With statues, American flags and streets named after American presidents, Kosovo's undying appreciation for the Western military intervention that pushed Serbian rule out of the breakaway province is stark. But many families expressed their personal gratitude by naming their children after the leading American and British political leaders who supported the NATO campaign 25 years ago. Some of these children were born during or in the shadow of the military conflict.
"It is a special honor for me to bear this name. I'm proud of it," said Clinton Gashi, a 24-year-old student at the Kosovo Defense Academy, named after former US President Bill Clinton. The name, he explained, was "a sign of gratitude for what Clinton and the American people did for us during the war."
The US-led campaign, which began on March 24, 1999, ended the conflict, which left more than 13,000 dead, the majority of whom were Kosovo Albanians. This was the last chapter of the bloody collapse of Yugoslavia.
Gashi and other members of Kosovo's Generation Z are now coming of age, their lives thus far charting Kosovo's turbulent history, largely dominated by tensions with Serbia. To help deal with bitter relations between the neighbors and simmering unrest, some NATO troops remain in Kosovo.
"The most we could do"
Western politicians and diplomats regularly pass through Kosovo, with many hoping to reach a lasting agreement between Serbia and the government in Pristina that would normalize ties. Others simply come to enjoy a proverbial victory lap where they are praised publicly and privately for their contribution to the war. During one such trip, Tonybler Dayaku was able to personally see his namesake – former British Prime Minister Tony Blair – during his tour of Kosovo.
"We are a small country, with small finances. We can never repay our allies except by naming our children after their leaders," the 20-year-old said. "It's the most we can do. And it's very little."
Pro-Western sentiment remains extremely high in Kosovo, where aspirations to one day join NATO and the EU remain complicated by the lack of official recognition of the government in Pristina by some members of the alliance and the bloc. "It is certain that without the intervention of NATO, none of us would be here for this interview today. Nor would Kosovo be independent," historian and diplomat Sile Ukshini told AFP.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the month of March remains a dear place on the calendar for many Kosovo Albanians. This year's anniversary of the war coincides with high tensions with Belgrade following the earlier ban on the Serbian dinar. Kosovo remains predominantly populated by ethnic Albanians, but in the northern parts of the territory near the border with Serbia, ethnic Serbs remain the majority in several municipalities. Despite the uncertain future, many in Kosovo have little doubt that NATO's intervention was a defining moment in their violent past. "It would be a very difficult story for us as a nation, but also for the whole world, if the West sat idly by without reacting to the atrocities during the war," Gashi said. /BGNES, AFP
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