Courage

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. #kosovo 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 #InterfaithRKS 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.