It's normal again

People around me in Montreal still imagine Kosovo in a state of war. But if you see it if your own eyes, you can’t help but notice that life is going back to normal. Of course, the region is still facing many economic, cultural and political challenges.

“… the normalization of the life, that’s also news for people around the globe. Serbs [who are a minority group in Kosovo] do walk freely- not to the extent they wish, but it’s been ongoing for the last few years,” said Arben H., an OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) officer working in the capital, Pristina/Prishtine. The names of cities are always spelled in Serbian and in Albanian.

Buildings and cities were reconstructed very quickly after the war. Most houses look brand new and construction sites are a common view driving from one town to another. To go back to what Arben said: it is true. Tragedy, drama is news, but when a country goes back to a more normal life after the war, that’s news as well and it seems there may be gap in our reporting about Kosovo.

“The bottom line is what sells. Basically, nobody, no international journalist will come to report about how everything is bright and shiny. But if a political leader is behind some radical movement…,” Arben added.

“I had the opportunity to talk to international journalists in Kosovo. I really admired their stance on Kosovo and the topics they chose to report about. That’s unemployment, miserable economic conditions- majority of people living in deep poverty.”

…

In Gnjilane/Gjilan, I was invited for lunch to one of my interviewees’ (also an OSCE officer) coworker’s house. She had just recently moved in to her new house. Everything was new and clean, simple but sophisticated. She served us traditional food: pinjur (a pepper sauce), sarma (cabbage leaves stuffed with meat), sausages and meat patties, vegetables and cheese and Turkish tea accompanied with berry cake for desert.

It was delicious, fresh and even tastier because it was homemade. We sat around the living room table. We played piano, she played guitar, and it was the greatest lunch I had in a long time.

Anyone who can visit Kosovo should.