Milosevic Generation

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The Milosevic Generation

By BLAINE HARDENThe New York Times

August 29, 1999

The young Serbs of Belgrade watched their leader lose in Croatia, in Bosnia and then in Kosovo.Now they re the ones who are lost.

In the cafe at Tennis Club Max, not far from where American cruise missiles shredded SlobodanMilosevic s house, a law student ex!lained the secrets of being certifiabl" cra#" in Serbia$

%M" final diagnosis from the arm", the one the" stam!ed on m" !ass!ort, sa"s I am a !aranoidde!ressive,% he said !roudl"$

As Serbs with rac&uets thwac'ed awa" a humid (al'an afternoon on cla" courts in front of ourtable, the law student told me how his finest moment of ma'e)believe madness, what he called%m" extraordinar" !erformance,% had hel!ed him to esca!e the war in *osovo$

+nli'e Serbia s !revious lost wars in the former ugoslav re!ublics of Slovenia, Croatia and(osnia, which the law student saw coming months in advance, the *osovo conflict bro'e out too&uic'l" for him to ma'e his usual !re!arations$ In the !ast, he had left his shoulder)length hairunwashed for wee's$ In a well)chosen uniform of rubber gardening boots, worn)out !ants andragged sweaters, he muttered obscenities, s!o'e of suicide and cried uncontrollabl"$ The

ugoslav Arm" !s"chiatrists were im!ressed- on six se!arate occasions, the" exem!ted him fromservice$

In the s!ring, when .AT/ began bombing and ugoslav Arm" recruiters came sniffing afterconscri!ts again, the law student had no time to grow a convincing head of nut)case hair$0or'ing with his !arents, the law student, who is 2 "ears old and not nearl" cra#" enough toallow his name to a!!ear in this maga#ine, came u! with lan ($

3is mother called for an ambulance from 4a#ar 4a#arevic s"chiatric 3os!ital 5where thechairman, insanel" enough, is Milosevic s wife, Mir6ana Mar'ovic7$ She said her son was onceagain acting odd$ Meanwhile, in his bedroom in the house where he still lives with his !arents, thelaw student s!rawled out on the floor beneath a window, and his father smashed it to !ieces$0hile the famil" waited for the ambulance, both !arents s!rin'led shards of glass on their son shead$ 3e was whis'ed off to the hos!ital, where )) refusing to s!ea' to doctors or nurses )) hes!ent the *osovo war ta'ing antide!ressant !ills, hiding them under his tongue and s!itting themout in the bathroom$

0hile the law student whis!ered his stor" to me, a !rominent surgeon, from a Serbian famil" thathas !roduced doctors for generations, sat down at the table next to us$ 3e had come to TennisClub Max to watch his 8)"ear)old daughter ta'e lessons$ The surgeon had time on his hands$

Ta'ing advantage of +nited .ations sanctions im!osed during the (osnian war, he !ut down hisscal!el six "ears ago and became a gasoline smuggler$ It was an excellent move$ The

overnment !a"s doctors about :1;< a month- gasoline smugglers with government connectionsma'e man" thousands of dollars a month$ The surgeon has made so much mone" that he nolonger smuggles$ 3e !la"s tennis instead$

A bit later in the afternoon, after the law student had left, =adovan 5=ade7 Mar'ovic sat down inthe same chair to wait for his regular doubles match$ 3e arrived with 1< thic')nec'ed, s'inheaded


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"oung men carr"ing automatic wea!ons$ The" sta'ed out the !erimeter of the tennis club,whis!ered into radios, hid behind trees$

Mar'ovic, a short, beef" man with a steel)gra" crew cut, is the head of state securit" and a!rotege of Milosevic s wife 5but no relation to her7$ (esides being the countr" s to! s!" master,Mar'ovic commands state !aramilitar" forces that hel!ed lead the cam!aign of murder, theft and

house)burning in *osovo that war crimes investigators sa" 'illed at least 11,


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3er own son, Dovan, scolds her for having wasted her time wor'ing long hours to earn a h$ $ 3ehas a !oint$ 3er universit" 6ob !a"s a!!roximatel" :1


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as a nationalist #ealot, but as an o!!ortunist, scrambling to save himself from the fate of otherCommunist thugs from across the former @ast bloc$ In 19 9, most of them had been tossed out ofoffice, 6ailed or, in the case of =omanian dictator .icolae Ceausescu and his Stalinist and much)hated wife, @lena, lined u! against a wall and machine)gunned to death$ Milosevic, incidentall",also has a Stalinist, much)hated wife$

