Albanian Language Student in Belgrade: Politics is a problem, not people in Kosovo, Serbia

Rel: Is it the first time you've participated in the Albanian International Ministry for Albanian Language, Literature and Culture, or have you been there before?

Milena Beran: It's my second time. I was last year. Now I'm at the third level and I need to learn more grammar and speech in Albanian. Last year I was at the second level, and this level helped me a lot. I started speaking Albanian last year, right here at the seminar.

Rel: What are the subjects on which you are most interested in knowing and learning?

Milena Beran: Now I care very much about Albanian culture and tradition, and I think it's an interesting thing for me. I mean, we're not as different as we think we're different. I think we have a few differences, but we're not far from each other, so I'm talking about culture and tradition.

Rel: What did you learn during these days, or something you didn't know before about Albanian?

Milena Beran: It's grammar because I have a problem with grammar and syntax. I think that Albanian is not easy, you have to learn a lot and study hard, work hard, so that you can speak a fluent Albanian. I think that the fact that I'm here in Kosovo and that I talk to people everywhere on the street, in shops, or anywhere even at the seminar, is very good for me and I feel very good here.

Rel: What has impressed you this time in Kosovo, compared to the past?

Milena Beran: I don't have a new impression or a new one. I have no problem, I feel very good with Kosovars even with Kosovo. My biggest impression now is that people on the street want to speak Serbian with me. When they listen to me when I talk to friends and people I don't know, they come back and they say “you're from Serbia that you speak Serbian?... Do I want to talk to you because I forgot my language I don't want to forget” It's a wonderful thing. It's something I didn't expect from people here.

Rel: Before you first came to Kosovo, what was your first impression?

Milena Beran: My first time in Kosovo, after the conflict, was a bit anxious. I wasn't as free as I am today because I didn't know what's going to be done here and how people are here because I want to say that even those of us who are in Serbia, you who are in Kosovo or Albania, we grew up with the media that don't speak well of each other. For example, the image of Albanians in Serbia is not good, and the image of Serbs in Kosovo or Albania is not good and I was afraid, I was a bit afraid and my family was afraid, but now it's very good I haven't had and I have no problem.

Rel: You come from Serbia, live in Belgrade. Do you ever feel embarrassed, since the country you come from has not recognised Kosovo as a state?

Milena Beran: I am also very sorry about our past conflicts. I'm also very sorry about the things that are happening today, which are not good, and I hope that we will have an opportunity in the future to become a good society in the Balkans without conflict, without prejudice, because I think we can be friends and friends because I'm friends with a lot of people here. I think it's not the problem with people, I think politics and politicians have made problems very big, but I hope in the future we will have more co-operation between Albanian and Serbian youth. It's necessary, it's something to do.

Rel: Are there prejudices about your fellow citizens, the language you study, the Albanian language?

Milena Beran: Yes, of course there is. When I started studying Albanian, my mother was pleased, there was no prejudice. He realized that I love Albanian and I have to learn more and I have to read, but my brother, who is smaller than I am, did not understand why I just want to study Albanian. But now, when I start fourth year in October, my brother is very proud of me and he always tells his friends that my sister studies Albanian and is very brave. The situation isn't like we heard on television or anywhere else. I think with me, with my experience my family is changing, changing their thinking. For example, last year I took a vacation in Ulcinj with my family, and it was fine. My mother enjoyed it, we had no problem, and now we are trying to go to Albania, take a vacation there, and why not.