16 Year Old Serb Talking About Uprooting to Indonesia Because of NATO Attacks

 

It’s very interesting yet horrible to hear of the struggle so many Serbians went through during the NATO attacks on their country in 1999. I was fortunate enough to discuss the story of one young Serb student whose family was forced to flee the bombing attacks of 1999. Igor Mijovic was kind enough to share some of his experiences in Indonesia.

“I was born in Belgrade in 1999 just 14 days before the start of the NATO bombing. I lived relatively a peaceful and fun childhood, I was never bothered with my family’s money issues, we didn’t have much but I was happy with the way things were, of course I was unaware of the real state of things with my dad’s job and how it was all falling to pieces. When my parents announced we were moving to Indonesia it hit me like a dagger to the heart. I was leaving all of my friends and family behind, going not only to another country, but to another continent I knew nothing or very little about. For me the worst part was that I would be unable to communicate with other people since I thought my English was way below the level of those kids that went to an international school. At first my months at my new school were awful, everything was so different from what I was used to, and everyone whispered about that tall Serbian guy who came from an unknown land, they could not bully me because I was too big for them, I was just ignored and I kept telling myself that this whole nightmare will be over soon, that I don’t need these new people in my life and that I will be back in my beloved country once again. It all changed though when I met a Canadian guy who spent an evening with me and that’s when it all started for the better. I met people from loads of different countries, shared stories and began to change mentally and emotionally. I realized not everything was as I thought, at this time I found Charles Cather’s first video on youtube and it really helped me fight my nostalgia, I’ve watched every one since. After 4 years I made tons of friends from all kinds of backgrounds, but it was not to last, since I was to move to my country once again. It was my choice, since I was old enough to be semi-responsible, but getting something means leaving something else behind. I had to leave all those dear friends I made and return to those I haven’t seen for years. Honestly living in an international community helped to change me for the better and I decided I won’t hate on anyone before I have a good talk with them and get to know their story. I’m planning on studying history and maybe becoming and international teacher to travel around. ”

Charles:  What were your first impressions of Indonesia?

Igor:  I expected it to be like those Chinese cities you see in movies, lots of tall buildings with flashing signs in unknown letters. I was surprised at what I saw though, the air was humid and hard to breathe, there is a huge difference between lower and high class, with no middle class. There was very little bread and red meat and the way people acted was very strange, I’ve never experienced that much respect and awe of white people in my life.

Charles:  What did you miss the most about Serbia?

Igor: Well for the first year or so it was my friends and my relatives I missed the most until I actually started making international friends. Food was also a pain to get used to. It’s not the usual asian food we eat in the west, lots of rice, many spices we haven’t even heard of, fruits that taste very strange compared to kajsija and shljiva :D. But most of all it was the freedom, I couldn’t walk around and go exploring, I couldn’t hug or kiss my friends in public. It was mostly the staying at home all the time that tortured me the most.

 

Charles: Where the locals respectful of your faith since it’s a Muslim country?

Igor: Indonesians are a very religious people, no matter what religion they are, they dismiss facts and other pleasures of life in order to be that much closer to their god. I myself am an atheist, I did enjoy celebrating my country’s many traditions and festivities, but that stuff was hard to come by. I did get looks of curiosity but sometimes even disgust and hate for not being a religious person, mostly from radical muslims and christians. My first year at school had mandatory religion and they had Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim, and I couldn’t find a place there, so I went with the protestants (one of my worst decisions since all we learnt about is how only they are right and true and everyone else is false).

Charles: Any similarities between the cultures?

Igor: The cultures are very different. The only things I found similar is the fact that they were under colonial rule for most of the time we were under Ottoman occupation.

 

Charles: What were the biggest differences in culture that you had a hard time adjusting to?