The Serbian leader dodged this bullet b" hiding behind nationalism and ex!loiting his re!ublic sfear of foreign domination$ The s!lintering of ugoslavia in the earl" 199< s, which left about twomillion Serbs outside of Serbia, gave Milosevic an excuse for using violence to change bordersand !rotect his !eo!le$ Then a swaggering nationalist regime in Croatia bullied Serbs and handedhim an even better rationale for war$ 0hen there were no facts to 6ustif" Serbian !aranoia,Milosevic used state television to manufacture them$ 3e showcased a grisl" !rocession ofmutilated cor!ses$ The" were introduced to viewers as the bodies of innocent Serbs slaughteredb" Croats or (osnian Muslims or *osovar Albanians$ It wor'ed$ After the evening news, callsoften flooded into s!ouse)abuse hot lines in (elgrade, as wives screamed that their husbandswere beating them u!$

Milosevic used nationalism as a 'ind of /rwellian ictor" in$ It intoxicated the masses andblurred their vision as ever"one around Milosevic )) his son, his ministers and his !aramilitar"

henchmen )) got rich off smuggling and war !rofiteering$

The final !illar of Milosevic s nationalism was murder )) of civilians whose sole crime was notbeing Serbian$ I sta"ed in Sara6evo during the worst of the Serbian siege of the (osnian ca!ital$ Itwas a barbaric exercise in which Serbs in the surrounding hills used artiller" and sni!er fire torandoml" murder tens of thousands of !eo!le, most of them unarmed civilians$ I remember beingbounced out of bed b" shells that struc' a!artment buildings near the !ension where I was tr"ingto slee!$ The silence after an ex!losion was often bro'en b" the screams of !eo!le discoveringthat their children or their !arents had been blown to !ieces$ I visited these shattered a!artmentsand once, after leaving, found a bit of human flesh stic'ing gumli'e to m" shoe$

(ut it never occurred to me in the earl" !art of this decade that the Serbs of (elgrade werecollectivel" res!onsible for these and other horrors !er!etrated b" the Milosevic regime$ ?ar from

it, (elgrade was for me an intellectual and cultural oasis in the ruins of ugoslavia$

Tito s brand of Communism had allowed (elgrade s middle class to become far more affluent and0esterni#ed )) from foreign travel and foreign investment, from a h"brid econom" that mixedsocialism with !rivate enter!rise, from a flood of foreign movies, boo's and music )) thanresidents of an" other ca!ital in @astern @uro!e$

+ntil the war in (osnia began in 1992, (elgrade had been the destination cit" in the @ast bloc for"oung oles, C#echs and 3ungarians see'ing to be cool$ It teemed with outs!o'en !oliticians,well)informed 6ournalists and insightful academics )) not to mention beautiful women, smartnightclubs and excellent restaurants$

Milosevic was a curiousl" tolerant dictator$ As long as he controlled television, he allowed theintelligentsia to fuss and fume against his regime in their low)circulation maga#ines$

That tolerance dried u! after mass demonstrations in the winter of 199 )98 nearl" brought downhis regime$ Milosevic im!osed raconian laws that all but silenced criticism$ uring the *osovowar, one of the few 6ournalists who continued to denounce the regime was shot dead in thestreets of (elgrade$

Atrocities in *osovo this "ear have blac'ened the name of Serbia as never before$ /utside thecountr", the ver" word %Serb% too' on the sinister resonance of %.a#i$% @ven if the" were not the


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ones doing the fighting, an argument grew that Serbian civilians should be held morall"res!onsible for crimes committed in their name$

In (elgrade this summer, though, !eo!le didn t feel res!onsible$ .or did the" tolerate !oliticianswho suggested that the" were$ At the huge o!!osition rall" last wee' in (elgrade, as duringearlier rallies outside the ca!ital this summer, s!ea'ers who said that Serbia had been %shamed%

in the e"es of the world were careful to blame Milosevic and a few maniacs in his regime )) and todistance the !eo!le of Serbia from an" accountabilit" for the conduct of the war$

