Residents of “Europe Street”

Yesterday EU Week in Kosovo ended. The celebration started on May 9, Europe Day, a day that symbolically marks the achievements of the European Union. Kosovo is not a member…

By: Hana Marku

 

Who couldn’t use 10,000 balloons?

Last week a friend of mine visited Prishtina for the first time. She travels a lot to all sorts of places because of her job, and I didn't think she…

By: Hana Marku

 

Kosovo the beautiful?

I hate walking in Prishtina.

By: Hana Marku

 

Shame: Talking about rape in Kosovo

Nazlie Bala, chair of the Women's Secretariat of political party Vetevendosje was attacked last week while entering her apartment building. She was grabbed from behind by unidentified attackers. As she was…

By: Hana Marku

 

One Billion Rising in Kosovo

By: Hana Marku

 

A day for pride and moustaches

To commemorate Albania’s 100 birthday, the website “Burrat me musteqe” (Men with moustaches) has been asking Albanian men to grow moustaches.

By: Hana Marku

 

It’s complicated

Last Monday’s protests happened five minutes away from our office. We refreshed our newsfeeds and web browsers throughout the day, and watched and read stories of clashes with the police,…

By: Hana Marku

 

Happy Second Independence?

The International Steering Group, a supervisory body formed in order to monitor the implementation of the Ahtisaari plan, announced that they would no longer supervise Kosovo’s independence - effectively ending…

By: Hana Marku

 

Our brand new and fantastic internship programs

If you’ve been following our Facebook page, you might have noticed that we’ve redesigned our internship programs.

By: Hana Marku

 

Change starts at home

There isn't a lot of space for difference in Kosovo. In one, widely held narrative of Kosovo, the only people who live here are Albanians and a Serbian minority. Only…

By: Hana Marku

 

Albanian holiday town aesthetics

This summer is my first in southern Albania. I'm writing this from an internet cafe in Ksamil. After a 12 hour-bus ride, which involved intense iPod usage and almost drooling…

By: Hana Marku

 

Kosovo 2.0's Multimedia Camp: The Anti-Workshop

I'm writing this from the top floor of the Theater Lounge in Prizren. Day 5 of Kosovo 2.0's Multimedia Camp is over, and most of the crew is out filming,…

By: Hana Marku

 

Multimedia Camp Approaches!

Ever since we’ve started planning for Dokufest, it’s been hard to find the time to write a proper blog. It may be self-serving, but a lot of work and love…

By: Hana Marku

 

Kosovo's Streets: A woman's perspective

A few weeks ago I was reading about Slutwalks and Hollaback, initiatives designed to help make women feel comfortable in public space. Slutwalks started in Toronto after…

By: Hana Marku

 

Kosovo’s high tolerance for mediocrity

I'm reading Blendi Fevziu's biography of Enver Hoxha, the one that was recently burned in Ferizaj by the “National Front for Cultivation of Revolutionary…

By: Hana Marku

 

Arrests show real face of “new” Serbia

On Saturday, the whole country saw a photo of two Kosovar police officers, face down in the dirt, with three masked members of the Serbian gendarmerie standing over them with…

By: Hana Marku

 

The virtue of a zine

I wanted to buy books over the weekend. I was looking for specifically for fiction – something new, something edgy and experimental by an Albanian author. I went to three…

By: Hana Marku

 

Discourse in the Assembly: A Playground for Bullies

Serbia got EU candidacy and we got a footnote. Like everybody else, I was pissed off. I felt short-changed and I felt like this footnote arrangement was figured…

By: Hana Marku

 

Prishtina: A Survival Manual

The snow is finally melting in Prishtina and that horrible period of sub-zero temperatures is over. I am now an expert Prishtina walker. Now I can actually remember what the…

By: Hana Marku

 

To Patriots: A lesson in sacrifice on Kosovo's fourth birthday

Today I would like to honor a patriot. It doesn't matter that she's dead and it doesn't matter that she fought for a different cause.

By: Hana Marku

 

What Happened

The protests of the last weekend showed us the true face of those who have power here. What happened at Merdare and Dheu i Bardhe was not crowd control. It…

By: Hana Marku

 

Temporary Past

Last year around this time I wrote about ten things that I would not change in Kosovo. This year, I want only one change.

By: Hana Marku

 

Things I loved in 2011

It's been a freakishly warm Canadian winter, and I don't think any snow will hit the ground in time for the New Year. 

By: Hana Marku

 

“I want no more than home.” - Robert Creeley

I'm moving back to Prishtina. I've thought about it, talked about it and complained about it, and decided that it's time.

