The Journey, the destination and the people

By Shree Dubey

Hello! My name is Shree and I’m a second-year International Relations and Law student at AUC. Today (26 June), it has been five days since we came back from Kosovo. The photo below is us on the train ride from Schiphol to home (Julia definitely did not edit herself in). 

I miss Pristina, and visiting the beautiful city of Prizren was the highlight of the trip for me. I got to meet so many inspiring people and organisations, especially two locals from Peja/Peć that Alice and I met on the second-to-last day of the trip – Elsa and Luan. We were interviewing people about our project on the use of graffiti in Kosovo to relay social/political messages when we came across the two of them. They were our age, very insightful and fun to talk to, and we ended up grabbing drinks and getting to know each other more. 

Over the weekend, aside from catching up on a lot of sleep, us students travelled from Amsterdam to Leiden to meet Anne and Erik for a wonderful three-hour boat ride on Sunday, during which we saw many dogs on boats. After snacking on the gazpacho and fruit salad Anne and Erik so kindly brought for us, some chose to jump into the cold waters while I chilled on the boat and napped for a bit (with Paola). Afterwards, while some of us stayed behind to explore Leiden since it is an extremely beautiful city, Ben and I rushed home for our individual plans (I had another nap session planned).

On Monday morning, we met at 10.45 at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague. It was my presentation day, and I was excited to meet representatives from the Chamber and sit in on the Hashim Thaçi et al. trial, which was happening at the Chambers on the same day. We had learned about the 1980s radicalisation era in Kosovo, the rise of the KLA, post-war anti-UNMIK sentiments and the rise of Vetevendosje. The whole journey of Peace Lab – from learning about the history to being able to travel to Kosovo, to talking with locals and higher-up organisations before coming back and sitting in on Thaçi’s trial – has been an amazing experience and constantly puts everything we have learned (and continue to learn) into practice. The representative of the KSC was nice to talk to: she went over the mandate of the KSC, four cases that they have dealt with, and I like that she welcomed our critical questions. 

Some of us stayed behind in the building to watch the trial, and it was a bit daunting entering the quiet room with large glass windows overlooking the court where seven judges and Thaçi himself were sitting as the trial was being held. Sometimes, the judges would sometimes look up and – at least in my mind – probably wonder “What are these random kids doing here?” We did not understand most of it, to be honest, but I was also down to just sitting and listening and trying to understand what was being said. A lot of technical terms were used and very specific historical events were referred to that we had little to no knowledge of, but that makes it more interesting for me. Afterwards, we went to grab lunch at a restaurant at Scheveningen Beach. We relied on a local guide (Chynna) for directions so we wouldn't get lost. 

The entire experience of Peace Lab has been very rewarding for me. I had started journaling at the start of the course, and I got into the practice even more in Kosovo, writing down what happened throughout the day almost every night. I will never forget what our Pristina hostel keeper, Farid, told me the morning of the trip to Gračanica. I was having breakfast when Farid entered the kitchen, we started a conversation and soon he was talking about being Kosovan and what his country has gone through. At one point, he told me “for some people history never stops.” And that really stuck with me, because I realise that people really are shaped by the changing circumstances they find themselves within while being attached to the past and the idea of what has happened to them. For Kosovans, I believe that this is very true. 

While the journey has been amazing and I am very grateful for the opportunity I have been given to be a part of Peace Lab Kosovo, I want to say that the people I have come to know on the trip have made the experience all the more fulfilling. So I would like to thank Anne, Erik, Mathilde, Alice, Paola, Chynna, Anna H., Anna P., Julia, Salomeja, Ellen, Stefania, Lila, Ben, Oscar, Katherine, Laloue, Demir, Leonor, Novara, Ousman and Lola for being wonderful human beings. I cannot wait to go back and re-visit Kosovo one day. Attached below is perhaps my favourite photo from the entire trip – it was taken in Prizren. I have been joking with a lot of people that I will be living in Prizren one day because I was completely enchanted by the city. Maybe that will come true, who knows? I can only hope.