She obsessively documents her life on social media. She posts every event, ‘significant purchase’ and achievement (hers and those of her children) for all the world to see.
Mirko’s niece is the quintessential Balkan Bitch. A woman used to getting her way.
His daughter follows her exploits slavishly online. Mirko can see the negative effect this is having and tries to get her to stop looking at her phone and the various social media alerts that bring on a dark cloud. The comparison is the source of much misery.
“Of course, she feels terrible looking at her cousin’s life and then comparing to her own. My daughter’s life is one big mess. Vesna is married to an engineer. My daughter is married to a useless bludger. “
Vesna is the sort of woman who is always renovating, and her husband jump hoops whenever she’s overcome by a bout of creativity.
Her social media updates are full of before and after renovation shots, photos of the post renovation ‘desired look’ she aspires to, and of course, achieves.
Mirko is sanguine about his niece’s consumerist ways.
“Look, her husband have good job. He earns good money and his wife like to spend it. They are good for the economy. My daughter and her husband contribute nothing… they buy nothing, only spend money on marijuana. Does Australia need people like this?”
Mirko has very strong opinions about the sort of people Australia needs.
Do you call this normal?
He tells me, “They spend all day watching bullshit videos and pornography. They never go outside shopping. They buy everything online, and when they are hungry, what do you think?” He asks, “They don’t even think to go into kitchen, they order food from this bloody Uber Eats.” Mirko is in a state, “Do you call this living normal?”
His not done. “I see my son-in-law watching pornography on his telephone. I say, listen your wife is in the next room. Do your duties as a man and husband you useless bludger. Everything they do is going against nature,” he says.
Mirko is at his wits’ end with the way his daughter and partner are raising their son. And he’s talking about ‘kidnapping’ the boy and removing him from their care and having him raised by ‘normal people’ who adhere to traditional family values.
“My daughter is crazy and her husband is a druggie. What chance does this boy have… please tell me what can I do?”
I ask if he is talking about removing him from his parents?
“In Croatia we have one saying,” he replies, “the fruit will not fall far from the tree and this tree is diseased.”
Mirko has a habit of grossly exaggerating when he wants to get his message across.
Let’s hope I never get to read the headline.
‘ Retired property developer arrested in Croatia for kidnapping Aussie grandson.’
Written by Fab Marsani
