Hundreds, maybe thousands of Romanians tried to flee communist Romania over the border, some choosing to swim across the Danube, never to be heard from again by their relatives and friends. Kosta Jakovljevic, a retired forensic doctor from the Negotin region, in Serbia, took down notes on the unidentified bodies the Danube washed away to Serbian shores, over the decades he was practicing his profession.
The documents Jakovljevic holds in his personal archive, starting with the 1970s, are also to be found in Serbian archives, and they tell the story of so many lives lost, many due to the criminal actions of the Romanian border guards.
For instance, a 16 March 1989 entry in Jakovljevic's records says:
Golubinje. Unidentified body, most likely Romanian. Male, 35 to 40 years old, dressed in a read and blue jacket, zipped up. In the pockets there are a swim cap and a phone booklet. A small purse was taped around his body, holding Romanian currency and a note, on which it was written "KNIJA VISESLOVA 72 tel. 992128 TRIM HOTEL H BENGOSEN".
Under the jacket he wore a blue waterproof suit, zipped up. On top he wore black trousers, with a black belt. The manufacturing label said Centrala Industriei Confectiilor Bucuresti. He wore shoes number 43. On top of the shoes he put rubber gloves. He wore one pair of leather gloves and one pair of rubber gloves on top.The body may have been in the Danube waters for one or two weeks.
While the a 2 April 1989 entry in Jakovljevic's records says: Zapis, a place a little bit up stream from Donji Milanovac town. Unidentified body found, possibly Romanian. Male, height 1.70 meter, age 35, athletic type. Parts of the scalp were missing, as were parts of the flesh, probably after having been eaten by fish. The body may have been in the Danube waters for about two months. It was handed over to the Donji Milan
