Kosovo

Update from Kosovo: July 27, 2010

A recent brownbag lunch with an American colleague who works in a field office in Kosovo enlightened our little group with his experiences living and working in and around Pristina for the past 1 ½ years.
I took notes and wanted to share them and my insights.

For those who are not familiar with Kosovo: Roughly 2 million people live in this land-locked region that has been at the center of international attention off and on since the former Yugoslavia broke apart in the early 1990s. Kosovo is home to ethnic Albanians who are predominantly Muslim. Also living in this area are ethnic Serbs who are predominantly Orthodox. Serbia administered control over Kosovo when Yugoslavia broke apart; then in 2009, the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Serbia, Russia and nearly half of the rest of the nations of the world have yet to recognize Kosovo as a legitimate nation-state which adds to the complexity of its government situation and its lack of economic activity.

With that, here is a brief update on what you need to know about Kosovo:
Recognition or No Recognition-What’s the Big Deal?
Despite last week’s ruling by the International Court of Justice which decided that Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence was legal, Kosovo is still not recognized by almost half of the world’s nations. It is terribly inconvenient and economically backwards not to be universally recognized as an independent and sovereign state by some of the major world powers. For example, Kosovo is unable to obtain a postal code-which means many countries in the world refuse to send mail or packages anywhere with a “Kosovo” address. If you try to purchase a book on Amazon, there is no drop-down for “Kosovo.” Kosovo passports are not recognized by nearly half of the world’s countries. Kosovo has no designated country-code for international phone calls; currently, it is renting Monaco’s country code. For the majority of people living in the least developed countries, these basic essentials are available-but not to those living in Kosovo.

Separation is Leading to a Serious Lack of Communication-Serbian enclaves in Kosovo have removed themselves almost entirely from the society of ethnic Albanians (called Kosovars) with separate schools that teach only Serbian and possibly English. The Kosovars have in turn begun growing up learning only Albanian and possibly English; however, very few Albanians or Serbs learn English or any other “neutral” language. These days, most people under the age of 30 speak only their ethnic language. Most Albanians over age 30 can speak Serbian, but are not often with Serbs since their communities have become so divided. This is potentially very dangerous since the two ethnicities are becoming mature adults who have no idea how to communicate with a large portion of their fellow “citizens.”

Economic Outlook: Look Out!
Bleak. That is the simplest way to put it. Kosovo’s population (no census has been taken in years, so numbers are hard to come by) is estimated at 60% youth (under the age of 32) and unemployment is estimated at 50% on a good day. Although the international community has turned its focus from security and ensuring the safety of both ethnic groups to the economy and education, the big question now is whether the tipping point will be reached before these foreign aid projects can be fully implemented. Hundreds of thousands of angry youths with nothing to do and less than bright future prospects equates to the perfect recipe for violence, drug and human trafficking, high suicide rates, and eventually a failed state before it was even given a chance to be a state. Kosovo needs a solid governing body-something the EU has tried to take on-and an education system that gives youths the opportunities to advance from poverty and chaos to a stable life.

For further reading on the International Court of Justice’s ruling on the Legality of Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence, check out this link: http://www.usip.org/resources/the-icj-and-kosovo-independence

Comments welcome!