April 1, 2020 - Do foreigners in Croatia feel more or less safe sitting out COVID-19 here than in their home country, and what are their experiences? A new series on TCN, with Jo Ahearne from London on Hvar as our 7th contributor.
Oxford University recently published some research on government responses to coronavirus which showed that Croatia currently has the strictest measures in the world. While inconvenient, this is a good thing in terms of reducing the spread of the virus, and I am certainly not alone in my admiration of the official Croatian handling of this crisis in recent weeks, both in terms of action and communication.
But what do other expats here think? And how does it compare with the response in their home country? Would they rather sit this one out here or there? In the first of a new series on TCN, we will be featuring expats from all over the world to see what their views are on life in corona Croatia rather than back home. Having started with an excellent contribution from Romanian Mirela Rus, American/Irishman Jason Berry, Tin Bojanic from Argentine and Gabriela Lopez Zubiria from Mexico, all in Split, Steve Gaunt in an English pub in a field in the middle of nowhere near Vinkovci, Barbara Grauning from Munich in Istria - a first look at self-isolation on a Croatian island, thanks to Master of Wine Jo Ahearne, who is feeling a little safer in Stari Grad on Hvar than Borisland...
If you would like to contribute to this series, full details are below. Now, over to Jo.
Last night before self-isolation.
Firstly, how are you? Are you alone/with someone? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.
I think sanity levels really change not just day to day but at times hour to hour. I live alone in an apartment in Stari Grad. I’m lucky as it has a nice south-facing balcony with a view over the town and the hills. That makes a huge difference. I oscillate between panic and acceptance to be fair. I’ve pretty much run out of wine to sell and can’t bottle new vintages so that’s an issue but the world is full of closed restaurants so there’s no customers anyhow. I consult in Sicily and India so that’s ground to a halt as well. But I know there are so many people in much more dire situations and with Spring arriving at least the sun is there to warm you up and cheer your spirit. And I have my daily walks by the sea to bring me some sanity.
What do you think about the economic measures the government is taking, are they helping your business?
To be honest I’ve found out most of my information from the great interview you did with Mirela the other day and am looking into if I can apply for help. If I can it will save me big time. The Croatian government seems to be acting swiftly.
When did you realise that corona was going to be a big issue?
I think when the Italian government put the first eleven municipalities into quarantine in February really made me sit up and take notice that it was going to be a global problem.
What is your impression of the way Croatia is dealing with the crisis? How safe do you feel?
Super impressed with how Vili Beros and Alemka Markotic are communicating and being pro-active. Early self isolation for travellers from infected regions swiftly followed by imposition of quarantine for those people.Super impressed with how Vili Beros and Alemka Markotic are communicating and being pro-active.
Clarity of which regions are to be quarantined and which self isolated. Closing the schools on 13th March followed by restaurants, bars, shops etc and public transport less than a week later. At that time there hadn’t been any deaths and very few positive tests. Acting so quickly, decisively and firmly has saved many lives.
I definitely feel safe. At first people were still congregating. You could see people all sitting on the terraces of closed cafés chatting. Supermarkets didn’t use gloves when handling food. But really quickly that changed. Now only 3 people are allowed in a shop at one time, everyone wears gloves, you get your hands sanitised on entry and (mostly) people obey the 2m rule if you do happen to come across someone while you’re out.
No one is panic buying on the island. I just would not be able to keep such a distance in London however much people are now trying to do so. Too many people and not enough space.
Now compare that to your home country and how they are handling it. What is Croatia doing better/worse?
The UK has been a total disaster Boris Johnson should be ashamed of himself. His party has systematically undermined and underfunded the NHS for a decade and now he has exhibited such a cavalier attitude it’s frightening. He merrily told everyone he was shaking hands with people with coronavirus. Talk about lead by example!
He makes jokes about ‘operation last gasp’ when discussing to production of much-needed ventilators while his government stated they refused to take part in an EU order that would have seen 30,000 machines come to the UK because we are no longer part of the EU. Then days later when they realised the population were a tad upset they put Brexit before breathing they changed the story and said the ‘email from the EU got lost’.
And then there was the concept of ‘herd immunity’ he spouted for a few weeks till someone did the maths in anticipated number of deaths from this approach and that was quietly sidelined. Ditto ‘people at home don’t need to be tested’ followed a few weeks later by we shall ramp up testing to 25,000 a day’. Meanwhile staff at hospitals don’t have enough masks and protective clothing. Or indeed tests.
