Kosovo's Forgotten Victims

The Kosovo war was defined in the media by the most simplest fracture: a conflict between the Albanians and the Serbs, a good team and a bad team. One of the problems with this thinking is that it overlooks the fact that rarely does human nature manifest itself in such black or white terms. A key fault in this type of analysis is that it blinds us to other issues that may be present.

One of the unrecognized victims of the Kosovo is the Romani people, who comprised approximately ten percent of the Kosovar population prior to the war. After the NATO intervention, nearly 75 percent of the Romani population was displaced, with most leaving to neighboring countries or internally displaced people (IDP) camps in Macedonia. Those that remained were cut off from their families and vital resources, and suffered severe discrimination. Many Roma spoke Serb and were identified as traitors by the Albanians, while the Serbs believed them to have sided with the Albanians. The Roma were not involved in the political decisions that ultimately led to war in the geo-strategic Kosovar territory, but they undoubtedly suffered tremendously. Lives were lost, families destroyed, and a majority of the Roma were forced to leave. All of this has an enduring impact on the people and the community.

The first weekend in May is typically when Herdeljez, a Romani holiday welcoming the arrival of spring is celebrated. As this cultural festival approaches and I reflect on the many hardships suffered by the Roma, it makes me think of our current endeavor over in Iraq. While the circumstances surrounding intervention are surely different, I can't help but wonder how many innocent victims there will be when it's all said and done. How many lives will have been ruined, how many families torn apart, and how many people will have died? It's important to remember that war is never black or white - while the motivations may be about money, politics and resources, ultimately it's about people.

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written by Bacchus, April 17, 2008

War is typically a game for the political elites to move their chess pieces. The problem is that the chess pieces are often live human beings. The working classes typically suffer the most from war, and typically do not have a decision as to how the political events foment themselves.

The experience of the Romani people are just another statement of this fact.

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written by lrandall, April 17, 2008

Well put, Bacchus.

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