The village that knows migration well, young people are moving to the West

After the migration wave four years ago, the flight of citizens to European countries continues to Kosovo, though not to that extent.

Citizens say they are facing a lack of perspective, in particular with jobs, and are seeking a better life outside the state of Kosovo, mainly with temporary working visas.

When we talk about the village of Karacheva in Kamenica, except for problems at the border generation, it is immediately thought of a place where migration almost never stops.

A large number of people are in exile for a long time, while the rest of them have constantly moved from here, migrateing.

Residents say they live in serious socioeconomic conditions, as they have been bypassed overall by Kosovo institutions.

Lack of jobs and a difficult approach to public services, health, and others made living in this border belt more difficult.

Kosova Prees has interviewed a Karatcheva resident whose sons are thinking about leaving this country, since they say they have a hard time surviving here.

Sabri Fera says they won't even go out in time of elections.

Fera: We're not even going to the polls.

I went to school with the boys, I thought something was going on, but there's no perspective here, now they're waiting to leave. Of two kids they have, there's nothing here, there's definitely nothing to go... Now we're in a miserable state, but we're probably going, so it's not doing well here. We in the vote no longer make it”, he said.

So does Ishmael Kastrati, who, according to him, will leave nothing of the young people here, since everyone will move.

Kastrati: Young People Are Displaced

There will be none of the young people left, because there's no perspective with these governments up to 20 years now. Ten years we've been occupied by the Serb. The Serb has been changing 100 years against the Albanian population. After the liberation, day by day, to honor those who have given blood to the rifles, even today we are violating their blood to our governments, our NATO leaders, who bombed and removed our Serb, the foreign enemy has now come to us. A young man does not leave me in Kosovo”, he says.

Even residents of surrounding villages have expressed resentment at the situation in which this area is located, where they feel there is no longer any hope and hope for development.

Selver Lenyan, head of Karatcheva village, says the migration of new generations is of great concern to all.

Lenyan: No one has taken care of Kamenica municipality.

“For our municipality of Kamenica no one has taken care of, for this border belt, for Karacheva no one has cared for, and the new generation constantly make demands to leave the country, go to embassies, such as Croatia, Slovenia and all foreign people who take up the new generation, take the young boys we need for Kosovo, we make ready for the states of Europe. It's a negative phenomenon because no government is interested, nor is this current, in the municipality of Kamenica that an extreme poverty has and to ensure the mouth bites take their way, and they leave the country, take to the states of the West”, he said.

Meanwhile, Kamenica municipality chairman Standen Kastrati says it is painful that citizens are leaving for lack of economic development. He acknowledges that the municipality does not have much competence in terms of economic development.

Kastrati: If an MP's family employs, the citizen is disappointed

“Today, young people are in alarming numbers of unemployment rates and to me what is more disturbing than they have the impression and perception of that is the fault of all of us politicians, especially those who have the central level, who are not believing that there is justice in this country and that there is equality in this country. If you hire family members of an MP or a mayor, you normally feel disappointed and do not believe in this country. As a municipality, we don't have much competence in terms of economic development. It's very painful for me if a citizen leaves Kamenica, because education is not qualitative, health service reasons”, Kastrati said.

According to him, another factor affecting citizens' flight is also how the European Union is working.

Behxhet Shala from the Council for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms says the inability to find jobs, lack of perspective and loss of hope are the main cause of youth flight.

According to him, the lack of a government or relevant government or ministries' planning for the professional profiles Kosovo needs, the overcrowding of professions in the country where they cannot find jobs, are also affecting the departure of citizens from Kosovo.

Shala: Kosovo gets moral rust

“Young people who are leaving Kosovo, it is much better to organise within Kosovo, to protest, to seek their rights because Kosovo is the country that can, but currently it is a country that has covered moral rust. There's not a measure of moral values here, there's not a measure of professional value, but there's only one measure of who from the policy position can employ more people, in order to create a clientist report so that tomorrow, when you get out for votes, you get votes, that's the bad”, he said.

Otherwise, Kamenica is one of the municipalities that has consistently displaced the population. Meanwhile, Kosovo institutions have consistently declared that the migration of Kosovars has marked a decline, compared to the preliminary years, and in particular in 2015, when there was a huge wave of citizens' flight.