Building bridges of understanding

By Mathilde Paquet

Dearest gentle reader,

Dobardan, as they say in Serbian, and welcome to today’s blog! I’m currently writing on Tuesday the 18th of June, on a truly special day for the group. Indeed, as we groggily packed our bags and rushed out the door, no one could have expected what this day would bring. We arrived in Mitroviça, which, as explained by Novara, is divided between a Serbian Kosovar community in the North, and an Albanian Kosovar community in the South, who oftentimes never get the chance to interact or even cross the river separating them! Just getting to see the Peace Bridge built to unite this city and the division between these communities was really impressive.

We started off our busy day by meeting the New Social Initiative, based in North Mitrovica, but which operates on building community exchanges and trust building between both Kosovar Serbs and Kosovar Albanians within the city. We were welcomed by four members of the organization, who elaborated on the organization’s trust-building agenda across Mitrovica, focusing on creating job opportunities connecting the two communities across the city and fostering community. I had found an article about one of the project managers for the program, Adelina Ismajli in the Kosovo 2.0 magazine while preparing my presentation, so I was really happy to hear more about her personal background and participation in the organization.

After the meeting, we headed for lunch to a restaurant next to the special river, gazing at the many birds and peaceful scenery, as well as the police lining the bridge under which graffiti against Serbs and Albanians existed. We had a second meeting with the organization, Community Building Mitrovica. After that we hopped on the bus, driving through rural landscapes in the North of Kosovo and towards the border with Serbia. 

I found myself sleeping for a bit, then daydreaming away as I rested. Suddenly, we emerged from the concrete highway over a twisting road and saw across from us an immense horizon. Words cannot describe how spectacular this scenery was. From the splendid blue and green colors of the water to the rolling and waving structures of the hills, the landscape felt like a welcome home. We passed a couple of bridges, holding our breath in a game to see who could hold it the longest. Really I feel that it was a way to take in the beauty we were seeing. Among all the usual laughter, gleeful faces started appearing, sprouting as we remembered our child selves. 

We ended up on the shore of Lake Gazivode. We all grabbed our swimsuits and rushed down the hill towards the turquoise-green water, gleaming as I have never seen from the minerals at its bottom. While some of us stayed on the shore to tan and take in the view, others headed down and began swimming to the other side, splashing each other and racing towards the other shore. 

After this bit of exercise, we arrived on the shore next to a house with a Serbian flag and Serbian license plate branded accross its roof. What an interesting contrast to the perspectives held just a few dozen kilometers away, back in South Mitroviça. This moment came as a real realisation for me: in my time in Pristina, I had started forging bonds with the Kosovar Albanian side of the story, understanding their need for independence and their political views. Yet here I was confronted with the entirely opposite view, and I could not help but notice the prejudice that was already present in me against Kosovar Serbs. From this point on, I understood the point of this trip. As students, indeed, we are here not to give opinions or make moral judgments about the situation in Kosovo, but to see (very literally) the divisions and different melding perspectives which interact in this issue. I feel that this journey has helped me foster a position that stands on its own: one of striving for genuine understanding. 

Once we got back to the other shore, the owner of the restaurant took us on his boat across the lake. We jumped in the water a few more times from the boat, our favorite cheerleader Julia catapulting from the deck. After much laughter, we settled into a daze as we came back, listening to some snazzy music, as Oscar would say. 

Back on the shore we enjoyed a very non-vegetarian barbecue at the traditional restaurant, soaking up the view. In the bus I stared out into the night sky, gazing up at the moon and writing a bit in my journal. What a day, I thought, what a day. We came to the hostel, settled ourselves in our rooms, and as I fell asleep, I dreamt of the lake’s stunning emerald gleam.