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Either Side of the Vardar: Ethnic Tension and Cultural Change in Southern Yugoslavia
| Article
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18654 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
8 / 1991 |
3,060 Words |
| Author
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Jeffrey and Nancy Folks
Jeffrey Folks, a professor of English at Tennessee Wesleyan
College, was Fulbright Senior Lecturer for eleven months at
the University of Skopje, Yugoslavia. Nancy Folks is a
technical editor with an engineering firm. A related article,
looking at Yugoslavia's powder-keg political situation,
appeared in THE WORLD & I's Current Issues section (March
1991, pp.74-81). |
As my wife and I returned to the main square to catch our bus, blue emergency lights attracted our attention. A convoy of military jeeps and trucks sped by, pulling up opposite a crowd of ethnic Albanians who had gathered on the square. We were about to witness an event that few westerners in Yugoslavia have seen, but that must now be commonplace enough.
Armed officers with leashed police dogs stepped from the first jeeps, while troops with automatic rifles and riot gear waited in the trucks behind. One of the officers glanced in our direction, and Nancy suggested I stow my Nikon out of sight. The officers formed a perimeter around the convoy of vehicles. The dogs strained toward the crowd, which stood like a wall a few feet away, docile but not really submissive. The body language spoke eloquently enough of fear, distrust, and long-standing resentments on each side.
Still, there was no sense of impending violence. After all, the soldiers had all the guns. The crowd was absolutely frozen, mostly silent--a ragged mass of farmers come to town on Saturday. The officers stood around for ten minutes, their chests thrust out in bravado, their posture one of command but perhaps defensive as well. After this show of force, sufficient to make the point as to who controlled the streets, the officers retreated somewhat hastily to their jeeps and the convoy sped off to the security of its nearby base.
The ethnic tensions flaring up in Yugoslavia, like those elsewhere in Eastern Europe, have been present for many decades. They have been exacerbated by the climate of nationalistic feeling, as well as by the frustrations of dwindling economic opportunities.
Beyond these factors, ethnic division possesses a disturbing and mysterious power all of its own. Just as a conflagration that attracts onlookers, ethnic conflict feeds on its own obscure energy of division. It is the old story of distrust and separation producing further misunderstanding. But in Yugoslavia it is also a new story of change, as cultures grapple with their differences and their common desire to make the transition from a traditional to a modern way of life.
The Markets of Skopje
My wife and I had spent the day among these ethnic Albanians. We had spoken with those who knew some English and communicated with others through signs and gestures. We had shopped in the outdoor markets
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