Group Reflection Paper Group F – 2019 Zane, Tamara, Jeff & Adele

In this group reflection paper, we pick out some common themes in our personal reflection papers and integrate them here in an attempt to form a discussion about our personal and collective experiences during a seven-day immersive field trip to Kosovo. In the first part, we reflect on our impressions of and Mitrovica. In the part two, we discuss the varying perspectives we encountered during meetings and conversations with a variety of local, national, and international actors.

I. About Pristina:

Adele: Pristina struck me as a city of great contrasts. My first glimpses of the landscape and pedestrian center reminded me more of European resort towns and bustling shopping districts than of a country still struggling with the aftermath of war and ethnic conflict. Wandering the streets to find a restaurant during our first hours, I was impressed by the clean streets, glass-fronted shops, and trendy interiors. Similarly, in our meetings with politicians and international organizations, we were welcomed into luxurious spaces that showed-off the best and most expensive the country had to offer. Venturing further into the city and the homes of locals, however, revealed a very different side of the city; the side which has not received the same inflow of cash as the tourist areas, political complexes, and international institutions. The entryway to my host family’s apartment for example, was a far cry from the polished entryway to the UN building where we met with the UNDCO. Instead of marble-lined hallways and gleaming glass windows, we were greeted by battered metal doors, cement and cracked-tile floors, shattered glass and graffiti. The impression received upon entering the University of Philology was, though less drastic, in some ways similar. The unlit, unheated interior of the auditorium where we were to meet our host families with its once-chic walls and upholstery suggested that funding priorities were elsewhere. One of our groupmates shared their reaction on entering the main hallway, exclaiming, “This is a university?! It feels more like a prison!” Though insensitive, there was a certain truth to this. Certainly, the chipped paint, dim lighting, and general state of disrepair did not confer any great sense of soaring hopes or expectations. The contrast between the marble-lined entryways of political buildings and UN receptions and the broken-down infrastructure of the “commoner’s” spaces could be a metaphor for various aspects of the current situation in Kosovo: the corruption that keeps money from being invested in basic infrastructure while politician’s offices gleam with the best building materials; the nepotism that restricts employment and a higher quality of living to those who already have an “in”; or the lack of serious investment in the educational system.

Zane: The thing I find interesting in Adele’s report was the line some student mentioned—that the looks like a prison. The university indeed looked old when I was in a classroom for a meeting. But as I was born in 1991 in China, the university and many buildings in Pristina—or Pristina in general—all feel more like something or somewhere stuck between the 1950s and 1990s. In another way, it is ‘modernly old’, something that Chinese cities have in common with Kosovo—especially given that both countries had a communist period.

But the two most interesting features of Pristina for me were its peculiarity and the local obsession with the US. The Cathedral of Saint in the central area of the city for me is the representation of this peculiarity. If I am to describe Pristina with one very long sentence, this will be it: a grand Romanesque cathedral, which is dedicated to a Roman Catholic saint who was born in today’s in (but was part of Kosovo of ) and had spent most her time in India (and therefore was canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta) stands in the centre of the capital city of a (so-called) Albanian Muslim country where around 3% of the total population are Catholics, and is considered to be the holy land of Serbian Orthodox, on the intersection of Boulevard and George W. Bush Road, not far away from which a mosque is sealed off, and an Eastern Orthodox church is incomplete and said to be illegally built. This scene is probably coherent with the complex reality of Kosovo but does not straightforwardly fit into people’s normal stereotype about dominant religion and city landscape. It is interesting that the city had its first ever Christmas market in the main pedestrian zone this year (according to a lecturer from the Venice group). But I guess it shows the complexity of the political and social reality in Kosovo. And while the warring history of the has demonstrated the intolerance of nationalism and religious enthusiasm, the scenes I have encountered and mentioned above show the very tolerant side of Kosovo.

The obsession with the US is illustrated by the fact that two main roads are named after former US presidents – a cosmetics shop on one side of the even advertises themselves as providing ‘American quality’ ‘#fromUSAtoYou’. This is understandable given the history of but the blatant presentation of it is still shocking, as Tamara will discusses further. Tamara: A similar perspective that Zane and I share, is our first impressions on arriving to Kosovo was the ubiquitous USA propaganda. On our bus ride to Pristina, we both noticed a miniature replica of the Statue of Liberty placed on top of the building and the USA flag stood beside the and Kosovo Flag in front of many buildings. As mentioned by Zane a couple of the major streets are named after former USA presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton, also there is a statue of Bill Clinton in the city centre. Throughout Pristina, regardless of their proximity to government buildings, cafes and shops opening displayed laudatory USA propaganda extolling their affinity to the US belying their status as any more than an American client state. Many had USA flags hanging, pictures of tanks and posters saying, “Thank you USA”. Though some may say these praises may appear inconsequential and tacky they do serve a purpose of perpetuating the division and tension from the 1999 conflict. For me these tributes of admiration to the NATO bombing campaign and the US is not a step towards reconciliation as it maintains and legitimizes one side of the narrative, therefore, taking precedent over opposing narratives.

