Journey to Kosovo: An observation on the state building process

after 5 years of independence

By Hong Ming Kok, student

It was just a short walking distance from the University of Prishtina to the Mother Teresa Boulevard.

Strolling along the route, one could already catch a glimpse of this old city in a very young country - the

youthful looking pedestrians, the fast food stores, and the busy transport lacking guidance of traffic

lights. Here was the place of the student riot over the poor living condition in 1981 that sparked off a

new wave of struggle against a dying grand plan of uniting the lands of all Balkan Slavs. There was the

boulevard named after the Albanian national inspiration Mother Teresa signifying the proud of the

Albanian identity of the outgrowing number of young

Shqip speakers over the Serbs in the region. In January

2013, the night life in the city centre looked vibrant.

That almost covered up all the underlying problems of

the country very well. A group of students was about to

begin an 8-day trip to unveil the troubles behind all the

fancy impression of the city.

The decorative fairy lights above the Mother Teresa

Boulevard enshrined the quietness and calm of the

centre of the shopping district. Western consumers’

culture seemed to function pretty well as seen from the

surrounding fashion boutiques and classy restaurants.

Just around the corner there was a branch of EULEX

Kosovo (European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo),

too. They had been overseeing the security force and criminal justice building process in the country. In

fact, this country had appeared to be a toddler fed by foreign countries to swallow and digest all

aspects of Western liberal democracy since late 1999, after the ethnic conflicts between the Albanians

and the Serbs ended with the NATO air strike on Belgrade. In order to understand the achievement or

failure of this foreign intervention over a decade, the touring students (pictured) attended several

lectures conducted by the officials at that very EULEX branch behind the Boulevard. One could

instantly feel the tense of the security in the building as visitors were left queuing up waiting for a

thorough identity check for 30 minutes. Those students had yet enjoyed walking in the city before the

lectures. Now that was a serious

business, not a holiday excursion.

EULEX people were highly-paid

lawyers, police officers and legal

professionals working under security

protection in a wartime headquarter

alike building right located in the

open city centre. They feared

intrusion and attack by radical

political enthusiasts. They were EU

nationals shipped to Kosovo by their governments to perform the so-called MMA duties, Mentoring,

Monitoring and Advising. They supported local police and court in carrying out their duties such as

crime investigation and prosecution. Meddling in local public administration and bureaucracy at every

level became inevitable. All of them were eloquent in presenting their vision in their job, which was

building the rule of law from fragmented desolation after 1999 to a fully functioning status. Similar to

all sorts of annual reports by many other organisations, agencies or corporations, the picture depicted

by the Public Relation officers was seemingly positive and encouraging - They had been doing a good

job. Things were improving. At some moments students were invited to apply for internships at EULEX-

related teams - So you are recruiting. You are not leaving this country.

Leaving the tightly-guarded building afterwards must have been followed by the desire to finding the

whole picture of the situation in this country, since students had already learned the complexity and

difficulty for the EU missions. The rest of the journey in the country indeed was filled with the voices of

deep resentment against the presence of foreign intervention. The government was said to have

sacrificed the sovereignty in order to satisfy whatever the EU demand. The international experts were

grudged about having dissipated immense financial resources to rationalise their mandates to remain

in the country.

The omnipresence of the guidance and instructions from the EU officials in the Prishtina government

had been frustrating the Kosovo Albanians when they shared the anger against the EU pulling strings

behind the negotiation with the government in Belgrade, since secession of the Serbian-dominated

Northern Kosovo had appeared to be an apparent

deal on the table without the consent from Prishtina

in the south. Many thought they had been deprived

of self-determination in diplomacy and foreign

relations. In the realm of home affairs, the high-

minded criminal justice building process guided by

the EU did not either effectively tackle corruption

among politicians and the business sector. The

network of underground benefits exchange remained

propitious. People suffered from unemployment and

low income (unemployment rate at 45.4% and

average monthly salary of €260 in 2011, according to

UNDP). Different sorts of negative images, such as

human trafficking, drugs trade, gender inequality,

were ravaging the development.

The bleak picture concealed by the scenes in the

westernised high street had already been expected

before the journey. There was a chance to interview

some minsters of the country and ask them about

their blueprint on tackling the problems. One of the

groups of students was invited to the Government

Building to meet the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs. He talked a lot about the growing acceptance

of the status of Kosovo in the international community. He spoke like a salesman to promote the

achievement of his office in getting more than half of the UN member states to recognise an

independent Kosovo. I could not help asking him a question, “How about internal recognition? Are

Kosovar citizens proud of their countries?” He could only reply that admittedly it would take a very

long time to establish an independent Kosovar identity different from the Albanian one and they were

working very hard on that. He could not say there was no concrete plan but he sounded so.

Just looking outside from the Government Building, one of the tallest in the city, one could

nevertheless assert that the cityscape reflected the reality. Almost all publicly displayed flags in private

buildings and shops were the red national flag of Albania. The blue Kosovar flag was only seen in

government buildings. This could only be explained as a result of the mere top-down framework of the

state building process imposed by foreign countries. Most people had no voice in the design of the

blue flag and so they disliked it and were reluctant to show it. The Kosovar identity was not as well

defined and internalised as the Albanian ethnic and cultural root.

