Courage

Posted in Uncategorized - May 26, 2013 - 12 Comments

Damian Gunjak, who describes himself as a “former refugee from Yugoslavia, currently exploring life liberty and the pursuit of happiness” in the US, tweeted yesterday in response to my “Freude!”:

tune has changed and the quislings in belgrade are singing according to notes from their american masters. charade

The “quislings” he is referring to are presumably the nationalist politicians in charge of the Serbian government, or possibly he meant the Serb clerics who live and pray in Kosovo.  This is rich coming from someone enjoying the pursuit of happiness in the US, where of course he can thumb his nose at the US government while enjoying its protection and avoiding any real knowledge of what is going on in Kosovo or Belgrade.

I hear analogous sentiments from some Albanian Americans, who find it impossible to imagine that their long travails will not end in a single Albanian state.  They dwell on the history of Serb mistreatment of Albanians and denounce efforts to achieve interethnic understanding as irrelevant and even traitorous.

These are the voices of fast-fading identity reasserting itself in anachronistic and counter-productive ways.

That is not what I hear however from many people in Kosovo, who resent the mistreatment but accept Serb presence as not only inevitable but also as desirable.  Nor is it what I hear from my Serb visitors, who are more interested in their own economic situation than in holding on to Kosovo, which they know would be an expensive enterprise.  For educated, cosmopolitan Kosovars and Serbs, how they treat each other is the ultimate test of whether they have achieved a serious democracy and can meet European standards for treatment of minorities.

I would like to see their voices raised in praise of what Bishop Teodosije said two days ago, but words do not suffice.  Father Sava in a tweet said it well:

Words heard at the Conf are important encouragement but also an obligation for all. Need to be put in action.

It is encouraging to see that Serbs are visiting Pristina.  It is also encouraging that the Serbian government, in accordance with a decision of the European Court of Human Rights, is preparing to pay pensions it owes to Kosovo Albanians.  But we shouldn’t see these moves through rose-colored glasses.  We are still far from the level of acceptance that would encourage a significant number of Serbs to return to Pristina.  Nor do I expect Belgrade’s payment of pensions to go smoothly.  There will be claims and counterclaims.  But Serbs and Albanians are starting down the long road that leads, if they manage things civilly, to a significant measure of reconciliation and coexistence.

The two governments managing the process–one in Belgrade and one in Pristina–have impeccable nationalist credentials.  Serbia’s President Nikolic and Prime Minister Dacic both tried hard to hold on to Kosovo and even recently would have liked to partition it.  Kosovo’s Prime Minister Thaci was the political voice of the Kosovo Liberation Army.  Kosovo President Jahjaga comes from different origins, as she is a lawyer and (post-war) police officer, but no one should doubt her commitment to the independence and sovereignty of the Kosovo state, albeit one that treats minorities correctly.

Context matters.  Both these governments want to move their countries as rapidly as possible along the road to the European Union.  They are on their best behavior as they try for dates to begin negotiations for Belgrade’s accession and Pristina’s Stability and Association Agreement.

Damian Gunjak, whoever he is, has opted to enjoy freedom outside what he would like us to imagine is his native country, as my own grandparents did.  The political leaderships in Pristina and Belgrade have chosen a different path.  They are guiding their countries into a free world in which they will have to establish good neighborly relations and treat each other with consideration and respect.  I don’t fault my grandparents, who made the right decision, but I have to admire the courage of those who remain and try to set things right.

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12 thoughts on “Courage”

  1. This isn’t the first time religious leaders in Kosovo have tried to find common ground, but it usually hasn’t received much coverage. The chief iman attended the inauguration (term?) of the new Catholic cathedral in Pristina (Theodosius was not the Orthodox bishop at the time), and I’ve seen photos of Theodosius with the Catholic bishop and the imam walking down the street deep in conversation. (If they can only leave real estate out of it, it will be a blessing.) Speaking of President Jahjaga, she spoke at the Easter service at Decani on reconciliation and understanding and the important place the Serbian church has played in Kosovo and was warmly received. (Including, for the most part, in the comment section to the Serbian-language article at B92.) Some people at least are simply tired of the enmity and willing to try something else.

    Expecting all the Serbs who moved out to return to Kosovo, no matter how congenial interfaith relations become, might be a bit much, though. Serbs have been leaving Kosovo for the last couple of hundred years now.

    BTW, TransConflict is publishing sections from the Scholars’ Initiative book Confronting Yugoslav Controversies on conditions in Kosovo before the war and specifically the reasons for the Serbs’ leaving (http://www.transconflict.com/2013/05/reasons-and-causes-of-serbian-migration-from-kosovo-03/). Every entry had to be approved by scholars from both ethnic groups, but still it sounds biased towards the Serbs by some and toward the Albanians by others. It will be a long time yet before all is forgiven and forgotten.

  2. It is not difficult to realise that quislings are those in Belgrade, current government and president.

    How do we know that Kosovo will not unite with Albania? This is direction in which Kosovo is heading. The only problem is that current government in Kosovo would not want to unite with Albania due to their own interest. But people want that and it will happen sooner or later.

