Humanitarian, peacemaker, and writer Marijan Gubina was born on February 23, 1981, in Vinkovci, Croatia. Not far from Vukovar and Osijek, in the Slavonian town of Dalj, he happily spent his childhood in his family of six. On the fateful day of August 1, 1991, Marijan Gubina became a victim of war, deprived of freedom for 260 days during which he was subjected to the most brutal forms of violence, based on which he later acquired the status of a camp prisoner.
From the camp, which was also his place of residence, he was expelled on April 16, 1992, in a group of 50 people, and with part of his family found refuge in Osijek with the status of a displaced person.
Despite the traumas and illnesses, he continued his education, but the ordeal of Marijan Gubina did not cease.
The tragic death of his father, a Croatian soldier who had been previously wounded, followed, then the death of his younger sister, and finally, due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, he became homeless.
Marijan did not lose faith in a better tomorrow. He studied and worked simultaneously.
He successfully completed secondary school and founded a trading company.
Alongside entrepreneurship, he became increasingly sensitized to social issues.
As a witness to social problems and the modern plague of various forms of addiction, including drug addiction, Marijan undertook his own education and work on preventing substance abuse.
His humanitarian work and projects, of which he is the author and leader (in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team), have been recognized by local government and state institutions.
Through his work as a volunteer and as the long-standing president of the Osijek League for the Fight Against Addiction, he achieved excellent results, and after seven years of education in theory and practice, he turned to fundamental social problems with the aim of solving social issues and developing a culture of peace.
In the following period, Marijan confirmed his humanity daily through numerous examples, implementing numerous programs, projects, and initiatives throughout Croatia and abroad, which aim to reduce the number of those in need and develop a culture of peace as a counterbalance to the omnipresent crisis of faith and morals and the violent lifestyle.
Through his example, Marijan influences the development and strengthening of the international peace network. What makes Marijan special and why individuals and institutions recognize him as a humanitarian and peacemaker is his broad work in the field of humanity and pacifism, and his work has been awarded numerous letters of appreciation and recognitions from civil society organizations, state, and international institutions. The crowning recognition is the decoration of the Republic of Croatia with the Order of the Croatian Interlace in 2017.
The reading public, including professional critics, recognized Marijan in the role of writer, especially for the work 260 DAYS, which achieved excellent results as an autobiographical novel, a theater performance produced by the Croatian National Theatre in Osijek, a radio drama of the same name by Croatian Radio, and a series of other works that prompted the creation of a feature film of high international “Hollywood” production.
Marijan Gubina treats the novel 260 DAYS as a self-help book and often uses it himself as a kind of manual in his numerous lectures, which also aim to motivate people of different ages and worldviews.
In addition to columns in which he points out society’s problems, Marijan continued to write various works for different age groups.
Marijan currently enjoys the role of husband, father of four children, and lives guided by his own slogan:
DO GOOD SO THAT THE SAME MAY RETURN TO YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.