Family of Freelance Artists hit by Zagreb Earthquake

This is our story about the day my family's house, the house with studio that I was born in, was destroyed by the biggest earthquake Zagreb has seen in 140 years. We need your help because not even three weeks after the earthquake the state and local authorities have shown no empathy and conducted just several minor and uncoordinated actions.

On Sunday, March 22, 2020 at 6:24am the people of Zagreb were woken by a brutal and devastating 5.5 Richter magnitude earthquake that destroyed much of the city. Many of the foundations in the City buildings were cracked, the walls and rooftops were damaged. Streets were littered with debris and concrete slabs had fallen on cars that made the city center look like a war zone.

On that day our deep sleep was interrupted by shaking floors and vibrating walls. It lasted about 10 seconds, but felt like an eternity. At first, I thought I was having a bad dream, but this turned out to be a harsh reality. Glass, molding, precast concrete, and paint were falling everywhere, so we ran outside. Suddenly, we were faced with another catastrophe in the midst of dealing with Covd-19. It still seems surreal that this all happened at once.

In the last three weeks, Zagreb has been hit by numberless smaller earthquakes. Engineers came to evaluate our house and our studio building in the back yard, which was built by my grandfather in 1928. Our only work and life space has been severely damaged. There are cracks on the walls, rooftops, and damage to the entire structure. The entire house could collapse on us if the ground shakes again. Official structural engineer conclusion is: "The house and studio are drastically damaged. Even a slight tremor could cause the buildings to collapse. My advice is to undertake renovation as urgently as possible."

There are five of us living and working in this home and studio: my husband Mario, who is a photographer, our son Rene, an academic painter, our daughter-in-law Doris, a psychologist, our four year old granddaughter, Robin, and me, Sanja, a graphic designer. For the meantime, we have moved our son and his family to a safer place; however, my husband and I have stayed in our home, the only place we have to live. We are all freelancers, and for that reason we cannot get bank credit for renewal.

In order for us to continue our life and work, we need your help. As freelancers we lost our income due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Right now we’re in need of solidarity and we are hopeful that our message will be heard by good, honest and kind people.

Thanks from the bottom of our heart for your support!

Sanja and Mario, Rene, Doris, Robin, our dog + goldfish <3