By Apostolis Fotiadis
PRISTINA, Dec 14 2009 (IPS)

Despite commitments by the Kosovo government and the international community to engage the youth of the region creatively, youngsters in the newborn state are seeing a steady deterioration in the quality of their lives.

An international promotional campaign launched at the end of October under the slogan ‘Kosovo: the young Europeans’ included a 60-second video showing young people with giant jigsaw pieces, recreating the map of Kosovo and providing a visual metaphor of youth as central to the rebuilding effort.

The ad – prepared by Saatchi & Saatchi, a worldwide advertising agency, for 5.7 million euro (8.3 million US dollars) – has been screened since Oct. 26 in major media outlets including BBC, CNN, Euronews, Bloomberg and Eurosport.

“Serbia has distorted the real face of Kosovo with its propaganda which has damaged Kosovo’s image throughout the years,” said Memli Krasniqi, head of the campaign for the government. “Our campaign is not only an economic one to bring new investments, but also a political one.”

Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia on Feb. 18, 2008, is indeed the youngest entity in Europe with more than 50 percent of its population being below 27 years of age. While this is an advantage there is also a major risk, should poverty and underdevelopment push the region back into ethnic conflict.

Despite this being acknowledged as the main challenge for the international community and the government, a communication, seen by IPS, between the European Council and the European Commission which examined new means to enhance Kosovo’s political and socio-economic development measured youth unemployment at approximately 75 percent.

Most of Pristina’s young people hang around the countless bars and restaurants aimlessly. “I have been sitting around having coffees for the last five years,’’ says Krenar Hysa.

Asked about his plans he retorted: “What plans? We are stuck here and we are going to do the same. This could freak you out in the beginning but you get used to it gradually.”

Future prospects are dire. While almost none is absorbed into productive economic activity, another 200,000 people will be added to the labour market in the next five years in Kosovo.

“Unemployment is the tip of the iceberg,” says Godfried Didden, a member of Kosova Health Foundation based in Pristina which organises mental and reproductive health programmes dedicated to young people. “They increasingly sense isolation in a conservative society.’’

‘’Communication within the family is not good and difficult issues remain taboo,’’ said Didden. ‘’Girls face real pressure on issues related to sexual relationships and their behaviour in public. One cannot imagine how difficult it is for a girl to buy contraceptives. Since social status is based on what people think about you sometimes it becomes difficult to share thoughts on such issues even with close friends.”

Albanian and Serbian youngsters share these problems over the ethnic divide. Milos Babovic, a 21-year- old student at a university in northern Mitrovica, a Serbian stronghold in northern Kosovo which is supported with Serbian funds, describes a deterioration in social conditions and frustration among Serbs as well.

“Inaction and stagnation make people more disenchanted and occasionally more aggressive,” he says. ‘’Street fights take place more often and petty crime among the youth has increased. It might sound weird but I feel less safe walking around than I used to be some years ago. I dream of joining the International Committee of the Red Cross and travelling the world one day.”

The sense of isolation youngsters in Kosovo experience can only sharpen as the rest of region integrates further into the European community. Liberalisation of the visa regime for Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, to be introduced at the beginning of next year, will exclude people who can acquire a Serbian passport in Northern Kosovo.

According to the International Civilian Office, the international community’s representative body in Kosovo after the withdrawal of the United Nations mission, Kosovo Serbs’ passports will be noted and visa liberalisation rules will not apply to them.

Freedom of movement has deteriorated since the introduction of strict requirements by western countries for issuing visas in Kosovo in 2004.

“Suicides are on the increase,‘’ Arsim Gerxhaliu, director of the forensic investigations department in Pristina, said. ‘’This year we have had about 110 which is a lot for Kosovo. The number of young people involved in homicide and other criminal activity has also distressingly increased.’’

According to Didden the problem may be bigger than the numbers indicate because families tend to hide such ills in a society that fears social stigma.

This, Diddden said, is also the case with substance abuse. Officially, there are around 100 heroin dependants in Pristina but he estimates the number to be closer to 3,000. “There are other substances available but heroin is dominant because it is easy to get and cheap, Kosovo being on the main transit route for opium- based substances to the West,’’ Didden said.

The new consumerist culture has created materialistic priorities for the youth, Didden says. ‘’People think that when you can have stuff you are ok and acceptable. This is difficult in a place lacking financial opportunities – so some go into debt while others connect actively to criminal networks which operate extensively in the region,” he adds.

Reversing this trend would mean making young people a priority, says Didden. “In spite of rhetorical commitments today they [youth] are not considered as a serious social issue. There are no support programmes and no trustworthy places to seek advice and help.”

Excerpt: