Return

KTHIM RETURN POVRATAK

KTHIM RETURN POVRATAK

the plight of

Kosovar Roma Serbian

return to normality

words and images by nathaniel grann

Kosovar

A

young Adem Jashari traveled to Albania in 1991 to train with fellow volunteers who wished to see their native homeland free from Yugoslavia.

Seven years later, Jashari would be leading an attack against Serbian police patrols under the newly formed Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) as the Kosovo War started in full swing.

By the end of the war approximately 15,000 people will have been killed and Kosovo would be under a United Nations Administration that still stands today.

The war completely halted all production and growth within the region and caused a racial and ethnic tension that is still prevalent within modern Kosovo.

Despite the time that has passed since the war, the return process for Albanians, Serbians and RAE’s to their former homes continues to inflame the racial and ethnic tensions many experienced during the war. These tensions make it difficult for the minority groups, Serbian and RAE, to return to their former homes as many have either been illegally occupied or completely ruined beyond repair.

This has driven dependence on international and local aid organizations to provide services for beneficiaries who wish to return to Kosovo.

This itself though places an almost unrealistic expectation on aid organizations. It allows for the failures of municipalities, to re-assimilate the returning beneficiaries, to be shifted onto excuses of excessive bureaucracy and lack of internal support. The truth of the blame usually falls in a gray zone, in which aid organizations become caught up within the short comings of local authorities while the beneficiaries are led to believe misstated claims.

“Everyday, we deal with people saying the government told them this, the government told them that.” says Dragan Cremonese, an employee of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) Prizren (Prizren) Office. “It can make our job really difficult at times, it does us no good to have these people lied to.”

Whether it was intentional or not, these seemingly small miscommunications have cost beneficiaries years in their return process and have caused, in some municipalities, shaky relations with aid organizations.

Left to Right: A damaged house stands in the northern district of Prishtinë (Priština), Kosovo. Although eleven years has past since the war officially ended, many damaged and abandoned buildings can still be seen within the capitol city and throughout Kosovo.

Opening: A dead bird lays in the middle of the street in Prishtinë (Priština), Kosovo. The current political turmoil and lack of reliability within the Kosovar government has made the return process for beneficiaries very difficult even within the capitol.

A representative of the Orhavac Municipality meets with a DRC representative to discuss a upcoming scouting trip of houses that once belonged to Serbians in the area.

Although these trips are usually not dangerous, shots were fired from one house in 2008 causing KFOR and the local police to now take part in these scouting trips.

Previous page top to bottom: A banner of Adem Jashari, one of the founding members of the KLA, is hung at the Palace of Youth and Sport in Prishtinë (Priština), Kosovo. Jashari was killed along with 52 of his family members by Serbian national forces during the Kosovo War and became a nationwide symbol of Kosovo independence.

A young Kosovar Albanian raises the Albanian flag at the Ibrahim Rugova Memorial and Martyrs Hill Cemetery in Prishtinë (Priština), Kosovo, in honor of the KLA members who had died during the war. Ibrahim Rugova was the first president of Kosovo and seen mostly as a moderate ethnic Albanian leader.

Roma

T

he RAE communities have fallen under a strange societal status in modern Kosovo. Many faced hostile actions during and after the war for alleged pro-Serbian backings during the conflict, forcing as many as 90,000 RAE’s into exile by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Today, it is estimated around 100,000 RAE’s live in Kosovo but it is likely that number is much larger then thought.

When Kosovo declared independence in 2008, the RAE’s were officially recognized to entitlement of their land and other basic rights as long as they were registered in their municipality. Although this notion of ownership is admirable, the undertaking and implementation has fallen short according to the European Centre of Minority Issues (ECMI).

“It’s been like being able to tell someone they can have a free dinner but only if they can raise it, catch it, kill it and then cook it themselves first,” says Lars Burema of the ECMI Kosovo.

The Roma community of Mitrovicë (Kosovska Mitrovica) has a been a targeted group by many aid organizations since it was found that heavy lead contamination had occurred in the settlement of Roma Mahala. It is believed, according to the Humans Right Watch, that an estimated 97% of the community at one point suffered from lead poisoning or other health related issues due to the heavy mining taking place near and around the city.

Previous Page: Šaban Gašjani poses for his portrait at his house in Roma Mahala, Mitrovicë (Kosovska Mitrovica), Kosovo. The house holds his ten children, his wife and numerous grandchildren, Šaban jokes that someone will have to stop having kids and it’s not likely it will be him.

Left to right: Two of Šaban’s sons sit outside with his grandson as they watch baby ducklings and the rest of the house from the patio.

A large amount of electronics sit above the grandson’s crib. A common joke around Roma Mahala is that if it wasn’t for the televisions or loud stereo systems, there probably wouldn’t be as many children running around.

Today, Roma Mahala is slowly becoming a part of South Mitrovicë (Kosovska Mitrovica) but basic fundamental necessities are still lacking. While measures are being taken to improve the general livelihood and community empowerment, lack of cultural understanding between the RAE’s, Albanians and Serbians still creates fundamental problems. These differences, along with the heated history between the groups, has made a set standard of living within Roma Mahala difficult to maintain.

Šaban Gašjani fled Roma Mahala with his family to Montenegro in early 1999. During the Gašjani’s time in exile, the family depended financially on Šaban’s carpentry skills and the support of friends while living in make shift camps throughout Montenegro. Upon the families return to Kosovo in 2001, Šaban spent seven years trying to rebuild his house and regain his rightful property.

