Nis:
I stayed at a nice B&B in Nis called the Garden. Highly recommended if anyone finds his or herself going to Nis. The owner/manager, Serbo was my sole participant in Nis. He is a retired doctor with two children who are now in medical school. During the early 1990s Serbo was invited to Kuwait as a guest of the royal family. He stayed there until conflict had fizzled in the region in early the 2000s. He shared with me the general southern-Serbian contempt for American politics. The issue of Kosovo is hotter in Nis than in other parts of Serbia. This is understandable because of the geographic proximity and the fact that Nis was among the most targeted cities by the NATO air strikes in the late 90s. Serbo told me that the Serb way of thinking (which I must say I agree with, despite opposition in the west) is that an independent Kosovo is a precedent for an independent Republika Srpska (currently part of Bosnia and Herzegovina). However, Serbia will never accept Kosovo's independence, according to Serbo. It is the one thing all political parties can agree on. This does not mean that all Serbs have prejudices and dislike all Albanians (Kosovar or not), or vice-versa. Rather, Serbo told me, the people relations are normal. He used to treat Albanians and Kosovar Albanians, but the politicians exacerbate little issues until many of the uneducated people in rural areas (who do not have access to good information) believe that Albanians, and not just Kosovo, are a problem. Serbo pointed to the lack of a consciousness in rural communities about ethnic issues for the ongoing ethnic tensions.
Novi Sad:
I didn't speak to anyone in Novi Sad about the ethnic issues, but I did notice a few things while I was there. First, there are no propaganda banners. In Belgrade "наши 1389" is written and printed on every light post and street corner. This is the claim that Kosovo has been a part of Serbia since 1389 and is therefore "ours." On top of the fact that Novi Sad has been the cleanest (graffiti wise) city that I've seen thus far on my trip, it is also the least affected by poster propaganda. Novi Sad is the largest city in the Vojvodina (Voy-vo-dean-a) region, which is a region, similar to Kosovo, that was not a republic in Fmr. Yugoslavia, but enjoyed a small amount of autonomy. While Serbs enjoy a sizable majority, Vojvodina is also home to ethnic Hungarians, Croats, Albanians, Bulgarians... etc. In Vojvodina, and Serbia as a whole, each of these ethnic minorities has protected rights, such as the right to use their own language in legal situations (with cops, courts... etc) and in areas where there is a big enough minority, the right to have schooling in their own languages. In terms of treatment of minorities, legislation in Serbia is ahead of the curve. In the Vojvodina region, implementation is also ahead of the curve (though it lacks in most other areas).
