By Maud Kuijpers
Today
was our first real day in Pristina, after arriving yesterday late at night
around 2 AM. Waking up was rough at first, but the prospect of the exciting
day ahead soon made us more awake. Pristina by sunlight is totally different
than the Pristina I thought we arrived in at night. The blocks of houses which
seemed at night like a typically eastern bloc communist style to my inexperienced
view, became by daylight rather eccentric and more inviting with all the people
walking around in the streets. Soon we met at the ‘Newborn’ sign and started
the day off with a very much needed cup of coffee, after which we all got into
taxis to meet with the people from EULEX.
As this was our first meeting, personally
I was a bit surprised at the security and the security men, even though it makes
a lot of sense that they’re there. The presentation of the people representing
EULEX was very well prepared, with an interactive kind of game and a big
screen. It was clear that they had done this a lot of times and they answered
our questions very smoothly. I was not sure what to expect beforehand, as I was
not sure how the dynamic of the group was going to be regarding asking
questions, but everyone was very eager in doing so, which made it so
interesting. In the end I noticed that I’d been merely very critical, but had
to admit that besides its flaws, EULEX had done a lot of good work as well.
Afterwards we went to a totally different kind of organization, as we
were meeting with the Kosovo Women’s Network. I immediately liked the woman as
she started her talk with a joke that we could ask questions afterwards, but
outside in the shade with a cigarette. She told us a lot of moving stories
which I won’t be able to repeat as nicely as she did, but during her thirty years as an
activist she has been through a lot but seems hopeful for what is to come. Well,
especially if women find solidarity towards each other that is.
Our last meeting of the day was with the political party Vetëvendosje, specifically with
Albin Kurti. When we got there Kurti was not there yet and there was another guy
from his party, who I have to admit I do not know what his name was or his specific
role. As it would take Kurti around 45 minutes to arrive, we first talked to
him. I got quite annoyed talking to this guy, as it was clear that he was
spinning questions around and not answering them. He would bring up irrelevant
things without really getting to the point. It was not like Kurti was different
in that aspect, but he was so much more subtle in it. The moment that Kurti
entered the room there seemed to be a sort of silence in the room, he had a
certain air around him. Immediately AUC student started shooting questions at
him, but he was very calm in answering them. And for a moment I kind of
believed him, he was that good, until you really started paying attention to
what he was saying. Then, you would notice that he was saying a lot, but at the
same time saying nothing. To conclude, a brilliant politician and an
interesting last meeting of our first day.
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