SUMMERS OF CERTAIN CHILDHOODS: A STORY ABOUT THE PACUG CHILDREN'S RESORT

INTRODUCTION: We wake up just
before nine in the morning. When the bell
rings, we go and have breakfast. After breakfast, we have an assembly where
we learn about
our activities for that
day. We also have a blah-blah drum.

I don't know how it was
established, but I know that its purpose
was to allow children to have
fun.

Personally, I'm very happy
to be able to meet
new people. I hone my social skills
by meeting them.

A break away from
home. Yes. From
those four walls
you look at each day.
(That we can
play.) Mostly this, yes.
A sort of holiday from
your family. You go to the coast
by yourself. Yes.
A break.

I can say the same, basically. People here are better than those in my
school.

A pleasant summer resort
where we keep
returning. This is my fourth
year in a row now. I'm enjoying my friends' company
a lot.

Yes, I really
want to go there. I say that
to my mum each time
she asks me whether I'd like to go.

It means a lot to me, especially because some children
can't afford holidays
at the coast.

It's great because people
are not on their mobiles
all the time.
You can really
hang out with other people.

Well, we watch
cartoons or movies
or have improvisation sketches. I enjoyed
that a lot. Yes, things like that. Or else we go to Piran or Portorož.

KLEMEN: Summers of Certain Childhoods: A Story about
the Pacug Children's Resort is a radio documentary programme. I was born in the Socialist Republic
of Slovenia, one of the six
republics of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. In a country
that doesn't exist anymore. After
the 1948 Cominform with a dispute
between Tito and
Stalin, Yugoslavia started its own socialist journey.
The country was a non-aligned zone between East and West.
That's why this form
of socialism was unique, different and much more
open. Today, socialism is perceived as a pre-form of communism, and as one of the forms of totalitarian regimes. However, this system had,
the same as all systems
do, its bright
and very humane
sides as well. My memories of my childhood in the so-called former system are incredibly beautiful. But my childhood was – all the way up to my teenage years
– intrinsically connected with a very
special seaside resort. Holidaying in Pacug, a tiny bay
and part of a very
short Slovene coast,
which spans only 40 kilometres between
the Bay of Trieste and the Bay
of Piran, was part of my
summers six years in a row, too.
I chose it for this radio documentary story as an example of good socialist practice. The resort
was established by the Slovene
Federation of Friends
for Children and Youth
– another example
of good socialist practice – with
the aim of providing
children financially favourable and well organised summer holidays. It has been proven that

the sea and in the company of peers have a beneficial impact on a child's psychological and social development. And it is maybe even more important today than it used to be. The Pacug
Children's Resort is a resort
with all the
corresponding infrastructure, organised transport, educational and
medical care and five meals
a day. Holidaying can be either seven
or ten days long and is organised for children and teenagers up to 17 years of age. It has stayed
financially favourable even today,
in this capitalist democracy, and doesn't
differentiate children socially, the same
as it was during the
socialist era. I shall tell
the story of the Pacug
Children's Resort with the help of Darja and Urška from the Slovene
Federation of Friends
for Children and Youth, while
teachers Liza and Nejc, Flores,
Armin and other
children were conversing with me amongst the sounds of cicadas, wind
in the treetops and the lapping
of the sea.

DARJA: The Slovene Federation of Friends for
Children and Youth
is an umbrella organisation, uniting

115 associations across
Slovenia. This organisation and its numerous
associations were established in 1953.
To be precise, some associations and activities had existed even
before, including summer camps.
In the aftermath of World War 2, adults
felt a huge
need to allow
for safe and healthy
holidaying at the
coast for children, as they were
aware of how
healthy and important this
was for children. The Federation of Friends for Children and
Youth started to organise summer camps very
early on, already
back in the
1950s. The greatest
number of children holidaying in the summer
camps was recorded
in 1959, when
no less than
35,000 spent some time
there. But it needs to be stressed
that children were
much more in focus
during socialist times
than they are today. Much
more attention was given to their growth
and development, and much more means
were allocated for such programmes and summer camps. The
situation is very
different today. If our organisation had 45 holiday
homes both in Slovenia and Croatia in 1980, we have only
15 today. But luckily, they
still exist, and holidaying
is organised on the same
principles as it was back in the 1950s. It is also
very important that the
children are looked
after by people
who simply love children.

LIZA: Well, I spent seven
summer holidays here
as a child. I was here at the same
time of the
year. My only goal was to return as soon as possible. Nejc, Urša and other teachers
were already here when I was staying
here as a child. Some
other teachers were
here when I came here
as a teacher for the first time.
Pacug has always
meant a lot
to me, I've
always found good
company here. Even when
we weren't on the same
page in school
or at home. I can't
express it in words
how much Pacug
means to me. It has
always been my goal to be able
to share my experiences
and memories with
children today. To give back
to as many of them
as I can, to provide
the best holidays I can to as many children
as possible. My girls here...
Some of them are already in secondary school. They asked if they could
spend two weeks
here next time.
Or a whole month. Or the
entire summer, if possible. They
really do enjoy
themselves. (So...)

