The Economist ~ Thoughts on Kosovo

Day 1,418, 04:10 • Published in Sweden United Kingdom • by Spite313


Dear friends,

I have always hesitated to approach such a difficult issue as Kosovo, and in my opinion such RL things are totally irrelevant to this game. However, the admins make their money from aggravating racial tension IRL for profits, so I feel like it has been thrust on us all. In a few days there will be a war over Kosovo between the supporters of the Serbian people and the supporters of the Albanians. It is nothing more than a deliberate attempt to split friends and allies, to make people hate for no reason.

Almost sixty percent of all the ethnic Albanians in the world live outside of Albania. That is why, when the call came to introduce Albania, there was such a rising: People standing up around the world, declaring “I am Albanian” and fighting for its introduction. So what will we end up with? A state founded on nationalist principles; another hotbed of war in the Balkans; more gold buyers; more money for the admins.

In all the time I have played this game I have worked closely with the Serbian community. Despite the fact our countries have been in a technical state of war twice in the last twenty years, we have never once had that brought up. We are here to build a new world, not dredge up the remnants of the old. When Serbia was added to the map, a lot of people in Serbia asked “Where is Kosovo?” I breathed a sigh of relief that it hadn’t been added- that it would remain an issue which simply was not raised. Some Serbs will say that Kosovo should be part of Serbia because of legal definitions, or RL recognition. I accept those arguments. However I would rather not have it in the game at all.

In the eUK we tried to build a tolerant, multicultural society. People from all over the world went there because of our native language being a bit of a lingua franca. In the rest of the eWorld the Dutch and the Polish might be mortal enemies, in the eUK they are British and brothers and accepted as such without question. In my opinion that is the ideal for any country- to ditch an identity associated with one race or nation of people and instead build a society based on values and common solidarity.

In my opinion the introduction of Kosovo is nothing more than an attempt to break down relations within Serbia, and within the game as a whole. To pit people who value Kosovan independence against those who know Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. To make a region into a bomb, and to drop it into the middle of established relationships and see what happens.

Well I can only speak for myself, but I will say this: I don’t give a damn about nationalism, or which race owns which bit of land. I am not English ethnically, and I would never say I am English. I am stuck in a nearly endless war with a country in erep which 100% of my family is from, and of which a good part of them still live. UK is not a nation, it is a state. And so I will look at this very simply.

Serbia is my ally, and I will support them. I will go on supporting them over the region of Kosovo simply because of our friendship. I might have different reasons to do so than the Serbs who want Kosovo as a part of their country. But that doesn’t matter to me, what matters is that in my opinion a Serbia with Kosovo would be stronger than one without Kosovo.

I know a lot of people in the world will find themselves unsure of who to vote for in the upcoming poll. I suggest you look at it my way. This is not a poll on whether you, or your RL country, should support Kosovan independence. This is a poll about eSerbia.

Iain