The international force deployed in the summer of 1999 to protect the Albanian population from Serbian armed forces now finds itself protecting Serb villages from Albanian extremists. Protection is still necessary, but even KFOR’s impressive looking tanks cannot guarantee it. On more than one occasion Albanian villagers have tried to push buses off the road when the tanks were too slow to react.
Restrictions on freedom of movement are painful: a young Serb on the bus complains that to see his girlfriend in the next village, he has to notify KFOR two days in advance to provide an armed escort. The myth that a multi-ethnic society can be recreated falls foul of harsh realities.
