Community Sets Aside Dissent at Vigil

Students and community members set aside their partisan differences last night at a candlelight vigil for the people of Kosovo on the steps of Memorial Church.

"Tonight's rally is not about what NATO is doing. It's about the people of Kosovo," said Darryl C. Li '01, the event's organizer, at the start of the vigil.

"The purpose of the vigil is to show support and sympathy for the people of Kosovo...We're looking to reflect...and to show that there are people who care [and] who are aware," he added

Stressing that the vigil was not a political event, Li said that sympathy for the Albanians in Kosovo goes beyond one's political beliefs about the situation.

"One can disagree with the NATO bombing and still deplore the crimes against humanity that are being committed by the Yugoslavian forces against the people of Kosovo," Li said.

Leon Lonstein, president of the New England Albanian Relief Organization, who spoke at the vigil, emphasized the need for non-partisan aid for Kosovo.

"I don't want to get into a political harangue with people," Lonstein said. "We have people who are in need and I want to help them. I want to go to sleep at night knowing that maybe we saved some lives."

Many of those in attendance agreed that it was important to set aside political differences in order to focus on the tragedy unfolding in Yugoslavia.

"I really hope to participate in an expression of solidarity and thoughtfulness against the crimes that are being committed by all sides," said Paul Roehrig, a Belmont resident, who is against the NATO bombing.

Mustafa M. Siddiqui '99-'00, who said he believes that NATO intervention is necessary, also said that he attended the vigil in order to think about, and inspire others to think about, the Serbians' persecution of ethnic Albanians and the NATO bombings.

"I think especially after Bosnia earlier in this decade we in the U.S. and in the rest of the world have become accustomed to seeing images like the ones were seeing from Kosovo right now. And in as sense we have become somewhat inured to those images so they no longer horrify us as they should," said Siddiqui, who is the treasurer of the Harvard Islamic Society and a Crimson editor.

"I feel [the vigil is] a very big step toward letting people actually feel the impact of the situation that's arisen across the ocean," he said.

Lonstein spoke mostly of his organization's relief work in Kosovo and Albania, and Li told the audience that he hoped the vigil would be a springboard for future action.

"This is a night for sympathy and to express solidarity, but I hope that tomorrow and the days after will hold more--will hold action," he said.

After the speech Li passed out a list of relief organizations working in Kosovo and asked those at the vigil--whatever their opinions on the situation in Yugoslavia--to help Kosovars and Albanians in need.

Not everyone was ready to go home, however, after the speech ended. Some felt that not enough time had been spent on simple reflection.

"I don't know if the speech captured why we came here exactly," one student yelled out from the crowd. "I'd like to spend a little more time trying to bear witness to what's happening in Kosovo."

He then led the crowd in a spontaneous round of "We Shall Overcome."

But not all voices were unanimous in their support of the vigil's purpose. Some felt that the vigil did not address the most important question about Kosovo--what ought to be done now.

Holding a sign saying "U.S./NATO, Hands off the Balkans!" and handing out leaflets condemning NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia, Cambridge activist George Bryant said the vigil should have questioned the legitimacy of NATO's actions.

"The real question [that we should be addressing] is, is the U.S. doing this for human rights, or are they preying on suffering peoples?" Bryant said.

Many of those who attended the discussion in Ticknor Lounge following the vigil agreed with Bryant that there ought to have been more discussion of the West's policy in Kosovo.

"I think it's very important to do relief work... but I was expecting that there is some common mind [on the issue]," said one woman. "What do we think about NATO's involvement?"