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KOSOVO 2.0 PEOPLE/POLITICS/SOCIETY/ARTS/CULTURE #1 SUMMER 2011

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KOSOVO 2.0

Editor-in-chief Besa Luci Deputy Editor Nate Tabak Managing Editor Sarah Wischmann Senior Editors Kreshnik Berisha Bardhi Haliti Photography Editor Atdhe Mulla Visual Concept and Design Van Lennep, Amsterdam Copy Editor Tim O’Rourke

Contributing Editors Andrea L. Capussela Conor Creighton Nita Luci Jeton Mehmeti Richard Warnica Editorial Assistant Vesa Kepuska Contributors Kaltrina Ademi Ardit Bejko Nita Deda Puhie Demaku Nicole Farnsworth Milot Hasimja Kreshnik Hoxha Jeton Jagxhiu Nela Lazarevic Agon Maliqi Hana Marku Rina Meta

Lejla Sadiku Silvia Valencia Photographers Yll Citaku Jim Hagan Visar Kryeziu Armend Nimani Tringa Ramadani Petrit Rrahmani Kushtrim Ternava Illustrator Driton Selmani Cover Dea Dedi was photographed by Atdhe Mulla in Prishtina Hair: Alban Abdullahu

Interns Art Haxhijakupi Gresa Kingji Fjolla Kondirolli Business Manager Arita Hasani Webmaster Sprigs Publisher Kosovo Glocal The Board Chairman Joan de Boer Members Anna Di Lellio Hugo Zwolsman

Printer Raster Kosovo 2.0 magazine is available in English, Albanian and Serbian. Online: www.kosovotwopointzero.com E-mail: magazine@ kosovotwopointzero.com Letters to the editor: letters@kosovotwopointzero.com

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR BESA LUCI

—WHEN WE SET OUT TO DO AN IMAGE ISSUE, we wanted to explore the constant preoccupation in Kosovo with trying not to look bad. Last year had ended with a stream of international media reports that linked Kosovo’s senior ruling politicians to organ trafficking, organized crime and criminal networks. Kosovars living abroad started sharing anecdotes of people asking if it was really that easy to get a kidney transplant in their home country. Investigations into the veracity of such reports have yet to yield results. But whatever the outcome, the damage is not so much as to how the world sees Kosovo, but how Kosovars mobilize or respond to a scarred image. Today in Kosovo, image is referred to as something that cannot be fixed by changing the surface; that Kosovo’s image can only be improved by changing the ways in which politics are conducted. This is a far cry from the earlier belief that once Kosovo gained independence, all of its problems would be resolved. They certainly haven’t been. For the past three years of state building, Kosovo’s right to exist has been challenged. Serbia’s aggressive diplomacy has not only focused on rejecting Kosovo’s statehood but also preventing its recognition. By lobbying against Kosovo’s statehood and preventing it from joining international structures, Serbia has sought support throughout the world. Kosovo’s own diplomatic efforts have produced mixed results: As of the end of June, 76 states have recognized Kosovo. Lagging recognitions undermine Kosovo’s sovereignty. In a country where 40 percent are unemployed, 30 percent live in poverty, the trade deficit stands at 1.7 billion euro, and trade and movement are blocked, sovereignty hasn’t made life better for ordinary people (“10 Things that Complicate Our Lives,” page 65). These are just some of the reasons why, for the majority in Kosovo, diplomacy is not only a state responsibility but also a private one (“Flying Activist Parades Kosovo Flag Sky-High,” page 62). Some readers might find Richard Warnica’s “Land of Disil-

lusion” (page 28) upsetting because he offers a harsh truth that Kosovo might not be ready to hear: that outside the constellation of foreigners who work here, the world doesn’t think of Kosovo at all. And Andrea Lorenzo Capussela in “The Foreigners. Exposed” (page 53) rightly notes that while the United States, Kosovo’s most influential ally, often says Kosovo is a European problem, what it actually means is “Kosovo is a problem; Kosovo lies in Europe; consequently, Kosovo is a European problem.” The union that more than two decades ago embarked on writing its common story has opened its gateway. In the past decade it went from having 15 members to 27. But it has also created new ways to shun those it considers threatening the direction of a common European future. Its inability or even unwillingness to grasp the changing histories unraveling in front of it prevent the EU from responding and adapting to new socio-cultural arrangements, most clearly with the sweep of power of right-wing parties throughout the continent. The EU’s uncertainty of how to deal with Kosovo also creates the space for those in power in Kosovo to deflect responsibility and accountability for their shortcomings. Because not only is this a county where politics are absent, but governance propagates through its fraudulent and self-serving ways, while international missions often get to decide much of what takes place. So, while there are many international missions in Kosovo, they are not necessarily missions for Kosovo. International missions in Kosovo get to choose what is right or wrong, beneficial or detrimental, smart or unwise for the country. While Kosovo does need to build rule of law and a viable economy, that can only happen when people participate as equals. As they don’t, the form of governance emanating from these political uncertainties has aided to a general feeling of loss. People have lost their “at home” and they now work with a fragmented idea of self and identity — being marginal, fitting nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

