Trading with the enemy in Mitrovica, Kosovo. - RUhosting

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What does the content of this chapter furthermore mean for inter-ethnic trade in Mitrovica? First, it shows that in Mitrovica inter-ethnic relations are still very tense and there is a lack of trust towards the other ethnic group. No one really wants to have contact with the other group if not for a specific reason. This is why trade is one of the few activities in which there is inter-ethnic contact: there is a specific reason and this reason is: making money. Although the rules of the inter-ethnic game are applied less strongly on traders because everyone understands that they have to make a living, it is still difficult to trade out in the open. Especially Serbian traders can except extra difficulties from their politicians and other people in power because these are generally radicals and oppose ethnic-integration. An example was given about one person who has the power to decide if the inter-ethnic market is open or not on Saturdays. At the same time, these people in power often are in illegal trade with “the other” themselves, assured of a rich profit as long as they can keep other people from cooperating with the other ethnic group. The inter-ethnic traders who are the subject of this study clearly face a lot of difficulties but regardless of this they are trading, they are having contact where reconciliation programmes failed to motivate people for this, and they are cooperating. Now what could this trade mean for relations between Albanians and Serbs in Mitrovica, according to those traders, other locals and members of the international community? 67
CHAPTER 6: RESULTS Views on the effects of inter-ethnic trade of experts in Kosovo. “When a man's got money in his pocket he begins to appreciate peace”. -Per un pugno di dollari / A fistful of dollars (1964). The previous chapter discussed how some Albanians and Serbs improved their relations with members of the other ethnic group after engaging in contact with them over longer periods of time. Long term inter- ethnic contact was shown to either improve relations and remove stereotypes in the best scenarios, while in the worst scenarios it did not really lead to any change. In general, the image was quite positive. It was also discussed how inter-ethnic contact is forbidden in most of Kosovo and especially in Mitrovica, except when there is money involved. People understand how everyone has to make a living and with the scarceness of jobs it is accepted to have inter-ethnic contact when this makes a living. Now does inter-ethnic trade have the possibility of contributing to better relations between Albanians and Serbs in Mitrovica as well? 6.1. Money and self-interest The first and most important thing that trade achieves beneficial to an improvement of inter-ethnic relations is contact across the ethnic boundaries. This is hardly disputable as it is happening all over Mitrovica. The reason why inter-ethnic trade is happening is - quite simply - money. Money and personal interest in general offer a strong incentive to engage in inter-ethnic contact in Mitrovica, despite the difficulties associated with it. Apparently all the pressures from politics, the media, negative stereotypes, grievances, enemy images and intra-community rules are not strong enough to withstand this drive towards interest.“It's always strange in Mitrovica: even the most radical Serbs have Albanian friends if it gives them benefits” respondent #2, a Serb involved in politics in North Mitrovica says. He believes that when people have a common interest this forces them to rise above ethnic difficulties and just work together and is convinced that his own change in relations with Albanians - by working for an international NGO - had a lot to do with money. Because he received a good salary he could justify his relations with Albanians for himself in the beginning, later some of these relations evolved into friendships. Respondent #2 believes it would have been a lot better for reconciliation if all the money from reconciliation projects had been invested into the old mine in the north and factory in the south, the mining complex called Trepça. In this scenario people from the different ethnic groups would need to work together to earn money and this is why he believes it would work as a mechanism for improving relations: people would get to know each other on a personal level. He is curious why the international community never organized a joined company in Kosovo (meaning with both Albanian and Serbian employees). He points out that Germany and France were never forced to reconcile after the second world war but reconciliation happened anyway, and very fast, because it was in their best interest (respondent #2). The Albanian director of an NGO noted that although all Serbs do not recognize the 68
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Nijmegen School of Management, Radb
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
Page 5 and 6:
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION “Sixteen
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Governmental Organisations (IGO's)
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1.4. Thesis organisation - Short ou
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I learned a lot from it, as I found
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Of the seventeen people interviewed
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interesting experience was organisi
Page 17 and 18: Mitrovica Serb admitted that when h
Page 19 and 20: CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK "P
Page 21 and 22: 4. Trade encourages the broader exp
Page 23 and 24: Miljacka River, separating the Serb
Page 25 and 26: This part of inter-ethnic trade can
Page 27 and 28: For the largest part of the past 60
Page 29 and 30: “Because of such dissatisfactions
Page 31 and 32: sent all colonists back to Kosovo.
Page 33 and 34: Conditions have improved and the de
Page 35 and 36: Albanians reacted to these new poli
Page 37 and 38: same: First an Albanian village whi
Page 39 and 40: Data from the SOK is sometimes used
Page 41 and 42: the highest aid per capita ever giv
Page 43 and 44: Country % of Export % of Import Alb
Page 45 and 46: which were in turn disbanded in fav
Page 47 and 48: Another similarity between both com
Page 49 and 50: situation developed in favour of th
Page 51 and 52: its economic situation. Mitrovica u
Page 53 and 54: CHAPTER 5: RESULTS Placing inter-et
Page 55 and 56: Albanian” and by Serbs associated
Page 57 and 58: “But I will never accept the inde
Page 59 and 60: Another important reason why reconc
Page 61 and 62: “Everything that happens in Mitro
Page 63 and 64: August 2009 with violent protests a
Page 65 and 66: nationalists” because he believes
Page 67: (respondent #4). A Serb working in
Page 71 and 72: elieves inter-ethnic trade will imp
Page 73 and 74: Trader 3. Respondent #7, an Albania
Page 75 and 76: daughter of his sister who went to
Page 77 and 78: issues. On top of that you have to
Page 79 and 80: towards their colleagues of the oth
Page 81 and 82: that even if the legal or the grey
Page 83 and 84: 2004. Second, Blanton argues that "
Page 85 and 86: REFERENCES Andreas, P. (2004). The
Page 87 and 88: Lagazio, M., & Russett, B. (2004).
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