URŠKA: In 1964,
the Firefighters Federation of Slovenia decided
to sell their
summer resort in Pacug.
A small board
from our Federation held a meeting. They all agreed
that this presented an opportunity they had to take.
The Slovene coast
is short and extremely valuable. It seemed very important
to us that our children
stay on our coast. So, our Federation decided very quickly to buy the resort.

DARJA: Children truly
are our wealth.
This isn't just some obsolete socialist slogan. This
slogan should be kept alive
in current times,
too. Young people
represent the foundations of the world.
The way we raise
them defines the way of our lives,
the lives of elderly people
and adults pan
out. Hence, we need to offer young people
a lot of activities – they need to feel that they can
develop their interests and potential. Only then can they become
useful and full
members of our society. Then they can become responsible adults. If they don't have such opportunities,

their opportunities in their adult
life will be stunted significantly. And this is the essence
of the activities of our organisation. We want to prioritise a child, focus
on him/her. It is important what we can offer him/her,
what kind of life, what kind of possibilities. I think that our organisation is closing the
social gap which
has widened in our new country. Which
we are very happy
to live in, but we have forgotten the good sides of socialism. To enable equal opportunities to all children. In
their adult lives, their paths will inevitably go in different directions, but it is only right to allow them to begin on an equal
footing.

FLORES: Pacug is like an inner child
to me. (ARMIN:
Yes.) When you come here,
you can really
be yourself. You cannot hide,
you cannot be tense or sleep-deprived, as in school.
If you are sleep- deprived, you
have good reasons
for that. I don't know,
when I come
here, I always
wonder what is going
to happen this year. It's
never the same,
you never get tired of this. Even...
I'm 17, you'll turn
18 soon. (ARMIN:
Yes.) And we are still
here. I am coming here for eight
or nine years now. (ARMIN:
And I six). Once I even came
here with a different group.
(ARMIN: Not me, I'm in the fifth
group all the time). Yes.
(ARMIN: But... Yes).
You form a second family
here.

ARMIN: Here you forget everything that happened at home, in school. Everything starts anew here.

Sort of.

URŠKA: When we bought this
resort, the land
was terraced all
the way down
to the sea.
There was one brick house with a small
kitchen and bathrooms
in it. And there was a shed next to it.
Supposedly for a donkey used for transporting food to the resort, since
there was no access
road leading to the resort.
The children stayed
in big tents. There were
13 tents and the groups of children changed every
fortnight. Back then,
all the children
stayed here for two weeks.
Our Federation of course
tried to improve
the living conditions available and kept
investing into the resort.
First, we changed
the tents for
wooden cabins, and then we built brick
houses. We were gradually upgrading the resort
to the level that it is today.

NEJC: School is school. The classes are
put together through
the choices of someone else,
not of their own making. It's the
same here, but the environment is completely different. And we can
offer them much more here than in the school environment. I don't know how to describe this properly, really.

LIZA: Well, it's a change of environment.

NEJC: It's a complex matter.
(LIZA: Yes) The change seems
minor, it's only
a change of environment,
but it has a huge impact. (LIZA: Yes.)

LIZA: In school,
small groups of children and the pecking
order in the class are often formed
in the first year or in the first few years. When a child
comes here, to Pacug, he/she finds himself/herself amongst an unknown group of people,
he/she meets everyone
anew and can introduce
himself/herself to others
as a completely different person.
We see that the children
are more relaxed, come more out of their
shells here. Because
they are not forced to play the
roles they took on in the first
school year in their class.
For example, someone
automatically took the role
of a leader, but he/she
can be more laid-back here.
Or vice-versa. I was like that, for example.
In school, I kept mostly
to myself, while
here I was really outgoing, I think.

DARJA: Every child has the right to equal opportunities in order to develop. Our money driven consumer society often forgets
this. We have adopted free-market thinking. In my opinion,
school could do much more
than it does
now. Not many
schools offer free-of-charge after- school activities. When these activities cease to be free-of-charge, this immediately raises
the

question whether a family can afford to pay for their child
to attend. This
is again something that used to be organised much
better during socialist times. Now, the
situation is different, unfortunately. This has damaging consequences, and in addition
stratifies society. This
has a negative effect
for all generations growing up now, and for us, adults.

