June 9, 2001

On the highway leading into Mitrovice was a large sign announcing that World Vision was rebuilding all the homes in Mitrovice. Ibraim said no Romani or Ashkaljie homes were being rebuilt, only Albanian homes. Before the war, Ibraim said there were 7,000 Roma/Ashkaljie in Mitrovice. Most of them were now in refugee camps in Montenegro. He doubted that they would ever be allowed to return to Mitrovice. He said that ACT and other aid agencies were talking about building them 50 barracks in a park near the football stadium. He didn’t know when this would happen. He hoped soon, because the conditions in this camp were very difficult. [Polansky Field Notes, 2001]

The resurgence of age-old discriminations, intensified by the war and the dire postwar economic conditions, have made work opportunities for Roma essentially non-existent. Today, the hostile social climate intimidates even the most confident Roma, keeping them from applying for the few jobs that exist in Kosovo. Indeed the generally shared attitude of ethnic Albanian supremacy prevents many sympathetic Albanian employers from hiring Roma for fear of reprisal. In addition, centuries of systematic discrimination have acculturated most Roma to not compete with their proclaimed superiors, be they Serb or Albanian.

Those few Roma who held higher level jobs such as teachers, nurses and doctors, etc. prior to the escalation of the conflict, have been unable to resume their former positions. While a few, like the school teacher below, are still hopeful that life in Kosovo will return to normal very soon, the majority have lost hope of ever resuming their former lives as professionals and becoming integral members of a multiethnic society once again.

June 19, 2001

I took a copy of my poetry book to a Romani school teacher and poet in Pristina, and interviewed him for half an hour. He was the first teacher in Kosovo of the Romani language. Until the NATO bombing closed the Serb School where he worked, he had taught for 18 years in Pristina.. He taught only the Romani language to his students. There is no text book on Romani culture or history in Yugoslavia, but he always slipped in some of that when teaching Romani grammar. ( Now) he is seeking to form a Romani political party. The Ashkalije have two and the Albanians many, but the Roma are still not represented by a party. He said it costs about 2,000 DM to register a party… (and that) it is important that the Roma not be left out of mainstream politics again in the Balkans. The Roma had to defend themselves against accusations that they were involved in the war. They bombed no one. It was impossible to say who started the war. The hatred on all sides was too deep-seated.

Since the war he has not taught. He can’t get a job. He has no Romani students. They are all refugees somewhere. He still gets his salary paid by Belgrade every month but it is only 120 DM (roughly $60) not enough to live on. The Albanians won’t give him a teaching job because he is a Rom. He thinks… the Albanians and the Roma have a lot in common… Back in 1980 when the Albanians began their demonstrations that led to all these changes, the Albanians and the Roma were on the same side. He was a student then. He marched with the Albanians.

[Polansky Field Notes, 2001]

In the Selected Field Notes on page 40 of this document, the story of the "bridge-watchers" describes the final thwarting of one young Rom’s attempts to interview for a job with French KFOR in Mitrovice. The fourth time in a two week period that he tries to get to the UNMIK-KFOR headquarters by crossing from the "Serbian side" to the Albanian side" of the bridge, he is so threatened and intimidated that he finally told Polansky he had changed his mind, he no longer wanted to work for KFOR.

With job opportunities so problematic, even daunting, it is not surprising that the vast majority of Roma cannot afford to pay for basic necessities. One consequent problem is that many Roma are far behind in paying for their ever-growing electricity bills and are threatened with the sudden loss of electricity. Further, Roma and other minorities have long suffered discrimination in terms of access to electricity.