Bringing back the 'Balkanization'

I'm watching CNN's footage of the mess in Belgrade. Maybe it was inevitable, but still very heartbreaking.

Reminds me of two things in particular from my time living in Europe.

First, there was an extremely annoying train ride in May 1992 I took solo from Athens to Prague. It was epic in the number of things that went wrong, (including a train conductor who pinned me against the window as he triend to stick his tongue down my throat,) but the problems leaving Belgrade had to do with another amorous gentleman. This guy was a Serb, a passenger sitting next to me. Early on, I slipped the fake wedding band on and feigned sleep. That didn't stop him, as he continually jabbed my shoulder to ask questions -- from would I have sex with him since my husband wasn't on the train to "When are the Americans going to come and help us?"

That was a question I certainly wasn't going to answer. The U.S. had just closed our embassy there, and I had been worried I wasn't going to be able to get a transit visa through Serbia (allowing me to get back to Prague in time for the Guns 'N Roses/Faith No More/Soundgarden concert.)

What I was thinking, but wouldn't say, was that 1) The Americans probably aren't coming, and 2) if they do, it will be to bomb your city. (Which eventually the U.S. did.)

His total ignorance of the situation was surprising.

The other thing that comes to mind is well, rather quaint in retrospect. This is a Prognosis story, the English-language newspaper I worked for in Czechoslovakia. I believe we sent three guys down to Slovenia/Croatia in June 1991 to report what turned out to be the very first battle of the decade-long (or ongoing, if you prefer) Balkan War. Prognosis was a monthly publication at the time (only about the fourth or fifth issue of the paper actually,) and we had looong meetings trying to decide on the wording of the banner headline. Basically it came down to "War in the Balkans" but the final debate was weather to go with or without the question mark. Because, we reasoned, the "war" could be over on Wednesday and we'd have a stale paper on the stands for three weeks.

And by the way, the defunct Prognosis now has a Facebook page.

And Google books will let you have a look inside Stacy Sullivan's 2004 book: "Be Not Afraid, for You Have Sons in America: How a Brooklyn Roofer Helped Lure the U.S. into the Kosovo War"

Labels: media, politics, prague

- posted by Amy @ 2/21/2008 02:11:00 PM