Kosovo - Still at War?
24.09.2007
28 °C
Prishtina - from a war correspondents point of view...
Kosovo is a small landlocked country that has been squeezed by its bigger neighbours for many years, so whenever the neighbours got into a fight it found itself getting trampled.The last time that Kosovo found itself underfoot was in 2001 at the end of the Third Balkan War when the Serbs and the Croats were at each others' throats and used Prishtina for target practice. It is only 6 years since hostilities ended and Scars of war and bombed out buildings are everywhere in the capital...
Most of the vehicles on the streets belong to UN peacekeepers and many of the locals still rely on horses and donkeys...
Yet, despite the third world appearances, the shops are well stocked with expensive western goods and it is a popular place for Albanians to pick up an outfit or two for the family wedding. Big white weddings, (with big white dresses), are all the rage in Albania and even the kids get dolled up in fancy togs...
Prishtina isn't a particularly pretty place and one day was enough for us. The Serbs and Albanians, the Christians and Muslims, are still tussling over this small country in the Goljac mountains and if they ever agree to live peacefully together it might be worth a second look...
Posted by Hawkson 09:35 Archived in Kosovo Comments (1)
