What is Kosovo, according to the Greek newspaper “Ekathmerini”

Read the following part about Kosovo, where the past and present are affected, the fate of Krusha's women, interreligious harmony and contemporary festivals.

Twelve journalists, one Croat, three Portuguese, two Romanian, one Polish, two Greeks, a Frenchman and a Danish man boarded a van to become part of a trip to the Western Balkans, which started in Montenegro and ended in Kosovo by passing through northern Albania.

The leader of the group of journalists is a Macedonian north and organising one is the European Directorate General for Business and Enlargement Negotiations.
It's a family trip!

The great European family continues to exist, of course, without what it once was. It is now similar to those families that a person watches in the movies of Woody Allen, with hatred and passion, whose members stand at the same table, criticising the leader directly (seeing the results of the last European elections), although they rarely get to the point of completely rejecting it (as opposed to Britain).

Surprisingly, travel does not reflect the internal problems facing Europe today. On the contrary, it's an image of old, better self, when the tendency was to understand and not be suspicious of the other European.

 

Interesting is how the group is composed, as apart from Danish and French, we are all part of countries with a present and troubled past.

The Portuguese, Italian and we Greeks come from memorandum countries or/and economic crisis, while the Romanian, Polish and Croat experienced either as children or as young, the violent change of regime in their countries. This diverse association (which represents a healthy Europe, not ideal, but also more attractive) conducts a drive across three Balkan states, which are either candidates to become part of the EU (Albania, Montenegro), or are being empowered to obtain candidacy (Kosovo).

Food, Common Place

The trip began from Montenegro's capital, Podgorica, and ended in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, certainly making different stops along the mostly food-related road, which is considered a diplomatic tool in the Balkans.

 

Following various culinary experiences in Montenegro and northern Albania, the line was another food story, most painful, with a poor but hopeful ending.

It's about the Krusha women's co-operative, otherwise known as the collaboration of Kosovo's widows.

It was March 1999, during wartime in Kosovo, the Yugoslav Army entered the village of Krusha the Great, burned the homes of villagers and executed most of the village's men. The village recovery was by no means easy. Great Krusha's widows cultivated the land and obtained products started selling it, a way to survive.

They did it, as the Krusha cooperative already has its own logo with the headscarf farmer who holds red peppers in her hands. Products which, along with its other byproducts, are so popular that they are sold inside and outside Kosovo.

The catalyst for raising the village was food that seems to have worked not only as a way to make a living but also as a way of managing a collective mourning.

As the old man says, as long as the earth works, life continues.

Kolage, Bienale, Memorial

What impressed Kosovo was contemporary art, which was harmonised with events in the world.

Because Kosovo doesn't just have the Krusha herd peppers. It is Femart 7th Edition Freedom Vs Shame, held in Pristina from 10 June to 16 June, focusing on forming an equal identity between the female and male artistic voice.

 

Kosovo is also host of the Biennale Highway, a Biennale of Contemporary Art, organised for the second time in the city of Prizren from July 20th to September 21st.

The international film festival Doku Fest is held in Prizren during the month, and as we are told, and organisers are also open to Serbian directors, despite deep Kosovo-Serbia conflicts. This is about a bold festival that promotes the rights of the LGBT community, not in London, but in a town that has been listening at 4 in the morning to the mosque speakers, the imam that calls on believers to forgive.

Shared Heritage

One thing that has been impressive is why do Kosovo cities have high percentages of the new population age? According to our guide, it is because during Serbia's pre-independence period, Kosovars made many children so that there would be considerable military force in the country. Today, after 11 years (from the Declaration of Independence), you do not think that teenagers you now see being around Pristina and Prizren's peaceful parks, giving them life and beauty, were born as potential warriors.

For a Greek, the reasons why he has to make such a trip are many. It's very interesting how much we have in common with all these peoples, starting from the legacy of the Ottoman Empire. It's a very familiar feeling to walk into cities where one side looks at the glass and the other side of the church and finally the cafe you'll end up in to drink raki dinners. Before Paris, London and New York, a Balkans must travel.