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This is no longer the Kosovo that needs to capitalize on the image shaped and transmitted by international media and politics.

New Forms of Representation As we began exploring these stories with the magazine, we unraveled complex, and often clashing narratives and relations of power. On one hand, it’s about understanding Kosovo’s preoccupation with image by looking at how Kosovars react to ways they’re presented in the world outside them, and on the other, by looking at how Kosovars mobilize when their personal and collective narrative is challenged. Generally, they respond with a sense of collective identity and responsibility to any and all actions that may poorly reflect on them. (“How to Think of Men in Kosovo,” page 78 and “Another black eye for a country unsure about how to see itself,” page 36.) There’s nothing wrong with trying to fix one’s image. In fact, Kosovo could gain in terms of its relations with the independence skeptics and opponents. While within such competing readings rise important issues within politics of representation and relations of power, it is essentially important not to lose and forget individuals' stories that belong to identity. New commercial forms of representing national identity and conducting public diplomacy appear in media ad campaigns, nation, state and place branding, from T-shirts and billboards to installations in public space. But these forms and their representations yield troubling affirmations. On the day of independence, a new symbol to mark the event was placed in downtown #1 IMAGE SUMMER 2011

Prishtina. Announcing to the world the newest state, NEWBORN appeared as novel and modern practice of national imagery. But it also points to all of Kosovo’s relations with its self and others, and as a sign it can only be read within Kosovo’s inequity; and for that many see it as a representation of Kosovo’s infancy, where Kosovo sees itself as a child, is treated as a child and in essence needs to be educated as a child. Three years later, its creator, Fisnik Ismaili, having lost the optimism he wished to capture with the joy of birth, is attacking the Kosovo sees: full of corrupt politicians and arrogant diplomats, presented in his digital comic strip, “The Pimpsons” (page 46). Agency When we launched the Kosovo 2.0 website a year ago, we did so to create a place where the country’s youths would create and express their personal take through the stories they would share. We remain convinced that individual stories and voices should not be lost. A selection of portraits (page xx) speak of a young man’s dream to become an artist lost as he roams the streets of Prizren selling cigarettes, and a musician that surprises a German priest that a person can be from Kosovo and play Bach on the violin so well. This is no longer the Kosovo that needs to capitalize on the image shaped and transmitted by international media and politics — that was at a time when the mere mention of Kosovo in the international press gave hope to a people that leading to the 1999 war were suppressed in manifesting or claiming its personal and political entity. Today, there is a new belief and assertion in agency; that history is something we all can possess; and that often marginalized narratives and memories can be recorded and remembered. And that is what we offer in our first issue, because there’s nothing wrong with showing your weaknesses, and there’s something special when you notice them on your own. — K 5

CONTENT

KOSOVOTWOPOINTZERO MAGAZINE IMAGE — #1 2011

EHT .SRENGIEROF .DESOPXE

INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS Ex-ICO official breaks down the good, the bad and the just plain befuddling of international missions.

SIX PORTRAITS, ONE KOSOVO They make rakia, falafel, high fashion, photographs and beautiful music. From Prizren to Cagllavica, they come from all corners of Kosovo and their stories are as diverse as their contributions are unique.

36 THE VIEW FROM WITHIN

The Council of Europe report took Kosovo’s reputation in the world to a new low. It also marked a new chapter in the government’s tone-deaf efforts to shore up the state’s image.

BEAUTIFUL MARRIAGE OF INCONVENIENCE

SURVIVING KOSOVO

A few hours from Prishtina, Kosovo 2.0 experiences what it’s like to be decorated by the last bearer of a tradition passed on generation after generation: the rite of beautifying brides on their wedding day.