Igor: Indonesians have everything the opposite of Serbia, they are very radical religious, have more than 300 ethnic groups within the country, some even warring with each other. They don’t like to show emotions, believe in ghosts and spirits too much and due to the lack of education (with every school having to be paid for, and millions in poverty having no money for it) lack basic knowledge and intelligence. It also takes much longer to reach to them and get close to them as friends, than it would with a western person. In the end they proved to be just as good and fun as my Serbian friends.

Charles: Had most people heard of Serbia? If so, what were their impressions?

Igor: Most Indonesians didn’t know what I was talking about when I said Serbia, but when I said Yugoslavia they usually nodded their heads and said things like “Long live Tito, Indonesia’s friend!”, I didn’t really feel like explaining to them that he’s dead and that everything changed. People in my school never showed much interest in my country, most thought its a warzone still, laughed at my opanci and asked me to say random things in Serbian. I tried my best to show Serbia in a good light, and how civilised it is compared to Indonesia, for me that was a must when it came to discussing my country.

This is one story of thousands of Serbs who were displaced throughout the 90’s. 

 

Albright Saw $$$$$ In Kosovo, not Injustice!

 

I have lost all credibility that I had in Madeline Albright!!!!  You always want to believe that your country ONLY does what is MORALLY right! Every time I dig a little deeper in one of our “humanitarian missions” I find myself feeling foolish for ever believing that!!!!! .

Madeline Albright or Madeline Korbel, as she was known at birth,  was the first woman Secretary of State. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. She was the driving force behind our involvement in the dispute between Serbia and their southern region, Kosovo. It was nicknamed ” Albright’s War” by the insiders at the State Department.  This lead to a three month bombing campaign all over Serbia. N.A.T.O bombed the majority of the bridges in the country, the electrical stations, factories, military facilities, and some other buildings. A few hospitals were also hit along with the “accidental” bombing of the Chinese Embassy. You can learn more about her and about how the Serbs saved her during her childhood at https://serbiathroughamericaneyes.wordpress.com/tag/madeline-albright/

I have mentioned that I felt our involvement was justified when I first visited Serbia in May of 2010. My views have changed 100%. I was told by the media that we were here on humanitarian grounds because the “brutal Serbs” were killing and forcing Albanians off of their land. Since I have been here, I have spoken to hundreds of Serbian families that had lived in Kosovo for generations and had to flee or die. They told me they had taken a few clothes and left their homes, land, tractors, and everything they had accumulated in their lives because the Albanians were forcing them out! HORRIBLE! This all occurred while N.A.T.O forces were on watch! WTF?

One thing I have noticed about Serbs is their belief in lots of conspiracy theories. They come up with some pretty wild ideas. I find myself just shaking my head at some of them. I started digging into one of them after watching “The Weight of Chains”. It is a great documentary about the break up of Yugoslavia.

I was given a few articles about how N.A.T.O country leaders were taking advantage of this “new country” Kosovo. Many of the leaders and cronies had big financial investment in them! The Albright Capital Management Group is a D/C based management company that is headed by Madeline Albright. It will be bidding on the telecommunications company , PTK in Kosovo!!!! Isn’t this a crime or shouldn’t it be??? She was the decider on the military offensive to make it a free entity and now she is going to be making big profits on the selling of their communications company??? HMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!! Sounds like a crime to me!!!!! This isn’t the only scary part!!!!  The sale process has been clouded by corruption allegations, legal challenges, and the death of the state privatization agency’s chief, Dino Asanaj. In June, his body was found in his apartment in Kosovo’s capital city of Pristina, with 11 stab wounds. Authorities say he committed suicide. The company was also previously owned by Serbia before the war!!!! They have filed claims against the sale of this corporation! (shaking my head).  I better keep a low profile or I might end up “killing myself with 11 stab wounds to my torso” … Don’t mess with the political elite!

