Swiss Review 3/2018

8 Swiss Review / May 2018 / No.3 is another example of the close ties between Kosovo and Switzerland. Some Kosovan villages are completely dependent on the diaspora. One example is Smira on the borderwithMac- edonia. To get to Smira requires patience. Firstly, you get snarled up in Pristina’s chaotic traffic, then the junction for the new motorway is impossible to find. The splendour of Balkan “turbo architecture” can be seen along the old road linkingKosovo andMacedonia. Boundless constructionhas resulted in unruly urban development. Like pearls on a string, there are rows of petrol stations, private hospitals, DIY stores, hotels letting rooms by the hour, furniture shops, garages, shopping malls and private schools. You are also sure to find a secured residential complex. The new rich and those who have profited during the post-war period live with their families in gated communities along Amer- ican lines. “Welcome to Smira,” says Tefik Salihu an hour later. He is something akin to the information officer in this village which lies in eastern Kosovo amidst gently rolling hills, open fields and luscious meadows. Smira has around 5,000 inhabitants and an estimated 2,000 more living abroad, most in Geneva and its surrounding area. “The economic prosperity of the canton of Geneva is important to us. We don’t expect much from central government in Pristina,” Salihu remarks sarcastically. He moved to the city on the Rhône in the 1990s, but soon returned home to his family when war threatened in Kosovo and then broke out. The special month of March In Kosovo, March is a month of historic anniversaries. In March 1981, students from the University of Pristina ini- tially protested against the supposedly inedible canteen food but soon also tabled political demands - and received support fromworkers, some officials, professors and school pupils. “Kosovan Republic” – whole generations of Kosovo Albanians grewupwith this slogan. Kosovowas to become a constituent republic with equal rights within the mul- ti-ethnic state of Yugoslavia. People said this was the only way to shake off Serbian rule and prevent Belgrade from one day arbitrarily overturning the province’s autonomy. This actually happened in March 1989, just two years after an apparatchik – SlobodanMilosevic – had seized power in Serbia. He regarded nationalism as an instrument to exer- cise power for himself. After the abolition of Kosovan au- tonomy, Albanians, who made up the majority of the pop- ulation, were marginalised in society. Western observers called it an apartheid system in Europe. It resulted in the horizontal division of Kosovo: On the surface the Serbs had control, but beneath it the 1.8million ding celebrations next year and future sons-in-law meet young women whom they have got to know on Facebook. For the females abroad, Kosovo in summer is like a dating agency. Withoutmoney sent home by the Kosovans abroad, the tiny Balkan republicwould soon collapse. Around a billion Swiss francs is sent to Kosovan households each year from compatriots abroad. “Unfortunately, most of the money is spent on consumer goods and is not invested,” reveals Agron Demi of the GAP research institute. In Pristina and other cities, the street scene is domi- nated by yellowmail vans, red flags with a white cross and vehicles with the CH sticker. For a long time, many Swiss people sawKosovo as a far-flung, unknown province some- where in the backwaters of the Balkans. Much has since changed. More andmore Swiss people are visiting Kosovo. You also see them in travel groups strolling around Pris- tina. “I’ve come to visit a friend. We’veworked together for more than 20 years,” explains amechanic from the Zurich Oberland. Local politicians fromWil are standing in front of thememorial to the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg and are showering the tour guide with questions. They want to learnmore about the nation’s culture, history and politics. Such knowledge may prove useful in helping Kosovo Albanians in Switzerland to integrate more suc- cessfully. In Pristina since 1999 AndreasWormser has already integrated – into Kosovo. He came to Pristina in 1999 while working for the Federal Of- fice for Refugees. The diplomat’s task was to establish whether the return of war refugees was feasible. Worm- ser decided to stay. He was primarily involved in securing the rights of the Roma minority. As an FDFA official, he nevertheless felt that he needed a greater challenge. In 2013, Wormser opened Hotel Gracanica, the first mul- ti-ethnic accommodation in Kosovo. The building was de- signed by the Kosovan-Swiss architect Bujar Nrecaj. This Bernard Challandes from Switzerland, on the right, has been the national coach of the Kosovo football team for a few months. Focus