In 1847, a famous Montenegrin poet and ruler, Petar II Petrovic-Njegos, published an epic poem titled, “The Mountain Wreath”, which depicts the struggle of the authors’ ancestor to impose order on the country’s warring tribes. The poem’s larger theme delves deep into the Serbia’s past lamenting loss of its identity and fall from grace during Battle of Kosovo in 1389. By many accounts, no other literary figure has elevated Kosovo myth to such heights as Petrovic-Njegos did with his work. The “Mountain Wreath” remains as one of the most celebrated writings in the South Slavic literature and key to the elevation of the Serbian myth. Srdja Pavlovic, a respected Serbian historian, has called Petrovic-Njegos’s work as having “occupied a central stage in the South Slavic myth-making factory” and was used by Serbian nationalists to justify and act on their claims of Greater Serbia.
From Nikola Pasic, the prime minister of Serbia during World War I, to Slobodan Milosevic, the soul-moving, holy scripture-like tale of Kosovo has been at the heart of Serbia’s political fantasies that have wrought havoc to its people and the neighbors. Generations of Serbs have been indoctrinated into the narrative that cosmic injustices have been heaped on Serbian people and whenever they engaged in killing others, it was all in self-defense against the foreigners that had invaded their ancient lands. This is never to suggest that hundreds and thousands of Serbs didn’t perish at the hands of their neighbors, because they did, but the notion of epic victimhood is deeply ingrained into the Serb national psyche and explains why Serbs struggle to atone for the crimes that have been committed on their behalf. The nation continues to live under the shadow of the Mountain Wreath tale as it remains unsure on its footing and struggles with its place among the family of European nations.
Popular history describes the ancient feud between Albanians and Serbs as an epic 600-year-long struggle, but for all practical purposes Serbs and Albanians lived in relative peace for much of that history and often fought side by side in many instances against the Ottomans. The bitter conflict between them flared on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire at the dawn of the 20th century following the Serbian sovereignty from the Ottomans in 1878. The myth of Kosovo was reinvigorated in the 19th century, but the Serb-Albanian conflict came about when Serbia invaded Kosovo and Albania in the fall of 1912. In the process the Serbian army decimated entire villages and committed systematic atrocities against Albanians in Kosovo. As the prominent Serbian historian, Dimitrije Tucovic wrote in “Srbija i Arbanija” (“Serbia and Albania”), it was during this time that Serbia’s violent campaign against Albanians turned them into sworn enemies against Serbs, which until then both had lived in relative peace for centuries. Acting on its medieval claims over Kosovo, Serbia annexed Kosovo and from here on the hatred between Albanians and Serbs was cultivated leading into the century-long struggle between the two nations. This mistrust and hostility, followed by periodic wars and violence has been passed on through generations and continues to define the Serb-Albanian relations.
Today, as reflected by public opinion polls, large numbers of Serbs in Serbia remain hopeless in improving their relations with Kosovo Albanians. In October of 2013, the Belgrade Center for Security Studies and Kosovo Center for Security Studies jointly published a survey of public opinion in Serbia and Kosovo on a wide range of issues in both countries. When those polled in Serbia were asked if it is possible for Albanians and Serbs to live peacefully, only 12 percent of Serbs answered firmly yes while another 24 percent said “yes, but with some problems.” By contrast, 42 percent of Albanians in Kosovo said firmly “yes” while another 27 percent said “it’s possible with some problems.” Despite their horrific sufferings in 1999, 69 percent of Kosovar Albanians still believe in peaceful coexistence with Serbs in Kosovo while the percentages for Serbs in Serbia are only 36 percent.
As I wrote two weeks ago, Serbia’s role in my family has largely been destructive and I grew up in Kosovo during the worst of times in the 1990s. Many Kosovar Albanians have suffered the same, but it’s time for us to unshackle ourselves from the grasp of this history and move on with our lives. On this, I am deeply encouraged by public opinion studies in Kosovo which shows Kosovo Albanians ready and willing to close this painful chapter and move on and start building on a peaceful existence with their Serbian neighbors. Serbs in Serbia, too, should unshackle themselves from the deadly and mythic grasp of the Mountain Wreath tale and start imagining a peaceful future with Albanians.
Most nations and races have gone through horrific conflicts where they killed and have been killed. Institutionalised slavery in America during 18th and 19th centuries is probably the darkest and most shameful episode in American history. And while racial discrimination is still a fact of life in the U.S., a black man today occupies the presidency of that country. More importantly, every time Americans see Michelle Obama, the first lady, whose ancestors were slaves in the 1850s, they are reminded of how far they’ve traveled in their journey of reconciliation and peace. While the third American president, Thomas Jefferson, was a farsighted person, he was wrong to assume that blacks and whites would never be able to live in peace next to each other.
Those Serbs who harbor the same cynicism about peace between Albanians and Serbs must resist this ingrained belief because peaceful coexistence is and must be a national priority for them. Serbs in Serbia should resist the mythic narrative, which has become a potent weapon for career politicians and thugs who feel insecure in their own skin and seek glory in the verses of “Mountain Wreath” and similar fictional works. As Srdja Popovic wrote: “one should not forget the fact that [when reading ‘Mountain of Wreath’] what one is reading is a work of literature … as a tale of a long-gone heroic tribal society that was poeticized..” It’s time for Serbs to heed Popovic’s advice and enjoy these literary works, but not confuse them with reality.