“It was a very hard process for my family and me but we eventually won,” says Šaban “ But I hope that my children can move on to survive. I am content but only if I am able to survive while my children are trying to move up.” Šaban has big hopes for his ten children. His two oldest sons are now married and fathers of their own and his youngest daughter’s medal in cross-country running is proudly displayed in the family’s living room. He seems to be a typical family man, trying to make the most of his return to normality but that isn’t to say road blocks haven’t occurred.

With an estimated 83% of Mitrovicë (Kosovska Mitrovica) unemployed, Šaban has found it difficult to find work even in his DRC appointed job at the ‘Industrial Hotel’ of Roma Mahala, a work station for RAE’s to either perform or learn various metal and wood crafts. “A typical week, I might get to work on one or two things but every month the situation seems to get worse,” says Šaban. It is expected this trend will even worsen as many of the aid organizations will lose their Roma Mahala funding in 2012.

Clockwise: Sheep spend the majority of their day walking around Roma Mahala with little boundaries but Šaban’s neighbour had recently complained about their aimless grazing forcing them to be locked up. Besides carpentry, livestock is one of the main incomes for the Gašjani family. Šaban talks with his third youngest son before leaving for a funeral. A friend of his had recently passed away, it is thought he had died from complications from the contamination within Mitrovicë (Kosovska Mitrovica), Kosovo.

Enjoying a a longer lunch break then usual, Šaban discusses local news with his fellow friends and co-workers at the ‘Industrial Hotel.’

Serbian

W

ithin Kosovo, Albanian and Serbian relations remain tense especially as largescale unemployment is faced and as both groups are slowly being integrated back into one another’s lives. This estranged relationship has made the plight of Kosovar Serbs, returning to their homes, especially difficult and at times not even safe.

The city of Prizren (Prizren), although facing little damage during the actual Kosovo War, sustains one of the largest targeted Kosovar Serb population in revenge-related attacks. Following the end of the war, the majority of the Kosovar Albanian population returned to Prizren (Prizren) while Serbs and RAE’s, fearing retaliation or through intimidation, fled the city. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) estimated that 97% of the Serb population had left the city by October of 1999 while Serbian houses and quarters were burned and looted. A second occurrence took place during the 2004 Unrest of Kosovo, in which, nationwide, 4,000 Kosovar Serbs were forced to leave their home and within the city of Prizren (Prizren) the majority of culturally Serb monuments were targeted or damaged.

Radmila and Tomislav Gadzic witnessed the anti-Serbian events of Prizren (Prizren) as they were forced from their home following the return of the Albanian majority. Not able to actually flee Kosovo, the couple found shelter in a local church where they hid before traveling to relatives.

The couple returned in 2003 to find that their house had been completely destroyed and that the majority of their neighbors and friends had suffered similar fates.

Previous: Radmila and Tomislav Gadzic pose for their portrait in their bedroom in Prizren (Prizren), Kosovo.

The couple has been living in this common house with other internally displaced Serbs for over seven years.

Left to right: Radmila holds a picture of their old house before the war. The picture shows a traditional Serbian patio that cannot be put on their new house because of new housing regulations in place. The Gadzic’s are very upset that they are not able to rebuild this traditional porch.

Tomislav stands in front of their new house which is blocked by debris from other building projects in the area. They’re suppose to move into the house in eight days but he worries the house will not be done in time.

“I have tried to forget what has happened...”says Radmila “It was complete humiliation what we endured and saw and I hope it never happens to anyone again. In a best case scenario, these past twelve years would be erased from existence and none of this would have happened.”

The Gadzics currently live with seven other internally displaced Serbs in a common house in downtown Prizren (Prizren) waiting for their houses to be rebuilt with the help of the DRC and local municipality. Although all are anxious to return to their property and some sense of common life, many including the Gadzics, are upset by the changes that their new house have had to undergo.

Left to right: Radmila and Tomislav Gadzic hold hands after a long day of talking with DRC representatives and visiting their new house. ‘If we can make it through this, we can make it through anything.’ says Radmila.

Radmila stares out in thought at a local public cafeteria where they receive a free lunch everyday. The couple spend the majority of their days either sitting at home or in a cafe in Prizren (Prizren), Kosovo.

Next: Anti-Serbian graffiti is spread on a wall in downtown Prizren (Prizren), Kosovo. The town saw a large increase of ethnic violence in 2004 during the ‘Unrest’ of Kosovo.

“We once had a basement but now we cannot.” says Tomislav “We once had a porch, a Serbian tradition, but now we cannot. We once had more land but now we have less.”

Organizations working with beneficiaries have ran into many problems with new building regulations that make it impossible for the beneficiaries houses to be exactly as they were before the war. Communication between the groups can often be difficult as the beneficiaries feel they are not being given what was promised to them while organizational employees may get discouraged.

“I want my house, that’s all.” says Radmila “I have no hatred towards the Albanians or anyone at all. I just want to get back to my life with my husband, we want to go home.”

On June 16, 2011, the Gadzics are expected to receive their new house keys at a large municipality ‘signing over’ ceremony at their newly built house. While the Gadzics admit to being happy about receiving this new home, they still fear the house will not be finished in time or not up to the standards they would like. As of June 6, 2011, their new house still had major renovation to take place and the municipality has made it clear that their demand for a traditional Serbian porch will not be met.