L'AMICO AMERICANO / 5
"Bill Clinton Avenue": questo e' oggi il nome della strada principale
di Pristina. L'hanno rinominata cosi' tre anni fa, Rugova e soci, in
omaggio al grande artefice della "liberazione", cioe' della
devastazione del loro paese.
Degni di nota sono anche: il ristorante "Aviano", una copia della
Statua della Liberta' alta sei metri, il progetto di statua a Tony
Blair (del quale riferimmo alcuni mesi fa). Ed i nomi di alcuni
neonati: "Albright" oppure "Madeleine" per le bambine, "Tony Blair",
appunto, per i bimbi.
---
KOSOVO HONOURS ITS "SAVIOURS"
Key figures from the NATO bombing campaign are immortalised by
grateful ethnic Albanians.
By Fatos Bytyci in Pristina
Former American head of state Bill Clinton is on the road to
immortality in Kosovo after a three-and-a-half-long km boulevard was
named in his honour.
A 12-metre high photograph of him has also been erected as part of the
stretch's 427,000 euro upgrade.
Kosovo's president Ibrahim Rugova said that such recognition was the
least his people could do for a statesman who had garnered
international support for NATO's 1999 bombing campaign.
"This is a very small thing we have done, as the former US president
deserves much more," Rugova declared.
Indeed, Clinton's name lives on in many unique ways in the region,
which remains a United Nations protectorate three years on from the
conflict, with more than 32,000 international peacekeepers on its
soil.
Businessman Ramadan Aliu, who is originally from Macedonia, has
renamed his marble company after the former US leader. "Once heads of
states leave their posts, many of them are forgotten. I wanted to make
President Clinton immortal," he told IWPR.
A number of local bars and restaurants, meanwhile, have acquired names
associated with American, NATO and British "liberators" who freed
Kosovo from Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic's regime.
Aviano, the first restaurant every foreign visitor sees when they
leave Pristina airport, is named after NATO's Italian military base.
B52, BBC, Apache, Pentagon and Blair are also commonly used.
Elsewhere, the entrance to Pristina is now marked by a six-metre high
replica of New York's famous Statue of Liberty, created at a cost of
around 100,000 euros. "I can't say whether it will help trade because
it's only been here a few days, but it's looking nice," said Avni
Selmani, who manages a nearby hotel.
Pristina city council spokesperson Veli Bytyci said he has heard of
plans for many other projects to name streets or erect statues in
honour of foreign politicians, but ordinary Kosovars are also paying
their own personal tributes.
For example, Gezim, an Ashkali from Fushe Kosova, has called his
daughter Albright after former US secretary of state Madeleine
Albright. "Why not? She saved us from war, and also the name is nice,"
he said.
When Gjakova resident Shqipe Bardhi's daughter was born two months
after the end of the war, she named her Madeleine. "It was my
husband's idea. She helped us a lot. She was our saviour," said
Bardhi, adding that they plan to call their next child Clinton.
Staff at Pristina's civil registry office confirmed that there has
been a definite trend towards such tributes. "Only three days ago,
somebody named his son Tony Blair," said registry official Shefqet
Bucaj.
Kosovars identify so strongly with America that they were deeply
affected by the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Local television at the time showed many in tears and today there are
a number of memorials bearing witness to the tragic events and
expressing solidarity with the victims and their families.
One photo of New York with two candles where the twin towers once
stood, reads simply, "America, we are with you."
With the conflict now behind them, the people of Kosovo are now
working to rebuild and strengthen local institutions, but are also
doing their best to see that those who helped them reach this point in
their history are not forgotten.
Fatos Bytyci is a journalist with Kosovo Radio and Television, RTK.
(Source: www.iwpr.net - BALKAN CRISIS REPORT No. 379)
"Bill Clinton Avenue": questo e' oggi il nome della strada principale
di Pristina. L'hanno rinominata cosi' tre anni fa, Rugova e soci, in
omaggio al grande artefice della "liberazione", cioe' della
devastazione del loro paese.
Degni di nota sono anche: il ristorante "Aviano", una copia della
Statua della Liberta' alta sei metri, il progetto di statua a Tony
Blair (del quale riferimmo alcuni mesi fa). Ed i nomi di alcuni
neonati: "Albright" oppure "Madeleine" per le bambine, "Tony Blair",
appunto, per i bimbi.
---
KOSOVO HONOURS ITS "SAVIOURS"
Key figures from the NATO bombing campaign are immortalised by
grateful ethnic Albanians.
By Fatos Bytyci in Pristina
Former American head of state Bill Clinton is on the road to
immortality in Kosovo after a three-and-a-half-long km boulevard was
named in his honour.
A 12-metre high photograph of him has also been erected as part of the
stretch's 427,000 euro upgrade.
Kosovo's president Ibrahim Rugova said that such recognition was the
least his people could do for a statesman who had garnered
international support for NATO's 1999 bombing campaign.
"This is a very small thing we have done, as the former US president
deserves much more," Rugova declared.
Indeed, Clinton's name lives on in many unique ways in the region,
which remains a United Nations protectorate three years on from the
conflict, with more than 32,000 international peacekeepers on its
soil.
Businessman Ramadan Aliu, who is originally from Macedonia, has
renamed his marble company after the former US leader. "Once heads of
states leave their posts, many of them are forgotten. I wanted to make
President Clinton immortal," he told IWPR.
A number of local bars and restaurants, meanwhile, have acquired names
associated with American, NATO and British "liberators" who freed
Kosovo from Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic's regime.
Aviano, the first restaurant every foreign visitor sees when they
leave Pristina airport, is named after NATO's Italian military base.
B52, BBC, Apache, Pentagon and Blair are also commonly used.
Elsewhere, the entrance to Pristina is now marked by a six-metre high
replica of New York's famous Statue of Liberty, created at a cost of
around 100,000 euros. "I can't say whether it will help trade because
it's only been here a few days, but it's looking nice," said Avni
Selmani, who manages a nearby hotel.
Pristina city council spokesperson Veli Bytyci said he has heard of
plans for many other projects to name streets or erect statues in
honour of foreign politicians, but ordinary Kosovars are also paying
their own personal tributes.
For example, Gezim, an Ashkali from Fushe Kosova, has called his
daughter Albright after former US secretary of state Madeleine
Albright. "Why not? She saved us from war, and also the name is nice,"
he said.
When Gjakova resident Shqipe Bardhi's daughter was born two months
after the end of the war, she named her Madeleine. "It was my
husband's idea. She helped us a lot. She was our saviour," said
Bardhi, adding that they plan to call their next child Clinton.
Staff at Pristina's civil registry office confirmed that there has
been a definite trend towards such tributes. "Only three days ago,
somebody named his son Tony Blair," said registry official Shefqet
Bucaj.
Kosovars identify so strongly with America that they were deeply
affected by the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Local television at the time showed many in tears and today there are
a number of memorials bearing witness to the tragic events and
expressing solidarity with the victims and their families.
One photo of New York with two candles where the twin towers once
stood, reads simply, "America, we are with you."
With the conflict now behind them, the people of Kosovo are now
working to rebuild and strengthen local institutions, but are also
doing their best to see that those who helped them reach this point in
their history are not forgotten.
Fatos Bytyci is a journalist with Kosovo Radio and Television, RTK.
(Source: www.iwpr.net - BALKAN CRISIS REPORT No. 379)