By Ioana Murgoci
The start of a new week came with a
new part of Kosovo for us to explore, Mitrovica. The city is located in the
northern part of the country and has a majority of Serbian population. It is
important to note here that the city itself is split in two parts: North and
South with a Serbian majority for the former and an Albanian majority for the
latter. Due to the politically and local tensions linked to this part we were
taken by a UN bus from Pristina to Mitrovica. Surprisingly, even though we had
to meet at the “Newborn” monument everyone was on time and ready to discover a
new part of Kosovo.
Our first meeting
was with the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), also
called the “third pillar of the UNMIK”, the mission focusing on the promotion
of human rights and rule of law as main aspects of their work in Kosovo. The
organization has four departments: Democratization, Human Rights and
Communities, Security and Public Safety, and Administration and Support. We
spoke with two representatives and the head of the Communities section. The
meeting consisted of a presentation from the three members of the
organization and a number of relevant questions from us. Even though the
organization has no executive power, it was unexpected to find out how much
they are doing to facilitate dialogue between the different communities. However, in the long-term there is not much continuity since the funds are limited
and there are no interests coming from the municipalities’ counterparts.
After a delicious lunch we visited
the International Business College Mitrovica which has as its motto: “From
theory to practice”. I added the motto since I perceived the college as a
mini-AUC within the Balkans. Even more surprising was the college’s founder
which was a Dutch NGO called Spark. We had the chance to speak with the
students present at the meeting and ask them questions about their interests,
opinions on the current situation of Kosovo, but also their plans for the
future. The majority of them see themselves studying or living abroad for a
temporary period of time and coming back home to contribute to the change
within Kosovo. The eagerness for change and moving on further from the current
dispute was present throughout the entire conversation.
Our last stop was
at the Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC) where a member of the
organization met up with us. This meeting was very different from what I was
expecting because a certain distance between us and the representative was
felt. The discussion started with the aims and work of the organization and it
quickly shifted more towards the personal views of the member. Certainly, there
was more interest in individual opinions and specific cases which can easily
simplify the way we understand the situation in Kosovo. However, in reality the
dispute is far more complicated and complex than I personally had thought.
“Serbian people need to have faith in our country” is the statement which made
me rethink the different perceptions of people regarding the
post-conflict period of Kosovo.
After a full day, we had dinner with
a beautiful view next to a lake. Even though it was raining the rakia warmed
our bodies and some of us decided to go for a swim in the lake. In the end, we
all agreed that it was a wise decision and that this day was special.
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