Montenegrins of Kosovo
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Montenegrins form an ethnic minority in Kosovo.
The Montenegrins were mostly concentrated in the municipalities of Peć, Priština, Kosovska Mitrovica, Istok, Dečani, and Đakovica. Though, during the period of 1961-1981, the Montenegrins disappeared from 243 settlements, which, combined with the 760 settlements that had no Montenegrin inhabitants in 1961, gives a total of 1,003 settlements without a single Montenegrin inhabitant.
During and after discrimination by Albanians, many Montenegrins moved from Kosovo to Montenegro or to Serbia proper.
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[edit] History
[edit] Discrimination by Albanians
During the Albanian demonstrations in Kosovo, Montenegrins along with Serbs were being discrimanated. Apparently, the younger generation of the Albanians on Kosovo headed the conflict. The reasons often given for the fights and clashes included field damages, being forced to sell house and land and attacks on Serbs and Montenegrins for no reason.
Women from emigrant Serbian and Montenegrin families were not spared harassment, fear, and even physical assaults and drastic cases of attack, especially when they went out without male accompaniment, even in bigger towns.
According to many of the Kosovar respondants, girls were not even safe at school, where Serbian and Montenegrin schoolgirls were exposed to various kinds of "minor" "unpleasantness" (having yogurt or flour thrown in their face, being cursed at and harassed with sentences like:"Come over here so I can f... you". Because of the dangers lurking on the way to and from school, and in school itself, many girls dropped out of school.
The value for good relations and separation systematically increases with the rise in the number of Serbs and Montenegrins, whereas the value of the index for verbal and physical abuse declines. Consequently, the rule seems to be that Serbian and Montenegrin children become more at risk when Serbs and Montenegrins are less numerous in the ethnic structure of the municipality. One can discern a dynamic aspect as parallel with the decline in the share of Serbs and Montenegrins in the ethnic structure of the municipality, discrimination against Serbian and Montenegrin children grew.
There were various forms of discrimination against Serbs and Montenegrins in the sphere of shopping, which worked directly against the end-purpose of sales.
A particular aspect of discrimination was the boycott of Serbian and Montenegrin vendors, be it at the market or in stores. One of the respondents said that his firm had assigned him to be the only salesman in the strictly Albanian part of town. Since nobody was willing to buy from him, and sales were down, they simply closed down the store. There were not infrequent cases of rude behavior by Albanian shop-workers toward Serbian and Montenegrin customers, including insults, provocations or, when possible, palming off inferior goods or refusing to sell goods at all. The poll also showed that Serbs and Montenegrins were served in shops only when there was not a single Albanian customer, regardless of who was next in line.
Montenegrin, along with Serbian bus drivers in Kosovo encountered all sorts of dangers:
One Kosovar-Montenegrin bus driver responded: They push people around. I once was made to drive an Albanian on the bus to his house, off the main bus line. If you try to say "No", they just take out a pistol and say: 'Go back to Montenegro, go back to where you came from, we'll kill your kids if you refuse to obey."
Even health institutions were not spared the general trend toward discrimination in Kosovo. Although this study did not examine the attitude of Albanians toward Serbs and Montenegrins in health institutions, though some people said that there was the lack of proper health care, and even fear of turning to Albanian doctors for help, increased the sense of unsafely and risk. Among the factors compelling people to move away, health carried a specific weight of its own. There is no question that reports of discrimination in the field of health spread quickly among the Serbs and Montenegrins and probably influenced their decisions to move away. Direct discrimination in the sphere of health was facilitated and encouraged by the exodus of Serbian and Montenegrin doctors, who were obstructed from doing their work.
Discrimination against Serbs and Montenegrins in firms can be divided into discrimination in hiring policy and discrimination on the job. Bilingualism as a condition of employment, or, to be more precise, knowledge of Albanian on the part of Serbs and Montenegrins, in jobs that require it (judges, doctors) and in those that do not: bilingualism was neither demanded of Albanians nor tested in the same way. Albanians prevented Serbs and Montenegrins from holding certain jobs and posts which presumed more power and influence. There were special problems in employing Serbian and Montenegrin women and their work. Discrimination at work was simpler to carry out if the line of discrimination overlapped with the line of the division of labor, i e. with the division into management and executive jobs. That is why with time Serbs and Montenegrins were edged out of management jobs. The position of Serbs and Montenegrins as managers in the firm took two forms. First, as the objects of discrimination, and then as the abettors of discrimination against their compatriots, so as to hold on to their own jobs. Serbs and Montenegrins were edged out of management jobs and companies at large, meaning they were edged out of Kosovo, in a variety of ways, say the respondents: by early retirement, closing down jobs - especially in schooling and education, where the reason given was the dwindling number of Serbian and Montenegrin children, while larger classes were formed elsewhere - being transferred to other jobs (sometimes outside of the place of residence, in transport, education, health), deprivation of rights and being fired. Dismissals were often based on unlawful decisions, intrigue, or simply given without explanation.
