13 October 2009

Music Helps Kosovo Youth Learn About Their Similarities

Organizations helping teens reclaim Mitrovica as Balkans rock capital

Sixteen-year-old Mladen performs at Mitrovica Rock School's summer concert in Skopje, Macedonia.

By Michelle Austein Brooks
Staff Writer

Mitrovica, Kosovo — In a small house in northern Mitrovica, a teenage rock band plays “Sweet Child O’ Mine” from the American rock group Guns N’ Roses. Across the Ibar River in the city’s southern half, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Snow” can be heard blasting from the windows of a youth recreation center.

The river divides the Northern Kosovo city of Mitrovica in two. To the north is a predominantly Serb community; in the south live mostly Albanians. A small bridge connects the two sides, but few cross it as the communities do not interact with one another.

Mitrovica once was commonly referred to as the Balkans’ rock music capital, but years of conflicts destroyed much of the city and left many residents struggling to survive. For years, the local nongovernmental organization (NGO) Community Building Mitrovica and the Dutch NGO Musicians Without Borders have been seeking a way to bring that title back to a city full of tension.

About a year ago, they launched the Mitrovica Rock School, a place for Mitrovica’s teenagers to develop their musical skills. The young musicians are given a facility to practice in, instruments to use and expert training by a group of musical coaches.

The school has two branches — one in a home in the north, one in a recreation center in the south — with an estimated 75 students. Within each branch, students form their own bands and practice together multiple times a week.

Currently, Mitrovica’s security situation does not allow for the different ethnic groups to play together in the city. But last summer, several students from each branch were brought to Skopje, Macedonia, to practice and perform together. At the summer music school, students formed interethnic bands, quickly learning not only to play music together but to cooperate and interact with one another. The students bonded over their musical interests during their five days of practice before performing in a local park.

Serb and Albanian youth rarely have met each other and primarily knew only bad things about one another from stories others told them, said Miloš Drazevic, one of the rock school’s project coordinators. Drazevic, who is also a bass player from Northern Mitrovica, said the summer school provided an opportunity for the teenagers to form their own opinions about their peers from other ethnic groups.

The students quickly got along with one another without much guidance, Drazevic said, adding that the summer school did not lecture the students about interethnic cooperation or ask them to discuss sensitive issues. It was “important for the kids to have fun, spend good time and learn some music. … It’s only music and pure fun.” Without being forced, the new band mates often had lunch together and “talked like they knew each other a long time,” Drazevic said.

The Serb and Albanian youth did not know each other’s language, yet did not struggle to communicate, said Gjylizha Cena, age 15, as many of them spoke English and even those who did not know English well were familiar with the same rock songs. “At first, we didn’t think we could be friends but we are friends now,” Cena said. While the summer school’s concert was in English, the youth informally played Albanian and Serb songs for one another.

“You don’t have to know each other’s language to communicate; you use your instruments to connect,” said Miodrag Radovic, one of the music coaches.

And although they do not get to see one another in divided Mitrovica, the summer school students continue to stay in touch via the Internet. After all, as 17-year-old Shaban Behzami said, “the music is the same for everybody.”

More information about the summer Skopje program, which was funded with the help of several international groups including the U.S. Embassy in Pristina, is available on the Mitrovica Rock School blog. More information about Mitrovica Rock School is available on Musicians Without Borders’ Web site.