Kosovo - A Land In Transition

As many of you know, I was in Kosovo from the 6-12 of March. Despite people asking me if I really thought it was safe, and the warnings about being abducted (too many people have seen the movie Taken), I was so excited for the trip. When one of your majors is World Politics and Diplomacy, being able to go to Kosovo is absolutely amazing! I can not even put into words how my experience was, besides that it was incredible.

(the view from our hotel room's balcony)

Being in the country, you are able to fully grasp the reality of the situation in a way the a textbook would never allow you, from observations on the street, to meeting with international organizations helping to stabilize Kosovo, meeting with local NGOs working to rebuild the society, listening to locals tell of their lives in Kosovo, and seeing some of the tensions first hand, the experience is most assuredly something that can not be encapsulated in the classroom.

(one of the many areas of road construction)

Kosovo is a self declared (and therefore contested) state which was formerly a part of Yugoslavia. If you take the Albanian viewpoint, Kosovo broke away from Serbia as a result of the Kosovo War. After the international community intervened to stop the war Kosovo was under control of the United Nations for a time (UNMIK- Security Council resolution 1244) and finally was able to Declare independence in February of 2008. The official Serbian view is that Kosovo is still a part of Serbia that is currently being administered by the international community. Like many areas in the Balkans, Kosovo has seen many tragedies within its borders particularly during the peak of the war in 1998-1999. It is these tragedies, tensions, and the recent progress in the rebuilding of the state that we came to study.

(this wall in the city center is one of several covered with the photographs of those missing from the war)

Wandering around Prishtina you notice the construction and the traffic before anything else. Since the war had been very destructive, efforts are under way in most areas of the city to rebuild. Though at the current moment such construction makes the area appear devoid of the typical city ambiance, it is a wonderful sign of the progress that has come to the region. I hazard to guess that within a few years Kosovo will be highly evolved from what it was this past week, to a place that is the vacation destination of many.

(Prishtina Skyline)

There are many things that still need improvement, such as the enforcement of traffic laws. When rebuilding a country and trying to preserve human rights, giving individuals a ticket for illegal parking or running a red light seems utterly absurd. As such I saw things like driving on a sidewalk, cars parked in incredibly bizarre places, people jumping out of cars’ paths, yet thankfully I saw no accidents.

An underlying theme throughout Kosovo is the issue of sovereignty. Serbia does not acknowledge Kosovo as a sovereign country, so when flying to Kosovo the plane ride is actually around an hour longer since one must fly around Serbian air space. Even at the different international organizations you see a great division between pro-Kosovo and neutral member states of organizations such as EU-LEX, K FOR, International Civilian Office, and European Union Special Representative. Sometimes it becomes so divided that one person has to assume a pro Kosovo position at certain times, and a neutral position at other times, which to be truthful, just makes the situation of Kosovo being aided in stability endeavors from the international community even more muddled than it already is. Yet, as with the construction, there has been much progress in this area. The international force here is slowly decreasing and more responsibilities are being given to the Kosovo government every day.

In talking to the different international as well as local organizations working towards stability in Kosovo you got a great sense of the need to heal and look towards the future with hope. While there are still missing signs around Kosovo from during the war, the feeling amongst the people around the country leans towards the creation of a peaceful future, one in which the past is not forgotten but is learned from so that it does Not repeat.