Kosovo can be confusing, intimidating and occasionally hazardous. If you give in, however, you might just find yourself in the inner sanctums, where the heart and soul thrive in the form of its people.

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AND MORE 46 THE PIMPSONS: THE DESCENT INTO DISSENT

Fisnik Ismaili once captured the spirit of optimism and pride of an independent Kosovo. Now, the NEWBORN creator is using "Simpsons" characters to go after the state's foundations.

44 THE TICKET TO ISOLATION

Kosovars share their horror stories that come with needing a visa to travel to almost anywhere.

49 JUSTICE FAILS, A WOMAN DIES

Diana Kastrati, 27, was gunned down in Prishtina in a senseless crime that could have been prevented.

SIMMERING DISCONTENT A foreign correspondent visits Kosovo for the first time and finds a country that moved past war and apartheid. But when it comes to forging an identity and future as a European democracy, the nation is still struggling.

61 YOUR NEXT HOLIDAY

Book that suite in the socialist chic of the Grand Hotel Prishtina and hop on several planes for your next holiday. This landlocked gem is bound to blow your mind.

62 PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ON THE WINGS OF A CESSNA

Pilot James Berisha is taking his small propeller plane around the world with a simple message to the countries he visits: Please recognize Kosovo.

65 TOP 10 OF FRUSTRATION

We list off the biggest complications Kosovars face in their daily lives.

69 THE BLOGGING RETROSPECTIVE

Sex, macchiato and the KLA: No, it’s not coming to your local cinema. Those were just a few of the provocative topics our bloggers tackled in Kosovo 2.0’s first year online.

78 WHAT MEN?

From men that served as safe-guarders of tradition, nation and family to those who fail to live up to cultural and social expectations, the torchbearers of masculinity are a complicated bunch.

92 THE K 2.0 INTERVIEW: FROM MONTREAL WITH LOVE

We catch up with indie pop spouses Alexei Perry and Dan Boeckner as their Handsome Furs electrifies Prishtina. The city returns the favor.

94 REELING IN THE YEARS

YEAH, WE GOT THAT, BUT WE CAN’T GIVE IT TO YOU Kosovo has plenty of homegrown products, be it pinot noir or that curiously-tasting energy drink. They populate the country’s supermarket shelves in competition with European counterparts. But the decks are stacked against local producers when it comes to exporting their goods. #1 IMAGE SUMMER 2011

Prizren’s DokuFest marks 10 years of bringing captivating films to Kosovo’s charm capital.

96 OUR GUIDE FOR GOOD TIMES

Everything you need to know about upcoming events, festivals and other happenings.

ONLY THE BEST RIDES FOR THE DISCERNING GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL

TEXT BY KRESHNIK BERISHA / PHOTOGRAPHY BY ATDHE MULLA

KOSOVO 2.0

AUDI Q7 The Prishtina mayor’s Audi is worth 70,000 euro. That’s the same amount the city allocated for repairing widespread flood damage from a May downpour.

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AUDI A8 It takes the combined average monthly salaries of 200 Kosovars to buy the president’s Audi A8. Kosovo’s percapita GDP of less than 2,000 euro would need to work more than double time meet the region’s average.

TOYOTA LAND CRUISER The Assembly chairman has a 4X4 Toyota that can conquer most terrains. Thirty percent of his compatriots find it hard to traverse the poverty line and 13 percent live in extreme poverty.

MERCEDES GLK-CLASS The dean of Kosovo’s main public university rides in style in a Mercedes-Benz SUV. Kosovo’s workforce has a bumpier ride with a 45 percent unemployment rate that puts it in the running for the highest in the world.

BMW 5 SERIES The top Kosovo education official parks his BMW in front of his ministry. Only 42 percent of high school students manage to pull out their exit exam with a passing mark.

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SURVIVING KOSOVO

STORY BY CONOR CREIGHTON

IT'S A HARDSCRABBLE PLACE THAT'S IN SOME PLACES SHROUDED IN DARKNESS, BUT AN UNDERLYING SPIRIT SHINES THROUGH IN THE FACES YOU MEET ON THE STREETS.