URŠKA: On top of all this, the
children are sort
of obliged to show empathy.
This is another
thing partly pushed into the annals of obscurity. It's hasn't completely
disappeared, and we try to encourage it. We organise workshops where children
talk, debate. This is undoubtedly
something that gives
them strength for
the future. They learn how to accept
others, how to accept different people. How to fit into a group, make
new friendships. These
friendships often remain. Or they fall
in love. There
are certain values
developed here. Children
need to interact a lot, too. In recent years,
we notice that they come from environments with physical and psychological abuse. The children
are not even aware of that. But when this surfaces here, in
our resort, other
children realise that the situation is not so simple. I always say that there
is a story behind
every behaviour. A child only shows through
his/her behaviour what
is really happening to him/her. It's
not his/her fault
not to be able to react differently. During their stay here, there will always
be a moment when other
children say 'Hey,
this isn't right,
let's try a different approach.' I think
that holidaymaking here can really give a person some sort of foundation for life. It's
a good experience. Not that it would enable
you to get a job,
of course. But it builds the foundations for a good quality of life.

FLORES: I don't
get along with my schoolmates basically, because I see them every day. It's completely different here.
There are some
people here I know from
the first time
of my holidaymaking here. Even if we don't
talk or hang
out the entire
year, due to...
(ARMIN: School, trainings...) Or age difference. When
I come here, I feel as if I spent
time with them
every day or...
(ARMIN: Yes). They understand me.

URŠKA: They all have equal
opportunities here. Regardless of their environment at home. The price is the
same for everyone.
Everyone gets the same offer.
Everyone has the same opportunities. We'll definitely attempt to keep
the same conditions going forward. It's not important to make a profit.
We just want to make enough to keep the resort going,
to be able to improve
the quality of holidaymaking here.
This is our financial plan and that's
why the price
hasn't changed for many years now. Even though
everyone else in Slovenia increased their prices. We have
kept the same
price. We'll try
to keep it for as long as we can. We hope
that this will remain so for a long time.

DARJA: We of course raise
funds through our campaign called
'A Wink to the Sun'.
We were able
to provide free-of-charge seaside holidays
for almost ten
thousand children over the last 20 years. This is an impressive number, I think.
I must mention the so-called medical holidaymaking, that is state-funded holidaymaking. I need to say that
the state could
be more accommodating in this respect
and enable children to go to the seaside
for preventative reasons,
too. It would
be very beneficial and by so doing, the state would
prove that it cares for children. We won't cease pursuing this
goal. We hope
that the state
would lend us a more
favourable ear at least.

URŠKA: I'd say that we need to take the
best from each
system and then preserve that.
The Federation itself was a grassroots movement all those
years ago. We need to preserve this.
We are those who
make sure that the children have a good
time. We keep
alive those parts
that were good, and because of this
it sometimes feels
as if we were an islet in the sea,
completely by itself, although we are on the mainland. We are surrounded by a beautiful environment. And it really
feels sometimes, as if we were frozen
in time. Maybe
because we've set
our goals very
clearly.

We focus on the quality
of the children's spare time.
People sometimes forget
about the most important aspects:
conversation, play, interaction between the children
or between a teacher
and a child. These are the things... Yes, this is the essence
of us being frozen in time. I think
this is something that we kept from
the socialist era,
and this is the main
thing we need
to keep going. Definitely.

LIZA: I agree.
Just a few days ago,
us teachers had a conversation... And I told the others
that... When I was little, a had a lot of psychological issues
and even had suicidal thoughts. For several years, I kept saying to myself 'You
only need to hang on until you get to Pacug. Only
until you get to
Pacug.' We counted down the days separating us from our
stay at Pacug.
I'm glad that this
place gave me so much,
until my last
year as an underage person
here. That I didn't need
to count down the days separating me from Pacug.
Although I'm still here as much as I can. And
I hope to stay here for a long time
in the future.
The same as Nejc. I think that
it means a lot to the
children too, to be able to be here and hang out with other
children, to meet new people and do different things.
They are involved in other activities and this distracts them from other things in their lives.
And they get
the opportunity to connect with
others, to come out of their
shells, to relieve themselves from the things
that may burden
them otherwise.

URŠKA: The Federation will certainly keep striving to keep the Pacug resort
for children indefinitely. It's just
a tiny part
of the coast. We are
rather happy that
we are so removed from everything,
because this allows us to offer children
all these opportunities. We'll certainly try our best
to keep this resort
open for them
for a long time into
the future. I hope a long time after I'm gone.
But on the other hand,
the Slovene coast
is small, while
some appetites are
big. Nevertheless, we defend
this resort with everything we have.

ARMIN: Well, Pacug is... It's like... You're
in school all year and when the summer holidays
start, you simply wait
for these ten
days (FLORES: Yes.)
in Pacug. We have some school outings
as well, but it's not the same
as these ten days when
we hang out together all
the time. This
is simply... Shit. (FLORES:
Yes, it's our last year.)
Yes.

