Back from exile: Serbian forced to live up tree

Back from exile: Serbian forced to live up tree

Back from exile: Serbian forced to live up tree
Article written by Bojan pancevski in Vienna, Sunday Telegraph
Web published by the Telegraph.co.uk (Link)

"A Serb who returned to reclaim his home in Croatia a decade after fleeing the war in the 1990s is living in a tree house in his old orchard because of the failure of the Zagreb authorities to evict the new owners."

"The family who moved into his home refused to give it up on his return, arguing that they had nowhere to go. So Mr Graovac, 59, built a house in a tree in his former orchard and has lived there since. He sleeps on a straw mattress and has his 'living room' under the tree, furnished with an old bus seat, a table and a mirror."

"The case has prompted accusations that the Croatian authorities have not done enough to repatriate refugees."

This article is interesting to me because a treehouse is described as a mechanism that increases a person's claim to their old property rights. This move to inhabit a tree in the orchard is seen as odd, yet much more significant than merely camping out on the property in a tent, trailer, or caravan.

Reoccupation, in this sense, is his position as being rooted to the land via the tree and this somehow strengthens his claim to his rights to the land. Also, the novelty of living in a treehouse adds an element of sensationalism to his story and gets the international publicity needed to help move his case through the local bureaucratic red tape.

Unfortunately, there is the implication of hardship here: Mr Graovac, at nearly 60 years of age, is living in a sub-standard accommodation while the squatters occupy his comfortable old home. I could see this as unnecessary, and possibly a backfiring tactic, if used to push for the eviction of the squatters since this action will essentially place them is a similar, or worse, situation.

I'd like to see Mr Graovac offer to build some more treehouses in his orchard for the squatters to occupy until they find another place to live. Seems unusual but there could be a boon to the livelihood of everyone involved. The publicity could lead to all kinds of spin-off income and possibilities.

There is definitely an interesting connection between treehouses and issues of protest, occupation, and publicity.

View full article here

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