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Career development of young Kosovars, pawn of visa liberalization: Kosovar students- "The young ghettopians"

Elmedina Nikoçeviq - 10/8/2011

The famous kosovar rock group "Troja" was created in the time of war. The first steps were initiated in a basement of the neighborhood Peyton in Pristina, when Serbian police often patrolled the streets and moved Albanian youths aside and beat them bad.

Those who had no ID suffered worst in a dark alley. But as “Troja” and many others, we never believed that the time would come again to sing the same melody. They are doing a tour in Kosovo right now. And guess what: instead of singing for young Kosovars - or as the government baptized them – “The Young Europeans” – “Trojans” are singing for "The young ghettopians”. As regards the first one, The Young Europeans, there are many who disagree (precisely because Albanians are not new in the old continent), but for the second one, hundred percent move their head to say “yes”.

The famous expression of our politicians "We will integrate you into Europe" has become a tiresome refrain for Kosovar youth. They remain the only ones in the Balkans that will continue going to embassies to get a visa. Scientific conferences, summer schools, seminars, training, study abroad remain to be desired by most students of the University of Prishtina.

Kosovo remains the last country in the Balkan whose citizens cannot travel freely to EU countries. Exclusion of Kosovo's from visa liberalization makes Kosovars, especially the young, to feel ignored, abandoned, and to experience Kosovo as an isolated country. Furthermore, to express unhappiness, many artistic or entertainment performances have been organised to send our criticisms to the factors which made it as the only country in the Balkans not to enjoy freedom of movement.

Recently I was reading some articles in media which say that since 19 December last year, when EU country visas for Serbian citizens were abolished, more than 10,000 citizens left the Preshevo Valley (southeast region of Serbia populated by Albanians).

It was expected to happen. We were and are still eager for freedom. Their departure does not concern me because the liberalization of visas for Serbian citizens is of type C, which means that citizens of Serbia have no right to employment or schooling in the West. Those who travel abroad must also adhere to a rule which provides that within 6 months they have the right to stay only 90 days in any one country.

But the most worrying fact is that young people are forced to travel from Kosovo to Preshevo or Bujanovc, seeking to obtain citizenship of Serbia, looking for red biometric passport which guarantees free travel visa to EU countries. For them, the liberalization of the visa means breaking the ice of poverty and misery.

In Europe that is extended in age, the population of Kosovo is an exception. Approximately one third is under 15 years and more than half under age 25. The high level of unemployment is the most disturbing aspect of the labor market in Kosovo. Similar to the previous year, around 37% - 40% of the economically active population are registered as unemployed. Young people think that Kosovo remains a country with no perspective. They face many challenges such as unemployment and lack of free movement. Kosovo is considered to be the place where 70 percent of the population is younger than 37 years.

My job as a career adviser in the Career Development Centre at the University of Prishtina has helped me to understand better the problems faced by UP students. University of Prishtina is a public university in Kosovo, and currently has about 50 thousand students. Unemployment of graduates in this educational institution remains to be the constant challenge of the newest state in Europe. For this reason, the visa liberalization is seen as a very important process for all Kosovars citizens, especially UP students, because it enables them to go abroad to be educated, developed professionally and to learn from international experience in various life fields.

It is not easy for me to do a job that offers various information for students to participate in numerous activities abroad when our students know that they are unable to easily decide to apply because as it is now, they have to go in different offices for numerous documents to get a visa that enables their participation.

Furthermore, information provision has not stimulated the students' interest to participate in numerous events abroad, but has influenced the interest to get information about different scholarships for studies abroad. Their desire to win the chance to study abroad and to create a better future for themselves perspective is great.

The requirements/criteria of the job market in Kosovo have increased, while the conditions for professional development of students at the University of Prishtina remain the same. Some of the UP faculties do not enable students to perform practical work in its premises or overseas; that’s why students are forced to provide themselves practical work in an institution or company. Higher criteria for employment in various enterprises have led the need to graduates to pursue additional professional training so that their chances of immediate employment after graduation are greater.

University of Prishtina does not offer training programs for students to use computer programs required by the relevant labor market. They are forced to learn English and computer programs in private courses, while labor market ranks these two competences as among the most important criteria for employment. If we analyze different job advertisements placed in electronic and print media in Kosovo, we see that most of them require the candidate, the university degree apart, to have experience, to possess good English and to have advanced computer skills.

This puts into question the preparation level of the UP students for the labor market which remains very delicate topic and concern regarding the quality of higher education in Kosovo.

If UP students will have the opportunity at least once during their studies to travel abroad to engage in any summer school, a training, seminar, conference, if they will be offered the opportunity to communicate in English to reinforce language and general knowledge, the quality of professional training of students and graduates of UP would be higher. The scope of their knowledge will expand and their professional development goals will be increase. The liberalization of visas for young Kosovars would mean the best chance for career development, contribution to the more rapid economic and social development, and also the opportunity to be safer and to have perspective.

We do not want to be the ghetto of Europe and the world, as we are today - most isolated country in the world with the right of free travel to only four countries, as well as the country with the highest level of refusals of visa "Schengen" in the region.

More than anyone, young people need free movement in the world!