KLEMEN: The Pacug
Children's Resort, with
its narrow and very steep
access road which
the children still need to walk by foot from
the main road,
since it is too steep
for a bus, is kept
frozen in time and
space. It is safely nestled
in the wedge of the cliffs, and as a rebel with a cause
defies the changes of social systems.
And it's only right that it does so. Some things must never
change. Since they are simply
there for the
greater good and
too valuable to be lost.
All those summers of this
resort and its carefree childhoods that have already
passed or are still to come,
will remain on this coast
in parallel worlds,
through indelible memories and on some long-
forgotten postcards from the summer camps.

NEJC: This is the great
legacy of the
former system. (LIZA:
Yes, truly!) If I had to choose
one field when they didn't
make a mistake, I'd certainly
choose this one.

KLEMEN: Radio Slovenija.

POLETJA NEKIH OTROŠTEV – ZGODBA O OTROŠKEM LETOVIŠČU PACUG

INTRO: Se prav
zjutraj, okoli devetih,
mal prej, se zbudimo. Ko je zvonec
gremo na zajtrk.
Po zajtrku je potem zbor.
Na zboru se pove, kaj se bo delalo čez dan. Mamo tudi bla bla boben
…

Jaz načeloma ne vem kako je nastal ampak
vem, da je to bilo
z namenom, da se otroci
zabavajo.

Meni osebno je zelo
v redu, da lahko spoznavam nove ljudi. Ja,
pa v bistvu s tem tudi v bistvu
brusim moje socialne sposobnosti.

Nek pobeg od doma.
Ja. Od tistih štirih sten,
ki jih gledaš vsak dan. Da se lahko igramo. Predvsem to, ja. Kakor
en dopust od družine. Tako,
sam greš na morje. Ja.
Oddih.

Ja, jaz isto, pač,
ja sej v bistvu so zame tukaj
boljši ljudje kot
v šoli. Prijetno letovišče v katerega se tudi vračamo,
štiri leta jaz.

Mi je tko ful hudo, ko sem s prijatelji.

Pač, ful si želim
it tja, vsakič,
ko mami vpraša,
če si želim, pa, ja. Velik, zato
ker kakšni sploh
ne morejo it na morje.

Ja, pač, lepo je, ker niso vsi skoz na telefonih. Pač, se lahko realno
družiš.

… Pa, ali gledamo
risanke ali pa filme ali imamo pa impro ligo, kar se tudi meni zdelo ful zabavno, no… In, ja nekaj takega.
Aja, pa v Piran pa v Portorož gremo tudi kakšne
dni.

KLEMEN: Poletja nekih otroštev – Zgodba o Otroškem letovišču Pacug; Radijski dokumentarec. Rodil sem se v Socialistični republiki Sloveniji, eni od šestih republik
Socialistične federativne republike Jugoslavije. V državi, ki je danes
ni več. Po informbiroju leta
1948 oziroma sporu
Tita in Stalina, je Jugoslavija ubrala
svojo pot socializma. Bila je neuvrščena cona med vzhodom
in zahodom. Prav zato
je bila ta oblika socializma čisto samosvoja, drugačna
in bistveno bolj odprta. Danes sicer velja socializem kot nekakšna pred oblika komunizma za enega od totalitarnih režimov. Pa vendar
je poleg mračne,
kot vsak sistem,
tudi ta imel
svojo svetlo in nadvse človeško
plat. Moji spomini
na otroštvo v t. i. prejšnjem sistemu
so izjemno lepi. Je pa bilo moje otroštvo vse do
najstništva neločljivo povezano tudi s posebnim obmorskim letoviščem. Pacug, neznaten
zaliv na majhni
slovenski obali, ki danes vsega
skupaj obsega le 40
kilometrov med Tržaškim
in Piranskim zalivom,
je bil šest zaporednih let tudi del mojih poletij. Za to radijsko dokumentarno zgodbo sem ga z namenom
izbral kot enega
primerov dobre prakse socializma, ki s svojim
preprostim samo dobrim za otroka enostavno neomejeno preči
sisteme. Gre za letovišče, ki ga je Zveza prijateljev mladine Slovenije, še en primer
dobre prakse socializma, ustanovila z namenom, da bi otroci
imeli možnost finančno
ugodnega in skrbno organiziranega letovanja. Pomen morja za otrokovo zdravje
in druženja s sovrstniki za njegov
psiho-socialni razvoj je namreč dokazano koristen. In danes,
morda še bolj
kot včeraj, nadvse pomemben. Otroško letovišče
Pacug je torej letovišče z vso letoviško infrastrukturo, organiziranim prevozom, pedagoškim in zdravstvenim varstvom in prehrano s petimi obroki
na dan. Letovanja potekajo
v več izmenah; tedenskih in deset dnevnih.
Namenjen pa je otrokom
in mladim odraslim do 17. leta starosti. Tako kot v socializmu, tudi v kapitalistični demokraciji

še vedno ostaja
finančno dostopen in med otroki
ne dela socialnih
razlik. Zgodbo o Otroškem
letovišču Pacug in poletjih nekih otroštev mi bodo pomagali
povedati Darja in Urška z Zveze
prijateljev mladine Slovenije, med škržati, vetrom
v krošnjah in valovanjem morja
pa vzgojitelja Liza in Nejc in Flores,
Armin in ostali otroci.

