Martin Čičin Šain

Martin Čičin Šain was born in 1952 in Vodice. From 1973 he worked as a member of the Yugoslav Police, and later the Croatian Police forces. He joined the war following the appearance of road blocks. His first assignments were to scout the hinterland behind Šibenik, Skradin and Vodice. He was successful in communicating with the local Serb population and thanks to his efforts some of the road barricades were taken down. Following a heart attack, he underwent treatment. From July 1, 1991 he acted as the Chief of the police station in Kijevo. He was one of those who reached the decision to evacuate Kijevo with the aim of saving people's lives. After the fall of and retreat from Kijevo he participated in the organisation of the defence of Vodice and its surroundings and he took part in the »September war« - the defence of Šibenik when JNA [Yugoslav National Army] tanks were stopped at the Šibenik bridge. He worked in the Croatian Army until 1995 when he retired for family reason and due to consequences of the war. After a series of attempts he attained the status of a war veteran in 2009. Today he lives in Vodice, in poor physical health, and views the system established in the Croatian state with distrust.