April 2, 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 Rene Pronk from Holland in Zumberak as our 15th 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. So far we have heard from expats in Croatia from Romania, USA, Ireland, UK, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Singapore, Canada and Germany. Next up, Rene Pronk from Holland, who lives in Zumberak.
If you would like to contribute to this series, full details are below. Now, over to Rene.
Firstly, how are you? Are you alone/with someone? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.
We are happy, healthy and hopeful. I am with my wife, my son, the cat and the dog and nowadays more wild pigs coming to our land than some weeks ago. Thank God for social media these days. We stay in contact with many friends all over the world and feel very blessed at this moment to be Croatia-based. I am a bit worried about the Dutch approach to this pandemic. The Netherlands is where my parents reside, and my mum is very fragile at her age.
What do you think about the economic measures the government is taking, are they helping your business?
Ever since day one of our arrival in Croatia we have just been paying. So I will be surprised if there is something in store for us. I am satisfied with Mr. Plenkovic, he seems a calm and trustful man. We still have income from rents and some online sales. It is not enough but we can get by for a couple of months. My photo tourism business is down. All my photo tours are cancelled and so is the accommodation. But my main concern is for the many hard-working entrepreneurs in Croatia. Many of them have no cash reserves and live on credit. The situation can last for a couple of more weeks but then shops have to re-open with strict safety measures of course. I found some great online shops of Croatian origin and I hope they do good business right now I buy from them for I want to support Croatia wherever I can.
When did you realise that corona was going to be a big issue?
It was on February 16 when I was on a Ryanair flight back from Thessaloniki to Bratislava. Everybody was wearing mouth caps and awful reports from Italy were starting to come in.
What is your impression of the way Croatia is dealing with the crisis? How safe do you feel?
Information is always hard to find in Croatia and it is always multi-interpretable. This time it is like I suddenly woke up in a different world. And that is not because of the lockdown. The information is so accurate. The stozer team is so calm, self-assured and they sail us right along the dangerous rocks in this ocean of uncertainty. I cannot think of a safer and better country to live in right now. We feel much safer than our family and friends in the Netherland where the IC units have reached their full capacity. But we also live in a village. And people here are used to live with the seasons, the weather and the wars. They just adapt and the impact on them seems not as catastrophic as for the urban Dutchman whose trust was in his wealth and economy alone.
Furthermore, I am a praying and meditating person. So my safety does not depend on the circumstances around me.
Now compare that to your home country and how they are handling it. What is Croatia doing better/worse?
I really do not like the ban they put on travelling. I am a photographer and I want to be out there when the sun comes up, near the river or on a hilltop. I cannot leave my village and that is kind of frustrating, especially now that Spring is coming. I run a humanitarian organization and I am not allowed to visit Croatia’s most poor and lonely people in the remote areas. I do not blame the government, for they cannot make an exception for me. But this ban has to be lifted soon. It is a basic freedom principle that people still have in the Netherlands to travel. Croatia does not have a “business climate” so this time it works in its favour... The government really is doing their job well and protects us from evil. Shopping centers are turned into emergency centers and the measures to spread the virus are very strict. Yes they do a good job. But let’s see in a few months if this was really all worth it. Let’s also see how the virus develops as it might lose its strength in due course.
What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?
The viber app is great. As I said the communication surprises me as getting information in the Netherlands is really taken for granted. Not so in Croatia. That is different this time. So I hope that the information virus spreads to many of the clerks after this Corona is over.
What's the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation.
We are pretty much used to a self-sustainable lifestyle. So we are ok. My son is at home so I do a lot of creative activities with him in addition to homeschooling. But even the wood glue and some tools I could order online. So there is nothing I really miss at the moment.
One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis.
I have learned to remain thankful even more. If the big world is no longer accessible for you and you cannot go where you like to go the garden suddenly becomes a friendly paradise. Birds still whistle, the dog wants to play, the flowers grow, the butterflies fly, the seeds are sown, the beautiful Kupa river invites me to just sit and relax. It is all there but you take it for granted and yearn for more spectacular pictures. I did not appreciate it that much as I do now.
Today I ordered flower seeds besides the veggie ones. Let’s plant a flower garden and make it even more beautiful. I have browsed too many of my pictures lately. Croatia is a paradise. What a beautiful country. It is a time for reminiscing without getting melancholic.
What I learned from the Croats that they are a calm nation unlike the Dutch. The Dutch still have the freedom to travel. They can still export a lot of their food and goods but they are all the time speaking about a crisis. Here we are so dependent on tourism. So I feel that the repercussions of this lockdown for Croatia will be far worse but more easily accepted.
Croatia has been through so many stages and seasons. We will battle this one and become stronger than before. I hope we will focus more on quality tourism and see ourselves as a green lung and paradise in Europe. I hope we will see beyond the crisis and reach our potential, which is huge. I even think that many people in Western Europe that went panic shopping will maybe begin to think about a better life with a little piece of land that can supply most of their own food. Perhaps in Croatia.
Thanks Rene, stay safe and see you on the other side.
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.