Jeff: Street children and friendly stray dogs welcome you to Pristina. An experience similar to Kampala, the Capital of Uganda. On the other hand, the people in Pristina are very friendly and welcoming. The standard of living in Pristina is relatively affordable, food is readily and cheaply available. The City infrastructure is good - the Cathedral of Saint Mother Teresa located in the City provides a topological view of the whole city, at an entrance pay of EUR 1. We happened to watch the Sunset in the Middle of Pristina. However, in Contrast to Adele’s comment, I would note that the Air in Pristina is so badly polluted, it smelt all the time as if tires were being burnt in the city. However, I enjoyed the night life in Pristina.

About Mitrovica:

Jeff: To me, this city felt like a Ghost town - there was no vibe in the City. One could easily feel the division and the uncertainty of security there. Guards situated at the bridge that separates the Sothern and Nothern side of the City with Armored vehicles made it look like there could be a fight anytime. It felt to me that this city was sitting on a time bomb. The Albanian flags on the Southern side and the Serbian Flags on the Nothern side could easily explain a lot about the tension in the City. I felt unsecure and I wanted to leave as soon as possible. When I asked our local guide Valentina who is an Albanian from Pristina about how she feels crossing to the Northern side for the first time, she told me she didn’t feel secure at all. That escalated my security fears. Zane: Contrary to Jeff, I do not think that Mitrovica is a ghost town. The north Serbian side is actually quite vivid—perhaps especially with the number of Serbian flags and political posters about the ‘friendship’ between and Russian, Vučić and Putin in the city. Time bomb? Perhaps, and the sense of danger was particularly felt by our Albanian guide from Pristina, when she expressed her sincere fear that she felt unsafe and her opinion that it was best not to speak Albanian in North Mitrovica. Contrary to her, the much older local Caritas workers seemed to be confident and at ease about the division; they are the older generation that can speak both Serbian and Albanian, knowing people from each side, and they are Serbian in the Serbian party of the city. So perhaps that is the reason why they felt relaxed in the situation. Even so, this caught my attention because for me, it is another aspect of the peculiarity and complexity of the Kosovo reality.

II. Perspectives encountered:

The physical spaces of Pristina and Mitrovica left us with strong impressions of the socioeconomic, political, and cultural dynamics of Kosovo. However, equally important to our understanding of the country’s internal and external relations were the perspectives we received in meetings and conversations with a variety of societal sectors. These conversations revealed both the shared hopes of many Kosovar, as well as their diverging life experiences and perspectives.

The locals: Adele: The first conversation I had with a local was at a small book stand along Pristina’s pedestrian street. I wanted to get a book in Albanian and asked the elderly stand clerk about a novel that would be historically relevant and culturally representative. He immediately pointed out a book called Kështjella (The Siege) by . He brokenly explained the book’s account of the Albanian- Ottoman war under Skanderberg and then went on to share his views on the history and current affairs of Kosovo. Only one hour in to our trip, I was already hearing the words “visa liberalization” and feeling the deep connection of the Kosovar people to the history and identities that both unify and separate them. I’m not sure what I expected, but I didn’t expect my first conversation with a street side bookseller to provide such an intimate first glimpse of the hopes and challenges of the nation. I bought the book. But, more significantly, I left that interaction with a strong impression of the most critical issues in the local conscience.

I encountered similar perspectives in conversations with students and shop owners. At one small dry goods and coffee shop, for example, I chatted with the young owner about his life in Pristina. Like many others I spoke with in the city, he had studied a profession but had subsequently been unable to find a job in the field. The lack of employment opportunities was for him, therefore, a main challenge, as was the issue of visa liberalization. These were recurring focuses of conversations with most locals. Other commonly-cited challenges included corruption at the political level and a dissatisfaction with the role of international institutions, which most locals felt had failed in their promises of bringing equality and institutional accountability. Some people I spoke with, including my host mother, claimed that ethnic tension between and Serbians was not as big an issue as it is made out to be. According to her, many Kosovar and Serbians had friendships and partnerships that existed before the war and have carried on post-conflict. She mentioned that every weekend in the summer she still drives over the border to her birth town in Serbia and never feels uncomfortable or has any difficulties. At the same time, however, others lamented the lack of interaction between today’s Serbian and Albanian youth. As Tamara addresses later, in general, conversations with locals left me with the impression of a certain desire to move on from the past. Not necessarily to forget it, but rather to not have it define their daily life. A museum curator I spoke with made the interesting comment, “We don’t really talk much about the war amongst ourselves. It’s you foreigners who are always asking us about it and making us talk about it.” This is certainly an understandable sentiment, and one that has positive aspects as well. However, ignoring the past is also not a strategy for achieving reconciliation. The local perspective was, by all accounts, both fascinating and complex.