Some Serbian and Montenegrin Kosovars made statements about this: Out of ten people looking for work, eight Albanians, one Moslem and one Serb or Montenegrin get hired. The advantage he had was that he was an Albanian. The Albanian didn't even know how to sign his name but he got the job. Priority was given to Albanians who came down from the mountains, brought their children with them and immediately got jobs and housing loans. They didn't hire Serbs with grade school, but they hired Albanians who hadn't finished grade school as managers. Albanians could get and change jobs even without family connections, and without diplomas. But with us, neither helped. The Albanians were given priority because of "bilingualism", although some of them didn't know Serbian. Unlike Serbs, Albanians were not called to account for not working. - Relations at the firm were not good. Management posts were filled along national lines There was some kind of cooperation at lower levels, but none at higher levels. There were more Albanians in the organs of management, all decisions were passed "according to the law", but there was pressure. Relations were very bad, they made us move out. They dismissed Montenegrin and Serbian managers, gave poorer jobs to Montenegrins and Serbs. The manager told us that we would have to leave the firm. Relations at work weren't bad, although Albanians were the first to get apartments and managerial jobs. It was worse when Montenegrins or Serbs were bosses, they tried to accommodate the Albanians. We didn't have any particular unpleasantness, except that in 1976 my wife lost her job. If the boss was an Albanian, he supported his own people, and Serbs supported the Albanians in order to hold on to their jobs. It was worse when the boss was a Montenegrin or Serb, they tried to accommodate the Albanians. want to explain in greater detail what made me leave Kosovo. At work I was in a management position (director of the department). In 1978, when the vehicles were divided up by sector (heavy-duty trucks), these expensive and complicated machines were entrusted to Albanian drivers who until yesterday had known nothing else but tractors. Serbian and Montenegrin drivers, who were used to and schooled for these trucks got tractors and wrecks of vehicles to drive. An Albanian driver's truck broke down on the road. He left it without any sign or light to make it visible. It was night. A bus-load of passengers crashed into it. There were dead and injured people. In the morning a delegation of his relatives appeared and started threatening that they would kill me, molest my family if I punished or started proceedings against him. - In 1968 they forced 12 of us Serbs to retire in our prime, so as to hire Albanians for our jobs. I was the president of the municipality. One day they got rid of me. I retired prematurely. They always gave me the worst jobs. They closed down my son's job while he was in the army. Relations in the firm were not good, although Albanians were the first to get apartments and managerial jobs. My wife couldn't get an apartment although she had four children, but Albanian girls got apartments. After the 1968 demonstrations I refused (as a Serbo-Croatian school teacher) to put on the white Albanian skull cap of an Albanian colleague who, together with the school principal, had taken part in the demonstrations. I was fired without explanation. Working Serbian and Montenegrin women were in a particularly difficult position, according to the respondents, because they were discriminated against not only on ethnic grounds but also as women. Serbs had to work three shifts, Albanians only the first. We held our tongues and minded our own business. We couldn't complain when Albanians were given privileges, when they took paid leave of absence, while we had deductions taken off of our salaries for all and sundry. Serbs and the others received the same amount as Albanians for much longer work. Relations were poor. Albanians were more protected than Serbs. I finished my schooling in normal time, the director brought in an illiterate and gave him the same salary I received. We got the same salary although I was the foreman and he was a laborer. My father, who had a high school diploma, worked as a warehouse clerk, while the director, an Albanian, had only four years of grade school.
One respondant from Kosovo said: "Relations in the settlement were bad. Young Albanians started carrying nationalistic symbols, spitting at the old Serbs and Montenegrins, beating up Serbian and Montenegrin children, threatening, toting knives and chains. Many of the answers, especially those dealing with relations among children, to which we shall return in greater detail later, speak of the aggressiveness of Albanian children". [1]
Another respondant from Kosovo said: The settlement of Albanians from Albania had not only an indirect effect on the deterioration of relations (by reducing the share of Serbs and Montenegrins in the ethnic structure), it also had a direct affect, by increasing discrimination primarily by evermore open and "serious" means. On the other hand, perhaps possible conflicts between the old-timers and new-comer Albanians, especially among younger generations, were removed and rechanneled through cooperation in discriminating against Serbs and Montenegrins. The homogenization of ethnic groups is certainly the result of discrimination in both groups.[2]
[edit] Demographics
- 1948 census - 28,050, 3.9% of total populace
- 1953 census - 31,343, 3.9% of total populace
- 1961 census - 37,588, 3.9% of total populace
- Peć - 12,701, 33.8% of total Montenegrin populace
- 1971 census - 31,555, 2.5% of total populace
- 1981 census - 27,028, 1.7% of total populace
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- "The Migration of Serbs and Montenegrins from Kosovo" Part III, Demographic Studies Volume III, by Ruža Petrović and Marina Blagojević of SANU, Department of Social Studies
