Every day, shots are fired by teenage gang members in urban slums throughout the United States. Marginalized individuals in Mexico City, Paris, Dubai and cities around the world engage in violent protest, setting buildings and vehicles on fire to express their anger. In response, the local police and/or government officials of the relatively stable countries take action to address the problems that incite such violence. The daily routine of a community or a nation eventually returns to normal, and citizens are able to resume their efforts towards meeting goals and sharing dreams.
In North Mitrovica, less than a block from the bridge depicted in this photo, an Albanian teenager throws an explosive at the Serbs in a popular café, wounding nine people. Within moments, the Mitrovica bridge, a structure often viewed as the symbolic pathway towards a unified Kosovo, becomes the channel for continued violence and a threat for national peace. In response, international officials and peacekeepers rush to the scene, close off the bridge between the Serbian North and Albanian South, and pacify the crowds gathered on either side.
Everyone here assumes that Kosovo will become an independent country within a year’s time, yet such independence is expected to yield increased instability and outbreaks of ethnic conflict. With the occurrence of significant acts of violence such as that in North Mitrovica, the existing peace becomes ever more fragile. As an Albanian woman, the director of a community-building organization, described to me today, civic leaders should not let the angry aggression of a single teenage boy stop the momentum of their peacebuilding and reconstruction efforts. Yet any outbreak of violence poses significant risks for the security of the entire province and thus is impossible to ignore. In March of 2004, for example, a relatively minor uprising in South Mitrovica was not immediately addressed, and within a few hours, violence had erupted in numerous towns throughout Kosovo.
I am only beginning to understand the degree to which the abilities of Kosovars to dream and plan for the future are limited by socio-political instability, weariness from years of conflict, and fears of impending violence. By trusting international organizations as the primary authorities in addressing local problems, residents of Kosovo (and other regions around the world) surrender a significant level of power and autonomy in the shaping of their future as a country. Furthermore, many consider the Kosovars that do hold governing positions to be serving as the puppets of UNMIK and other foreign officials. Without being able to build trust in the capaciy of national leaders to address the needs of all ethnic groups in the region, the future peace and stability of Kosovo will remain fragile in the minds of local residents, particularly in Mitrovica.
Whew! There’s my soapbox for the month. No more preaching for awhile, I promise.
