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B’hatzlacha to Kosovo
Kosovo today has just become the world’s newest nation. Already it is being beseiged by Serbs who are protesting its independence, declaring that it is the heart of Serbia –and lobbing grenades. This little new country, like our own, is going to have rough going. I wish them the best and hope that they, as we have, will survive. I hope that both Kosovo and our own country in the future will have peace with our neighbours, even if it is a cold and not at all friendly peace, but a peace and cessation of violence nonetheless. Congratulations Kosovo. Welcome to the world of nations. Welcome, too, to the reality of that world that is not necessarily something to celebrate. I hope that you and your nation not only survive but find peace and prosperity sooner than our little nation which, after 60 years, is prospering but still attacked from nearly all sides. I do indeed wish you luck new little country and I think that you will need it.
| Print article | This entry was posted by Yael on February 18, 2008 at 2:54 am, and is filed under Uncategorized. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
(Photo by Dani Machlis)
about 2 years ago
You know, it would be great if people just separated from each other when they want to keep their own culture intact and fear assimilation, when they cannot tolerate diversity, and when they have negative feelings about their neighbors. But violence against them? That just seems crazy to me.
about 2 years ago
A
about 2 years ago
As an American who proudly celebrates our own independence every July I feel a certain sympathy with the Kosovars, especially looking at the behavior of the Serbs in the past 15 years. However, Albania, which is much bigger than Kosovo, already has been the poor man of Europe, the poorest country of them all. How Kosovo wants to survive economically is a big mystery. And the same goes for all the other miniature entities who dream of independence all over the world. Sometimes it would be smarter to band together with others and form something bigger rather than to break up everything to create non-viable mini-countries. Not every country can be a Liechtenstein.
Oh, what a surprise, here we are at the topic of an independent Palestine…
about 2 years ago
People are really worried in Italy: here everbody remembers the Balkan wars in the Nineties, and some think the independence of Kosovo may lead to new separations (and to new wars).
That said, I do understand how Kosovo’s Albanians could no longer tolerate to live with the Serbs, who after all tried to exterminate them.
As for the economic factor, John may be right, but I am not as pessimistic. Small countries in the Balkans are doing really bad, that’s true: Albania is the resort of all European mafias, Macedonia has an uneployment rate over 60%. But as long as the US keeps puoring money, Kosovo is fine. Plus Pristina has great schools and universities, which cannot be said of its neighbours.
about 2 years ago
Anna –it is interesting to hear how it is being taken in Italy and the additional information you provided about the universities in Kosovo and economic situation as compared to the surrounding countries is really useful to know, thanks!
about 2 years ago
You’re welcome, Yael. I had a friend who taught in Pristina U
Btw, also nice hebrew blog, too bad I can’t type hebrew on my makhshev
about 2 years ago
Hi Yaeli,
I am happy for Kosovo, I know Israel helped the muslims in the wars of balkan. Israel helped people of Balkan area in the war. In Iran they never talked about Israel helping the Bosnians or people of Kosovo.
Dependent or Independent, we all depend on each other one way or the other, the border lines and the cencept of independence is just a relative term and in reality we all need each other. I hope this indepence would benefit the people of Kosovo and its neighbors, we all need to live in peace and harmony.
about 2 years ago
I very much join you in congratulating Kosovo!!
But I think you got the comparison wrong, Yael –Let’s see.
There’s a violent occupier, Serbia, who, holding on to claims that, as in Kosovo a large battle took place several hundred years ago (1389, if I’m not mistaken?) then it should belong to them forever. Hmm. Ancient myths to justify occupation. How middle-eastern…
Moreover, it has attempted to ethnically cleanse the local, native population (the Albanian Kosovars), committed atrocious massacres, and has controlled their natural resources, etc etc. Some Serbs, who – unlike your settlers – have been living within this little territory for a long time, have served as an excuse for military interference and control.
The Kosovars have finally succeeded, after years of occupation, mistreatment, and segregation, to achieve their independence.
If you think there’s a comparison to be made here, then Israel is the Serbia of the Middle East, unable to let go of its dreams of an even larger territory (Greater Serbia, in the Milosevic-ian rhetoric), occupying and annexing its neighbours, etc. The oppressed people would be the Palestinians.
I sincerely wish that Palestine will see the day in the grand way that Kosovo did. And that the world will finally realise who the bad guy in the story is.
Your blog is beautifully written, dear Yael, though I find your extremism and racism, even compared to other Israeli blogs, hard to swallow. In any event, I wish you good luck for the future.
about 2 years ago
Mohamed –many of your facts are wrong but I’ll leave it to you to do the research. The new President of Kosovo, by the way, compares his country and the birth of his new country that of Israel noting that our cases are very much the same and that Kosovo feels great kinship with Israel as a result.