Trading with the enemy in Mitrovica, Kosovo. - RUhosting

Trader 1.
Respondent #5, a Serb living in Mitrovica North, has been trading with Albanians since before the war. He
deals in computer equipment and accessories. He tells that Albanians mostly buy computer equipment of
Serbs because it’s cheaper. Relations remained intact during the war although it was more robbing than
trading, he says jokingly. When his current shop opened in 2003 he immediately started to trade with
Albanians again because he still had those contacts. He does not want to answer my question about his
relations with Albanians: “you’re asking about politics and not my business”. He closes the subject by
saying that there are good and bad people everywhere, it doesn’t matter which ethnicity they belong to.
He uses all sorts of communication forms with his Albanian colleagues. Telephone, email, and meeting in
person. When they meet in person his Albanian colleague comes to Mitrovica north and they eat and drink
together. His Albanian colleague comes to North because he likes pork meat and that is not available in
Mitrovica south. Although he would never say it, he seemed to imply that his relations with his colleagues
are not bad.
Trader 2.
Respondent #6 is also a Serb living in Mitrovica North, he is a distributor of goods in Kosovo, at some point
he supplied all mineral water and Pepsi cola for Kosovo he says proudly. He has been in the business of
trading and distributing for 24 years. His first trade relations with Albanians developed in 2000, one year
after the war. The reason for this was money. He explains that Kosovo was then a vacuum where no tax rules
applied so it was very cheap to buy from Albanians. This changed after a few years but it is still profitable to
trade with Albanians. He buys as well as sells products from/to them.
In the beginning he felt bad about trading with Albanians but this feeling went away after a while. He says
that the most difficult part for him was the reaction from his environment. It was not accepted to deal with
Albanians. The Albanians he worked with faced the same problems with their own community. They only
dealt with middle-persons, so he did not engage in direct contact with Albanians himself. This changed
though, and now he often meets with his Albanian colleagues. The reaction from the community has also
changed nowadays, it is more accepted now. Respondent #6 believes that the only explanation for this is that
it is 10 years after the war: “Time passed”. Even though it is now more or less accepted to deal with
Albanians, especially because everyone understands that you have to make money, it is still not easy. When
he meets with his Albanian colleges this is still done in secret. They meet however, and also for informal
contact. They talk about different things than just business. Respondent #6 is quick to point out that this
informal talk is still relevant for business and that this the only reason why it is done. It is important to have
each other's respect for business, he says. His relations with Albanians didn’t change at all because he keeps
emotions away from business. Contact is purely from a business motivation and emotions do not play a role
in it. He does not want to elaborate further on his views on Albanians.
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