In keeping
with the its longstanding focus on Serb community in Kosovo, particularly the Serb
population south of the Ibar River, the Helsinki Committee is implementing a 12-month
project the purpose of which is to encourage social integration of the Serb population in
Kosovo enclaves, notably by indicating the avenues for advancement of the overall position
of the young and women, and for communication with their Albanian counterparts and
neighbors on the one hand, and to sensitize the general public in Kosovo, local
authorities, UNMIK and EULEX about the problems plaguing the enclave people in the most
pungent way on the other. The project is also meant to inform the general public in Serbia
proper about real-life concerns of Kosovo Serbs living in enclaves and to add pressure on
the Serb authorities to think twice before making any Kosovo-related step. Last but not
least the project is expected to curb the effects of the "patriotic propaganda"
coming from Belgrade and North Mitrovica and prove that even small steps in the right
direction can make all the difference in people's lives and, for that matter, in their
perception of both the realities and 'the other side'.
The project is realized with the assistance of the USAID office in
Prishtina, Kosovo.
|