DARJA: Zveza prijateljev mladine
Slovenije je krovna
organizacija, ki pod svojo streho
združuje ta hip 115
društev in zvez po celi
Sloveniji. Ta organizacija in tudi številna društva je nastala
leta 1953. No, res
je, da so nekatera društva
in aktivnosti obstajala že prej, tudi
kar zadeva letovanja. Kajti takoj po 2. svetovni
vojni so občutili
veliko potrebo, da otrokom, da mladim rodovom
nekako omogočijo varno, zdravo
preživljanje počitnic na morju, ker so dobro vedeli, da je to zelo
zdravo za otroke in zelo
pomembno iz več
razlogov. Tako, da je Zveza
prijateljev mladine organizacija, ki je zelo hitro,
v petdesetih letih
pravzaprav v celoti
prevzela organizacijo kolonij, kot temu rečemo. Največ
otrok je letovalo
leta 1959, kar 35000. Res pa, da v času socializma
so otroka, kot takega, mnogo
bolj postavljali v ospredje, kot ga postavljamo danes. Veliko bolj so
skrbeli za njegov
razvoj in veliko
več sredstev je bilo namenjenih programom in tudi
samim kolonijam. Danes je to zelo drugače. Če smo še leta 1980 imeli v okviru naše organizacije 45 počitniških domov, ne samo
v Sloveniji ampak
tudi na Hrvaškem, jih imamo danes
samo še 15. Ampak, k sreči, vendarle obstajajo
in še vedno pravzaprav po enakih načelih organiziramo letovanja. Kot smo jih organizirali v petdesetih. Pomembno
pa je tudi, da se z otroki
ukvarjajo tisti, ki imajo otroke preprosto
radi.

LIZA: Ja,
no, jaz sem pa tudi
tukaj hodila ene
sedem let kot
otrok. Tudi prav
v to izmeno. In mi je bil samo
cilj čim prej
se vrnit. Tudi
Nejc, Urša, tudi
drugi vzgojitelji so bili tukaj,
ko sem bila jaz kot otrok. In zdaj so tudi že eni drugi
vzgojitelji, ko sem bili tukaj,
ko sem bila jaz prvič
vzgojiteljica. In meni je bilo res, čim prej nazaj.
Pacug mi je zmerja veliko
pomenil, zmeraj sem imela dobro družbo. Tudi, ko se v šoli ali pa kje drugje
nismo najboljše razumeli ali pa doma…
Pač, meni nič ne more priti do tega kako meni pomeni
Pacug. Meni je bil to ful cilj in mi je še zdaj, da vračam
to, kar so meni dali
takrat, da dam to pač naprej, ne.
In, da dam to čim več otrokom.
In, da naredim čim boljše
počitnice za res čim več otrok. Te moje punce,
zdajle, pa so že v srednji šoli ene, so rekle, ali bi lahko
naslednjič bile pa štirinajst dni.
Ali pa mogoče
celo en mesec.
Ali pa kar celo poletje, če bi se dalo. Se majo res fajn. Tko, no.

URŠKA: Leta 1964 se je Gasilska
zveza Slovenije odločila,
da bo prodala svoje letovišče
Pacug. Takrat je pač pri nas zasedal
en manjši odbor.
Nekako so se strinjali, da pa je to res priložnost, ki jo
moramo prijeti. Slovenska obala je kratka, izredno dragocena in se nam je zdelo
zelo pomembno, da pač otroci
ostanejo na naši obali. Tako,
da se je Zveza kar na hitro odločila za nakup letovišča.

DARJA: Otroci so res
naše bogastvo. Pa to ni neki preživeti socialistični slogan. Ta slogan bi moral veljati tudi za današnji čas.
Na mladih svet
stoji. In tako,
kot bomo vzgajali mlade, tako bomo živeli
tudi starejši oziroma odrasli. Zato
jim moramo ponuditi veliko aktivnosti, morajo
se počutiti, morajo imeti občutek, da razvijajo svoje
interese in svoje
potenciale kajti le tako bodo,
ne samo koristni ampak polnopravni člani naše družbe.
In takšni odrasli
bodo tudi postali.
Če ne bodo imeli teh možnosti, so njihove možnosti
v življenju, ko bodo odrasli, močno okrnjene. In to je smisel delovanja tudi naše organizacije. Postaviti otroka na prvo stran,
v ospredje. Pomembno je, kaj mu ponujamo,
kakšno življenje, kakšne
možnosti. In mislim,
da naša organizacija gladi socialne razlike, ki smo jim priča seveda
v tem času nove države,
ki smo jo seveda vsi veseli,
ampak pozabili pa smo na tiste dobre
lastnosti, ki jih je socializem imel. Naj imajo
otroci vsi enake možnosti. Saj bodo v času odraslosti ubirali različne poti,
ampak izhodiščne možnosti
pa je prav, da imajo enake.