Yes, I voted for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. He used to be my idol and a person I looked up to! I find my face blushing when people remind me of that! I still believe in the Democratic philosophy, but don’t know who to trust anymore! We have been lied to so many times! 😦 I start feeling nauseous when someone mentions Conservatism, but this article by the “Virginia Right” sums a lot of this up. http://www.varight.com/news/why-is-madeleine-albright-trying-to-buy-the-kosovo-telecom-company-another-poke-at-the-serbs/

I am done with defending Madeline Albright!! She even had the gull to call a group of Serbians ” Disgusting Serbs” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FaPuBUY558

Here are a few more interesting articles by an American and a British news source…

Bloomberg-http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-30/albright-firm-eyes-kosovos-contested-state-telecom

BBC- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1999/03/99/kosovo_strikes/315053.stm

ALWAYS QUESTION YOUR NATIONS MOTIVES!!! Don’t just turn on the tv and assume everything you hear is true!!!!

Join me at Say Serbia for more info on Serbia and the Serbian people…. http://sayserbia.com/

 

American Soldier P.O.W Thanks Serbs

I have never served in the military, but I have respect for anyone that does that thankless job. The troops are taking orders and doing a job that they have taken an oath to do. That is the same with every nation. There are some bad apples in every bunch, but that can be said for any group of people.

We all know what happened in 1999……Serbia was bombed by N.A.T.O for 3 months. They destroyed the majority of bridges in the country, destroyed  powerplants, oil refineries, and killed hundreds people. 😦 I will never understand why we intervened in this dispute! Serbia was defending its own territory!!! They were not invading some innocent neighbor  or trying to create a “Greater Serbia” they were just trying to hang on to their dwindling land mass!!! You all know that I am a big Liberal Democrat, but check out what Republican Ron Paul had to say about our involvement in this conflict  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-Ha1B37v00 I AM NOT GOING TO GO DEEPER IN THIS! I just think we were totally wrong! It seems that we have spit on an old ally. The Serbians were responsible for saving over 500 American troops from the Germans in WWII. Check out what the veterens had to say about Serbians http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5CXope9ncI and this is how we repay them?

Three American soldiers were captured by Serbian troops on April 1, 1999, a few miles from Skopje, Macedonia. One of the soldiers being a 25-year-old from Michigan named Chris Stone. Chris was married and had a young daughter at home. I am sure the world was thinking ” OH MY GOD!!! SERBIANS ARE GOING TO TORTURE AND MURDER THESE HOSTAGES!” Vice President of Serbia , Vuk Draskovic, stated ” Nothing will happen to them, we respect the enemy. However, they will face Serbian justice.”

What happened to them?  Did the Serbian guards beat, torture and harvest their organs??? Lets find out………………………………………….

Mr Stone and the other two hostages were released on May 4th, 1999 after Rev. Jesse Jackson flew to Belgrade to meet with Serbian leadership. Here is a note that Mr Stone sent to the Serbian guards that were responsible for guarding him after he returned to the United States:

It looks like the “BARBARIC” Serbians treated their enemy with the utmost respect! It isn’t everyday that you find a P.O.W sending his guards a nice “thank you”. Lets ask John McCain if he sent the Viet Cong a message like this after he sat in a cell and was tortured for years. Why does the media continue to defile the name the of the Serbian people??? Governments have NO FRIENDS…. THEY ONLY HAVE INTERESTS!!! 😦

Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic, Rev. Jesse Jackson and former Illinois Gov, Rod Blagojevic in Belgrade

Please join our new Serbia website! Learn all about Serbian history, culture, food, music, sports, language, and meet Serbians from all over the world! Find out why I fell in love with this little country in the middle of the The Balkans. http://www.sayserbia.com/

 

Serbs Saved US Secretary of State

You probably know my political leaning after reading many of my blog posts. I am a Democrat that leans heavily to the left. President William J. Clinton was 1st elected president in Nov of 1992. He defeated George H.W Bush in a handy victory. I remember being a freshman in high school and watching the debates and the inauguration  at my grandmother’s home. It was a happy moment for me. It felt good that a member of my political party had been elected to the highest office in the land. I liked the fact that he was a small state governor and enjoyed mocking the “southern twang” in his voice.

