Back in January, the uncertainty over Kosovo's future hung heavily in the air, amidst excited chatter in smoke-filled bars. The mood in Prishtina when I was there was one of unspoken tension, and the Albanians knew they were in for independence soon, but when was always the question. And finally it happened last Sunday: the province declared itself independent from Serbia, and here in NY, Kosovars were out in droves celebrating their freedom. It's a freedom that no outsider can understand, but being there with them in Times Square, and partying with them into the hours of dawn brought me back to Kosovo all over again, knowing that they lived for so many years, in a state of limbo, and now their land is theirs. I've been thinking a lot about the question of identity, and the Balkans is one particular place where it's often hard to define, but it's also something extremely close to peoples' hearts-- a kind of amorphous reality of sorts. The future for this new born nation is going to involve a lot of work-- not just economically, but socially, trying to set itself apart from the notion that they are 'Albanians' as a collective term, to being Kosovars.
Here are two photos from Kosovo in transition, a month before independence. The latter photos are from last week, of Kosovar-Americans leaving for their homeland, and others remaining here to celebrate in New York.
A bus on the way to the Presevo Valley waits at the Serb-Kosovo border check. Presevo is a municipality inside Serbia, inhabited by about 35,000 people, the majority of whom are ethnic-Albanians. 01.11.08
Serbs in Gracanica gather to celebrate Orthodox Christmas on January 6, 2008. Gracanica is a Serb enclave about 8km outside of Kosovo's capital, Prishtina, and is the site of one of the most important Serb monastaries.
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Celebrations took place on the streets of New York, just hours after Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia.
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