Look Back

It's been a month since Kosovo's declaration of independence. I left Kosovo about a week ago, and i've been busy with catching up with non-photo work and archiving... I learned a lot in Kosovo and made some mistakes. So, next time, I'd do better.
After the independence declaration, and the Serbians' protest reached the peak around the burning of the U.S. embassy. The next day in Mitrovica, the protest was intense and almost turned into a tear gass situation. Then, I spent the next several days travelling to Mitrovica to see if something happens during the protest which calmed down day by day after all. We also thought something may happen today because it's a month from the independence. Something actually happened, but as of now, no one has any idea how it turns out. Yes, it's an endless speculation, and you need to quit someday unless you have a lot of money to afford it.
In my last week in Kosovo, I travelled to small Serbian towns Strpce and Brezovica, where a protest also takes place each despite that there is no media. Over there situations are worse, little electricity and transportation - they can't go to the nearby Albanian towns, of course. Only bus to Mitrovica leaves once a day in the morning at 5:00 a.m. They have a refugee camp, where people live since 1999 or 2004. But, people in the camp were tired of journalists because little has changed since 1999. Also, time and money - and my patience in a way - run out. Anyway, it's hard to do everything without a lot knowledge and experience. Next time, I have a better idea what to do. Also, if something happens there again, I'd be more prepared than the last time.

Anniversary of the death of Kosovo Albanian legendary Adem Jashari in Precaz, Kosovo on March 7, 2008.


Like one in Strpce, protests continue in each Serbian community in Kosovo.