II. Retrospective background – memories of the
war and the refugees
The presence of NATO in Albania and Macedonia, the acceptance
and accommodation of refugees are still very vivid in people’s minds.
In the Republic of Macedonia respondents reply reluctantly
to the questions because they feel deeply insulted by the international
community which has not made any amends for the losses of the country which
has given shelter to the refugees. Figures were circulated among people,
which, irrespective whether they correspond to reality or not, have turned
into a gloomy cliché about the false expectations and the failure
of the democratic government. The losses from the Kosovo crisis amount
to more than $600 million and to this very moment the international organizations
have reimbursed $60 million.
Both Albanians and Macedonians in the Republic of
Macedonia are inclined to discuss the economic crisis and the consequences
of the Kosovo war, and to abuse politicians rather than go back to the
memory of the tension in the country and the sufferings of the refugees
and their own hardships as hosts. Macedonians are faced with the distressing
problem of unemployment – employed people in Macedonia now are 313 400
and the unemployed number 341 500. Of course, the Albanians have been included
in these statistical data, but there is no poverty or insecurity among
them – they hold the gray economy, as well as the monopoly family and clan
business. By the end of August one of the Albanian leaders in Macedonia
made some startling disclosures about the party of the Albanians that is
ruling in coalition with the VMRO (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization),
accusing them of doing all the smuggling to Kosovo. There is a special
term for smuggling in Macedonia, i.e. “shverts”
and “shvertsers” /coming probably from
the German word schwarz/. The explanation of the Macedonian journalists
is that at present, a redistribution of the shadowy economy is being carried
out among the Macedonian Albanians, particularly in view of the new found
opportunities after the Serbian rivals have been driven away from Kosovo.
The evidence of the Albanians in Albania is different.
Against the background of the much more disastrous situation of the state
and the country’s economy, they prefer to speak about their immediate involvement
in giving shelter to the refugees. All respondents speak emotionally and
enthusiastically of this. The persons interviewed emphasized on the exceptional
hospitality of the Albanians when receiving their compatriots from Kosovo.
They are proud that they have upheld one of the oldest and most typical
Albanian tradition, i.e. hospitality.
The mass media had a great impact during the war and at
the time of the refugees’ arrival. Reports and announcements about the
refugees’ fate and the search for divided families are constantly broadcast.
Many people offered parts of their homes to accommodate the refugees. They
received relatives but quite frequently it was completely unknown families
who were invited. The refugees insisted on living together because of the
stress and fear of a possible parting, thus big families of 10-15 persons
were often accommodated in one room.
The local population took care of the refugees in the
camps providing them with food, blankets and inviting the refugees to visit
them at their homes.
Actually, through the massive influx of refugees to Albania
and Macedonia, the three Albanian communities were offered unique opportunities
for mutual acquaintance and rapprochement in some spheres and estrangement
in others.
There is a general feeling that the Albanians in Albania
are still emotionally shocked by the stories of the refugees, by the crimes
of the Serbs, and the sufferings of women and children; they wanted to
retell these dramatic stories and events over and over again. It was difficult
to stop the Albanian respondents if a conversation started on this issue
because they wanted to speak, and to show the scenes of the tragic events.
Albanians in Macedonia referred coolly and tacitly to
this issue, they were not willing to discuss their feelings and it was
difficult to understand whether they felt any sympathy for the Kosovars
during the war: “We gave them shelter because we had to, that’s all”, “We
managed, once they are at my place, there is food for all”. They did not
say that they relied on the humanitarian organizations.
People in Albania value the support of the international
humanitarian organizations. They highly appreciate the fact that medical
care was provided free of charge and it was used by all, both refugees
and local Albanians. UNICEF funded the publication of textbooks for the
refugee children and at the same time it repaired and renewed the schools
and provided the local children with school facilities as well.
School hours were organized for the Kosovo children during
their stay in Albania. On 6th June school holidays started for the Albanian
children and on 7th June studies started for the Kosovo children. The children
were brought together on 1st June alone, i.e., on Children’s Day - to entertain
the children in the camps and to give them presents.
Besides the local teachers, Kosovar teachers from the
camps were involved as well. The opinion of the interviewed respondent-teachers
is that the Albanian children are more advanced and better educated than
the Kosovo children. To the question whether this was not the result of
the fact that the Kosovo children had attended underground schools, probably
without any planned curriculum, the respondents’ answer was that this was
only part of the problem. According to a respondent headmaster, some marked
differences in the mentality, mainly of the younger generations, have accumulated
because of the different cultural and historical development: Albanian
children are modern and worldly, while the Kosovar children are patriarchal
and religious. The same respondent maintained that when they gathered for
friendly dinners and talks with their colleagues-refugees from Kosovo,
they used to conclude: “You are much richer, but we are more intelligent
and educated”. The Kosovars did not dispute this assertion but they were
definitely irritated.
According to the school respondents the aim of the Kosovars
was to have at each school a representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA) who, along with his subject – mathematics, chemistry, or literature,
prepared the children and the adolescents for their return to Kosovo and
for their duty to the KLA and to an independent Kosovo. Conversations on
this issue were difficult because this kind of political and ideological
interference at school reminded the Albanians of the recent past and this
definitely embarrassed them. Respondents usually stopped this theme with
the conclusion: “There were KLA representatives everywhere in the country,
in the camps too, and they did their job”.
|