Let's talk: the Kosovo town using language to bridge divides

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, March 28, 2024


Let's talk: the Kosovo town using language to bridge divides
Teuta Kastrati (R) and Suna Zajmi speak to the AFP in the town of Kamenica on June 13, 2019. In eastern Kosovo, a small town is trying to encourage dialogue between its Albanian and Serb communities by starting with the basics: language. This year in Kamenica, a municipality where ten percent of the population is ethnic Serb, the local government launched free langauge courses in hopes of breaking down the mistrust that still divides the two groups across much of Kosovo. Armend NIMANI / AFP.

by Nicolas Gaudichet and Ismet Hajdari



KAMENICA (AFP).- In eastern Kosovo, a small town is trying to encourage dialogue between its Albanian and Serb communities by starting with the basics: language.

This year in Kamenica, a municipality where 10 percent of the population is ethnic Serb, the local government launched free language courses in hopes of breaking down the mistrust that still divides the two groups across much of Kosovo.

There is a practical element too.

"I am learning Serbian because I live here, work here and have Serb customers who do not speak Albanian," says Suna Zajmi, a 32-year-old Albanian pharmacist who has been taking the classes.

Strahinja Vasic, a 25-year-old local Serb civil servant, is learning Albanian because he lives in a "neighbourhood where they are in the majority, with only six Serb families."

"And it's also useful for my work," he adds.

Albanian and Serbian are both official languages in Kosovo, a former Serbian province, which is 90 percent Albanian but still home to around 120,000 Serbs.

Yet bilingualism has become increasingly rare since Kosovo broke away from Serbia in the late 1990s, a war that ossified bitterness between the two groups.

Previously, when Kosovo was part of the former Yugoslavia, it was obligatory for Serbs and Albanians to learn each other's languages in school.

Now education is mostly segregated, with each community having its own schools or curriculums.

In the divided city of Mitrovica, for example, where tensions remain high, some NGOs use English as a common language to connect young people.

'Practical not political'
So far, 40 Serbs and 18 Albanians have taken courses offered this year by Kamenica's City Hall. Fifty others are on the waiting list for the next semester.

The basic course lasts three months and consists of 40 lessons of 45 minutes each.

"But we did not apply this strictly as my students insisted on staying more, so we did around 60 minutes for a lesson," said Serbian teacher Teuta Kastrati.

The programme was launched with support from the British Embassy and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which is also working on building an online Albanian-Serbian dictionary.

The two languages bear absolutely no resemblance, with Serbian hailing from Slavic origins while Albanian represents a unique branch of the Indo-European language family, making it distinct from every other modern European language.

Learning a language should not be a "political" issue but a "practical" one, said Svetlana Rakic, of the IOM.

People "understand its usefulness... but often do not have the opportunity," she added.

Kamenica's 30-year-old mayor Qendron Kastrati says the municipality's history has helped make it a good starting point for uniting communities.

Its 30,000 inhabitants suffer from the same high unemployment rates and economic problems plaguing the rest of Kosovo.

But their community was spared the worst of the violence of the 1998-99 war, which claimed 13,000 lives, mostly ethnic Albanians.

There was also a smaller exodus of Serbs afterwards than in other areas.

That means families in Kamenica are not looking for missing persons, an issue that still haunts many in Kosovo, says the mayor.

And in Kamenica, Serbs and Albanians often live side by side, unlike in other areas where communities tend to keep to different villages or neighbourhoods.

'No miracle'
In another gesture of inclusivity, the Albanian mayor chose a 35-year-old Serb, Bojan Stamenkovic, as his deputy.

Stamenkovic, who speaks fluent Albanian and is teaching it to his community, considers himself "a Serb patriot who wants to help his community".

That is only possible by "integrating with the Kosovar system," he says.

Elsewhere in Kosovo, most Serb politicians align exclusively with Belgrade, do not speak Albanian and only engage in minimal cooperation with the government.

When Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic was murdered in Mitrovica in 2018, his bilingualism was noted as an exception among Kosovo's political class.

Supporters saw it as a rare quality that gave him an ability to build bridges, while Serb detractors spurned his use of Albanian as unpatriotic.

Stamenkovic insists that "the mayor and I didn't perform a miracle" in Kamenica.

"Inter-ethnic tolerance was there. We have just taken another step forward so that young people can have an exchange and find a common language on common issues", like "economic underdevelopment, unemployment", he said.

Kastrati, the Serbian teacher whose mother is Bosnian and father ethnic Albanian, lauds the project for running against "the general tendency to build walls" in Kosovo.

It has already generated significant interest, "and I am sure it could serve as an example" for other areas if it received political support, she adds.

The next hope is to bring Serb and Albanian teenagers together for joint courses, such as IT classes in technical schools.

It "is the beginning of a success story", says Stamenkovic.

"If we want to build true coexistence between ethnic groups, we must learn each other's language."


© Agence France-Presse










Today's News

June 26, 2019

Lost '$170 million Caravaggio' snapped up before French auction

Infamous botched art restoration in Spain gets makeover

The Art and Antique Dealers League announces exhibitor line-up for October Fine Art & Antiques Show

Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction Aachieves $57,558,619

Sotheby's to offer most valuable Gainsborough ever to come to auction

Venus de Milo to get an extra whiff of glamour

Sotheby's 40th Anniversary Sale of Swiss Art totals CHF 5.1 million, led by masterworks by Hodler and Vallotton

Perrotin opens Xavier Veilhan's first solo exhibition on Chinese territory

The Michael Hoppen Gallery presents a selection of new still lifes from Jeff Bark's latest body of work

Top lots sold online on Bidsquare showcase strong art and modern design

New acquisition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts: 1,000 Platitudes by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

Jesper Just's Servitudes transforms Kunsthal Charlottenborg's spaces into a performative and immersive installation

Dallas Museum of Art names Sue Canterbury Pauline Gill Sullivan Curator of American Art

Magnum Print Room displays Trent Parke's 'The Camera is God' for the first time in the UK

Replica clock find sparks hope for Notre-Dame restoration

Queen Mum's 1947 Daimler DE27 Hooper limousine in need of some tlc for sale with H&H Classics

Switzerland opens first major purpose-built concert hall in any Alpine ski village

Jane Fortune's $4M estate gift to Eskenazi Museum of Art enables research on female artists

Jürgen Tabor appointed new Curator Generali Foundation Collection

1958 Gibson Flying V Korina played by Dave Davies to grab center stage in Heritage Auctions' sale

Exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum features works by more than 60 artists

Let's talk: the Kosovo town using language to bridge divides

MFAH appoints Royal Academy curator Ann Dumas in consulting role

Modernists lead American Art at Swann

How to Make Homework a Less Stressful Experience




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful