of thick solid walls with secure basements. The whole complex was on a hill without any military targets in the vicinity. The closest bomb to us that exploded was at the presidential palace in the centre of the city, some 2 km away.

Our medical school's main problem was that it has two departments in the cities of Osijek and Split. Both are about 400 km away, and teachers from Zagreb travelled there to work. During 1991, Osijek suffered heavy bombardment and losses, whereas Split was cut off from the mainland and left without electricity for long periods of time.

Regardless of their nationality, the teachers and students preserved the highest ethical standards despite the horrors of war. Zagreb medical school took in 202 students from Bosnia and Hercegovina as guest students, including Croats, Bosnian Muslims, and other nationalities. I am not aware of any incidents or friction among the different students.

The scars of war
I think that we were all shocked by the seriousness of the situation, and we were forced to grow up quickly. We were suddenly in positions of responsibility; people trusted us, confided in us, and expected us to assist in solving certain problems. We had to keep our initial insecurity to ourselves and pretend to be calm and confident. The war situation made us concentrate on our studies much more than we do now. We became aware that knowledge cannot be lost, unlike material goods. The scars remain in our souls, as well as an awareness of the importance of life and the value of peace as the only possibility of progress and prosperity.

Thank you to all my colleagues who taught me, helped me, and became my friends in troubled times.