Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman 19 October 2019 attended the 7th traditional Gathering of the Guardians of Croatian Ethno Heritage in Filderstadt near Stuttgart. The gathering was organized by the “Rose” Folk Dance Association and saw 16 folk dance associations from Croatia and abroad.
Addressing the event, Grlić Radman underscored that Croatia would always be their homeland: “It’s important for you to know that Croatia will always be your homeland, and whatever you do for yourself – you do it for her as well. I’m pleased to see that second and third-generation children of Croatian expats are learning Croatian, which is now an official language of the EU.”
He called on the participants not to forget about Bosnia and Herzegovina either, to visit their place of birth with their kids, as well as localities ravaged by war. Speaking about youth who cherish Croatian heritage, Grlić Radman said they needed to know where places like Vukovar and Škabrnja are, but also look ahead so that such tragedy should not happen again.
“What’s most important is that we have a modern Croatian state. We love Croatia. It’s not perfect, but if we don’t love it and live in it, what are we going to live for and who are we going to leave it to?” said Grlić Radman wrapping up his address.