Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure, and an honor to be able to be here in New York City, so far away from our mutual homeland. We have accepted with great joy the invitation to this encounter.
As a mayor, I am bringing to you the greetings of all "Chersini”, and in the name of the city of Cherso, I like to express my sincere gratitude for your warm welcome.
We are still affected by the long trip and of the moment we saw New York: The symbol of the New World, of the challenge and might, of the opportunity and objectives of the United States of America.
Unfortunately, after September 11/2001 it is also the symbol of global terrorism, of the immense human suffering and loss of so many lives.
All of us are representing the liaison between the New and the Old World.
We have in common
the roots of Cherso or the nearby territories whose history has suffered the same political upsets; the evidence of actions that have interwoven the history of our homeland, the insane threats and the personal suffering of our ancestors, the knowledge of their bravery, because they have survived in a land, beautiful in nature, politically and strategically very important in the Old World, opposing themselves continuously against different dominion aspirations.
All these events have forced our people to the emigration throughout the centuries with the result that today more than half of our villages and towns are uninhabited while the remaining 26 have in total only 700 residents.
We should not enter now into the reason, political or economical, for which you and your ancestors have left; the fact remains that emigration has taken from our island the most productive inhabitants, has distressed the natural equilibrium, has diminished the number of workers, has worsened the building capability and has a great consequence in the lower birth rate. Lately the birth rate is continuously negative, so our population heading to extinction.
What can we do to stop this tendency and start a constructive and positive policy?
The negative demographic tendency on the island could be stopped if the New World would not become for you the homeland, and, at the same time, your original homeland should not become a foreign place.
Right now two projects are going on with the same objective, one on at state and one at local level.
The Croatian Republic is preparing measures that should influence people to forgo
emigration and encourage returns.
The individuals, who would return would be included in the social and economical development of Croatia, and especially on the islands, as a territory under the special protection of the state.
The local activity is the development conducted by the City and by the entrepreneurs of our island in the frame of self administration.
In this sector it would be very important to find a way to assign to you, Chersini, a major role in the link among the different economical subjects on the international market. In this frame would be included too a new urban plan for the of the City of Cherso, which would offer the possibility to achieve a program of "restoration" of our island.
You could contribute to the survival of your homeland by restoring and maintaining your homes, especially the ones in the rural land. There are places beyond salvation, but a renewed home could be a very comfortable place for your vacation residence or for the tourists.
The wave of people that visit these little towns has preserved their life and even helped the revival of some of them.