Conflicting feelings

By Laloue Vigié

Today is our second day in the north of Kosovo, Mitrovica. We woke up in the hotel after the amazing evening we had the night before at the Gazivoda Lake situated right at the Serbian/Kosovar border. Waking up was a bit difficult: some of us were tired. And since our room was facing the morning sun, it got very hot fast, however, the view was incredible. We looked out onto the beautiful, green and hilly lands of north Kosovo. We had breakfast right downstairs, with a super-nice owner who brought us bread, hard-boiled eggs, tasty fresh tomatoes and cucumber, and some feta cheese. Even though I have a sweet tooth in the mornings, I really enjoyed this breakfast. After that, we took the UN bus and headed to the UNMIK regional office, where we met with the head of the mission. UNMIK staff didn’t really answer our questions and were very avoidant, which left us all with a feeling of frustration as I feel like the Q&A sparring was not as fun as expected, and our questions were left unanswered. However, this meeting was still very interesting and showcased how our group really acted like a team; each after the other, we reformulated the questions that were not being answered. For lunch, we then headed to a shopping mall where both communities ate at the same place. It was a food court where I had the best spinach feta borek of my life!  And for very cheap!!

After this, we started heading back to Pristina but stopped on our way to visit the monument at the Field of Blackbirds. This was a very interesting place: it commemorates the Battle of Kosovo, which took place there nearly 700 years ago, where around 70,000 soldiers perished and their bodies never left the karst fields. The Battle of Kosovo took place in 1389 between the Balkan alliance led by Prince Lazar of Serbia and the Ottoman armies led by Sultan Murad I. Both Murad and Lazar died during the war. The battle is an important moment in Balkan history as it marks the beginning of the dominance of the Ottomans in Europe and serves as an important marker in Serbian identity. The monument itself was created by Aleksandar Deroko and has the shape of a medieval tower.

It was erected in 1953 under the Yugoslav authorities and has been part of Serbia's cultural heritage since 1997 (despite being in Kosovo). The general structure of the place was strange: some sort of star-shaped figure with hollow pillars surrounding the tower. I was unable to figure out the sole meaning of the star. I was assigned the pre-meeting presentation for that monument (before every meeting, someone needs to do research in order to present and explain the organisations/landmarks we visit), and I loved doing the research for it. 

This was super fun because I felt like a tour guide explaining the history and the significance of the place. I am really fond of history, so I love researching places more.  What also made the place feel almost haunted was the curse bestowed by Lazar (and inscribed on the Gazimestan, which is the monument): before entering battle, legend has it that the prince cursed all Serbs who refused to fight against the Ottomans. The curse on the monument reads as follows:

“Whoever is a Serb and of birth Serb

And of Serb blood and heritage

And comes not to fight at Kosovo

May he never have progeny born from love

Neither son or daughter

May nothing grow that his hand sows

Neither young wine or white wheat

And let him be cursed from all ages to all ages.”

The curse really made the place feel a bit mysterious, and the view from the top of the tower gave us a great panorama of the surrounding land.

After taking the UN bus back to Pristina, we finished our afternoon by getting some well-earned rest and refreshing showers. My roommates and I took time to wander to rest and catch up on other things. I personally took some time to go through emails and paperwork (to sort out formalities for my exchange to Melbourne, which will be starting already in early July!) and to call family and friends. This time alone gave me the chance to recharge my social battery and cool down a little. After this break, we headed with the team to a karaoke restaurant where traditional musicians performed live, which was beautiful and touching. We ended the day by getting a nice drink in a café to play card games while watching the Scotland-Switzerland game before heading home for a good night's sleep.

As the evening was settling in, a thought struck me. We are soon coming to the end of the trip, and I have conflicting feelings: slightly torn between the excitement of going back to Amsterdam to see loved ones and returning to a more “normal” lifestyle and the sadness of leaving such a welcoming country. Everyone we've met in Kosovo has been welcoming. The food has been great and mostly economically friendly (which will no longer be the case in Amsterdam!)  The sun and the warm air are also things that I will miss when returning to Amsterdam.