The declaration of independence by what was the Kosovo region of Serbia Feb. 17 has prompted some students to see it as a necessary move, albeit one with questionable methods.
The move for independence follows centuries of tension between Serbia and its southern province of Kosovo, which has a population that is 90 percent ethnic Albanian.
"I agree with the idea of independence for any people who want it," said Bogdan Vitas, a sophomore in the School of International Service and an ethnic Serb. "I think that disagreeing with the freedom of the Kosovars is like disagreeing with freedom itself. However, I disagree with the way in which freedom was achieved. This new freedom will not substantiate itself - it is independence in name alone."
Amanda Mustafic, a sophomore in SIS who is an ethnic Albanian, said she is happy Kosovo declared independence.
"It has been a long time coming," she said. "I think that the U.S. went about promoting it in a crude way, in a way that was not in the best interests of Kosovo. However, I strongly support the movement."
The battle for Kosovo made news often in recent history. In the early 1990s, former president of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic attempted to end the Kosovar separatist movement by carrying out what the United Nations deemed to be ethnic cleansing - the mass murder, rape and mutilation of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Milosevic died before he could stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity.
Serbians consider Kosovo the "cradle" of their cultural, religious and national identity, according to BBC News. Kosovo's bid for independence ignited tensions in an area that, for centuries, has been called the "powder keg" of Europe. European nations are split over recognition of Kosovo as an independent state. The United States has long supported the independence movement, which Serbia calls illegal.
People from the region who immigrated to the U.S. still harbor some of those tensions, but to a lesser extent than people who still live in the area, Mustafic said.
"My father was born in Montenegro, but he considers himself 100 percent ethnic Albanian," she said. "He tells stories of the illustrious history of his village. History is very strong in that part of the world, and the tension between Serbs and Albanians is part of that history. We're not as divided here in the U.S. - Serbs versus Albanians - but that tension does not just go away."
In the U.S., there are numerous strong Serbian and Albanian communities, resembling a "little Italy," where memories of Serbian and Albanian homelands remain strong. According to Mustafic, in the Albanian communities in New York City, there have been parties celebrating Kosovar independence.