I had as'ed 3elena >drav'ovic, who is 21 and s!ea's !erfect American)accented @nglish, tota'e me around (elgrade$ 3aving s!ent her teen)age "ears hanging out at Tennis Club Max, shewas familiar with the life st"les of the rich and criminal$ She went to an elite !ublic high school in(elgrade, and man" of her closest friends were the children of middle-class professionalparents ho in the past !" years have slid into poverty# $he as %oth a player in the city&ssocial scene and a s'eptic( havin) st*died +o*rnalism for the past t o academic years at,lorida International niversity( in Miami( and the American niversity in .aris# $he plansto attend Emerson /olle)e( in Boston( ne0t year#

3elena also ha!!ened to be blond, attractive and fitted out in fetching summer dresses, which

does not hurt in (elgrade$ 3er father, e6an >drav'ovic, o!ened Tennis Club Max nine "ears agoafter retiring at the age of ;


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The owner, a Montenegrin with a shaved head, gold chains and leather vest, 'issed 3elena 5andglared at me7 before we climbed the stairs to his third)floor bouti&ue$ 3e is a regular at TennisClub Max, where he comes with the latest issues of ogue and Marie Claire to sit with well)heeled women$ The" !oint to clothes that tic'le their fanc"$ 3is men in Ital" then tr" to steal them$

uring the owner s brief conversation with 3elena, he told her that one of his men in Ital" had%fallen,% meaning that he was arrested tr"ing to brea' into a warehouse full of merchandise$

There were video cameras on the stairs leading u! to the sho! and a monitor inside that gavecler's a chance to scrutini#e visitors before letting them enter$ 3elena, of course, was more thanwelcome$ The !lace was !iled high with !anties and sunglasses, handbags and evening gowns$ Isaw !in')and)gra" stiletto)heeled ersace shoes in the living room, ?endi white leather s'irts inone bedroom and a handsome charcoal)gra" *en#o business suit in the second bedroom$ Mostof the clothes bore stic'ers from the stores where the" had been stolen$ The !rices were aboutone)third retail$ 3elena was not im!ressed$

%It is nothing li'e it was last "ear,% she said$ %I mean I could find reall" nice clothes for m"self and Iam reall" !ic'"$%

The sho!'ee!er ex!lained to 3elena that the s!ringtime war in *osovo had constricted his su!!l"

line for summer fashion$ (ut with the war over, he was ex!ecting new shi!ments$

Then we were off in 3elena s convertible, her )month)old, !urebred @nglish bulldog, (oobi,drooling in the bac' seat, for a loo' at what American cruise missiles have done to (elgrade$ 4i'eice)!ic' !unctures in the nec', the chilling &ualit" of the stri'es was not their si#e but their!lacement$ 0e sto!!ed at an intersection in the heart of the cit"$ At each corner of theintersection, but onl" at each corner, there were ruins$ The Serbian overnment center, theforeign ministr" and two defense ministr" buildings had been reduced to rubble or were fire)gutted shells$ The !recision of the destruction suggested a war with an invisible, all)seeing enem"and of a cit" hel!less to !rotect itself$

@eril", all around the destruction, traffic flowed, sho!s were o!en and a!artments were beinglived in$ @xce!t for long lines for rationed gasoline, the surface of ever"da" life in (elgradeseemed remar'abl" !lacid$ The summer s rain and heat had !roduced bum!er cro!s, and freshvegetables and meat were !lentiful$ (ut the surface was dece!tive$ The war in *osovo had!lunged the Serbian econom" into free fall, incomes were colla!sing and the +nited .ations0orld ?ood rogram was warning of massive wintertime shortages of food, electricit" and fuel$

0e were invited to a late lunch in the !rivate restaurant of a friend of 3elena s father, a formergangster turned !rominent businessman$ 0e met in his office at a gleaming car dealershi! in thecit" center and were served es!resso b" a team of legg", "oung female attendants whose s'irtswere short and T)shirts tight$ (esides automobiles, the businessman im!orts blue 6eans, designers!ortswear, gasoline and engine lubricants$ 3e told me, rather vaguel" and under the conditionthat I not use his name, that he en6o"s !rofitable connections with the Milosevic overnment$ (utas a !recaution against Milosevic s !ossible ouster, he said, his wife and children live in Athens$

