According to the Croatian newspapers today, sixty-six “immigrants” from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Egypt got stranded on the Croatian coast yesterday. They took off from Greece on a sailing boat, and they were headed for Italy. Something was wrong with their sails from the outset, and then their motor conked out. They were so destitute that they drank seawater, which made many of them sick. The Croatian authorities found them off the island of Mljet, whence they took them to some camp close to Dubrovnik. There is much deliberation right now about what to do with them. What has struck me in all the accounts of the event that came my way is the term used to describe them. Immigrants? I wonder what terms will be used when Croatia joins the European Union in a bit less than a year, and when the ragged coast stretching between Montenegro and Italy becomes a fair game for destitute people of all sorts. Vagabonds? Intruders? Invaders? Like the coast of Greece today, the Croatian coast will become quite appealing to many of them. So many islands to land on. Soon enough, Croatia will be seeking the Union’s help in dealing with the undesirables. The newspaper language will be a fair witness to the changing Croatian attitudes.