By: Hana Marku

 

Staying Vertical in Kosovo

Let us honor if we can the vertical man, though we value none but the horizontal one.
- W.H. Auden

By: Hana Marku

 

Growing up with the Kosovo Philharmonic

Prishtina made me love classical music. The Kosovo Philharmonic's and orchestra are still going strong after years of being chronically underfunded and under-equipped. I feel like I grew…

By: Hana Marku

 

Dear turbo folk: Go away

When I visit my family in Macedonia, I like taking the bus that runs between Prishtina and Gostivar. There's only one direct bus per day, and it leaves at 3…

By: Hana Marku

 

Some advice for the girls as pop singer gets top government post

There's something I'd like to talk about, and it's hard to talk about it without sounding like a pompous know-it-all. It's about girls and role models. 

By: Hana Marku

 

The Kosovo-Serbia dialogue: Is talk cheap?

“There is no point … in talking about telecommunications or electricity while there are barricades in the north.”

By: Hana Marku

 

This nation belongs to poets

Listening to the ongoing debate in Kosovo about the role of religion in public education, I can't help but think of the past, of older generations of Albanians who have…

By: Hana Marku

 

Watching the North

There are some times when I wish Kosovo was not anyone's mission. There are times when I wish that Serbia and Kosovo spoke to each other as equals in practice…

By: Hana Marku

 

Our Cows, Our Cows

Stupidity. I don’t know how else to call the new Vita milk’s info-ad, funded by Tetra Pak and Devolli Company. I heard about the ad through online conversations with two…

By: Hana Marku

 

When There's No Room

Before talking about mosques, cathedrals and schools, I feel like I should lay my cards on the table. I don't really remember my first religious experience, nor do I have…

By: Hana Marku

 

Between Us

Jeta ne Kosove presented a fascinating documentary three years ago about marriage in Kosova: “Dasmat dhe Pampersat” (available with English subtitles here). 

By: Hana Marku

 

Nothing heavier than compassion

I finished a book a few days ago about returning home. Milan Kundera's “Ignorance” is about two Czechs who return to their country after the fall of Communism.

By: Hana Marku

 

Indépendance

I was buying milk and bread a few days ago and overheard a conversation between a woman in front of me at the check-out counter and the cashier. As the…

By: Hana Marku

 

Eurovision Aftermath.

Albanian Attitude I started watching Eurovision in 2004, when Albania sent her first entry ever. Anjeza Shahini, Vision of You. It was adorable, and perfectly Eurovision: a pretty girl singing…

By: Hana Marku

 

Alone is my country

Yesterday I played Jericho's new video, Our Song, about 100 times. It summarizes the experiences that define Albanians in Kosovo. It reminds us of our darkest and…

By: Hana Marku

 

Meet the Pimpsons

Let me tell you about a Facebook phenomenon that's been making the rounds lately in Kosovo. “The Pimpsons” is a parody of Kosovo politics…

By: Hana Marku

 

The Kosovar Masha passing on her mantle

This blog was originally about our current, and maybe already former, first lady Masha. Remember about a month ago when everyone freaked out over the fact that Pacolli's wife is…

By: Hana Marku

 

Balkan Beauty

By: Hana Marku

 

Scholarly-Educational

By: Hana Marku

 

Three and proud

Photo series:Visar Kryeziu    So we're almost three years old. I don't have to tell you how much needs to be improved, changed and revolutionized in our little republic.…

By: Hana Marku

 

Woe is work: Should I stay or should I go

By: Hana Marku

 

I Don't Like Them

U2 said it best, “We're one but we're not the same.” This is a touchy topic for Albanians: What are the differences among Albanians from Albania and Albanians from Kosovo/Macedonia/Montenegro/Presheva?…

By: Hana Marku

 

Ten and Ten

I spend a lot of time on my blog postings being negative – or to phrase it differently, critiquing what I don't like. In honour of the New Year, I'd…

By: Hana Marku

 

How I didn’t vote

By: Hana Marku

 

Do you still hate them?

By: Hana Marku

 

Ranting About Angelina

Here I am, ranting about Angelina Jolie of all people. Why?

By: Hana Marku

 

One more for the identity

By: Hana Marku

 

Whose reality is it, anyway?

By: Hana Marku

 

Petting Zoo Rules

By: Hana Marku

 

The stories we tell ourselves

  "Memory plays tricks. Memory is another word for story, and nothing is more unreliable." - Ann-Marie MacDonald

By: Hana Marku