Distant war zones lure jobless Kosovo Serbs

RT ^

[kronos77]

Desperate to escape unemployment in their isolated enclaves, Kosovo Serbs are journeying as far as Iraq and Afghanistan to make a living.

“Although before I left I had worked in management, gaining experience in a different atmosphere, culture and environment seemed a precious opportunity.”

All the Kosovo Serbs who had gone to these far-off war zones agreed they took risks with their personal safety but none felt a dilemma over getting work through US companies.

Indeed, Branislav Nikolic was decorated by the US in Iraq for the courage he showed under fire. After an attack on the US base in which worked, he moved wounded US soldiers to an infirmary.

“I was employee of the month on several occasions and reached the position of head of an administrative department,” he recalled.

Vanja Boskovic contrasted his experience of work in Afghanistan favourably with the ambiance from which he came, where nepotism appears to rule and employment without “connections” is almost impossible.

“Not all the experiences in my stay were positive but it was easy to get used to a system in which everyone knew what their job was and where work, knowledge and effort were valued,” he said.

The return home to Kosovo brought relief because the men were reunited with their families. But the reality of modern Kosovo is too bleak for them to feel much certainty about the future. Since Kosovo declared independence in February, tensions are on the rise again.

Nikolic feels dissatisfied with what he encountered on his return. “In Kosovo and Strpce it’s almost impossible to get a job without strong connections,” he said. “I will have a difficult time also because everyone thinks I earned enough money in Afghanistan not to need to work.”

[Jane_N]

Lol! There are at least 117 other countries in the world that you should also hate according to your reasoning Tailgunner Joe. All the members of the NAM organisation for example.

This is what Wikipedia says about NAM in case you don’t know what the NAM organisation is...

“The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is an international organization of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded in April 1955; as of 2007, it has 118 members. The purpose of the organization as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979 is to ensure “the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries” in their “struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, Zionism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics.”[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement

Sure, most of these countries are tiny and insignificant countries with little to say when it comes to world politics but together they do make up almost 2/3 of the UN member states and 55% of the world’s population.

So what’s it like to hate more than half of the world’s population?

[Tailgunner Joe]

I don't hate anyone.

NAM is a communist front organization which I oppose.

[FormerLib]

How about a gigantic military base in Southeastern Europe and a hopping-off point to the middle East?

We could have achieved that without propping up a Jihadist state at the expense of their Christian victims. We could easily have leased the area for such a base in Bulgaria, Romania, or Greece for a fraction of what Kosovo is costing.

This reasoning doesn't pass the "smell test."

[Jane_N]

“NAM is a communist front organization which I oppose.”

It is?? Gee, I wonder if India, Thailand, Philipines, South Africa, Singapore, Jamaica, Fiji, etc are aware of that?

I’m sorry Tailgunner Joe, but some of your comments show no logic at times.

As to you not hating anyone, a lot of your comments (at least those on the Balkans threads) sure do paint a different picture. But that’s just my opinion.

Have a good day Tailgunner Joe!

[americanophile]

Not just the smell test, it doesn't pass the geography test. It would I think be relatively easy to lease, as FormerLib suggests a base in the area, but in any event, we have a giant base in the region, it's called Aviano Air Base, not far from Trieste, it's only about 450 miles from Kosovo. 450 miles hardly seems a significant enough distance for an air wing to require us to support a breakaway Muslim state.