FLORES: Mislim, Pacug,
meni to pomeni
nek notranji otrok,
no. ARMIN: Ja. Ko prideš sem
in si v bistvu dejansko ti. Ne moreš se skrivat, ne moreš bit skoz tako,
kot v šoli, ves zategnjen, neprespan, karkoli. Če si tukaj neprespan, imaš dobre razloge
za to. Ne vem, vsako leto, ko pridem sem, zmeraj čakam tko, kaj
se bo zgodilo. Nikoli ni isto, nikoli
se ne naveličaš. Tudi, jaz sem 17, ti boš zdajle 18, ARMIN: Ja., in sva še zmeraj tukaj.
Pač, ja, jaz hodim že tko osem,
devet let, ARMIN: jaz pa šest, ja. Jaz sem celo menjala
izmeno vmes, ARMIN: jaz pa ne, jaz sem bil skoz v tej, letošnji
peti, ja. ARMIN: Sam,
ja… Mislim,
neko drugo družino
si ustvariš tukaj.

ARMIN: Ko prideš sem, pač, vse pozabiš kaj je bilo
doma, na šolo,
pa tukaj se vse tako
na novo zgodi.

Recimo.

URŠKA: Ko smo mi kupovali to letovišče je bilo to eno terasasto zemljišče, ki se je spuščalo
do morja. Na tem zemljišču je bila ena zidana hiša
v kateri je bila manjša
kuhinja in pa toaletni prostori. Pa še ena lopa
je bila zraven.
Po pripovedih naj
bi v tej lopi bival
osel s katerim so pač tovorilo
hrano v letovišče, ker dostopna pot ni bila urejena. Otroci
pa so takrat potem bivali
v takih velikih šotorih,
trinajst šotorov je bilo in so se v bistvu
na štirinajst dni
potem menjavali. Takrat so bile štirinajstdnevne izmene
še. Potem pa seveda Zveza
je delala na tem, da se kvaliteta letovanj izboljšuje, vsako leto se je nekaj
novega vložilo, počasi
smo te šotore zamenjali za lesene hišice,
kasneje za zidane
objekte. Tako, da počasi je letovišče v bistvu dobivalo to obliko, kamor
smo prišli danes.

NEJC: Šola je šola.
Je res, da so tako
umetno tam dani
skupaj kakor tukaj,
samo je čisto
drugo okolje. In tudi mi jim lahko
več ponudimo, če nismo v tistem okolju.
In, kaj pa vem, kako
bi to v bistvu opisal, no.

LIZA: Pač, menjava okolja je, ne.

NEJC: To je kar
kompleksna zadeva, ne. LIZA: Ja. Se mi zdi,
da tolik minimalna zadeva kot je,
samo menjava okolja, pa precej
spremeni, no. LIZA: Ja

LIZA: Tudi
tako, v šoli
se fulkrat v prvem razredu, oziroma v prvih
parih letih se ustvarijo skupinice ali pa hierarhija tudi
tam, med sošolci.
In ko ti prideš nekam
sem, v Pacug,
na primer, pa si na novo, pa si pač z drugimi, ko se ne poznaš, pa se moraš
na novo spoznati, se lahko ful drugače
v bistvu tudi sam sebe predstaviš. In ful vidiš, da se otroci mogoče
tudi bolj sprostijo, bolj razživijo. Zaradi tega,
ker niso porinjeni
v neko vlogo, ki so si jo določili, ko so bili
v prvem razredu s sošolci, ne. Pa je nekdo tam
avtomatično prevzel vlogo
liderja, ne, ki pa mogoče
tukaj malo bolj v izi vzame.
Ali pa nekdo, ki pa je ravno
kontra. Jaz sem
bila tako, na primer. V šoli
sem se, pač, ful nazaj
držala, tukaj sem bila pa vsepovsod, se mi zdi.