In the wee's before we met, the o!!osition movement in (elgrade had been holdingdemonstrations around Serbia, demanding that Milosevic resign$ The businessman said he didnot a!!rove, not because of an" affection for Milosevic, but because it would !robabl" be bad for!rofits$ According to him and according to American overnment officials, o!!osition !arties inSerbia often demand 'ic'bac's and bribes from businessmen, 6ust li'e the ruling Socialist art"that Milosevic controls$


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%I thin' it is more ex!ensive to deal with o!!osition !oliticians than with the Socialists,% thebusinessman told me$ %The new !arties are ver" hungr" for bribes$ I am afraid that an" !oliticalchange ma" be worse$%

The businessman got his start in (elgrade s gangster econom" in the earl" 199< s, using mone"ac&uired from several "ears of wor'ing in erman" as a thief, according to a longtime friend$

As'ed how someone gets ahead in Milosevic s world, the businessman, with a straight face, said,%@ver"bod" who is smart, who is willing to s!end 1 )hour da"s in the office li'e I do, can wor' anddo well$%

(eing smart and hard)wor'ing have nothing to do with getting rich in Serbia, sa"s =obert S$elbard, who until this summer was the +nited States s!ecial envo" to the (al'ans$ elbard,

who s!ent the !ast two and a half "ears watching the Milosevic regime, estimates that onl" a fewthousand !eo!le have !rofited from the cron" ca!italism of what he calls %Serbia Inc$%

%This is a 'le!tocrac",% he sa"s$ % eo!le who are senior members of the !art" structure or of theovernment have been suc'ing the countr" dr", although the terrain has become !rett" arid$%

A few of the 'le!tocrats are notoriousl" well connected to the regime$ Milosevic s onl" son, Mar'o,made a fortune smuggling gasoline and cigarettes$ The !aramilitar" warlord, >el6'o =a#natovic,better 'nown as Ar'an and indicted in 1998 for war crimes in Croatia and (osnia, amassed afortune of his own in gasoline smuggling and mone" laundering in the earl" 199< s before turningto !olitics, marr"ing Serbia s hottest !o! star in a ceremon" broadcast on state) run television andbu"ing a (elgrade soccer team$ 5A!!arentl" nervous about the future in (elgrade, Ar'an soundedout officials in (elgium about moving there- he was told that he would be arrested$7

rivate businessmen have also made fortunes b" !a"ing off the regime to secure im!ort licensesthat give them mono!olies inside Serbia on consumer goods$ The real !la"ers in Serbia Inc$,though, are overnment ministers who t"!icall" regulate and award contracts to firms that the"also control$ e6an *ovacevic, for exam!le, is the Serbian minister of construction, as well aschairman of Mastrogradn6e, a ma6or construction com!an" that wins large government contractsfrom his own ministr"$

The Serb businessman who attributed his wealth to intelligence and hard wor' too' 3elena andme to lunch at his !rivate restaurant, which he bought this summer and where the onl" diners arehis friends and business associates$ 0ith a uccini o!era !la"ing softl" in the bac'ground, wewere served caviar !asta and an elegant !inot noir in the restored dining room of a 19th)centur"town house$ The conversation turned, as did nearl" ever" conversation I had this summer withSerbs in (elgrade, to *osovo$

escribing the *osovar Albanians as %the most criminal !eo!le in the world,% the businessmansaid Americans should have 'nown what the Serbian reaction would be to the .AT/ bombing$

%0hen "ou !ut "our bombs on (elgrade, we had to ma'e ethnic cleansing in *osovo,% he said$%This is normal$ @ver"bod" in Serbia 'nows it, even little children$%

The downwardl" mobile in (elgrade do not mind being &uoted b" name$ 3elena too' me oneevening to meet her friend ar'o Susn6ar, who grew u! in (elgrade s u!!er middle class, but whohas since been s'idding into the ran's of the wor'ing !oor$ 3e wor'ed this summer as a tic'etta'er on a !rivate bus, ma'ing about :F$F< for a 12)hour da"$

0ith a ring in his left ear, da")old stubble and long brown hair tied in a !on"tail, Susn6ar, 2 ,bears a !assing resemblance to a "oung version of the comedian eorge Carlin$


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0e met at a !i##a !lace beside the anube =iver in >emun, a suburb of newish but dismala!artment buildings$ ar'o was late because thieves, for the third time in a month, had tried tosteal his 19 B /!el Cadet$ The car s door and trun' loc's had all been bro'en, and he had 6ustlearned that it would cost :12F to fix them$ That was about a month s !a"$

