I accidentally run into this ( I read the first part a while ago, and re-read it just now…)
And just like the last time.. you did a great job in capturing “us”, kosovo, it’s people, and the weird, tortured but fundamentally good soul …
Now, I would suggest you drop by again As soon as possible, I believe you would be pleasantly surprised by the changes, and their speed, of the past years… ( honestly now.. if you do want to come over, just say so- someone who writes like this about Prishtina, will always have a place to stay while here)
“ When you are constantly in the position to prove you actually exist, you are a human and you are worth, eventually, you learn to be better than those who are meant to assess and judge you.”…….
I do not recall seeing a better definition in a long time… or should I say a better description- yes, that is us, Kosovars have spent a long time simply trying to prove that we are no worse than any other nationality in Ex-Yugoslavia, and then came the late 80’s Milosevic etc… which, made us keep trying to prove that ( as you so nicely wrote) we exist. ANd in order to do that, we had to keep pushing harder than anyone else… now, finally , the results are starting to show…
“our” girls are kicking ass on the world pop-scene ( dua lipa, rita ORa, Bebe Rexha…) , Majlinda Kelmendi, Nora Gjakova etc are picking zp gold medals on every Judo competition, our football team has been allowed to play international games just a few years back, and now we have over a year and a half with not one single defeat…
Although they have no real prospects, the youth all speak 2 or 3 foreign languages and their coding, programming skills are excellent while many things now seem blocked only because of current politics and nothing else…
“ Kosovo lets me explore the nature of perception, question isolation, cherish and celebrate my own blessings.…. Kosovo is hard and complex, but durable and resilient as well. This is what makes you leave and come back again. It gives you dosed answers but leaves with even more questions.”
this reminded me of something…
some 7 or 8 years ago, I was in Ulqin ( Ulcinj)- Montenegro. There, I met up with two friends , sisters from bijelo Polje ( Sandzak region in Serbia) , who have moved to Montenegro back in 2000, before that, they lived in Prishtina for over 10 years- which is how we became friends, the first time S…, the older sister, came to Prishtina, she rented an apartment in my building.
Anyways…
As we were talking, and drinking Montenegrin Home-Made Raki, the conversation came around Prishtina, what it is, and how it affects people who second time here, and get to know it… While o the subject S… gave one hell of a description…
“It is definitely not beautiful. Nor is it some sort of a nice , orderly place- it is chaotic and it can be dangerous. But, after a while, without you even noticing it- it gets under your skin, and stays there … For both: good and bad, Prishtina is a school on it’s own and weather you want it or not, it will teach you things you never imagined before “….
A lot of people have wrote about this place , and most of them stopped on the surface. You, on the other hand, went straight beneath the surface- which is where most things are, especially down here. Maybe it is because of the closeness of the mentality ( eastern Europe.. you know what I mean) , Maybe it is because you are one of the people who simply do not look at the world as most people do…. but very few people managed to “read” this place in such a short time. which only makes me believe that you should go even deeper- you are one of the people who will be able to do it properly
Great job… and again… IF you decide that it is time for part three ( which, according to our customs and beliefs should be written- things are either on their own, or in three-s , like kisses, drinks etc….- a pair is just not the way to go) — pls, let me know — I would love to help out in any way I can…