make the future - congratulations to Kosovo

Its outside appearance seemed to collapse in the passing of light, just as the life of the Veliu family had lost its purpose and given after Bashkim and Fahrije had left Kosovo with their three children in 2014 to seek asylum in Germany.

Back then, the walls were uncapable to bear the dreams of the house's inhabitants and the roof was unable to protect their thoughts. The house, although old, seemed provisional, deprivation and suffering appeared to be immortalized into the masonry.

Now, the house glitters unobtrusively and sends an ironic touch of glamour into the night over Dyz, the small community in Kosovo, a half hour drive from Podujeva. However, it might as well be its residents' dreams detaching from the plastering like falling stars and rising to the sky.
When the family returned from Germany after four years, tired of the endless asylum procedure with an unpredictable outcome, parents and children had nothing but their hands to create stability on the swampy ground of a country that was going under in corruption. This is how Bashkim describes it. His eyes shine with rage on the eve of the elections in Kosovo, or more precisely: the snap elections.
Allegations of corruption and an invitation to the resigning head of government Ramush Haradinaj, to the Special War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, led to a toppling of the 'war coalition', who had only a few hours left to hold office. The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Haradinaj's and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) of interim president Hashim Thaci are headed by two former UÇK commanders. The glory of the war heroes shines only weakly, the reputation of war criminals clings to other allies of the previous government as well.
The Veliu family house is warm. Not only the fire in the stove, but also the atmosphere heats up the living room, were about twenty family members and friends have gathered. The children are sitting behind the adults on the backs of armchairs. The elections and my visit are the reasons for a meeting which is extended by other guests, arriving every five minutes. One of them is Samir. The relationship between the building contractor and Bashkim, who once was his employee, has long turned into a close friendship. Samir is campaigning with his own mandate. For days, he has been on his way from friend to friend, calling for votes, fighting against political lethargy and the feeling of helplessness of those close to him in the face of a reality whose soil has not been fertilized by any right-wing or left-wing electoral promises since Kosovo's independence.
With his grayish pony tail and casual appearance, Samir corresponds to the classic image of the Liberté-toujours left-wing intellectual. Samir lays claim to the future of the country that became independent in 2008; he sees himself and the generations to come no longer as executors of a bloody heritage.
Vetëvendosje, self-determination! The call became the programmatic name of the opposition party LVV, which, along with the LDK, the Democratic Party, is considered the favorite of the election.
On the evening of October 4, that is before the elections on October 6, their supporters gather on Sheshi Skënderbeu in Priština to testify once again to the will of the citizens of Kosovo to self-determination in front of the statue of the Albanian-Kosovar national hero Skenderbeg. At the same time, the politicians of the ruling party are struggling to retain power on the Sheshi Zahir Pajaziti. Between swan song and departure, political sunrise and sunset are only five hundred meters of promenade in the Kosovar capital Prishtina.
"The worst," says Bashkim, "the worst would be if the old people were to be re-elected." Albin Kurti, the former student leader, one who is above reproach or allegations of bribery, and who was until recently considered the bad boy of the political establishment, is his bearer of hope. Albin Kurti, the 'radical political rebel'* , may have gained Bashkim's trust because in the years following Kosovo's independence, he fought against any form of political rapprochement with the Serbs. Bashkim has spent sleepless nights, the memory of the mass shooting during the Kosovo War in Dyz still keeps him awake. The Serbian attackers had forced him, the then 20-year-old, to watch half the village being massacred.
Less than a kilometer to separate the Loggia Veliu, the courtyard of the Bashkims family, from the field of the dead. In 2016 there was still no sign on the dark field to remember them. Now their names are written, carved into flagstones and torn from oblivion. The light above the memorial is always on. The tomb slabs shine as brightly as the walls of Bashkim's newly plastered house.
"Let's hear what the men say." Eleven-year-old Fatime takes me across the veranda into a separate room. Fierce discussions penetrate to the outside world. It is past 9 pm. A member of the Vetëvendosje parliament is fighting for the last votes on Bashkim's sofa. After the private campaign event in the Loggia Veliu, he will visit three more living rooms and talk to the critical and disillusioned residents of the houses that disappear at dusk.
Bashkim will vote for self-determination.
make the future - the global player SHELL's claim is written in big letters all across the hills in front of Prishtina. I am already in Albania when the results of the election are announced. The opposition won. People voted for Albin Kurti and Vetëvendosje, for self-determination and democracy.

p.s.: make the future – Over a year ago, Bashkim applied for a German work visa. He still does not believe in a future for himself and his family in Kosovo.

Aufruf zur Selbstbestimmung - Vorbereitung der Wahlveranstaltung der LVV Vetëvendosje in Prishtina auf dem Skenderbeg Platz.

Um den Machterhalt - Wahlveranstaltung der amtierenden Regierungspartei.

22 Stunden bis zur Wahl am 5.10.2019. Ein mit Albanienvereinter Kosovo ist eine Vision.

Fahrije und Bashkim Veliu mit seinen Eltern und einer Schwester Farhjies. Auch sie hat einige Jahre in Deutschland gelebt. Wählen wird sie nicht.

Familie Veliu im Wohnzimmer des Elternhauses in Dyz. Im Vordergrund, 2. Reihe links, Fatime, die mit ihren Eltern und ihren Brüdern vier Jahre in der Unterkunft für Asylsuchende in Berlin-Spandau verbrachte. Die Elfjährige spricht immer noch fließend deutsch.