Tamara: As with Adele, I also had the opportunity to speak with locals. I recall a conversation I had with a young local at a bar, in which they shared with me with their views and concerns. They expressed to me their disapproval of the current government due to the corruption and oligarchy. Also, their lack of trust and disappointment for the international organizations, they stated a lot of money has come into Kosovo but nothing has been done to better the living conditions of civil society. They expressed that they are a supporter of - leader of the opposing party Vetëvendosje - and believe if he wins the next election that issues such public health care and lack of employment opportunities will be addressed. Surprising remarks, that I was not expecting was positive words towards the former Yugoslavia. They stated, that their father told them when Kosovo was part of the Former Yugoslavia they had a better standard of living, such as better employment opportunities, public health care, education and freedom of movement. They also mentioned to me that many people are ready to move on from the conflict and do not want to maintain the tension with the Serbian population. They stated they believe the tension would be eliminated if individuals were told where the missing persons are as people cannot move on when they do not know what really happened to their loved one.

Zane: Related to what is reported by Adele about the visa liberalization issue, I found it sad that most of the local young people I met want to move to another ‘better’ country like Germany for their future study, job and life in general. And they are the people that are young, smart and educated. I cannot help but wonder into whose hands the future Kosovo would be given if these young people left the country. But I myself am also someone who wanted to leave China and live in the EU. This is something in common between China and Kosovo: the countries are far from ideal, and capable people want to leave, which may in return harm the development of the countries and make them less ideal. Another common issue is that young people hate and avoid talking about or participating in politics. I feel particularly bad about this as young people are ultimately the future, and contrary to in China, young people in Kosovo at least have the rights and chances to express themselves and make a difference with their own efforts. But some of them just give up this opportunity that many Chinese had hoped and fought for. In this case, Kosovo is not peculiar, for this issue of social participation seems to be a global issue (even for contemporary Mainland China as well).

Jeff: Connecting to what Adele and Zane have talked about on the issue of Visa liberalisation, I had the same experience when I talked with locals. Most of them feel as if they are in a prison where they are not allowed to leave. I felt their dissatisfaction, anger and agony as they expressed the trauma they go through when they are denied Visas. I always tried to remind them not to forget that Kosovo is a young Nation, just 11 years down the road. A lot has to be changed and sooner or later, the issue of Visa Liberalisation will also be history. No situation is permanent.

The international institution:

Adele: The narrative of the international institutions was markedly different from that of most locals. Three of the main international institutions my group (F) met with were the OSCE (Pristina, , and Mitrovica), the UNDCO (Pristina), and EULEX (Pristina). One of the most interesting things about these meetings for me was contrasting their estimation of their own importance and success regarding the democratic development of the nation with the perspective of the locals and activists with whom we met. When asked about main challenges the country faces, such as the debate around Kosovo’s accession to the EU, they took very high-level views and were rarely self-critical. Even more interesting than what was said by these institutions was how it was said. In contrast to the open sincerity of our conversations with locals, conversations with international institutions were frustratingly aloof and evasive. I often felt we were being held at distance and given pre-packaged answers to the tougher questions. Our visit with the OSCE in Peja, for example, felt like an introductory lecture meant for elementary or high schoolers. The information we received was shallow and impersonal, requiring no critical thought and providing no deeper insights into the actual successes and challenges of the OSCE’s work in Kosovo. Many of these meetings left me wondering how they viewed the purpose of our conversations. As a promotional opportunity for them? As a way of stamping “human rights approved” on their activities? I certainly didn’t get the feeling that there was a willingness to grapple with the more complex sides of the role international institutions play in Kosovo or with allegations of their ineffectiveness.

The politicians:

Zane: We have met quite some politicians, in- or outside of the system. The most interesting person for me is Albin Kurti, not just for the intellectual image and the skilful play on words and sentences he presented, but for his effort to consolidate conflicting or even paradoxical ideas. He and his party had taken an arguably radical or extreme route for the independence of Kosovo by disagreeing with (generally considered) supportive international organizations. But he claims that for a country to be fully independent, it requires ‘the independence from independence,’ and so in the case of Kosovo, the people should have to power to decide whether to be part of Albania or not. Then again, it is Kurti’s belief that all Balkan countries should become EU members as soon as possible. He even coined the word ‘Eutopia’, which, apart from the on-paper humour, is in distinct contrast to the British (or perhaps merely English) understanding of ‘sovereign independence’ with regard to member-EU relation in the context of Brexit, even his party’s previous action (August 2009 Pristina protests) against EULEX. For me again, this seemingly paradoxical and nuanced form of independence thought really sums up the complexity of possible political solutions for Kosovo, and the peculiarity of the situation.

