Global Economic Crisis Starts Hitting Kosovo

When, not if, the effects of the global economic meltdown would hit Kosovo has been a topic for discussion since headlining across the rest of Europe and the US.  Many believed that the summertime was when the real effects would show when migrant workers started returned from abroad and possibly fail to secure visas to return abroad for work due to demand for jobs.  However, it seems that already Kosovo is beginning to feel the economic pinch with remittances from abroad starting to drop.

When first arriving in Kosovo some eight years ago I joined the group that wondered why there were so many Western Union offices in such a poor place.  The answer was found in that the mass exodus from Kosovo during the fighting left many people in Western Europe who were able to secure work and support their non-working families in Kosovo.  Just like migrant workers from Mexico in the US, Kosovars go abroad in Europe and send a good portion of their wages back to Kosovo to their families accounting for a substantial portion of Kosovo’s income.  With unemployment still at approximately 40-50%, hard times are likely to soon fall upon Kosovo unless the government finds a way to pull a white rabbit out of its hat.

Alive & Kicking :)

Despite the fact that I haven’t been able to update that much lately, I am still alive and kicking in Kosovo   Life has been hectic and coupled with recent events in UNMIK, work is a bit crazy.

Last week, UNMIK send letters of termination to some 450 staff members, mostly national.  The sudden termination, letters issued on Thursday with a last working day of Friday, was due to a deadline set by NY for the last payment of termination indemnity which the national staff previously went on strike about last month.  Despite calls for the withdrawal of UNMIK from Kosovo, the mission is currently just scaling back to approximately 500 staff members by the end of June 2009 as per UN Security Resolution 1244, the UN is required to maintain a presence in Kosovo until such time that the resolution is changed or discharged by the Security Council.

Last week EULEX announced that it had achieved 100% operational capacity.  What operational capacity exactly means is still up for debate with a few letters of criticism over logistics and other difficulties faced by police officers coming out and circulated to the international EULEX staff.  In other EU news, a delegation from the European Parliament has told Kosovo that they no longer need UNMIK as EULEX is now operational.

UNMIK National Staff go on strike

The national staff of UNMIK went on strike today at 0930 hours CET to protest against decisions taken by NY HQ in regards to contracts and termination indemnity for staff who have chosen to remain working with UNMIK rather than leave for other jobs.  The idea is to protest until NY rescinds its decision and agrees to grant longer contracts with an option for indemnity should UNMIK decide to terminate the contract earlier than expected.

I nearly forgot to mention the opening of a new restaurant in downtown Pristina – Sushi Bar (044 218 998, Old Cactus Bar, near the Grand Hotel).  Due to differences, the cook from Tokyo and one of the waiters have moved on and opened their own restaurant downtown which is quickly becoming a favorite place for sushi.  During the weekends, there is open mic karaoke.  The food is excellent (try the salmon!) and we are keeping our fingers crossed that their sake supply will come in soon!  I have updated my Restaurant Guide with the new information and some additional phone numbers I’ve picked up.

How Time Flies!

Wow, it’s hard to believe that nearly a month has passed since I last wrote.  I am reminded now of the saying “the more things change the more they stay the same”.  UNMIK continues to downsize while EULEX is operating in police & justice…yet nothing really feels different…people are just wearing different uniforms and there are more flats with “For Rent” signs than usual.  With the downsizing of UNMIK, rumors are many about the fate of the employees.  A protest over the extension of contracts may occur later today or tomorrow on behalf of the UNMIK national staff.

The power situation has been great other than the fact that I discovered my landlady trying to save money by switching off the fuses in my flat after I left for work every day.  How much she thought she was saving by turning off my refrigerator, hot water heater, and one heater each day I have no idea!!!  I finally got fed up and had a discussion with her son explaining that I’ve noticed that the power in my flat was going off every day at approximately the same time and I was aware there were no power outages at the time.  Miraculously the next day there was no planned outage in my flat

In sad news, I saw a report that an eight-year-old boy was attacked and killed by a pack of wild dogs earlier this week near Kamenica.  This is not the first time that a child has been killed by dogs in Kosovo and with the huge number of strays I am sure that it won’t be the last.  Of course, those wanting to assist with the stray dog issue can contact the Kosovo Animal Shelter (email or by telephone at +377 44 126 439 or +377 44 199 061) to donate time, food, and funds!

The weather continues to be winter-like with small snowstorms every few days.  That means I get more time to enjoy snowboarding in Brezovica with my friends so you won’t hear many complaints from this snow-bunny!