%M" car is 1 "ears old and falling a!art$ I can t understand the mentalit" of !eo!le who want to

steal that 'ind of 6un',% he said$

ar'o was de!ressed, and not 6ust about the car$ An onl" child, he lives with his !arents andadmits to being a desultor" student at the +niversit" of (elgrade$ 4i'e man" students there, hesees no !oint in graduating$ 3e studies ethnolog", a field that he ac'nowledges is a waste oftime, given the circumstances in Serbia$

%If someone had told me 1< "ears ago that I would be wor'ing on a bus, I would have had to fighthim,% ar'o said, after a beer$

3e grew u! ex!ecting more$ 3is !arents were su!ervisors at two ma6or hotels in (elgrade, hesaid, ma'ing a combined salar" of more than :8


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% olitics here is a 'ind of sic'ness, and I m not interested,% he said$ % emocratic change will ta'eman" "ears$ In the meantime, the Serbs will hibernate, li'e bears$ At this time, Thanatos is muchstronger than @ros$ It is dar' here now$ That is our realit"$%

The morning after we dran' beer with ar'o, thugs attac'ed "oung !eo!le from the o!!ositionemocratic art" who were as'ing residents in the suburb of .ew (elgrade to sign a !etition

calling for Milosevic s resignation$ Three o!!osition !art" wor'ers were in6ured, and one washos!itali#ed with head and internal in6ures$ As usual in (elgrade, no arrests were made$ Theincident was not re!orted on state television$

0hile the o!!osition activists were getting their heads 'ic'ed in, 3elena and I were 6ust twobloc's awa" in a newl" built sho!!ing center that was lea'ing in the summer rain$ Shoe)sho!cler's too' advantage of a clear morning to set hundreds of !airs of soa'ed snea'ers out on asidewal' to dr" in the sun$ 0e went to a bar in the sho!!ing center to have coffee with a "oungwoman who, until that morning, had wor'ed as a news writer at a television station in (elgrade$

(* Television is a !rivate station owned b" the five *aric brothers, among the richestbusinessmen in Serbia$ The station has slee' broadcast studios, attractive anchor!eo!le and a

6a##" news format$ (ut it slavishl" toes the overnment line$ 0hen it mildl" challenged the

regime in 1998, Milosevic threatened to ta'e awa" the station s broadcast license$

Ivana *onstantinovic, 22, a diminutive woman with large brown e"es, has wor'ed for (*Television for nearl" three "ears$ Mostl", she re!ac'aged news from state)controlled television,tr"ing to ma'e it into a more #i!!" !roduct$ She cut out words li'e %hegemon"% and %internationalorgans$% (ut still, as she conceded over coffee and nearl" !ac' of cigarettes, her final !roductwas usuall" distorted and misleading$

%0e tried to tell the truth, but it was a matter of luc' whether we succeeded,% said Ivana, also astudent at the +niversit" of (elgrade stud"ing international relations$ %Sometimes, b" beingclever, we could tell things the overnment didn t want 'nown$ uring the rallies againstMilosevic in 199 , we were not allowed to sa" how large the crowds were$ So we said buseswere having trouble getting through the cit"$%

In the wa'e of the *osovo war, state television this summer demoni#ed Serbian o!!ositionleaders, often calling them traitors and s!ies in the !a" of the C$I$A$ Ivana dutifull" rewrote theseaccusations, although she said she did not believe them$ She could mention o!!osition ralliesonl" after the" had been denounced b" overnment officials$

Ivana wants to get out of Serbia with her bo"friend, (o6an ragicevic, a technician at (*Television$ 3er three best friends have alread" fled to (otswana, ?rance and 3olland$ That wasbefore the war in *osovo and before the visa situation tightened$ She now lives at home with her!arents, both of whom are engineers$ /ne designs !lastic bags, the other wor's in a tractorfactor"$ Ivana gets !aid about :11< a month, which is roughl" a tenth of what she would havebeen !aid for the same 6ob a decade ago$

%In this situation,% she said, %that is &uite good mone" for me$%

/n the morning we s!o'e, Ivana had been !romoted$ She had started a new 6ob as an earl")morning on)air !ersonalit", reading traffic re!orts and communit")service bulletins$