DARJA: Vsi
otroci imajo pravico
imeti enak možnosti za svoj razvoj.
In to v tem času
kapitalizma, potrošniške družbe
pogosto pozabljamo. In vse pravzaprav prepuščamo trgu. Jaz mislim, da bi
tukaj tudi šola lahko storila mnogo več, kot stori. Kajti dejstvo je, da
so le malo kje in maloštevilne izven šolske dejavnosti brezplačne. In ko niso več brezplačne, seveda,
se takoj postavi vprašanje ali družina lahko
to privošči svojemu
otroku ali ne. To je spet nekaj,
kar je bilo v času socializma mnogo bolje urejeno, kot je urejeno
danes. Žal je tako in s tem se dela velika škoda.
In se naša družba še dodatno razslojuje. Kar je škodljivo, ne samo za vse rodove, ki rastejo in se razvijajo tukaj
in zdaj. Ampak
tudi za vse nas, odrasle.

URŠKA: Poleg vsega pa se morajo,
v bistvu so primorani se spuščati v empatijo. Tudi
to je ena od stvari, ki je mogoče malce
poniknila, bom rekla.
Ni izginila, mi jo poskušamo spet vzpodbuditi nazaj. Veliko imamo recimo delavnic, kjer se otroci
pogovarjajo. Debatnih delavnic. In to je sigurno

nekaj, kar jih krepi za naprej. Sprejemanje drugih, sprejemanje drugačnosti… V bistvu se vklopit
v skupino, sklepat
nova prijateljstva… Velikokrat ta prijateljstva potem
tudi ostajajo, a ne.
Zaljubit se, recimo,
ne. Razvijajo se vrednote, sigurno,
ne. Veliko morajo
otroci funkcionirati med sabo,
ne. Ja, opažamo
zadnja leta tudi
to, da prihajajo iz raznih okolij,
kjer je recimo
tudi fizično ali pa psihično nasilje…
Seveda se oni tega niti
ne zavedajo, ne. Ampak, ko se pač to
enkrat v letovišču odpre, tudi
drugi otroci spoznajo, ne, da ni tako enostavno. Ker jaz vedno pravim, za vsakim obnašanjem je neka zgodba
zadaj, ne. Otrok
pač s svojim obnašanjem samo kaže, kaj se mu dogaja. Oni niso krivi,
če ne znajo drugače odreagirati. In na letovanju sigurno pride do tega,
da je nek trenutek, ko tudi ostali
otroci pač rečejo,
lej, to pa ni prav,
ne. Dajmo probati drugače. Meni
se zdi, da ta letovanje, res, ti dajo
neko podlago za življenje, ne. Ampak
tako, res življenjsko, ne. Ni to zdaj neko znanje, pa nekaj s čimer boš
ti, pač, pridobil
službo, ne… Ampak nekaj,
s čimer boš ti imel kvalitetno življenje.

FLORES: Jaz se načeloma sploh ne razumem
s svojimi sošolci,
zato ker jih pač vidiš
vsak dan in ko pridem sem, je tako
čisto drugače vse.
Imam tudi ljudi,
ki pač z mano hodijo
že od samega začetka. In tudi, če se mi čez celo
leto ne pogovarjamo, ne družimo, ne hodimo ven
zaradi … ARMIN: … šole, treningov… … ja, tudi starostne razlike, pač prideš
sem in sem z njimi,
tako, kot, da si bil vsak dan skupaj, oziroma tko… ARMIN: Ja… … razumejo
te, ja…

URŠKA: Pri nas imajo
enako možnosti. Ne glede na to, iz kakšnih razmer
prihajajo. Cena je za vse enaka.
Vsi dobijo enako
ponudbo. Vsi imajo
enake možnosti. Definitivno bomo delali na tem, da na
tem tudi ostanemo. Nam pač ni pomembno to, da imamo
profit, pomembno nam je to, da pač, kar
je namenjeno za amortizacijo letovišča, bom rekla,
tudi gre nazaj
v letovišče. Se pravi, da se izboljšuje kvaliteta bivanja
v letovišču. In to je v bistvu
naš finančni plan.
Zato tudi cena
že vrsto let ostaja
enaka. Kljub vsemu,
da se vse druge cene pri nas dvigujejo v Sloveniji, ne. Mi
kar še ostajamo. Probal bomo, dokler bo šlo. Upajmo,
da čim dlje.

DARJA: Mi
seveda zbiramo denar
preko akcije Pomežik
soncu. Preko te akcije smo,
na primer, v dvajsetih letih
brezplačno peljali na morje blizu
10000 otrok. To je pa zelo lepa
številka. Moram pa pri tem omeniti
tudi t. i. zdravstvena letovanja, to se pravi
tista letovanja, ki jih omogoči država. Moram reči, da tukaj bi država lahko imela več posluha za to. In tudi omogočila otrokom, da gredo na morje iz preventivnih razlogov. Jaz mislim, da bi bilo
to zelo koristno. In da bi tudi
država s tem dokazala, da ji je mar za otroke. In mi od tega cilja
ne bomo odstopili. Upamo pa, da nam bodo vsaj nekoliko bolj prisluhnili.