The frustration by the current political and economic situation was shared among young people. Nearly

70% of the population were under 30. The unemployment rate for people under 24 was 73%. The

leader of an influential opposition movement against the current authority, Albin Kurti (pictured), was

only aged 37. He delivered an emphatic talk that left

the visiting students a memorable impression. He

further explained the troubles in Kosovo which were

not mentioned by EULEX and any other government

officials in different occasions, such as the damaging

consequence of rapid privatisation of public entities

after communism, as well as the prevalent mentality

of "crisis management" introduced to local police by

Western experts whose principle focus was instant

conflicts controlling rather than resolutions seeking.

His party was self-proclaimed radical nationalist. The

strategies of protesting against the authority had to

be antagonistic enough to get the attention, such as

windows smashing and provocative graffiti targeting properties of the UN. One could hardly deny his

charisma in public speaking or doubt his vision in leading his movement. It also had to be

acknowledged that the freedom of speech and association instilled and monitored by the EU

throughout the years enabled him to pursue his political

agenda. Before the Serbian left Prishtina, Kurti had been

once sentenced to 15 years in prison for a political crime.

In 2013 he was able to preach his radical political ideas

publicly. The EU could indeed claim a merit in this.

As a matter of fact, foreign intervention was not at all

failing. Amid all the problems previously mentioned, the

civil society had been gradually and consistently

developed. The visiting students had a more satisfying

experience in meeting the representatives of Kosovar

Civil Society Foundation. They were local people and had

thorough knowledge about the challenges and threats to

the fragile status of civil society. The speaker started by

quoting a shockingly low rate of interpersonal trust in

Kosovo - about only 7% of people thought they trusted

their fellow citizens. Kosovar people were not willing to or used to cooperation. There had not been a

culture of philanthropy. 90% of the funding for NGOs was from the UN and Embassies of Austria,

Norway, Sweden and others. There were however 700 active NGOs present. Many of them had been

supported by OSCE and UNDP in terms of staff training and agenda settings. There was also a

programme to enhance the training for journalists to improve the quality of news reporting, since the

Prishtina government was used to spinning their agendas through their official media. Ordinary people

could only rely on the professionalism of the journalists being the vanguard of freedom of press. The

awareness of citizen participation in public affairs was still in the building process but it had been

among the better practices in the Balkans.

The immediate reaction to the futile effort by the foreign countries could be a bottom-up voicing out

from ordinary people. Besides participating in radical political parties and assemblies, more people

became enthusiastic in seizing the chance of freedom of speech to express alternative or dissident

perspectives. Under this peculiar political situation, everyone became very well aware of the problems

in the country. Artists, writers, filmmakers, designers no longer purely pursued their aesthetic

aspirations. History, politics, ethnicity, cultural and religious struggle were not likely to avoid in

discussions. Many former Kosovar

refugees, students and professionals

in Western Europe had come back to

rebuild their careers. They brought

back western experience to instil in a

young fragile political system.

Fisnik Ismaili (pictured), the founder

of The Pimpsons, a tweak of The

Simpsons in a form of political satire,

had his own design firm to train and

support teenagers to be apprentices

of graphic design after his spell in

the creative industry in the United Kingdom. He was critical and daring enough to ridicule politicians

and their wrongdoings by poking fun and teasing on them through social media. Dardan Islmai worked

on empowering young people by setting up Urban FM Youth Radio based in a trendy live music pub

Hamam Club. A theatre company director Florent Mehmeti imported western experience of modern

drama production and education after 2000. He not only committed in training new drama teachers,

but also advised the government on cultural policy and built networks with other artistic groups in

Europe. Lirijon Kadriu, an outspoken designer, had had personal exhibitions of his work in art galleries

all over the world. These were the people who made a difference in building an identity of a modern

Kosovar citizen. As long as more young people became aware of freedom of expression, they would

subsequently stand up to defend their civil and political rights.

Last September, EULEX's mandate was extended to 2014, contrary to people's expectation of the exit

of EULEX. Many Kosovars already envisaged their politicians to surrender their ruling power to the EU's

diplomats in exchange for continuous support. Negotiation with Belgrade had not been willed by the

majority of Kosovo Albanians but they could not stop that. Today many regions in the country are still

guarded by foreign military of 5000-strong troops from more than 10 countries, collectively known as

KFOR (Kosovo Force). Foreign intervention seems continuous and never ends. What is the future of this

young country after celebrating their 5th anniversary? Young people should decide for themselves and

be heard. The activists who have been working on building the civil society should be given more

support. The top-down liberal democracy building mission has not lived up the optimism a decade ago.

Bottom-up initiatives, such as assisting the building of cooperative groups and enhancing civil

participation, should rather be the focus of the state building process. Albin Kurti told the visiting

students that one billion US dollars had been

spent on building a highway which was

known as a consequence of serious

corruption. If a tiny fraction of that amount

of public money could be used in some

NGOs, local field workers need not be

concerned with the limited resources for

keeping their job.

Finally, after eight days of observation, the

visiting students realised that the trip had

been an unexpectedly serious business. It

has been a hard business of survival and

struggle, conflicts and power fighting, war-

avoiding and peace-building.