Kosovo continues to have emotional, political and economic bonds with the country that 20 years ago led a western intervention in its war with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
In the 1990s Kosovo’s first president, Ibrahim Rugova, ended his news conferences every Friday with the words “God bless America and our western friends”. The phrase stuck with the public and the sentiment only grew stronger when Bill Clinton ordered Nato to bomb Serbian targets during the Kosovo war in 1999.
- Klinton Bajgora, 13, named in honour of Bill Clinton, sits between his parents at their home in Podujevo.
Nowadays it is hard to find any physical trace of the war. A generation has grown up in an environment of peace and relative stability. However, that pro-US sentiment is still present.
- A large American flag, along with slogans of thanks to Bill Clinton and some of the countries that recognised the independence of Kosovo, painted in 2008 on a wall in Gjilan.
- A dress shop in Pristina.
One of the main roads in the capital, Pristina, is called Bulevardi Bill Klinton, for the US president at the time of the war. Other roads, as well as schools and sports centres, are named after Clinton’s secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, the US congressman Eliot Engel, the former president George Bush and the leaders of other Nato member countries including the UK’s Tony Blair, of whom Kosovo is particularly fond.
Independence Day
Every 4 July, Independence Day in the US, firefighters in Pristina clean a statue of Bill Clinton in a central square and replace the American flag that flies nearby. The ceremony is organised by the Association of Friends of America in Kosovo and is attended by public and military officials and representatives of the US embassy.
- Kosovan guards during the flag-change ceremony.
There is also an annual children’s basketball tournament called Thank You USA to mark Independence Day.
- Participants in the basketball tournament.
American troops have been present in Kosovo since 1999 as part of a Nato peacekeeping mission. Today there are 600-700 US Nato soldiers on Kosovan soil.
- US and Kosovan military officials meet in Ferizaj.
The mayor of Llashticë, a town in south-east Kosovo, is a big fan of the US and has invested thousands of euros in recent years in decorating the town with stars and stripes and posters that refer to key moments in the course of the war.
State 51
Many American companies and institutions have economic and labour links with Kosovo.
- Restaurant Route 66 in Pristina.
- A farewell celebration in a bar in Pristina for someone who will soon move to the US to work.
- US military uniforms and other items for sale at the Sunday flea market in Fushë Kosova, outside Pristina
- Agim Rexhepi, president of the Association of Friends of America in Kosovo, poses for a portrait in his office in Pristina. Right: Arlind Basha displays his tattoo of an eagle with verses in English that refer to the Kosovan Albanian national identity.
The Vali Ranch leisure complex in Perlepnicë, near the city of Gjilan, seeks to recreate elements of the American West and US culture.
- A Vali Ranch worker returns a horse to the stables after a jump show.
There are numerous gun ranges in Kosovo, many of them opened by the state after the war. They also act as a way to control gun ownership in Kosovo.
- Inside a shooting range in Obiliq, on the outskirts of Pristina.
Throughout Kosovo there are many private houses, restaurants, hotels and public buildings built as imitations of the White House.
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