— THE FIRST international I ever met in Prishtina asked me within a couple of beats of an opening introduction if I’d ever been in an uglier capital. Had I? I didn’t answer. I’d never been there outside of winter and up until that point, 75 percent of my memories of the town had been constructed from the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. In daylight, I’d lose my way, but soon as night fell I’d find myself in the same shadowy lanes and instantly remember where I was. At night, and especially at dusk, when you caught the cityscape from high up on Dragodan hill, Prishtina looked awesome. With snow all around, the building lights looked like the eyeballs of stone giants who had just woken up and weren’t happy to see some goofy tourist taking their picture. They might have crunched me in two if it weren’t for the 1 million and one loaded cameras parked on the U.S. Embassy walls behind.

It’s got a hint of Gotham about it. There’s the darkness and the angles, and if you read the papers there’s enough crime to keep two superheroes fighting. It’s not the easiest capital to live in. If sushi, H&M and an integrated urban transport system are what you mean by easy, then Prishtina and the whole of Kosovo in general are quite hard. But didn’t our mamas teach us that anything that comes easy goes easy, too? Kosovo’s hard, but that’s what makes it durable. That’s what makes you leave and come back again. Thanks to Facebook, friendship has taken a depreciation in the last few years that only the Zimbabwean Dollar could match. I’ve got 800 people who’ll like my kitten post, but maybe only one or two I can really count on Prishtina calls itself a city but functions as a village, and in villages people are friendlier. That is unless you’re a witch or some sort of cult leader, and then they administer village justice and you

KOSOVO 2.0

end up floating in a river. Prishtina has no river. But friendship in that town still carries a decent weight. If you drink in a bar twice, you’re a regular. If you smile at a stranger, they’ll smile back. And if you’re spotted alone with a girl, the rumor mill will whirl into action. HOSPITALITY is huge. Huger still when you consider that visa restrictions and the slow speed of politics mean you won’t be returning the favors for many, many years. The kind people offering you dinner, beds and their free time to take you by the hand and lead you through the streets aren’t expecting anything in return. If you see a box of cigarettes on the table, you can take one. That’s why they’re on the table. It’s not showing off, it’s sharing. One Sunday, we took off into the woods around Prishtina. There was a small covering of snow and it was cold enough that we were walking

fast, not strolling. We followed a trail marked by dashes of paint on stones. Some were pink; some were green. We forgot which ones we were following but assumed that eventually our route would bring us full circle and back to our bus stop. But it wasn’t simple. Or actually maybe it was simple, but by then we’d let our imaginations off the lead and they’d run wild. We were freaking out. It wasn’t even dark yet, but Christ, we were already spooked by our shadows. The tree shapes were transforming into monsters and anything that looked manmade we were convinced was a bomb or some unexploded device. There were mines in Kosovo still. There were mines exactly here. We were with a local. She’d told us, and she was spooked too. The route should have been turning but instead we were still climbing up the hillside and into darker woods. We got to the point where we were half way to the top, we guessed. And then charged by

— You probably should leave that heavy weight of fear in the arrivals lounge, and yes, you should probably eat whatever is put in front of you. #1 IMAGE SUMMER 2011

the thought that maybe we were being followed, we decided to keep going on rather than turn back. Man it was cold and it was frigging Kosovo, and this whole trip was taking a nasty turn. Eventually, we saw the light of a guesthouse and felt our way onto a tarmac road. We jogged a little, right past an abandoned hotel with mine warnings wrapped round the broken walls like Christmas decorations. We sipped hot chocolates and left a box of cigarettes on the table. We smoked them all until another local friend arrived and said, “Come on guys, you weren’t really afraid?” And then we laughed and did actually come on, and weren’t afraid anymore. KOSOVO CAN BE dangerous, but what’s more dangerous are your preconceptions. I guess it’s normal to pack a little fear on board when you travel to a place most people remember as a battle rather than a country. But that fear

will send you running through the hills like a loon if you don’t manage to keep it in check. And if you’re afraid of the woods, you’ll probably be afraid of the grill-houses, the dark alleys and the smoky rooms. And if that’s the case, you’ll know just 20 percent. If you’re not afraid and you eat the eyeballs, brave the backroom bars and just stop panicking about the lack of fresh air and take up smoking. You’ll get to see as much as 60 percent of the place, and not many people see more than that. THE BEAUTY in Kosovo is a lot like small talk. It’s pleasant, but it’s just a subterfuge for two people who don’t want to get to the point. The Prizren castle has more barbed wire around it than a prison. And if you want to visit the Rugova Valley, you’ve got to pass through Peja, a town that was almost burned to the ground in the 1999 war. They’re like creases on an otherwise smooth sheet, but in Kosovo the creases inform the