Serbs cross ethnic divide, travel to Albania to find brides
Sagonjevo, 280km south of
Belgrade
1. Wide of
Zoran Tomic and wife Edmonda Kardaku driving a tractor
2. Mid of chicken
3. Mid of Tomic and Kardaku getting off the tractor
4. Wide of house
5. Mid of couple sitting on the the porch in front of the house
6. SOUNDBITE (
Albanian) Edmonda Kardaku, married to Zoran Tomic, a
Serb:
"It was by chance for me, that I came here. I said my yes but never though I''d come here. But, it''s
God''s will. There were others that asked and it wasn''t only
Zoran, but God who sent me here."
7. SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Edmonda Kardaku, married to Zoran Tomic, a Serb:
"I heard from our elders that they were at war with the
Serbs in the past. But now that is all over. There is no more war."
8. SOUNDBITE (
Serbian) Zoran Tomic, married to Edmonda Kardaku, an Albanian:
"When I went there we could not come up with an agreement in one day. This is why I had to stay one more day to negotiate and we negotiated until late at night."
9.
Cutaway of couple
10. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Zoran Tomic, married to Edmonda Kardaku, an Albanian:
"After that I had to return (to
Serbia) to apply for her visa, to buy a necklace, ring and everything that was required."
11. Cutaway of couple
12.
Couple working in greenhouse
13. Couple leaving
Sjenica, 250 km southwest of Belgrade
14. Wide of Momir Kovacevic, Humanitarian
Foundation "
Stara Raska" activist, working on the computer
15.
Close up of hand
16. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Momir Kovacevic, Humanitarian Foundation "Stara Raska" activist:
"We helped around 40 families with
500 euros each (when they arrived in Serbia). We, together with the officials from Belgrade, help all
Albanian women who fulfil all the conditions get (
Serbian) citizenship."
17. Cutaway of photograph from "Stara Raska" book showing Albanian women wearing t-shirts with Serbian and Albanian flags
18. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Momir Kovacevic, Humanitarian Foundation "Stara Raska" activist:
"They (Serbian men) jumped over (the ethnic) barriers and decided to marry women from
Skadar (in
Albania)."
Belgrade
19. Wide of
Serbian Parliament building
20. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Gordana Comic, deputy
Parliament speaker:
"
It''s not human trafficking if the marriage is her voluntary decision and she has the right of choice. But if someone is forcing her into the marriage, it''s a crime."
21.
Women walking on the street
22. SOUNDBITE (Serbian)
Maja Savic,
NGO Atina:
"We as a NGO have not had any complaints from the Albanian brides, but we definitely should pay attention to that.
The government and institutions should also take responsibility to pay them a visit sometimes, to provide these women with some information, of whom they can turn to in case they find themselves in difficult situations."
23. Women walking on the street
STORYLINE:
Not in her wildest dreams did Edmonda ever imagine she''d marry a man like Zoran, have his baby and live in his country.
She''s an Albanian Muslim, he''s an
Orthodox Christian Serb - and their people have been mired in a web of ethnic and religious hatred over
Kosovo''s bloody war for independence.
But Edmonda Kardaku did wed Zoran Tomic last December, joining hundreds of compatriots, mostly Muslims or
Roman Catholics, who have broken deep taboos by marrying men from rural Serbia, where women have been fleeing to the cities or abroad and causing an alarming population decline.
Serbia and Albania have been uneasy neighbours for generations.
But when war exploded over ethnic Albanian-dominated Kosovo''s attempt to break from Serbia in the late
1990s, disdain turned to murderous rage.
Kosovo''s 2008 independence declaration, backed by most of the international community, deepened animosities.
Zoran, 37, says he represents a new generation that''s free of such bigotry.
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