Two weeks I have spent in Kosovo. Ten years after the war and five years after the riots, I was curious to find out what the state of the country is now. After these two weeks, I find it very hard to give only one answer to that. The country shows huge differences, depending on the location and the people to whom you speak.


My travel started in Mitrovica, in the North. Ever since the war this city is a point of dispute. According to Serbia, the northern part of the city is Serbian. According to Kosovo, it is Kosovar. This makes the city very tense. Getting my camera out of my bag already caused a lot of frowning, and taking pictures was even harder. People either walked away, or came up to me to block my view.


The week after I got back, a newspaper reported that police forces used teargas and grenades to scare off people destroying new-built houses.


After Mitrovica the trip went South-West to Peja / Peç, with the Accursed Mountains showing the border with Montenegro. Peja exhibits a mix of old and new. Of Muslim and Orthodox. Its inhabitants are a mixture of mainly Albanians, with Bosnian, Turkish and Roma minorities. Here I found it easier to take pictures, because the people seemed less tense. Even some tourism started up. On the other hand, if you want to visit the Serbian Dečan / Decani Monastery, you have to pass the Italian KFOR guards. At least a passport check and a check of your luggage is needed, and anyone with a name that sounds too Albanian doesn’t get in.


Next was Prizren in the South. This city is relatively untouched by the ’99 war and still inhibits a lot of mosques. The Turkish influences are still very notable here. A bit further to the South lay the villages of Dragash and Brod. Being in the far South of Kosovo and surrounded by the mountains of Albania and Macedonia these villages are very much on their own. Electricity was introduced some five years ago, and a lot of transport takes place by horse. There is no public transport going there. I entered a café between Dragash and Prizren to arrange a lift back to Prizren. As soon as I entered, the entire café fell silent. After a quick explanation that I was Dutch, I was immediately invited for a drink and a game of cards, while waiting for the lift. I think this is exemplary of the way people can react. Every stranger is a potential thread.


The last stop was Pristinha, the capitol. History clearly put its mark on the city. The construction of new buildings went faster than the cities council could plan. This resulted in a maze of new streets and buildings. A lot of them don’t have names and are indicated by their most important buildings. An interesting stop is the police headquarters. Here, people have put up pictures with descriptions of their beloved who went missing during the war. It leaves quite an impression seeing all those papers with pictures rustling in the wind.


During these two weeks, I have been offered coffee by people who could hardly afford it. On the other hand, there was someone waiving a gun at me, because I got my camera out of my bag. The people are by nature very friendly, but the history of war created a lot of xenophobia. I encountered a country that is looking forward to a better future that is working hard to achieve that. But it will take many generations to achieve this.