Spc. Randolf Labastida, from the 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry, patrols the muddy streets of the Serbian village of Pasjan on Saturday, near the U.S. military facility at Camp Monteith, Kosovo. Troops regularly patrol local villages to provide a reminder of the presence international peacekeepers retain in the region. (Ben Murray / S&S)
CAMP MONTEITH, Kosovo — For the untrained eye, it’s impossible to tell which portions of the muddy back alleys in the villages outside of Camp Monteith are Albanian and which are strictly Serbian.
Crumbling stonewalls and haphazard cinderblock buildings are the norm in both, and the ubiquitous geese and stray dogs disregard the ethnic borders.
It is likewise hard to tell which side of the ethnic line people fall on based on their reaction to American troops patrolling the streets on missions to present a show of force and improve community relations.
Regardless of where they are, troops of newly arrived elements of the 40th Infantry Division said last weekend that local residents are usually quick to wave or shake the hand of a passing soldier.
“I would say in all the towns we’ve been pretty welcome,” said Spc. James Dombrowski, from the 578th Engineers’ Company A.
The patrols are a large part of the day-to-day American work in Kosovo, where troops cruise the streets of towns near the two U.S. facilities in the region — Camp Monteith and the larger Camp Bondsteel — to remind both sides that an international presence remains in the province, departing U.S. Brig. Gen. Tod Carmony said Saturday.
The Kosovo Force has acted on behalf of both ethnic populations in recent years: first when troops blasted back Yugoslav forces advancing on Albanians and sealed off the province in 1999, and more recently when soldiers fought to calm Albanian rioting aimed at the Serb minority last March.
“They don’t like each other, and they’re very honest about that,” Dombrowski said. “This is not the land of tolerance.”
But it is a place where American forces are readily accepted, said Sgt. Kevin Barry from the 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry.
“The kids come up, we give ’em candy,” Barry said. “Sometimes the [cafe] owners buy us coffee.”
The attitude also seems to spill over in areas where Serbs and Albanians intermingle, said Sgt. Spencer Davenport, also of the 1st-160th, in what he said was a refreshing contradiction from his expectation that Kosovo was a dour place typified by angry ethnic standoffs.
“Everybody’s just basically friendly to each other,” he said.
