For me it was very gratifying following the news on the weekend and to see Kosovo declare independence.

I spent some time working for the United Nations (UNMIK) in Kosovo and saw and experienced first hand the results of some of the atrocities that were committed there.

The UN employed a lot of locals and I had a driver and six translators working for me while I was there and their stories of the time of occupation used to regularly bring tears to my eyes. The evictions from homes, the rounding up of villagers and all the men and boys being shot, the forced marches to try and escape into neighboring countries, the fact that due to the war there were seven females to every male. The city I was in, Peje, had 75% of it destroyed by the Serbians.

It never ceases to amaze me how humans can be so cruel to other humans but to hear it first hand from those involved is something that will remain with me forever.

I wish them all the best.

You can read the indictment against the Serbians including Slobodan MILOSEVIC here http://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/mil-ii990524e.htm


Derek

I know what you mean Derek,
I had an old widow from Lebanon living next door to me for a few years, although I had never seen it for my self, the stories were horific.
One of which was when she whitnessed her husband & two sons executed in thier home by machine gun while she hid in a cupboard.
this incident was the last & some of her family members living over here got her out & bought a house for her, which happened to be next door to the place I was renting for a few years while I was single.
She was a funny o'l thing, couldn't speek a word of English but some how we could still have a rough conversation, she had scars over her back & really messed  up fingers like they had been broken a few times & never set properly, the different customs were od, for example, she would cook all manner of authentic Lebonese sweets & such & bring them over for me (being a single man I guess she thought I couldn't cook ;D ;D) but I had to start locking my front door because she would just come straight in without even knocking (bit embarrasing if I was involved in some heavy excercise with a female partner :o :o :o) I just assumed that was the way it is over there.

Mick.

I heard a snippet on the news that the US formerly recognized Kosovo today.

The US and a number of European countries.

Not game to go there!!
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