%I was ver" de!ressed writing lies,% she said, %.ow on the morning !rogram, at least, I canhonestl" loo' into the camera and sa"G There is no electricit" this morning$%


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?or "oung women in (elgrade, career choices tend to lie somewhere on a continuum betweenhonest)im!overishing and criminal)lucrative$ In the dis!iriting middle lies the tem! wor' done b"%s!onsor girls% )) middle)class high)school girls who tart themselves u! and trade their bodies togangsters in return for designer clothes, cell !hones and fanc" dinners$

The @uro!ean, a (elgrade maga#ine banned b" the regime at the beginning of the "ear,

described a s!onsor girl as %a s"mbol of the absolute commerciali#ation of sexualit", the newestmanifestation of the sub6ugation of women$ She is the target of malicious gossi! and the dar'sub6ect of her fellow teen)agers dreams, the reason for her !arents distress$%

I had dinner with two buxom, be6eweled and elaboratel" made)u! "oung women, one of whomused to date 3elena s brother$ 0e met around midnight in the ?ortress, an elegant new outdoorrestaurant built amid =oman and medieval ruins on a hillto! at the confluence of the anube andSava =ivers$ It s an ex!ensive !lace where gangsters gather late at night to show off new cars,gold chains and teen)age babes in designer duds$ The heav" night air smelled of grilled beef and

American cigarettes and ?rench !erfume$ Serbian roc' music washed across the terrace from anightclub next door$

The "oung women agreed to meet me onl" to discuss the !henomenon of s!onsor girls, not to

tal' about themselves$ (ut after about a half)hour of conversation, the" both began to sli! in andout of the first !erson while ex!laining the costs and benefits of hanging out with older men withguns, shaved heads and dee! !oc'ets$

%If "ou are with a gu" who ma'es his living that wa", "ou can be the center of attention,% said /l6a*arleusa, 1 , who was dressed in a !owder)blue satin 6ac'et over a tight tan' to!$ 3er d"edblond hair was teased Tina Turner st"le and her mil'" white li!stic' matched her nails$

% angsters are a normal element of life,% /l6a said$ %The girls don t thin' the" are doing an"thingwrong$ The !ossibilit" of earning mone" is ver" small$ @ver"one here does illegal stuff, so itseems so normal$%

3er friend, Milena Mar'ovic, 19, who wore glitter ma'eu! on her chee's and whose breasts werebursting out of a low)cut T)shirt that said % ower irl,% told me that ever" high)school girl in(elgrade is tem!ted b" the life gangsters can offer$

%It feeds "our ego if "ou are with a gu" li'e that,% she said$

3elena had told me that /l6a s bo"friend is a (elgrade criminal whose best friend was shot thissummer in a cafe$ /l6a did not want to tal' about it$ She and Milena did want to tal' about theshort shelf life and !oor marital !ros!ects of a s!onsor girl after she turns 2;$

%The gu"s go from one girl to another and there is a ver" small chance of him falling in love,% said/l6a$ %There are so man" girls that he can alwa"s find another "ounger one$%

%The gu"s are aware of the situation and that the" have all the !ower,% added Milena$

%The" reali#e what scum the girls are and the" use them,% /l6a said$

The more the" tal'ed, the angrier the" became and the more %the"% became %we$%

%0e are furious because without a gangster friend, "ou can t reall" en6o" (elgrade,% said /l6a$% irls have no !ossibilit" to do what the" want with their lives unless the" are from rich families$%


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(oth the girls had graduated from high school and said the" were !lanning on enrolling this fall inthe law facult" at the +niversit" of (elgrade$ It didn t ma'e sense to become a law"er in a countr"without laws, the" said, but the" didn t 'now what else to do$

I as'ed them about *osovo, about the bodies of Albanians that were being dug u! there frommass graves and if the" were aware that outside Serbia, man" !eo!le had the im!ression that

Serbian forces had committed genocide$

It was as if I had belched or insulted their ma'eu!$ The conversation !aused aw'wardl"$ (othgirls seemed offended$

%I don t 'now what ha!!ened in *osovo,% /l6a said, dismissivel"$ %I didn t hear that we did an"more atrocities than what the Albanians did to us$%

The" wanted to tal' about the weather$ (oth /l6a and Milena said the summer s thunderstormsreminded them of the s!ring months when Americans bombed (elgrade$ The" said the" d beenhaving trouble slee!ing and that the" d heard the Americans were causing the rainstorms$

