Issues

For the past couple of nights I have been able to get together with a group of internationals living here in Prishtina. It is safe to say that every one of them - about 30 so far - is here working for some government's mission, the UN or an NGO working on the development and for the most part working toward independence of Kosovo. From privatization of businesses, security and police to trouble-shooting technological issues, they are all here for generally the same purpose, applying their expertise in whatever way they can. Like myself, most of them had no special interest in the region. They were given a post and took it with curiosity. Many of them have been here 3 or 5 years, done the work they could and are ready to get out. It's almost like they have reached a standstill with the progress they've been able to make.

The perception of the Kosovar Albanians in regards to the presence of the UN and foreign missions varies depending on age. Those closer to middle age genuinely believe that there would be no Kosovo without the United States. "No Bill Clinton, no United States would mean no Kosova," said one 50-something man I met on the airplane. Ardian, who is in his mid-thirties believed that good progress was made with the presence of the international community up until 2002/03. Citizens' freedom was returned. Restaurants and cafes opened, consumer selection and variety increased and an energy was given back to people who had been living either under communism or persecution for the previous few decades since the end of World War II to endless bouts ethnic conflict decades prior. When the UN bombing stopped in 1999, it seems to me as though chains were broken and the Albanians of Kosovo were suddenly told to be who they wanted to be. With the ideas of democracy and capitalism, the international organizations assisted these people in finding a life for themselves.

Of course it is not all perfect. During this time of growth, unemployment and poverty continue to exist. Minority Serb and Roma enclaves exist in Kosovo which inherently leaves the cloud of ethnic conflict hanging overhead. One main hurdle in the negotiations of Kosovo status is the treatment and integration of these minorities into the general population. Serbia wants to make sure they are treated well and Kosovo wouldn't mind if they just left all together. In the past month, as the status talks seemingly progress towards Kosovo independence, lightening has shot from this cloud in the form of bombings and deaths in the minority enclaves. And they are ready to fight back.

And in the mean time, the infrastructural progress seems to have hit a stand-still. Power-outages still prevail. Left-over buildings - either intact and empty or bombed out - still remain. A university exists where corruption prevails from top to bottom. Those thirty-somethings at the age of making a difference and creating a place for themselves in society seem to believe the international efforts have reached a plateau in the past 3 years. Their confidence in the international presence is getting less and they are starting to wonder when will they truly be able to live independently.

Once I meet with my students I will have a sense of how the younger generation sees it all. In addition to the udergraduate and graduate classes I'll be teaching, I will also have a class of minority Serb and Roma high school kids that will be bussed into Prishtina for an English class getting exposure they are not given in isolation from the majority Albanians.