Mircea Geoana, former deputy secretary general of NATO and prominent Romanian politician, had dinner at Salar with Tino Cuellar, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former justice of the Supreme Court of California. The two talked to Dayton Daily News reporters as they strolled the Oregon District afterward.
Geoana said he was impressed by the Courthouse Square fountain ringed by quotes from U.S. presidents who visited Dayton over the years.
“I read all the quotations from the presidents that were present here in Dayton, and it’s impressive, and I hope American democracy will continue to exist,” Geoana said.
Added Cuellar: “To me it’s very symbolic to have this big international event in the heartland of the country, because NATO is all about protecting ordinary people, but often there’s a big gulf between that organization and the daily lives of people. So being here is very meaningful.”
Cuellar said his visit to the International Peace Museum was powerful.
“And the food is great, and the people are friendly,” he said.
Check Your Head Smoke Shop and Gifts manager Cole Shirley said a few “suits” have shopped around his Oregon District business.
“A couple suits I had come in mainly bought cigars,” he said. “Surprisingly, nobody has bought cigarettes. No beer. Nothing like that.”
He said he has enjoyed sitting outside people watching; a lot of visitors are finding it funny to take pictures of the lewd Exotic Fantasies sign next door.
“It’s been cool so see that many different people walking around that’s for sure,” Shirley said.
Dayton ‘welcoming,’ setup ‘overly militarized’
Denis Dzidic, executive director of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Leila Bicakcic, director of the Center for Investigative Reporting Bosnia and Herzegovina, visited the Oregon District and talked about their visit to Dayton and what Dayton means to their homeland.
The pair enjoyed a visit to the Hope Hotel, where the Dayton Peace Accords were signed 30 years ago, ending a brutal war in their homeland.
“For us it’s where history was made,” Bicakcic said.
They are busy attending committees, but hope to break away for a visit to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Air Force Museum, and local coffee shops and restaurants.
Dzidic said the intense security around the NATO Village seems excessive, and hurts the experience both for Daytonians and those visiting for the conference.
“I didn’t like the fact that they close the city so much security wise, it felt like such a bad set up the way the locals get to experience that (and) the people coming here experience Dayton,” he said. “It seems overly militarized for just a conference.”
But aside from that, they find Dayton residents very friendly, noting how people come up to them at coffee shops and restaurants just to welcome them here.
“It’s very different from D.C. or San Franciso…normally when coming from Europe, that’s kind of the first impression. People are very welcoming,” Bicakcic said.
