A year ago, Kosovo Albanians celebrated their hard-fought independence with fireworks, car horns concerts, victory speeches, balloons and champagne. Nevertheless, the problems they face are still enormous: the country is poor, hardly industrialised and it is still a potential tinderbox. The Netherlands believes that security and employment should be given priority.
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"The government has done nothing for me. I have made many sacrifices for the liberation of my country, but the politicians have only just started getting their act together." Agim Drenica spent ten years in the militant Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK). Now at 52, he is too old to join the new security services. On the look out for work, he visits a job centre in the capital Pristina, set up with money from the Netherlands.
Former fighters like Agim are helped to settle in gently to civilian life. Belligerently he points to a map of Kosovo on the wall: "I fought for that country and now I am dependent on foreign charity."
Unemployed
Thirteen million euros have been donated to hep 1500 former fighters find work. The Netherlands contributed more than two million. A lot of money for a relatively small group of people. Nevertheless, according to Carel Brands, an official at the Dutch embassy, it's important to help this group in particular, "One more unemployed person won't help Kosovo, especially if he is good at using weapons." And ten years after the end of the war, weapons are still everywhere in Kosovo.
Small weapons
Machine guns, air pistols, swords and knives hang neatly in a row on the wall in the police HQ's cellar in Pristina. An estimated 350,000 small arms are still in circulation, that is 1.5 weapons per family.
Police spokesperson Veton Elshani says there are still a large number of accidents and arguments get out of hand more quickly because of all the firearms. "As a result of the war and years of uncertainly about the country's status, people tend to carry weapons on them. Tradition also plays a role."
For instance, Kosovars like to celebrate weddings by firing automatic weapons into the air. People watching the procession from balconies are often hit. "We warn people about the danger of weapons through advertising campaigns around public holidays and by talking to young people."
This project is also financed with Dutch money, making the Netherlands the Kosovo's biggest donor in the area of security. "This combined with funds for small and medium-sized businesses is the best we have to offer Kosovo at the moment," says Carel Brands. No security, no growth, no economic growth, no combating poverty is the idea.
Something to lose
Twenty-four year-old Leonora Mehmeti hangs earrings for display in her newly painted shop in the centre of Pristina. She opened the souvenir shop just a week ago. She sells jewellery, jumpers, bags and musical instruments. A Dutch development organisation called Spark helped her write a business plan and apply for a loan. She also gets 100 hours of coaching. Her mother and grandmother help her by making handicrafts for her to sell. "In the future, I want to open shops across the country and employ women, who would otherwise be sitting at home."
People like Leonora would be able to survive without our support," says Spark managing director Yannick du Pont. But then she would be more likely to work for someone else in an existing organisation. Or try her luck abroad." Ms Du Pont thinks work creation is the key to development in Kosovo: "People need a job, they need to be able to buy a car and start a family. They have to have something to lose if things go wrong again here."
Own restaurant
Carel Brands from the embassy admits straight away that Dutch support in Kosovo is not aimed at the poorest people, even though almost half of the population still live under the poverty line. "There are people who ask why are we supporting former fighters, when we leave thousands of others to fend for themselves. You have to remember that in the past former fighters were not exactly mollycoddled."
In the job centre Agim dreams out loud about opening his own restaurant. Not the usual pizzeria, but a traditional fish restaurant. What will he do if he does not get any help? "Strike, rebel. I've got three children to feed."
Tags: Albanians, Drenica valley, Kosovo