Until we meet again

By Anna Házas

“The greatest goal here in earthly life,

Is to be human always, in every circumstance”

• János Arany

The sentence above was my grandmother’s favourite quote. She passed away just this morning. She was a real force of nature, she lived through the Second World War, communist Hungary, the loss of her son and long months of chemotherapy. Yet somehow, she always managed to live by these exact words. 

My name is Anna Házas, I am a third year IR and political science student, and this is our third day in Kosovo on the Peace Lab field trip (Friday 14 June). Today, as I was living through the conflicting emotions of excitement, pain, curiosity, grief and joy, I was constantly reminded of the strength of community and friendship, and the importance of honesty, vulnerability and courage.

While I am not sure where we left off at the last blog entry, I would like to begin with this morning. After leaving the Pristina Beer and Wine Festival yesterday night, we were expected return to the scene of the act just 10 hours later. We gathered at the NEWBORN monument at 9.30, but we made sure to pick up some burek for breakfast on the way. This is how our mornings usually start here, we always meet at a café by the monument for the pre-meeting presentations, to make sure we enter all appointments prepared. Today, I was one of the lucky ones to present. Our morning meeting today was with EULEX, the European Union’s Rule of Law Mission to Kosovo. Their headquarters is located on the outskirts of Pristina, so our local guide, Enver, organized taxis for us. It was in said taxi when I received the call about my grandmother’s passing. I could not help it, but I broke down crying. Luckily, Ousman and Oscar were there to comfort me. As we arrived to the EULEX compound, I had barely stopped crying, but I was determined to pull myself together and contribute to the discussions we were about to have. Anne offered that I could go home with her to the hostel or even back to Budapest, but I decided against it. If there is one thing my grandmother taught me was that you should always finish what you started, and the world will not stop just because you would want it to. 

Once everyone arrived we made our way into the office building where they took our passports and exchanged them for visitor passes. They briefed us on the rules of the discussion: no pictures and no recordings. I went into the EULEX meeting with a critical mindset. After learning about the organization in class, as well as taking a deeper dive into their mandate and activities, I was curious to hear the official perspective. The meeting was held by the EULEX Press and Public Information Officer, who explained the organization’s framework and current activities. After the initial presentation, the meeting turned into a discussion, where we got to ask questions and raise our concerns. As the days pass, our group dynamic is more and more natural, which also manifests in the way we ask questions at meetings. When someone does not get a clear answer, one of us usually follows up with another question, respectfully pressing our hosts to respond. Today at EULEX we asked about the organization’s structure and the separation of powers, their future after their mandate expires just 365 days from now, and their public perception and civil feedback mechanisms. If you want to read about their experience of our meeting, please see their LinkedIn post here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/eulex-mission-in-kosovo_delighted-to-host-today-20students-from-activity-7207320811420930048-dcgh?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios

After the meeting we took taxis back to the city centre, where the majority of us decided to sit down at Corner Café and have lunch together. This charming bistro on the Mother Theresa Boulevard has become somewhat a usual spot for us. After lunch the group scattered around the city to take a walk, grab coffee, eat ice cream or just enjoy the sunny weather before heading into our second meeting of the day, which Chynna will tell you more about.

In the afternoon, following out meeting with the Kosovo Women’s Network, some of us went back to the hostel. I, for instance, took a well-needed nap. After waking up we started getting ready to go to dinner at Soma. Eating dinner together every day has become one of my favorite programs of this trip, and today’s restaurant was particularly good. After dinner we all left to find a spot to watch the Germany-Scotland football game, which I enjoyed with a side of margarita. The last hours of the day passed by quickly with good conversations, mediocre but cheap drinks and lots of laughter. Finally, we ended the night at Zanzi Bar, where we danced, sang, and potentially suffered minor hearing damage, before retreating to our hostel for the night.

Grief is weird, it comes and goes in waves. But unfortunately I have quite the experience with it by now. What I have learned, however, is that grief and happiness can coexist. While emotions will flood me numerous times in the following days, I am beyond thankful to be experiencing this trip with all of you! So Katharine, Chynna, Julia, Alice, Anna, Ousman, Demir, Paola, Shree, Oscar, Stefanía, Ben, Laloue, Salomèja, Leonor, Mathilde, Lila, Ellen, Novara, and Lola, thank you for making me happy these days!

And about my grandmother… I take her mindset with me for the rest of this trip, as it reminds me of the human side of conflict: The loss and the trauma, the shared experiences, and the importance of recognizing and respecting each other’s humanity and dignity.