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Blog » Blog Archive » That's history

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That’s history


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The radio in the Matic’s Belgrade apartment blares out Radio MFM all day long. The station plays an eclectic mix of American and British music, from classic rock to Golden Oldies, 80’s pop and Mississippi blues. To my consternation, Lela recognizes the songs faster and knows the lyrics and better than I do. Once, the radio played a song we knew, but couldn’t identify. Bina called her husband and brother-in-law, who identified the song immediately.

When the beatles were banned from Russia and American school children cowered under their desks in hopes of surviving nuclear holocaust, Yugoslavia welcomed Western culture, yet maintained a diplomatically friendly and economically prosperous relationship with the Russia. Many countries that fell under the influence of both the USSR and the USA hosted terrible proxy wars that left those countries in shambles (Vietnam, Afghanistan), but Yugoslavia managed to work the situation to its advantage.

“Tito,” Bina told me several times, “we don’t know who was he, but he was the best.” Many Serbians attribute the prosperity of the early to mid cold war years to careful, quiet maneuvering by Tito, the leader of Yugoslavia until 1981. During that time, Yugoslavian passports were highly valued and foreign culture flowed over the borders freely.

History has not always been so sweet for Serbians. A musician introduced to me by Lela ran her fingers through her raven dark lochs and said of Lela and herself, “We are not blond because our grandmothers did not run fast enough.” She explained that during the time when the Ottoman Empire controlled the Balkans, the Turkish rulers mandated that Serbian brides spend their first night of marriage with a Turkish army officer and not with their husbands.

For the past millennium, Serbia has often found itself under the heel of one powerful empire or another. However, Serbians have a reputation for bearing up under oppression. Most never converted under the Ottoman empire. Serbians demonstrated in the street and supported a coup after the Serbian prince signed an agreement with the Nazis.

In downtown Belgrade, remnants of Serbia’s last showdown with a great power still yawn their jagged faces into an otherwise beautiful city-scape. Referred to as “the NATO exhibition by more sarcastic residents, these buildings were bombed by NATO in 1999. NATO claims the bombing was in response to ethnic cleansing carried out by Serbs in Kosovo. Serbians claim the motivation for bombing was much more political.

There is a tendency to look at the bombing as just another act of a superpower drunk on strength that has blundered into Serbia’s affairs. The bombing successfully expelled Serbian forces from Kosovo and allowed the installation of NATO and UN troops. However, graffiti saying: “Kosovo is Serbia’s heart” announces the intentions of some Serbians to resist the latest ‘interference’ in Serbian affairs just as they’ve resisted such things in the past.

Not all Serbians think constantly of Kosovo. In fact it rarely comes up in normal conversation, and admissions of being from the U.S. seem to earn one nothing other than free drinks and food. It will be interesting to see how this chapter of history plays out in this country that has hosted so many historical chapters in the past. In the meantime everyone will have great music to which to listen.

Branko, Lela’s uncle and a purveyor of internet services welcomed me time after time into his internet café. After I had finished, he would ignore my claims of non-thirstiness and pour me a huge glass of beer. We sat outside, listening to his classic rock collection. He can name all the songs, all the artists, and knows the lyrics. A song I had never heard came on: Tobacco Road, by the leader of the Animals. As the bass thumped through the neighborhood and Eric Burden growled out of the speakers, Branko closed his eyes and sipped his beer. “For me,” he said, “this music is nirvana.”

Branko (red shirt) with Bruzhe and another guy from the neighborhood.

6 Responses to “That’s history”

  1. Netzy Says:

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    Well written Jim. Gives a good sense of what is going on in the country. Your pictures also show the story of Serbia. Thanks for taking the time to share your stories and pictures. love, mom

  2. Marko Says:

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    HEY! It’s nice to read this. Do you remember some four men you met in the centre of Nish? We spoke for about half an hour, and we showed you where you could play your music. I wish you and your friends all the best! Take care! ( I know the song “Tobacco Road”, it’s a long one :)))

  3. Matt Bauer Says:

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    Hey Jim,

    Really enjoyed reading your last few posts. Continued blessings on your journey. Say hi to everyone for me.

    Matt

  4. Ricki Kisor Says:

    Deprecated: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is deprecated, use preg_replace_callback instead in /var/www/html/0708.fueledbyrice.org/public_html/blog/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 74

    you’ve got an excellent weblog here! would you like to make some invite posts on my blog?

  5. Markita Teitsort Says:

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    Beautiful post! Thank you so much for sharing. =)

  6. Emmeline Says:

    Deprecated: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is deprecated, use preg_replace_callback instead in /var/www/html/0708.fueledbyrice.org/public_html/blog/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 74

    you need to have the business metality. so, most of the times be cool.

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