 

The 90’s were a great time for me. I had just entered high school, was close to getting my driver’s license, and really enjoying my younger years. We did experience a terrible situation during this decade. My birth home burned to the ground in June of 1992. I was staying up a little later than normal watching the end of Robin Hood. I smelled smoke very strongly and went to my father’s room to wake him. He jumped up and got all of us out of the house. I had to run in a few times to get my baseball cards. 🙂 They drove down to my grandma’s house to call the fire department. They arrived in a timely manner, but the house was already a total loss. We lost all of our clothes, most of our pictures, furniture, and everything that you collect over a lifetime. 😦 My father has always been very talented at building homes. He built our new, larger home on the same spot as the old one. That was the only negative that I can remember about the 1990’s.

It was a totally different situation in Eastern Europe. Yugoslavia had started to break apart. There was war, destruction, OUTRAGEOUS inflation, sanctions, the end of the socialist era, etc… Things were really hard on all the families that I spoke to during my travels around Serbia. I couldn’t imagine living with the everyday problems they had to deal with! They told of working all month and receiving their salary and it would only buy one loaf of bread!!!!! UNREAL!  A few families told me that their income was higher than it had ever been. The sanctions had made it tough to find gasoline. One of my buddies told me about his father sneaking into Bulgaria and Hungary for large amounts of gasoline. They brought it back and sold it for large sums of money. Sad, sad times. 😦

On March, 24 1999, President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeline Albright decided to use military force to stop Serbias attempt to keep the southern portion of their country, Kosovo. The strikes lasted from March 24,
to June 10. It was known as “Operation Merciful Angel” or inside the US State Department ….. as “Albright’s War”! By all accounts, it was Madeleine Albright who convinced Clinton, against the better judgement of the Pentagon, that the Serb leader would back down after a little light bombing.She claimed that he was no more than a schoolyard bully who would retreat after one good punch on the nose”.

 Did the Serbs do something personal to Albright and her family?? YES, THEY DID! They saved them from  certain death in the Nazi concentration camps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUDm9quq8XA

Madeline Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová on May 15, 1937) was the first woman to become United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996 and was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate 99-0. She was sworn in on January 23, 1997.

Albright was born Marie Jana Korbelová in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) and raised as a Roman Catholic by her parents, Josef Korbel and Anna Spiegelova, who had converted from Judaism in order to escape persecution. She has a brother, John, who later became an economist, and a sister, Katherine. “Madeleine” was the French version of “Madlenka”, a nickname given by her grandmother. Albright adopted the new name when she attended a Swiss boarding school.

The Korbelovas fled Czechoslovakia in 1936 due to the advancing Nazi forces. They found a home with some friendly Serbs in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. From 1936 to 1939 the Korbel Family lived in Belgrade, and were given refuge and protection by Serbs. Many of her Jewish relatives in Czechoslovakia were killed in the Holocaust, including three of her grandparents. They returned to Czechoslovakia in 1939 only to flee the communists in 1948. They moved to Denver, Colorado where her father took a job at the University of Denver.

She was asked what her biggest regret was. She was  criticized for defending the sanctions of Iraq under Saddam Hussein in a 1996 interview with Lesley Stahl on CBS’s 60 Minutes. When asked by Stahl with regards to effect of sanctions against Iraq: “We have heard that half a million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?” Albright replied: “I think this is a very hard choice, but the price — we think the price is worth it.” She expressed regret for this remark in her 2003 autobiography, where she wrote,”I never should have made it, it was stupid,” and that she still supported the concept of tailored sanctions.

It is amazing how one can quickly turn on their friends. I am not going to start an “Albright bashing” campaign here.I am just pointing out some facts that many are unaware of. My country needs to adopt Ron Paul’s approach to foreign policy. Pozdrav……..