It all starts in the books

By Johan Fredsted

It has now been 5 days and 7 hours since we landed at Schiphol airport after our 10-day experience in Kosovo and I already miss our host families and their children. After the intense and fast-paced dorm-fest and the much calmer and revitalizing boat trip on Anne and Erik’s boat on Sunday, I have had a few hours, in between working on the final project, to reflect on the emotional and physical roller coaster which was the trip. I never thought I’d say or write this but thanks to my ‘dear journal’ I have been able to look back at these days and relive every visit with one major alteration: a mental and obviously physical distance from the events. The lack of the olfactory, auditory and visual senses helps creating a distance, allowing me to revisit everything with a more neutral perspective. I am no longer (in the moment) manipulated by the succinct yet flourished language used by the activist Albin Kurti, or the intense gazes of the of the University students at the university of Pristina (Mitrovica). In hindsight, this distance has helped me understand certain things I was not able to previously put my finger on because of foggy thoughts. This trip has taught me more than I thought and reinforced many beliefs. Unfortunately I will only be able to touch upon a very select few in this post.

Peace building and what it entails sounds incredible. The word ‘peace’ only has positive connotations attached to it with the exception that it may be considered, similarly to glass, fragile and easy to shatter. Regardless of the latter how could anyone want to oppose peace? 

Well, this trip has taught me that peace building and keeping has at least as many sides to it as a hexagonal fighter’s ring and just as many colors as a rainbow. It is not just white like the dove or the swan, it is also black and all the grey shades that exist in between. Peace can be negative and positive. It can simply be the absence of war or the conscious cooperation and active participation of civil society in building a stable community. 

Throughout the trip I witnessed many groups of people opposing the peace-building initiatives taking place in Kosovo- the main reason being that it was all brought by foreign organizations. The peace-building attempts came from the foreign intervention by the UN, EU and other NGO missions. In a way, it seemed many Kosovars felt as though the ideals of peace were imposed on them by foreign powers who have been present in the nation since 1999 after the signing of UN resolution 1244. This is, of course, only one side to the coin, but nonetheless the side I had completely ignored and never seen. 

And this popular sentiment is particularly present in regards to the current, ongoing Brussel talks, where many of the interviewees expressed feeling of dissatisfaction as politicians with their own agenda as well as foreign nations are discussing the fate of Kosovo behind closed doors. No surprise that Vetevendosje, gained 24% of the votes 4 Sundays ago.

Also, previously to the trip I had a very abstract idea of what peace, but also peace building, meant. Through the trip I saw the practicalities, successes, deceptions and overall complexities of this art. Most importantly, I realized how important the concept of time is. Time miraculously heals the worst of wounds. Unfortunately, every wound leaves somewhat of a scar, a softer spot on the skin, frail and more susceptible to future damage. There are good and there are bad scars. A bad scar can get infected, which is exactly what sparked the war in Kosovo in 1998. The hatred, and ethnic/religious tension present between Albanians and Serbians lead to the infection of the wound. And Milosevic stirring up the collective memory of the Serbian population lead to a reopening of it. 

To continue with this medical metaphor, if one wants to reduce the scar tissue, the wound needs to be closed in a professional manner. It requires a trained doctors to stitch the skin together as well as time for it to form a smooth surface once again. In Kosovo, this wound (the tension and ethnic division) has already slowly closed because of time. The newer generations have not been affected by the war. There is no remembrance of it, because they simply did not experience it, making the hatred less rooted and more superficial. The hate is only fueled by stories told from mouth to ear as well as through the selected parts of history included in books. This selective memory (created by the ministry of education in both Kosovo and Serbia) fuels the discourse of superiority and nationalism damaging to the healing process. To heal the wound as efficiently as possible, it needs to be stitched together by a trained and educated doctor. Similarly, to reduce the tension, build a balanced and cooperative community, and to ultimately create a positive peace, the population needs to be educated and not indoctrinated. There should be a consensus in that not only one side of the story is told. Because what is worse than the feeling of being ignored and forgotten (both sides that is)? Needless to say that ideally this would also go for all marginalized groups including women and LGBTQI+ members. 

If they already have the most progressive and liberal constitution perhaps they could also move towards the most progressive school books-because ‘it all starts with the books’ (member of Youth initiative).

But this all takes time. and I heard almost every NGO member mention that patience becomes one of the most virtues and tools in peacekeeping. Being able to think long term is therefore an extremely important skill. 

And with this in mind, I would also like to thank Anne for (everything of course) but also her incredible patience with us (and this also includes the constant high demand of ‘pain and boursin’ on Sunday).

Although this may all be a very simplified and possibly reductionist metaphor of peace building, the main point I want to convey is that TIME is invaluable and so much more important than what I had previously thought. It is so much more than an abstract concept.