Students Attacked at Rijeka Play Rehearsal

The news in Croatian

1. nepoznat
   koji nije poznat, za kojeg se ne zna ↩︎
2. uvježbavati
   ponavljati nešto kako bi se savladalo ili poboljšalo ↩︎
3. predstava  (f.)
   prikazivanje umjetničkog djela na sceni ↩︎
4. incident  (m.)
   nepredviđen i neugodan događaj ↩︎
5. igralište  (n.)
   mjesto namijenjeno za igranje ili sportske aktivnosti ↩︎
6. oprema  (f.)
   skup alata ili pribora potrebnog za neku aktivnost ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Where did the attack on students and professors take place?

Question 2: What did the attackers do during the incident?

Vocabulary

Croatian	English
nepoznat	unknown
uvježbavati	rehearse
predstava  (f.)	performance
incident  (m.)	incident
igralište  (n.)	grounds
oprema  (f.)	equipment

Read the full story

A group of unidentified men reportedly attacked students and faculty from the Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka during a rehearsal for the play “Art, not war”. The incident occurred around 8:50 PM at the Trsat military playground, causing significant unrest and interruption.

The Department of Performing Arts at the Rijeka Academy has issued a statement detailing the events of the attack, which consisted of verbal assaults and threats towards the students, as well as the theft of some equipment. Despite the rehearsal being a previously announced event in a public area, the gathering was disrupted by what was described as a small but aggressive group of individuals.

According to eyewitness accounts, the attackers were verbally abusive, using phrases like “I’ll hit you” and “What kind of Satanism is this?” to intimidate the ongoing artistic and educational work. This indicates a possible undercurrent of hostility towards activities deviating from conventional norms, with the location perceived as a traditionally “male” space.

The escalation of hostility led to the rehearsal being halted abruptly, and surprisingly, none of the approximately seventy bystanders present intervened or assisted the students or their professor. The incident has raised concerns about community intolerance towards artistic expressions and the safety of public spaces.

Faculty members, including department head Dr. Milica Czerny Urban, have vehemently condemned the incident as “a manifestation of deeply rooted intolerance” and have pledged to raise awareness about the issue. Teachers and artists from the academy emphasise the importance of maintaining public spaces as secure environments for both educational and creative work.

The play “Art, not war” is part of a collaboration between the Academy of Applied Arts and the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc, and is performed as part of the annual “Rijeka Summer Nights” programme.

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