In the fight together

By Laure Durang

Today (Friday 16 June) was another eventful and enjoyable day and every day I am once again in awe of everything we learn. The day started off a little extra early so that we could go past the bakery close to our hostel for a little breakfast treat. I had the Kosovan version of what we know as a pain au chocolat. It was very good and hit the right spot so early in the morning. Then we continued on to meet the rest of the group at our usual meeting spot, the Newborn sign. Here we also managed to sneak in and have a little coffee. Apparently, coffee in the Balkans is really good and it surely has lived up to this promise. 

From here Hanna presented about EULEX and off we went. We went past multiple security checks, had to hand in our passports and were guided into a large conference room. In Hanna’s blog post you can read more about our experience at EULEX, but here are some pictures to enjoy. 

 

As part of our time in Kosovo for Peace Lab, we are also each engaged in different group projects where we explore a specific topic of our choosing and present this in a creative manner. This has so far been a very rewarding experience and I think it is so cool to see how everyone has delved into different topic areas and is creating something original and inspiring. My group and I are exploring what art means for Kosovo today, how it can be a peacebuilding tool and the stories this tells. So, after our meeting with EULEX, Anna and I went past the National Art Gallery of Kosovo. Here, we met a lovely artist. We briefly spoke to him, and he explained about his work, what galleries the exhibition is currently working on and suggested some other galleries we could visit. Unfortunately, he did not have time to sit and have a coffee with us, nor was the gallery open, but it was still a valuable experience to have. I think it is truly special to see how present art is here in Pristina and the different narratives it tells. There are lots of statues commemorating Kosovan heroes like Skanderbeg or Rugova. There is graffiti, which expresses several different messages, including political ones. So, it has so far been a lot of fun to explore the city this way and keep open a critical but creative eye for what stories art in Pristina is telling us today, especially during such unprecedented times. 

After all this, it was lunch time! I had a lovely lunch with Anna and Lola and along the way to the restaurant we made a little friend. He followed us for a very long time and was particularly attached to Lola as you can see below. The countless street dogs here in Pristina have been a very happy surprise, all very sweet and well-looked after. 

Once lunch was over, we met with the Women’s Network of Kosovo, otherwise known as KWN. This session was very inspiring for me, and I was in huge admiration of the strong and dedicated women who were the driving force for women’s rights in Kosovo. The work the KWN does is on such a multidimensional level, doing work ranging from better sex education at primary schools to legal advice for more gender-inclusive laws. The KWN also explained how during the war many Kosovo Albanian women were raped as a weapon of war and that this was not just a side-effect of war, as is usually thought. This was not easy to hear and process and my thoughts were with all these women who had to experience this. Interestingly however, I recently had the privilege to meet Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, a leading activist of sexual violence survivors. I was therefore able to ask KWN about this and how they were able to support the sexual violence survivors. 

Two other things also stuck with me following the meeting of the KWN. First, was the power of research. When these women were not being listened to in predominantly male-dominated environments, they went out and did research, wrote reports, and came back to show that there was evidence for the issues they were advocating for. This usually changed the nature of the conversation being held and allowed for KWN to make significant developments. For me personally, it showed me the power research and information does have and what we can achieve through our own personal research at university, the conversations we can initiate and the change we can slowly facilitate. Secondly, was the power of the third wheel which stood out once again. KWN works with women regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, political beliefs, age, and education. Their common ground of their fight to advocate for women and girl’s rights, to further the feminist movement, goes above anything else and I think that is so powerful. At the end of the day, she explained that Kosovo Serbian women “are their sisters” above all else and they are in the fight together. 

Leaving this session completely inspired and in awe, we went to have our lovely dinner with the entire group at a restaurant just outside of the city--in nature. Every day I look forward to our shared meals. Besides learning about the field of peacebuilding, we are also learning from each other, and I am slowly getting to know some really great people on this trip. Personally, as a third-year graduating soon, I am excited to see where everyone will be next year and the years to come. But I am confident that this group is going to go on to achieve some really amazing things and I can’t wait to hear all about them. The future is unknown, but it is exciting. And before we tackle this future and learn so much more, we partied the night away to live music at a local Kosovan club.