What's Happening in Kosovo today?
A film that breaks the silence.
Interview:
Michel Collon and Vanessa Stojilkovic on their new film
The Damned of Kosovo
(Interview: Antoine Renard. Translation: Mick Collins)
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Chased from her apartment in Pristina, Maria would not have had a life
except that she looked Albanian. Her nephew, an interpretor for the UN,
was savagely murdered. Silvana's husband was kidnapped, and she hasn't
had any news about him for two years. Stanimir's home was burned down.
What do they have in common? They are Serbs and live, or rather
survive, in Kosovo. Why don't the media talk more about this region
occupied by NATO? The new film by Michel Collon and Vanessa Stojilkovic
breaks the silence. And sounds an alarm to all people now threatened by
these wars of globalization. . . .
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How did this film come to be?
Michel Collon. I did this report on Kosovo to get a first hand look at
the current situation of the Serbs and other national minorities. I
remembered what Bill Clinton said just as he began the bombing of
Yugoslavia: "Our resolve is the only hope for the people of Kosovo to be
able to live in their own country. Imagine if we closed our eyes and if
these people were massacred, right on NATO's doorstep. It would be
discredited."
Clinton spoke of the Albanians. But today, what about the Serbs and
the other national minorities, the Roma [Gypsies], Gorans, Turks,
Egyptians, Muslims . . . who have lived in Kosovo for centuries? Are
they secure with 45,000 NATO troops in their country?
And what did you see?
Michel Collon. An accumulation of suffering that no one could imagine
here.
But the media don't speak to us about Kosovo anymore. Isn't the
situation there under control? Michel Collon. Quite the contrary! What
I saw was: bombing attacks, assassinations, expulsions and the
destruction of homes, kidnappings and families in anguish, constant
threats . . . The situation is overwhelming: A veritable ethnic
cleansing that has run off a large part of the non-Albanian population
and has terrorized those who've stayed.
What were you able to show concretely?
Michel Collon. About twenty interviews give the victims a chance to
speak out. Their testimonies, dignified but full of emotion, brought
tears to my eyes. It was absolutely necessary to pass on their tragic
message. To break the media silence that currently surrounds Kosovo.
Their fate is a terrible warning to all people: an occupation by the
US, or by the NATO powers, is in no way a solution. On the contrary, it
guarantees terrible suffering for all the people of these occupied
regions.
The presence of NATO troops has not put a stop to the violence? Michel
Collon. Not only has it not stopped the violence, but the film shows
several exclusive documents that reveal NATO's complicity with the
authors of this violence: the militias of the KLA separatists.
Did you have any problems in making the film?
Michel Collon. Of course, in such a climate of terror, a Serb cameraman
is risking his life if he films in a 'non-Albanian' zone. But I had the
good fortune to work with a very motivated crew. Some very courageous
people to whom I owe a great deal.
Vanessa, how did you get involved in the project?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. At 25, I had already tried several different jobs
in the photographic media, including being an editor. After a contact
through the internet, Michel Collon offered me the opportunity to
re-start the writing and editing of his film, which had broken down
because of some health problems his previous director had. I accepted
immediately.
Because you're French but from Yugoslavia?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. Yes and no. Yes, because in fact I had several
members of my family who died or suffered terribly in this war. I was
very distressed by it. Then, this film allowed me to fulfill the
promise I had made to them down there: To bring the truth to the West.
Unfortunately, many of them are already dead and others soon will be.
The stress of the war and the bombing provoked enormous problems of
hypertension that they didn't have the means to treat. And cancer is
growing at an alarming rate. People are dying in misery. The toll of
the war for all of Yugoslavia is not just reflected by the number of
dead, but also by the physical and psychological conditions of those who
survived. And their lack of any future.
Michel Collon truly gave me a gift when he offered me the primary
material of the interviews he put together. And his cogent analyses
that tie this war, in such a clear fashion, to the movement for
globalization. In assembling and shaping this material, I was able to
give voice to my pain, to keep my promise, and to grieve.
Michel Collon. In fact it's Vanessa who gave me a marvelous gift. I
worked four days on the filming. She worked four months on the editing.
Not at all easy, as I am not a professional filmmaker, and what I
brought to the film was in itself not really very significant. Thanks
to her, thanks to her remarkable commitment, many people in the world
will be able to discover a very important reality.
Does this film address itself only to the Serbs?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. Not at all! My principal motivation was above all
to open the eyes of all the 'native� French or all the people of Western
Europe who have been misinformed. To make them aware, for example, that
we have been depriving the non-Albanians of decent health care: People
are dying because they don't have anything to treat them with, because
they don't have the necessary medical equipment. That Serb children
don't have schools to go to. That a hundred churches have been
destroyed. And that all this is still going on.
