Summary of the Week 42

At the end of the year, it's time to draw conclusions, but also to come up with excuses for all the promises we made and failed to keep. We highlight our successes, disguise our defeats, and devise new wishes and promises. It's always wise to think about the exit, but an entry strategy is important too. This was evidenced when the police first entered the official premises in North Mitrovica, then realized what they were searching for.

"We entered and when we started talking to people, we found out that it could be some illegal structure operating here," explains Veton Elshani, deputy commander of the Kosovo Police for the North Region.

When a problem isn't obvious, it's logical to expect an easier resolution. However, this practice doesn't hold in Kosovo. Therefore, Agim Shahini, president of the Kosovo Business Alliance, says:

"We have a lot of problems with Serbia. But the problems are in the mind, not in reality!"

No matter where the problems lie, solutions are most often in someone else's mind. Thus, their statements are carefully listened to.

"The announcements and verbal connotations of European leaders are good and we welcome them, but they are not enough. There must be an act of doing, something must change," points out Srdjan Barac from the Center for Social Stability.

Blaming others is sometimes a solution. But not always. Bljerim Canaj, a political analyst from Pristina, suggests relying on ourselves.

"We hold every key; we just need to know when and how to use it," says Canaj.

The key to numerous excuses and truths that remain undisclosed for decades could be in the agreement on the missing in Brussels. However, families remember breaking many doors and thresholds, yet not receiving answers.

"We haven't received any hope that this dialogue will solve our question," says Silvana Marinkovic, coordinator of the Association of the Missing and Kidnapped.

Some decisions require dialogue, while others are made in conversations with oneself. After such a deliberation, Dr. Dalibor decided to return from Norway to Gracanica. The decision was not easy, he says. But this time, he didn't trip over excuses.

"The heart was drawn to Kosovo. It wasn’t easy to leave, and even harder to return," Dr. Stojanovic declares ahead of his first working day in Kosovo.

Regardless of excuses and exceptions, many wishes this year have already been fulfilled. Others, a bit more ambitious, still await the right moment.