URŠKA: Rekla bi tako,
da je treba iz vsakega
sistema vzeti tisto,
kar je najboljše in to potem vleč
naprej. Sigurno je pač že sam nastanek Zveze
v teh davnih obdobjih je nastal iz samega ljudstva. In to je treba vleč
naprej. Mi smo tisti, ki pač delamo,
da se imajo otroci lepo.
Vlečemo naprej tisto, kar je bilo dobro
in morda, se zato včasih
zdi, ja, kot da smo en otoček,
pač tam ob morju, čisto zase, čeprav
smo na kopnem, še tako
lepo okolico imamo
in smo umaknjeni in res zgleda, kot, da bi obstali v času, no. Mogoče zaradi
tega, ker so naši cilji
zelo jasno postavljeni. Se pravi, samo kvaliteta prostega časa otrok.
Včasih pozabljamo na te, najbolj
pomembne. Se pravi pogovor, igra,
se v bistvu ukvarjat en z drugim,
namenit čas otrok
otroku ali pa vzgojitelj otroku. To so te stvari…
ja, to je tisto, ko smo obstal
v času. Se mi zdi,
da se to res vleče
iz tiste dobe socializma in mislim, da je to tista stvar,
ki jo moramo obdržat. Definitivno.

LIZA: Ja, jaz bi tudi tako
rekla. Ravno par dni nazaj
smo se mi vzgojitelji pogovarjali… Pa sem povedala, pač… Jaz, ko sem bila majhna,
sem imela tako
dosti problemov psihičnih in sem bila tudi na samomorilnem vedenju
in takšne stvari…
In sem kar par let imela… samo do Pacuga
je treba zdržat. Samo do Pacuga.
Smo štele dneve,
koliko še imamo
do Pacuga. In sem pač samo vesela,

da sem se toliko potegnila iz tega, do mojega zadnjega leta tukaj kot otrok, da mi potem
ni bilo treba več šteti samo do Pacuga… Ampak čeprav sem zdaj tudi skoz tukaj,
kolikor se da, sem
zdaj tukaj. Pa tudi še računam, da bom tudi še kar dolgo ostala.
Tako kot Nejc.
Pa tudi za otroke,
no, se mi zdi da, pač, da jim ful pomeni, da so lahko
tukaj, pa da so z neko družbo,
da spoznajo nove ljudi,
pa take stvari.
Malo druge stvari
se jim dogajajo, pa malo se zamotijo od stvari, ki se
dogajajo, pač, drugače
v življenju. Pa tudi tako imajo priložnost, da se malo povežejo,
odprejo, malo razbremenijo, no.

URŠKA: Zveza bo sigurno delala na tem, da letovanja in pa samo letovišče Pacug,
da je v nedogled namenjen za otroke.
To je res en majhen
košček obale… Mi smo v bistvu kar dosti veseli,
da smo tako odmaknjeni, ker ravno zaradi
tega lahko otrokom
vse te stvari omogočamo. In sigurno bomo delali na tem, da letovišče ostaja še dolgo,
dolgo. Upam, da še dolgo za mano. Je
pa res, slovenska
obala je majhna,
apetiti so veliki…
Ampak mi branimo
letovišče z vsemi štirimi.

ARMIN: Pač,
Pacug je… To je tako.
Celo leto si ti v šoli in tko potem,
ko so počitnice poletne, ti samo
čakaš teh deset dni, FLORES: Ja. da si v Pacugu. Pač, saj tudi kdaj med šolo greš
tako ven, pa to, ampak ni isto
kot tistih deset
dni, ko si cel čas skupaj. To je pač…
Šit FLORES: Zadnje leto, a… Ja.

KLEMEN: Otroško letovišče Pacug,
do katerega vodi ozka in nadvse strma
pot po kateri
otroci od glavne ceste še danes pridejo
peš, ker je pač za avtobus prestrma, ostaja nekje v prostoru in času.
Varno ujet v zarezi klifa
pa kot upornik z razlogom
kljubuje menjavanju družbenih sistemov. In prav je tako. So stvari, ki se ne smejo nikoli
spremeniti. Ker so preprosto splošno
dobre in preveč človeške. Vsa poletja tega letovišča in njegovih brezskrbnih otroštev, ki so že minila,
ali pa šele pridejo, bodo v vzporednih časovnih svetovih za vedno ostala
na njegovi obali
in seveda v neizbrisljivih spominih in na kakšni že zdavnaj pozabljeni razglednici iz kolonije.

NEJC: To je super
dediščina prejšnjega sistema.
LIZA: Ja, res odlično. Če kje niso naredili
napake, je niso
na tem področju.

KLEMEN: Radio Slovenija

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