Tolerance matters: Kosovo youth breaking down prejudices
In post-conflict societies building relations and reconciliation is never easy, and Kosovo is no exception. Relations between ethnic groups remain fragile and sensitive, and often require lots of hard work to establish and improve ties.
The situation can be particularly challenging when it comes to young people. Separate education systems, different languages, and lack of joint events limit their interactions and opportunities to get to know one another.
“Such an environment is conducive for building up stereotypes and prejudges, and can cause further division among the various ethnic groups living in Kosovo,” says Nikola Petrovski, Senior Human Rights Adviser at the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.
Changes on the ground
“Here at the Mission we see that there is a need to further improve inter-ethnic relations in Kosovo. There is a lack of communication and direct contact between the different communities, and that must change,” said Petrovski. According to him, one of the ways to overcome this situation is to work with young people directly, to listen to their opinions and to urge the institutions, both at the local and central levels, to take their ideas and proposals into consideration, and to tailor activities that would promote inter-community relations and dialogue.
Inter-ethnic co-operation
In 2013, four municipalities in the Gjilan/Gnjilane region signed a declaration on inter-ethnic co-operation, while this year three more regions, including Klokot/Kllokot, Štrpce/Shtërpcë, and Ferizaj/Uroševac, took up the same commitment.
Petrovski hopes that all municipalities will follow the seven municipalities in the Gjilan/Gnjilane region, as institutional support is essential for the overall reconciliation process.
Prejudice does exist, but so do ways to overcome it
In August 2015, the Mission organized a youth camp in Rugova Valley in an attempt to bring together young people from different communities. The camp had more than 30 participants, who engaged in debates and activities, and openly expressed their views about inter-ethnic relations, and thought about ways of improving them.
“If we want a better future we need to work for it together,” said Valdete Osmani, 23, one of the participants, and a Kosovo Ashkali student from Ferizaj/Uroševac.
The young people who attended the OSCE-organized youth camp admitted that they do not normally have opportunities to socialize and gather with their peers from other communities. Luka Dogančić, 18, is a Kosovo Serb from Štrpce/Shtërpcë. His main source of information about other communities is from the internet, rather than from direct contact, and he liked the fact “that all of them gathered at the same place.”
I did have contacts with Albanians in the past but this is my first time to meet someone from the Ashkali community. The more I learn about the others the better. I certainly made some friends here and hope we will stay in touch.
Valdete said the main difficulty was finding a common language to communicate with peers. Some spoke English, but others didn’t: “We ended up using body language, and it worked.” Before participating in the youth camp, Valdete also believed that the members of the Serb community were not as open and willing to socialize.
During the camp, Blerina Nazifi, 18, a Kosovo Albanian mathematics student from Ferizaj/Uroševac, liked the debates that promoted diversity and different opinions the most. “I liked to challenge my patience during the discussions, to listen and let others talk. I also liked the fact that I could meet so many young people from different communities. But ultimately, what I would like to see is more young people from different towns and municipalities, not only from the Gjilan/Gnjilane region, participating at similar activities,” Blerina said.
Planning for a better future
That was exactly the outcome Nikola had hoped to see – the eagerness of young people to learn new things, to socialize, openly express their opinions, and make proposals on how to improve relations between communities in Kosovo. His further commitment was to take up the proposals gathered during the camp and based on these, urge the municipalities to tailor their activities.
“We have heard some constructive proposals here, and I hope they will materialize in the future,” Petrovski said. Proposals included joint sport activities, language classes, youth debates, and further socializing. “If this is what young people see as a way to improve relations, we are ready to give them support. Institutions should do their part as well,” he concluded.
Blerina, Valdete, and Luka believe that a better future is possible. It will require commitment and dedication, but they are certain it will come if they continue to co-operate and work together as they did during the camp.