Even the FA suspended Premiership football by 13th March while on the 16th Johnson was still advising people best not to travel and to work from home. Businesses were begging him to make a clear policy so they could act. At this time there was still only 35 deaths. He didn’t close schools till the 18th, bars etc on the 20th and lockdown not till 23rd. As of today there have been 2,352 deaths - a rise of 563 on the previous day.
What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?
I think I’ve covered that above. It’s the lack of leadership in the UK, the lack of clarity, the lack of decisiveness and the lack of empathy. Meanwhile here I’ve seen the complete opposite. Obviously I’m reading translations from the team at TCN but I feel the tone is supportive and empathetic. Great job on keeping the non-Croatian speaking residents up to speed by the way.
What's the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation?
It’s not realistic to have all my family and friends with me in isolation so I guess it’d be a time machine so I could go back to give everyone the biggest hug before we all got locked away.
One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis.
I pretty much had two years of isolation when I first moved to Hvar so I had already learnt that I am a social being and need people. I guess I’ve realised how ever much I tell myself I’ll read all those books I end up binge-watching Netflix like the sloth that I am. I think we all knew that the human race is a dichotomy. We see acts of selflessness equally balanced by people behaving selfishly - be it panic buying or continuing to go out. The one thing that I has surprised me is the world’s obsession with toilet paper.....
Thanks Jo, stay safe and see you on the other side. We will all be ready for a bottle or three of quality vino when this is all over, and there are few bottles better than the range produced by Jo Ahearne MW - have a look and follow at what lies in store at Ahearne Vino Facebook Page.
You can find more foreigner corona stories in our dedicated section here.
TCN is starting a new feature series on foreign experiences of sitting out covid-19 here in Croatia compared to their home country. If you would like to contribute, the questions are below. Please also include a para about yourself and where you are from, and a link to your website if you would like. Please also send 3-4 photos minimum to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Corona Foreigner
If you would be interested to record a video version for our partners www.rplus.video please let us know in the email. Thanks and stay safe.
Foreigners Self-Isolating in Croatia: Do You Feel Safer Than in Your Home Country?
Firstly, how are you? Are you alone/with someone? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.
What do you think about the economic measures the government is taking, are they helping your business? (PLEASE IGNORE IF THIS DOES NOT AFFECT YOU)
When did you realise that corona was going to be a big issue?
What is your impression of the way Croatia is dealing with the crisis? How safe do you feel?
Now compare that to your home country and how they are handling it. What is Croatia doing better/worse?
What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?
What's the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation.
One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis.
TCN has recently become a partner in Robert Tomic Zuber's new R+ video channel, initially telling stories about corona experiences. You can see the first TCN contribution from this morning, my video from Jelsa talking about the realities of running a news portal in the corona era below. If you would like to also submit a video interview, please find Robert's guidelines below
VIDEO RECORDING GUIDE
The video footage should be recorded so that the cell phone is turned horizontally (landscape mode).
There are several rules for television and video news:- length is not a virtue- a picture speaks more than a thousand words
In short, this would mean that your story should not last more than 90 seconds and that everything you say in the report should be shown by video (for example, if you talk about empty streets, we should see those empty streets, etc.).
How to do it with your cell phone? First, use a selfie camera to record yourself telling your story for about a minute and a half. Ideally, it would be taken in the exterior, except in situations where you are reporting on things in the interior (quarantine, hospital, self-isolation, etc.). Also, when shooting, move freely, make sure everything is not static.
After you have recorded your report, you should capture footage that will tell your story with a picture, such as an earlier example with empty streets.
One of the basic rules of TV journalism is that the story is told in the same way as a journalist with his text. Therefore, we ask you for additional effort. Because we work in a very specific situation, sometimes you may not be able to capture footage for each sentence of the report. In this case, record the details on the streets: people walking, the main features of the city where you live, inscriptions on the windows related to the virus, etc.
The same rules apply if you are shooting a story from your apartment, self-isolation, quarantine. We also need you to capture footage that describes your story.
When shooting frames to cover your reports, it is important that you change the angle of the shot (in other words, shoot that empty street from several angles). Also, when shooting a detail, count at least five seconds before removing the camera to another detail.
The material should be about 5 minutes long (90 seconds of your report + frames to cover your story).
After recording everything, send us to Zagreb, preferably via WeTransfer to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