I said I did not thin' that was ver" li'el"$ The" left for another nightclub$

It was about 1 a$m$ but the restaurant was still crowded$ Sullen men were 'noc'ing bac' whis'e"and being adored b" "oung women who loo'ed li'e /l6a and Milena$ A friend of 3elena s s!ottedus and invited us for a drin'$ 3e was eager to tal' about *osovo$ In fact, u'o6e obric, a Serbwho was born and raised in *osovo, found it difficult to tal' of an"thing else$ 3e chain)smo'edcigarettes and dran' beer after beer, and his left leg twitched incessantl"$ A medical student, heloo'ed much older than his 2< "ears$ 3is nerves seemed shot$

u'o6e lives in a (elgrade a!artment next door to what used to be the head&uarters of the?ederal Interior Ministr"$ The massive building was demolished this s!ring b" American cruise)missile stri'es$ The" came at night, as u'o6e, 6ust a few "ards from the bla#ing building, la"terrified in his bed$

3is !arents fled their home in the *osovo town of *lina two wee's after Milosevic signed theDune !eace deal that !ulled Serbian forces out and let .AT/ in$ The" left behind two houses, two!harmacies, several cars and more than ;< acres of land that had been in the famil" since themid)19th centur"$ /n the night I tal'ed to u'o6e, his !arents and four other relatives wereslee!ing in the two)bedroom (elgrade a!artment he had been sharing with his sister$

%M" !arents 6ust sit in the a!artment all da" long,% u'o6e told me$ %The" don t do an"thing$ I amafraid the" are going to go cra#"$ I blame the Americans for not !rotecting the Serbs from the

Albanians$ I blame Milosevic for losing in *osovo$ I blame m" !arents for not selling out andleaving sooner$ The" left ever"thing we own behind$%

(efore I could as' about the Serbian war crimes, u'o6e ac'nowledged that Serbs had done %a

lot of bad things$%

% ou have maniacs and war is li'e that,% he said$ %(ut someda" the Americans are going todiscover who the Serbs are and who the Albanians are$ The Albanians want to ta'e over$ The"will live F< in a house$%

u'o6e said Serbs will wait until .AT/ loses interest and ta'e *osovo bac' b" force$ It did notmatter to him that Albanians outnumber Serbs in *osovo b" more than 9 to 1$


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%I 'now that what is mine is mine, whether I live to see it or not,% he said$ %.o one can ta'e itawa" from me$ The Tur's too' our land for F


13/13

lada, though, had no idea who would teach Serbs the truth$ 3e was !lanning to travel to(uda!est to ta'e the college boards$ uring the bombing of (elgrade, he had made u! his mind$3e was getting out$

The night before coming into (elgrade, I had dinner with Mil'a Tadic, a !rominent ugoslav 6ournalist$ uring an evening in which she grew increasingl" combative and angr", she warned

me not to be ta'en in b" Serbs who claim that the" do not 'now about the atrocities committed intheir name in *osovo$

1The silence in Bel)rade a%o*t hat ent on ma'es me really sic'(1 she said$ Tadic is themana)in) editor of Monitor( a ee'ly political ma)a4ine p*%lished in Montene)ro#

1$er%s don&t ant to 'no ( %*t most of them 'no (1 she ent on# 1They have satellitedishes and short- ave radios# They 'no ( %*t they don&t care# All they care a%o*t isthemselves# ,or them( Al%anians are not really h*man %ein)s# The $er%s %elieve they arethe chosen people# It is racism# I hate to say it( %*t it is li'e hat the Germans did#1

As our dinner ended, Tadic told me a 6arring stor" about the huge winter demonstrations thatnearl" to!!led Milosevic two "ears ago$ She remembered a chant )) % o to *osovoL o to*osovoL% ) that +niversit" of (elgrade students shouted when the !olice confronted them withclubs$

Tadic said the students ob6ected to !olice brutalit" onl" because it inconvenienced them$

1These are the nice yo*n) li%erals of Bel)rade(1 she said#

I argued with Mil'a that night

$I said it as *nfair to tar an entire people for the depravity of their leaders# B*t after amonth in Bel)rade( after listenin) to intelli)ent and c*lt*red people dismiss the sava)eryin 5osovo as 1no orse than hat they did to *s(1 I came to share Mil'a&s ra)e#

Milosevic Generation

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