Smash & Grab: The Story of the Pink Panthers Page #3

Yugoslavia...

was made by many different nations,

different religions,

different ethnic groups - we had

more than 20 ethnic groups here,

and I believe it was very hard to

put them all together,

and keep that country alive.

SINGING:

As kids, you know, I had in my class

alongside Gypsy and other,

Albanian, Croatian...

Germans, Jews, Muslims.

It was really amazing.

I only got my first passport

when I was 16 or 17,

but I couldn't wait for the summer.

In May, the first tourists

would come.

Germans, French, Italian

and English would come too

and they would go swim naked.

I would sell them Coke and beer.

Wherever there was an opportunity to

peek, to watch naked women,

I would sit down to watch.

My first love was this German woman.

I'm still thinking of her now.

That's how I actually got to learn

my German.

See how it's all coming back.

As a young girl, I lived in

Dimitrovgrad.

It was a small house

where my grandmother lived.

BELL TOLLS:

But my aunt came for me and my life

continued in Hamburg, in Germany.

GERMAN MUSIC PLAYS

I had a wonderful time, wonderful.

This is something that remains

stamped in my memory.

I was taken by the extravagance

and luxury there was.

I thought, "I will become something

and somebody in my life."

I couldn't go out that much,

as my aunt was a very strict woman.

She was working in Yugoslav

restaurant and she got me

a job to wash dishes and to work at

the bar.

I had a chance to meet all kinds of

people,

and that's how I met my boyfriend.

I was still a child, 17 years old,

I was still a child, 17 years old,

and there was some kind of chemistry

between us.

And after that, he started giving me

all kinds of gifts,

perfumes, necklaces, bracelets,

and so we got together.

SHE SPEAKS GERMAN

Ladies and gentlemen, we would

like to inform you about a few

things that will be of interest to

you during the flight.

I was in love and I was doing

everything just to be with him.

It was arranged that we all go

to Spain,

but this was where everything

was clear to me -

this was a criminal job

that he was doing.

When he confessed, I wasn't bothered

with it at all.

In fact, I asked him to introduce me

to his job so I can be closer to him.

THUNDER RUMBLES:

I was very anxious, nervous,

I wanted to do it,

but in that moment, I thought to

myself, "How am I going to?"

Somewhere in the back of my mind

I was afraid, but I never showed it.

I would go all or nothing.

And I became the scout, I entered the

shop, I recorded where everything is,

I told them.

Lela would then simply

enter the boutique,

and she would register everything,

solely with her eyes...

..where everything is, the

distances, how far things are,

what she thinks can be done, to what

extent, who is there...

how many of them, how many cameras.

Every single detail, she has to

cover.

It is only a woman who can do

this job properly.

A man would stick out too much.

She can ask for a necklace,

she can ask for a ring.

I had a very large hat.

I looked like a real lady.

And I had that ring.

That ring was very expensive.

And I told them that I lost weight

and that I came for them

to make it smaller.

While they were doing this,

I had plenty of time to assess

and check out everything around me.

I couldn't see the safe,

we call the safe the kitten,

I couldn't locate it, but everything

else I had to assess.

When I would go back home, there was

a man who would sketch it all

based on my story.

He drew it all.

The woman didn't take

part in the action.

She gave us the key,

gave us information

and her part of the job is finished.

Most of the time, I felt strong,

but I sometimes had a feeling that

I was drowning,

that everything is falling

to pieces...

..but when I would see my boyfriend

next to me, it would lift me up.

You have to lock yourself in a room.

You would see other

people from the balcony,

a girlfriend or a boyfriend

walking in the open,

we were not allowed to do that.

You would feel a kind of collapse

somewhere in your soul.

Sometimes nothing,

neither money or gold or any

kind of wealth would give me

as much satisfaction as the mere

thought that one day we would go away

together and be alone,

hope that we will live normal life,

like everyone else.

It took about four months

to complete all this planning

process...

..and it cost a lot of money.

After all that, I had to disappear

because that was the arrangement

between us.

I would have beauticians coming

to my house, hairdressers,

not even he can recognise me

sometimes,

but he would tell me

that I have to

do frequent makeovers

because of myself and because of the

false documents.

That sounds fun and quite glamorous,

the transformations.

Did you enjoy it? No, I hated it.

They weren't fun to do

because I liked the way I looked,

and sometimes those transformations

would bother me,

like I lost my identity.

I felt like a doll

that was experimented on.

Tito died in 1980.

It was like my father died,

just like my father.

I can't explain the mourning.

They took us to visit his

mausoleum - Kuca Cveca, it's called.

You would have to queue

for two days

to visit his tomb

and pay your tribute -

the entire Yugoslavia was there.

This is when it all started.

You could sense the separation

coming from the point

that each republic would

have their own president.

MILOSEVIC SPEAKS TO CROWD

The first time

I saw Milosevic was on television.

I saw him

during this big rally in Kosovo.

The separation

and hatred already started by then.

In every city, there was

a national ID.

You're a Serbian, Albanian,

this guy's from Croatia,

you know, from Kosovo.

I don't know, great tension -

everything was cracking open.

For me, as an Albanian

in Montenegro,

the hatred was very visible,

just pure hatred.

This is where the huge

partition started.

CROWD CHAN After Tito died,

separatist groups in different

nations of Yugoslavia

just rose up...

..and they really contributed to the

final end of that country...

..to its dismantling.

I think that you'll have to agree

that Yugoslavia is a pretty

spectacular country, and we haven't

even seen half of it yet.

Tomorrow night,

Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia,

Sarajevo,

the site of the 1984 Winter Olympics

and then, Dubrovnik,

one of the most exciting,

unique and charming little

cities in all of the world.

I saw it last night

and I can't wait for you to see it,

so I'll see you tomorrow

night from Yugoslavia.

TRADITIONAL MUSIC PLAYS

EXPLOSION:

GUNFIRE:

REPORTER:
'The ethnically mixed

communities of Muslims, Serbs

'and Croats have traditionally lived

together in peace...

'..until a majority of the people

in Bosnia-Herzegovina

'voted for independence,

'denying Serbia its plans

for a newly-formed Yugoslavia.'

All the darkness of Milosevic's

regime

left a huge mark on people's soul.

Many people just like...

..to the war zones,

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