Albini was born in Zagreb, Croatia, but left when he was seven years old. He traveled to Israel and Austria, where he attended medical school, before coming to the Buffalo in 1974.

Today, Albini remains in touch with relatives who still live in Croatia and visits the region once or twice a year. "My cousin and his wife are both doctors in Zagreb," says Albini. "They don't live in luxury, but are probably a little better off than many there. Nevertheless, their incomes are off significantly from what they were before the war." Fortunately, Albini adds, there has been very little direct combat lately in Zagreb, the Croatian capital.

"When I was on sabbatical in Austria in 1991, I was no further from Zagreb than Albany is from Buffalo," Albini recalled. In June 1991, Serb-controlled forces attacked Slovenia, the northwesternmost state of the former Yugoslavia, and then Croatia. "It was eerie and shocking to be on the phone with my cousin and suddenly hear sirens in the background signaling them to proceed to the bomb shelter," he said, lamenting that summer's bombing of the 500-year old city of Dubrovnik and the reduction to virtual ruins of the great Croat city of Vukovar.

Soviet domination of Yugoslavia created an air of oppression roughly through the time of Albini's childhood. "I remember going into the lobby of a hotel in Zagreb which usually had a painting of (Russian Leader Joseph) Stalin at one end and (Yugoslav Dictator Joseph Broz) Tito at the other," said Albini. "But the one of Stalin was gone and I asked, 'Where is Uncle Stalin?' My father quickly hushed me. Many people were arrested during this time, for no apparent reason." Shortly thereafter, Yugoslavia broke away from the Soviet sphere of influence, although it remained a communist state. With the death of Tito in 1980, those vestiges of communism that remained, quickly unraveled. Failing to agree on a new system of governance, the Serbians became military aggressors, starting the protracted battle, said Albini.

Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Serbia were all "federal states" of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, an uncomfortable federation of states forged after World War I. "It was uncomfortable," Albini explained, "because the Western parts of Yugoslavia were historically influenced by Western Europe, while the eastern parts were under Turkish rule."

The region's tensions also have deep religious roots, continued Albini. Descendants of the ancient Kingdom of Bosnia Catholics are today called Bosnian Croats, comprising roughly 20 percent of modern Bosnia. Descendants of Eastern Orthodox Christianity are now Bosnian Serbs, accounting for just over 30 percent of the population, and those who accepted Islam over Christianity are today known as Muslim Slavs and comprise almost half the population. "Despite all this, up until the 1990s, I used to look at Yugoslavia as living together peacefully," says Albini. "But the breakup has intensified these religious and ethnic differences."

Both Croatia and Slovenia have endured some fighting on their soil. However, the smaller state of Bosnia-Herzegovina, about the size of the state of West Virginia, has endured the most extensive damage. Bosnia had nearly 4.4 million residents until 1992. Intense ethnic fighting since has killed hundreds of thousands of Bosnians and forced nearly one-half to flee the region altogether.

Albini believes that, although outside observers may explain the conflict in this historic context, "many of the residents were very surprised that fighting erupted. There has always been peace among the sects and extensive inter-ethnic marriages." To Albini, the roots of war lie in Serbia's ultra-nationalistic 'ruthless politics.' "Serbia was the largest republic and it was the banking and import/export headquarters of the confederacy," he explained. "Croatia was more a 'blue-collar' and tourism state and Bosnia was the poorest of the states. But, Serbia wanted to dominate the region and sought to claim any areas where any Serbs resided."

Albini has been active in the efforts of International Medical Relief of Western New York, a group of area physicians who have traveled to Bosnia and have brought Bosnian doctors and nurses to Western New York for specialized training. The organization has been spearheaded by Buffalo General Hospital heart surgeon Dr. Jacob Bergsland and Dr. Riyaz Hassanali, a local plastic surgeon. Recently, the chief of surgery and the director of the largest hospital in Tuzla, the Bosnian city housing the headquarters of United Nations peacekeeping forces, came to UB to enhance the relationship between the Buffalo and Tuzla medical communities. "Dr. Bergsland is from Norway but had been stationed in Tuzla, and developed close ties to the hospitals there," explained Albini.

Although his father was both a music publisher and a copyright lawyer, Albini remembers his childhood as difficult. "It was after World War II when the communists had taken over," recalls Albini. "The standard of living was quite low and it was difficult to leave." Albini's father once served on the Croatian equivalent of the Supreme Court. He had been born in Sarajevo and had Jewish relatives in Israel, where he eventually was able to go. "He was a copyright lawyer and a musical composer, but his disagreements with the communist leadership in Bosnia earned him a job in the cement export business," Albini said.

Sarajevo, Bosnia's capital and host of the 1984 Winter Olympics, represents the greatest tragedy to Albini. Not only was the physical beauty of that city completely devastated by shelling, says Albini, but "the greatest loss was that it was one area in Europe where Jews, Muslims and Catholics had peacefully coexisted."

Recovery is coming slowly to the Bosnian region, but Albini is confident they will rebuild. American troops are committed to remain in the region patrolling the peace until at least the end of this year and international aid is trickling in. Just this week, Bosnia joined the World Bank and became eligible for nearly $300 million in loans to rebuild its devastated infrastructure.