by Reeta Outila
Today marks one week since we arrived in Pristina.
Our time in Kosovo has gone by so quickly, but it also feels like we’ve been
here forever. Our daily routine of visiting various organisations and ending
the day with a massive dinner all together has been very rewarding and a great
way of reflecting on the day that just passed. Through this blog, we are able
to represent our journey through Kosovo and its many perspectives.
As we learned during our first week of
Peace Lab, while studying Kosovo’s complex history, there is a large diaspora
of Kosovars living outside of Kosovo. In total, the diaspora amounts to around
700 000 - 800 000 people. I knew this from before as well since there are quite
many Kosovo Albanians living in Finland whom I have met in school and
otherwise. It was extremely interesting how already at the airport when we
arrived to Pristina there were two girls in front of us speaking Finnish. What
are the odds of this happening immediately as we arrived in Pristina? These
girls were visiting some family and friends in Kosovo for the summer. I can’t
even imagine what it’s like to live in between two countries, as members of the
diaspora do. The two Finnish girls at the airport spoke fluent Finnish, had
Finnish passports, and had lived in Finland for most of their lives and as long
as they themselves could remember. Their parents’ stories of Kosovo and their
yearly visits were their way of keeping in touch with their roots and their
parents’ identity. When we arrived in Pristina on our first day, I was not yet absorbed
with the idea of interviewing and asking questions from everyone we met, and I
wish that I had talked to these girls longer. In retrospect, I have so many
questions: what does Kosovo mean to you; how would you describe Kosovo; what is
your identity? These are the questions that we have asked during this trip to
many of the people that we have met, and we’ve heard many different answers.
Thankfully, my regret of not talking to
these two Finnish-Albanian girls was made up for today during our visit at the
Kosovo Women’s Network. One of their interns is also a Kosovo Albanian who was
born in another country, Norway: part of the diaspora. I asked her about her
identity, and she said it’s impossible to separate her identity from Kosovo,
but also from Norway where she grew up. Every summer, however, she returns to
Kosovo. Bardha, one of our hosts, also told us that during the summer months
when the diaspora returns, the city comes alive with all locals enjoying the
presence of their friends and families whom they haven’t seen for a year.
Interestingly, today we also visited the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) who has a programme on diaspora
engagement in economic development. Many members of the diaspora are highly
educated, and could offer a lot for economic development and growth in Kosovo.
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