Miami student helps keep the peace in Kosovo.

The words of Hugo Caminos, a professor of international law at the University of Miami School of Law, stuck with student Steve Janko long after he left the classroom.

Caminos had told his students about the importance of putting politics aside in working with the international community to help refugees.

And Janko, an LL.M. student in international law, grabbed the opportunity to follow his heart and do something to help. He took the fall 2000 semester off from his legal studies and joined a peacekeeping effort by over 40 countries to help refugees returning to their homes in Kosovo. Janko helped ensure elections went smoothly, protected churches from sabotage, searched vehicles for weapons, and promoted peace through interviews on Kosovo radio shows.

"I will never forget the children of Kosovo who have yet to be affected by ethnic hatred," Janko said. "I visited a school one day and observed Albanian and Serbian children playing together. During my radio interviews on Kosovo's airways, I encouraged the parents in Kosovo not to teach their children to hate. If I reached at least one parent, it was worth my trip over there."

Already a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, Janko called Army headquarters in Europe and asked to be assigned to Kosovo as a peacekeeper. Because he was a reservist, all that was required was additional brief training in Germany on how to search for land mines and vehicles for weapons, and how to react to sniper attacks.

"I wished to do something unselfish at least once in my life by volunteering," Janko explainsd. "There is a quote which says, 'You have not truly lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.' This quote made me think that we in the United States have many resources to help those in need around the world. It would be a waste not to help our fellow human beings."

About 40,000 troops from 40 countries participated in the United Nations mission, about 5,600 from the U.S. NATO was assisted by non-NATO countries, such as Russia and Ukraine, to help the region build: lasting peace by encouraging Kosovo's two major ethnic groups -- 88 percent Albanians and 10 percent Serbians -- to work together to secure peace.

The Albanians had been pursuing a non-violent separation from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia until the movement erupted into an armed rebellion in early 1999...