Young people from Serbia, Kosovo meet for a rare chance to talk

28. 10. 2010. Source: Metro, Winnipeg Free Press, Associated Press, Oct 27th 2010.

As Serbia and Kosovo brace for EU-mediated talks, a group of young people have been one step ahead, organizing Wednesday a rare public dialogue of their own.

The debate in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, gathered five people from Serbia and their five guests from Kosovo, who discussed a range of topics, from everyday life to politics.

Organizers from Youth Initiative for Human Rights group say that the idea is to open communication between the young people from the two nations split by war.

"This is only the beginning," explained activist Dusan Lopusina. "We want the young to bond."

This seemed to come naturally for the participants in the dialogue held before a small audience at a cultural centre in downtown Belgrade.

"We have so many things in common," said Krenar Shala, from Kosovo. "We share the same values, we have the same problems."

Anita Mitic, from Serbia, agreed: "We have so much to talk about, there is a wall between us and we need to break down that wall."

The mistrust between Serbs and Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority stems from the 1998-99 war, which erupted when Kosovo launched a rebellion to gain independence from Serbia, and Belgrade responded with a bloody crackdown. Some 10,000 people died and numerous crimes were committed before a NATO intervention ended the conflict and forced Serbia to pull out from its former province.

In 2008, Kosovo declared independence with the backing of the United States and most EU nations, but Serbia has refused to acknowledge the split. The tensions have persisted, blocking normalization of ties in the Balkan region. This has prompted the EU to seek the opening of a dialogue between the former foes, which are planned for the coming months, but with no date yet set.

For the young people at the Belgrade discussion, the right way to establish trust is to tackle the problems that trouble ordinary people, boost travel, trade and communication. They said the only way to overcome prejudice about one another is to see that everyday lives in Serbia and in Kosovo do not differ much, although they seem far apart.

"What goes on in Kosovo is no different from here — poor education and no jobs," said Marjan Maruna, from Serbia. "Yet, for the people here, Kosovo is another planet."

Mitic added that public meetings like the Belgrade debate are important because "people can see that we can sit together."

"We will be leaders in ten years and we will remember that we could sit and talk," she said.