UNMIK on AIR

War Stories

February 11, 2004

Slug: In 1999, Albanian poet Xhevdet Bajraj and Serbian writer Vladimir Arsenijevic met in Mexico City. Thanks to their friendship, the ground had been laid to help re-establish cultural links between Albanians and Serbs.

At the beginning of 1999, mere kilometers-- scarred with scenes of terror, violence and killings-- separated those living in Kosovo and Serbia-- Albanian poet Xhevdet Bajraj and Serbian writer Vladimir Arsenijevic soon found themselves together in Mexico. Invited by the International Writer’s Parliament, both men-- seemingly on opposite sides of the war raging in their homelands-- became neighbors in Mexico City. As unlikely as it seemed initially, this coincidence resulted in a friendship, collaboration and eventually a book.

Hello and welcome. This is UNMIK on AIR programme

In 1999, whether in Kosovo or Serbia- war stories were in the public consciousness… the stories and testimonies of hundreds of thousands of people and their everyday reality would never be told.

Xhevdet Bajraj and Vladimir Arsenijevic had their war stories too: Xhevdet Bajraj, himself had been tortured and had witnessed horrifying crimes committed against Albanian civilians at the hands of Serbs-- including members of his family….Bajraj eventually became a refugee.

Vladimir Arsenijevic, no stranger to the scars of the Balkan landscape, was in Belgrade during the bombing campaign… it is there where he started writing down his thoughts and taking daily notes in his diary. Arsenijevic had to leave the country illegally in order to accept the invitation to Mexico.

In July of 1999, these two men: one a respected poet from Orahovac/Rahovec and the other a novel writer, laureate of the most prestigious Serbian literary awards, found their version of peace together in Mexico.

Arsenijevic recalls his first days in Mexico:

CUT 1 (Vladimir Arsenijevic) On the very first day, after the airport, we were sitting together in my apartment. It became to be a very intensive friendship, fulfilled with fine emotions that at the end resulted with almost one year long living together in Mexico City (Edit to) Put a side Albanian - Serbian story, it story in a way is just a façade (make up) Xhevdet is the man that listens to same music like me that likes same movies, who has similar interest in literature, with whom I have millions of different subjects to discuss, with whom I was never bored. It is someone in whom I’ve recognized a real good friend. Everything wouldn’t have that tough context if we were an Eskimo and Honduras. But it happened to be that we are a Serb and an Albanian and simple friendship gets a special meaning.

…This simple friendship blossomed with the stories and experiences the men had in common…and eventually they turned their experiences into a book, later published in a joint edition in Serbia and published both books in Kosovo. Arsenijevic started his diary during the bombing campaign in Belgrade and continued to write it in Mexico. Unintentionally Xhevdet Bajraj became a part of Arsenijevic’s book “Mexico – A war Diary”. As Arsenijevic explains, he just wanted to tell a simple story about two men coming from Belgrade and Kosovo, who were trying to find a way out of the horror:

CUT 2 (Vladimir Arsenijevic) The thing that I found most striking, and that was literary important for me is the feeling that these are two common, ordinary stories, that they are not specific and that they are telling the destiny of absolutely everybody in Belgrade or in Kosovo.

When he came back to Belgrade in 2000 Arsenijevic established the Rende publishing house… the first two books, published simultaneously in 2000, in the Serbian language were “Meksiko - ratni dnevnik/ Mexico- a war diary” and “Freedom of Horror/ Liria e tmerrit” by Xhevdet Bajraj . At the same time these books appeared in Albanian in Pristina, published by the private Pristina “Sabaium bb" publishing house. Arsenijevic says it was a breakthrough to publish these books but it also illustrated how deep of a divide exists between the two nations:

CUT 3 Track 0.11 (Vladimir Arsenijevic) It was the climax of the last phase of the “continuous Serbian-Albanian problem”. We thought it was important to start with something that was up to date but also to introduce a prominent writer and poet from Kosovo like Xhevdet Bajraj, despite the problems between Serbs and Albanians.

According to Arsenijevic, publishing an Albanian writer in Serbian and vice versa was resisted by the public in Kosovo- the books were ignored in literary discourse.

Even so, Bajraj’s book sold out in Serbia, but in Belgrade there were criticisms against Arsenijevic’s book as having too many Albanian characters. Bajraj, spoke to UNMIK on Air from Mexico where he currently lives and teaches:

CUT 4 Track 0.35 (Xhevdet Bajraj) I think that “Mexico – A War Diary” was not very well accepted in Prsitina. I don’t know why. Maybe people live in memories and to say maybe the reality doesn’t allow them to read literature. There were no comments on this book in Kosovo.

Bajraj adds that this silence in Kosovo to the publication of the books demonstrated a significant disruption in former cultural links which had once existed between Serbs and Albanians. As Bajraj explains: deep wounds and scars on both sides, troubled by unresolved political issues has created huge obstacles which now impede real cultural contacts.

CUT 5 Track 0.41 (Xhevdet Bajraj) The reality today is horrible, which is not even that strong of a word. I think that is horrible. Half of Milosevic’s people are still on power in Serbia. Nationalism is growing again. Young Kosovo people don’t travel. Cultural contacts have been disturbed. Young Kosovo people look at young Serbs as their opposed side. In the same manner young Serbs look at Albanians. Then the conflict happened. I think that those killings, committed by Serbs and their support to Milosevic in the past and today to radicals and afterwards return of Albanians to Kosovo and their revenge on Serbs, left deep wounds. Albanians can’t accept that their destiny is going to be decided in Belgrade and on the other hand Serbs are afraid and between Kosovo and Serbia they choose Serbia.

Bajraj is certain that older generations didn’t break all their cultural contacts but he’s afraid that younger people will have more difficulties in forging cultural links with their neighbors:

CUT 6 (Xhevdet Bajraj) I think that UNMIK and representatives of ethnic groups should work hard on it but without a political pressure. I believe that every step coming from any side will be marked as a betrayal before the resolution of Kosovo status.

Even as it is hard to eliminate the imposing influence of daily politics in the Balkans… people like Vladimir Arsenijevic and Xhevdet Bajraj know they have taken rare and courageous steps to bridge the gaps between people….

Again, Vladimir Arsenijevic.

CUT 7 (Vladimir Arsenijevic) I think that the new generations that are growing up under different circumstances will find some new cultural references that will help establish communication links. I think that we the people from the Southern Balkans, from former Yugoslavia have some similarities and it is necessary for us to communicate no matter what borders come up between us.

B/A and that would be all in this edition of UNMIK on AIR programme. Stay tuned for more and thank you for listening….