Is this a 'pro-Serb' film?
Michel Collon. No. First, it also states the case for other national
minorities, those who have also been persecuted, 'cleansed'. The Roma
(Gypsies), for example, chased off all over Europe, these days. And
murdered in Kosovo. And also the Jews, Gorans, Muslims, Turks,
Egyptians... Minorities about whom silence is dominating.
And then, many Albanians find themselves equally victimized by a
mafia system based on terror. One of them was able to testify in front
of our camera. He was persecuted because he married a Serb!
In fact, I am neither pro-Serb, nor pro-Albanian. I think that all
these people find themselves victims of hidden strategies: The US
wanted, just like their allies, to destroy Yugoslavia which they saw as
too Leftist. They wanted to control the oil routes that pass precisely
through there. They wanted to install their super-base, Camp Bondsteel.
And they have succeeded, by utilizing --no, by themselves inciting--
this conflict between the Serbs and the Albanians.
Do you know that presently Washington has signed 99 year leases for
all the runways used by its bombers? Could someone explain to us how
these bombers will help resolve the problems of the people of Kosovo?
A much wider strategic objective, then?
Michel Collon. Exactly. This military base brings the US bombers very
close to Moscow and to the Caucauses. It is part of a larger plan of
encirclement, because Washington doesn't think Putin and his current
positions will necessarily last forever. And moreover, by breaking up
Yugoslavia as part of a global plan they sent out this message to the
people of the world: If you resist globalization, you will be
destroyed.
An editorial in the New York Times on the eve of the war had
already clearly stated this: "For globalization to work, America must
not demure from acting like the omnipotent super-power that it is. The
invisible hand of the market never functions without the hidden fist.
McDonalds cannot prosper without McDonnel Douglas, the builder of the
F-15 fighter. And the hidden fist that guarantees a secure world for
the technologies of the Silicon Valley is called the US Army, Air Force,
Navy and Marines."
You have written several books on these themes. Why a film? Michel
Collon. I realized that this medium allows one to touch those who don't
read. And it is ideal for stimulating debate. Each person can easily
give a cassette to a friend, a relative. Or organize at his home a
little screening and discussion.
And this is urgent because Mr Bush has announced that he will attack
a number of other countries. A great reason for progressives to resume
the discussion of what happened in Yugoslavia. Did the results of the
NATO intervention correspond to its promises? Are there other hidden
interests here? Was public opinion manipulated by the media lies?
Yugoslavia, is this a preview of what will happen to Iraq, Palestine and
others? Michel Collon. Yes. Globalization, that's the war,
essentially. The policies of the multinationals only widen the gap
between the rich and poor on this planet. War became the number one
method to break their resistance. The war against the Palestinians and
the Iraqis, 'Plan Columbia', the interventionist agression against the
Congo, threats against Iran, Syria, North Korea, all that is part of the
same global war.
Vanessa Stojilkovic. The young people organized against globalization
must inform themselves more seriously on these wars. A country that has
used chemical weapons like Agent Orange, depleted uranium bombs and
other such filth can not be allowed to manipulate us and to make us
believe that it waged this war for the liberties and the rights of Man.
We can't let them rule the world and organize these wars in the
financial interests of the multinationals. And I'm also angry at the
European nations that were complicit and profited from this war.
This film is a testiment, a warning, a call for help. For the
people of Kosovo and for all the people who are threatened. The next
time NATO or the Euro Army prepare to bomb another country, the people
of the NATO countries must rise up and intervene on a mass scale to stop
their governments.
A previous film, �Under NATO Bombs�, was translated into many languages.
What about this one? Vanessa Stojilkovic. I have just finished the
Serbo-Croat version. And other translations are in the works. With the
new technologies for editing on computer, you can easily replace one
track on the editing, for example, the voice-over track or the
subtitles, with another. We have already started for translations in
Spanish, Russian, Dutch. And we think that the English and Arabic
versions, maybe German and Italian, will also be very useful. For all
that, and for a maximun distribution, we're looking for help.
Because the fate inflicted on Yugoslavia threatens other countries?
Michel Collon. Exactly. This film speaks to all the people of the
world. Kosovo was a warning to the whole planet. All people who do not
want to live on their knees, all countries who want to determine their
own destinies, risk being hit by this global war that Mr Bush and his
pals are planning. The only issue is to create a huge international
front of resistence to this war.
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