MTCowgirl’s Kosovo News

• Maldives launches investigation into Kosovo recognition
• EULEX panel overturns UN court decision for bus bomber
• Kosovo police bar Serbian politicians from entering Kosovo
• Kosovo wants to discontinue UNMIK

Kosovo Celebrates

Yesterday, Kosovo Albanians celebrated the one year anniversary of the declaration of independence from Serbia.  Many people stretched the celebration out to start on the 16th by closing shops early with essentially everything closed on the 17th.  The street party was massive and Smokey was emotionally traumatized by the huge fireworks displays, automatic gunfire, and smaller private celebrations that lasted for hours.  The celebration this year seemed to top that of the actually party that was held as people were able to plan much more in advance unlike last year when the date for declaring independence was not well-known.

MTCowgirl’s Independence Articles

• Kosovo’s long road to stability
• Kosovo economy bleak, year after independence move
• Crowds celebrate 1st birthday
• US hails progress, acknowledges problems in independent Kosovo
• Kosovo independence

Other Kosovo News

• EU plans put NATO in jeopardy
• Uganda requests Haradinaj for peace talks
• Domain name Kosovo.com to be auctinoed
• Blasts rock Preshevo and Mitrovica

KEK in the Butt

Ha, I couldn’t help it. There were power problems (fuse kept blowing out) last night in a restaurant we were visiting and a friend piped up with “Someone needs a KEK in the butt” Classic!!! Actually, the power hasn’t been this bad this winter (reportedly production is up 30% compared to other years) so there have not been long power outages in Pristina.  Some of the smaller villages have been worse off but the power situation does appear to be improving slowly.

Kosovo has some wonderful nature such as Rugova Valley and Brezovica.  I have been trekking up to Mount Sara (Brezovica is actually the name of the village, not the mountain) on the weekends and taking snowboarding lessons.  Compared to back home in the US, learning and renting equipment here is next to nothing.  A ski rental will cost you 10€ a day and lessons are somewhere in the range of 10-15€ per hour.  A day pass on the ski-lift (you do have to pay again if you switch lifts) is 10€ or a single trip is only 3€ which is nice if you just want to ride up to the top to take some pictures and come back down again.  There aren’t really beginner slopes at Brezovica, the main slope is actually a black run, but it’s all good.  During your breaks from skiing/snowboarding, I can recommend stopping at Cakson for some hot spiced wine or Pizzaria Tina which has fantastic pizzas albeit in an extremely smoky environment.

On the downside of Brezovica, it is just absolutely jam-packed on Sundays and there is little to no crowd control at the ski-lifts.  The line is basically a push-and-shove fest to see who can come in from the side or push their way to the front.  I actually got my arm stuck between two people trying to hold onto the jacket of my instructor as they pushed in from the side and trapped me.  Another time I saw an interesting argument between a Albanian youth and a Polish KFOR soldier.  The youth attempted to cut in line in front of everyone and the soldier told him to get to the back of the line.  The youth then proceeded to start threatening the soldier who was backed up by three other Polish soldiers (all in uniform).  The next thing you know everyone in line is yelling at the youth about cutting in line but he didn’t care and just kept pushing forward.

The last thing that I saw really made me wonder about people in Kosovo and what people can get away with…a black Jeep Grand Cherokee with tinted windows was trying to push its way through a crowd of people waiting for the ski-lift.  People were moving out of the way the best they could with skis strapped to their feet and its possible that one person accidentally or intentionally hit the back of the vehicle with his ski pole.  The next thing you know two guys got out of the Jeep and attacked the skier, throwing him to the ground punching and kicking him in front of all the people at the ski lift.  The worst thing about it was that people were just “Hey, Hey” and didn’t move to help the guy that was being beaten-up and then the two guys just got back into the vehicle and drove off.  Ummm, hello!!!

MTCowgirl’s Kosovo News

• Kosovo to establish Security Council
• Kosovo expels Roma children
• Germany assists KSF with vehicles
• EU stresses Kosovo reforms
• Austrian KFOR soldier shoots soldier
• Obama writes to Kosovo president
• Kosovo designates new embassies and consular offices
• ICJ ruling to be ambiguous
• EU Parliament urges recognition of Kosovo

Kosovo Serbs Protest KSF

Kosovo Serbs organized demonstrations today in the north of Kosovo, blocking roads and traffic. The Serbs participating say that the security force threatens their safety. They also demonstrated against EULEX customs which began registering goods coming into Kosovo last week.  The demonstrators don’t want EULEX to set-up the customs point until an agreement is reached with Belgrade.

On Wednesday, the president of Kosovo named the head of the Kosovo Intelligence Service as Bashkim Smakaj, a former KPS officer. While relatively young, 32, Smakaj served as a colonel in the Kosovo Police Service.

MTCowgirl’s Kosovo News

• Kosovo wages war against drug use
• EU to deliver statement on Kosovo
• Serbia to talk with UNMIK soon
• EULEX takes control of north customs