|
GowithFlo
|
|||||
| Scrapbook - UN in Kosovo |
David, a gentleman on the tour from Northern Ireland, had worked as a policeman in Belfast (not a very fun job I would imagine), and is now a policeman for the United Nations in Kosovo (even LESS fun I would imagine).
This I found particularly amazing, so I proceeded to bombard him with questions. He told me how all the police and administrative positions had been filled by Serbs, even thought the city is about 90% Albanian...and when the United Nations came in, the Serbs fled.
So the UN, which he and his mates call "United Nonsense," recruited policeman from all over the world to fill in until Kosovo can be up and running on its own. It sounds like a hopeless situation, much like the problems in Northern Ireland.
He told me they often have to break up brawls..I suppose gangs have formed of Serbs and Albanians...and said that buses departing from Serb villages outside of Kosovo have army escorts for protection. Unfortunately, a bus filled with woman and children was blown up anyway a few weeks ago.
I asked if there were mafia-type rings forming...oh, yes...apparently the Albanian Mafia are waiting hungrily on the sidelines for the UN to leave. Apparently they also masquerade as a political party (not surprising, huh?).
It was also interesting to hear how the Russians were not invited by NATO to Kosovo, but they came anyway and took over the airport, much to the chagrin of the U.S. government who REALLY want that airport for their brand new and growing military base. It sounded like it was quite a face off, but what can you do when the Russians come in with their tanks and set up shop? You can't start World War III, so apparently Clinton and Tony Blair decided to just let them have it.
Now, many of you may know all this already, but for someone like me who hates reading the newspaper, this was quite a good story. (And David, if you are reading my summary, feel free to email me with any dreadful inaccuracies I may have printed here).