Tamara The Prime Minister, , presented a nationalistic rhetoric and perpetuated fear towards Serbians. The first few sentences out of his mouth were that the US had saved them, that there is no market for Serbians and that the Serbians had become more aggressive. When asked questions regarding LGBTQ and women issues, he would flippantly remark such issues were non- issues and had already been resolved while as well presenting disingenuous evidence. The meeting with Albin Kurti did differ from that with the prime minister; I appreciated his optimistic outlook of Kosovo and that he spoke to corruption and social economic issues, though I found at times he would contradict himself. He would critique the nationalistic rhetoric of the Serbian government presented during the conflict such as, the "" ideology is what created Serbia and was the cause of demise and fall of Yugoslavia. When Milosevic spoke about self-determination it was a form hegemonic control in contrast to when a smaller state does such as Kosovo. Therefore, I found his presentation incoherent he was quick to judge the nationalistic tendencies of the Serbian government, but he did not explain in any way how his party would create a pluralistic society. He would also express the same needs for Kosovo such as to create a “Greater Kosovo” the nation would need to move towards sovereignty and self-determination and that one of the two main conflicts Kosovo face is the Serbian government.

NGOs:

Jeff: We visited several NGOs which included: Save the children Kosovo, Caritas Mitrovica, Kosovo 2.0 and BIRN Kosovo. I got a feeling that these were the real people that were helping locals in trying to change people's lives. Save the Children fights for Child protection, Child rights Governance, Education, Health and Nutrition and Emergency Response. Caritas Mitrovica helps the minority groups in acquiring Documents, supporting the youth with finding Jobs and social inclusion of minorities. Kosovo 2.0 is an online journal and had a print Magazine. They advocate for Gender equality, LGBTIQ rights, Education, Rule of Law and changing the general image of Kosovo. BIRN Kosovo (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network) is an independent, non-governmental organisation that provides momentum to the democratic transition process, promoting accountability, rule of law and policy reform. All these were led by strong men and women dedicated to working under all conditions. BIRN Kosovo for example expressed concern that they work under security threats from top officials whose corruption scandals are exposed by their reports. I have great faith in these people, and I believe that sooner or later, their dedication and hard work will generate positive change in Kosovo.

Women:

Tamara: In contrast to the group I focused on the meetings led by women. I found them to be the most transparent, critical and resilient. When the discussion of reconciliation was spoken of, I felt that they were the only ones who could provide tangible examples of initiatives that worked towards decreasing the tension between ethnic groups. The founder and director of the Centre for Research Documentation and Publication (CRDP) Nora Ahmetaj, eloquently spoke about the opposing narratives in Kosovo. She expressed there are two different narratives and histories the citizens of Kosovo subscribe to. She mentioned the biggest obstacle to reconciliation are media and the politicians, inflammatory speeches regarding the past and the fact that many people are not ready for it. She said, “we don't listen to people or the other narratives.” Nora Ahmetaj was the first and only person that said overtly that Serbians were also victims during the conflict and also the KLA committed war crimes and that many atrocities were committed by their own people. She as well communicated that the majority of the individuals missing are Romas and Serbians. I did not hear this narrative elsewhere. I felt when she spoke of reconciliation, she encompassed all perspectives of the issue and I appreciated her symmetrical analysis. Her stance on the truth commission committee (TRC) was that it cannot be initiated from above; that it has come from the ground up and that civil society needs to decide what they want the TRC to address. She mentioned the hope is to present both narratives and create a common narrative as currently the “truth” is delivered by the elites where they take the victim stance stating they were the only victims within the conflict and blaming the other. Maintaining this position creates a hurdle to reconciliation and perpetuates the segregation within Kosovo. Her grassroots approach to this difficult topic was refreshing. I appreciated her statement, that first the focus of reconciliation should be with Kosovo Albanian and Kosovo Serbians and then between Prishtina and Belgrade. She spoke about the shopping centre in Mitrovica where Serbians and Albanians will all go and shop and mentioned that within this location Serbian and Albanians converse, integrate and live out daily activities amongst each other. Other women that stood out to me were Iga from the Kosovo Women Network and Zana Hoxha Krasniqi the founder/director of Artpolis. A common theme I recognized from all three women is that they did not put the blame on any ethnic group. They understood that there are multiple narratives among the population and that to work towards reconciliation an asymmetrical analysis is not useful.

Conclusion: As a group, we have mentioned various experiences and perspectives from our time in Kosovo that stood out to us most. It is interesting to note that, though we all went to the same meetings and had the same conversations, we came away with slightly different impressions. For each of us though, the particular and specific complexities of the country were often surprising and perplexing. It is hard to come up with any ‘conclusion’ per se about the future of Kosovo, but after our conversations with locals, NGOs and activists, we all agree that there is hope and potential for positive progress in the nation’s future.