    Even R. Holbrook said in interview for RTV21 some years ago (even before Kosovo’s UDI) that mistake was made that Kosovo was not part of Albania when Albania was created.

  3. Micha,

    Problem is that people like you just think emotionally and not in rational way. Emotional nationalists speak like you but when they get in power they have to think rationally on how to pay teachers, doctors, judges, police, military, pensioners etc. They have to think how to repay loans from international financial institutions, how to fight unemployment, inflation and many other things alike.

    Just look how Serbia’s public debt is increasing rapidly in amount of more than half billion euros per month. This is direction to bankruptcy. The only way of salvage is the process of EU integration and making country attractive to foreign investors. Serbia may choose to be “Russian gubernia” but in such way bankruptcy is 100% non avoidable and of course Kosovo would continue its path toward EU integration as independent country.

  4. We all know who are the quislings.

    I am not nationalist, patriot yes.

    Can you invent something yourself apart from repeating rhetoric’s we already heard?

    You tend to exaggerate things, your post are not based on facts, it is more like imagination.

    Just don’t be sure that Europe will want you as you think. The main issue here is that Germany does not want any more countries from Western Balkans, that is way why they support Kosovo just to make for Serbia new conditions towards EU path which will never happen. They don’t want people from Serbia and Kosovo in EU, they don’t want another repeat of Greek case.

    I travel quite often to Germany on business purposes. The reputation of Balkan immigrants from Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania is really bad in Germany. I cross the border and go Basel, even worst.

  5. Micha,

    Look for what kind of “imagination” I am telling you about:

    “Serbia rushing into bankruptcy”: http://www.b92.net/biz/vesti/srbija.php?yyyy=2013&mm=05&dd=28&nav_id=717746

    This is not my imagination but the truth from Serbian experts of economy. I always write things with strong evidence.

    As for EU path I always say to people that the process is much more important then accession. Balkan countries have high difficulties adopting European standards of democracy, economic development, social welfare etc. Through the process of EU integration or as Mr. Serwer often cites “acquis communautaire”, which mean adopting European laws, rules and policies the countries will have huge benefits. Not because the EU will give billions of euros to these countries but having more stable and developed countries, respecting rule of law such countries will became attractive for investments and hence rapid development.

    Nevertheless, Serbia may choose another path i.e being Russian gubernia (Russian province) but the question is what’s the benefit of such move.

  6. In case anyone was wondering about the other – and original – Abrahamic religion in Kosovo – here’s an article about the former Jews of Kosovo: “Baby Steps to Restoring Memory of Kosovo Jews” http://blogs.forward.com/forward-thinking/177482/baby-steps-to-restoring-memory-of-kosovo-jews/. The article is in connection with the recent inauguration of a memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust in Prishtina.

    The Albanians of Albania, under Italian occupation, managed to save not only their own Jews but any who managed to make their way to the country during the war. The were perhaps the only country in Europe to have more Jews at the end of the war than at the beginning. Kosovo was occupied by the Germans, and Jews were not as fortunate there. The Communists, for their part, apparently did not do anything to encourage the survivors to stay after the end of the war or even to preserve any trace of their presence.

    1. There were Jews in Kosovo saved by Serbs. Have you heard about of that? I know subject much better than you and Liam Hoare.

      And nobody saved more Jews in WWII of all Balkan nations as much as the Serbs did.

      You should research subject about Kosovo Jews during WWII much better before you post something like this.

      1. I’ve heard that Belgrade was the first Judenrein city in Europe – I haven’t heard about Serbs saving more Jews than any other country, but would be glad to see your sources on it. I wasn’t trying to put down any Serbs in Kosovo or elsewhere who showed the courage to risk their own lives for someone else. Even in Muslim lands there were some, but their families have not been eager to talk about their role. I think that Jeremic’s grandparents were honored just recently for their role, and I imagine they weren’t entirely alone.

        1. Belgrade was occupied by Germans and Serbs did not have any saying what will be done to Jews. There were those quislings which they have cooperated with Germans and assisted them in extermination of Jews. Ordinary people helped Jews as much as they helped Americans and British pilots, they risked there own lives to saved them.

          Liam Hoare’s article is very much biased as most of his articles are against Serbs and he is supporter of Kosovo’s independence.

          This what happened in Pristina is just another attempts of Kosovo’s government to get sympathies of US Jews and Izrael. If we look most of Kosovo Albanian lobbyist are American politicians of Ashkenazi descend (not any Sephardi though). Just another attempt to get in their good books and to show how Kosovo is “multicultural” society for anyone. How many Jews left in Kosovo?

        2. Jeremic’s mother is Bosniak. What you say is related to his Bosniak grandparents.

          1. Fadil and Amer, there are/were Serbs who saved Jews during Holocaust, 131 of them have been honoured by “Righteous Among the Nations” from the Israel.

            http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/righteous/statistics.asp#explanation

            Serbs also saved 1152 American pilots in 1944. However, some of those saved American pilots, were those pilots who were involved in allied bombing of Belgrade on Serbian Easter in 1944, when over 1000 Serbian civilians died. Just imagine they bombed Belgrade, caused collateral damage (loss of civilian lives) and they get saved by Serbs who were risking their own lives to save them.

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