people, places, perspectives - pristina, oslo, berlin

PEOPLE.PLACES.PERSPECTIVES. PRISHTINA.OSLO.BERLIN.

MARAL HOUSHMAND · ARBEN LLAPASHTICA · JOAR RASMUSSEN · MARTIN WÄHLISCH

PROJECT IDEA IN MAY 2010, THREE PHOTOGRAPHERS - ONE EACH FROM PRISHTINA, OSLO AND BERLIN - CAPTURED 10 DISTINCT PLACES AND SITUATIONS IN THEIR COUNTRIES’ CAPITAL CITIES (E.G. A BAKERY, A BUS TERMINAL, STREET PEOPLE, A SCHOOL, A HOSPITAL). THE CONCEPT OF THE PROJECT IS TO EMPHASIZE THAT BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS ARE PRESENT EVERYWHERE IN EUROPE AND THAT NEGATIVE URBAN PHENOMENA ARE NOT NECESSARILY CONFINED TO POST-CONFLICT COUNTRIES SUCH AS KOSOVO. DESPITE ALL THEIR DIFFERENCES, PEOPLE AND PLACES CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE PERSPECTIVE FROM WHICH THEY ARE VIEWED: A CEMETERY EVOKES PAIN BUT ALSO RELIEF, WHILE A SCHOOL IS A SPACE FOR EAGERNESS BUT ALSO STRESS, AND A PARLIAMENT CAN BRING ABOUT PROGRESS BUT ALSO PROVOKE RESIGNATION.

OUR BELIEF IS THAT TOO MUCH EMPHASIS IS PUT ON THE FEATURES THAT DIVIDE AND NURTURE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EUROPEAN CITIES. HENCE, WE AIM TO STRESS THAT MODERN URBAN LIFE – IN SPITE OF CULTURAL, POLITICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES – HAS NUMEROUS TRAITS AND PATTERNS IN COMMON EVERYWHERE. PRISHTINA IS EUROPE’S YOUNGEST CAPITAL AND STILL LARGELY UNKNOWN AND UNEXPLORED. OSLO IS A GLOBAL CITY, EVEN THOUGH IT IS FAR NORTH AND DISTANT FROM OTHER PARTS OF EUROPE. BERLIN REMAINS ONE OF EUROPE’S MELTING POTS AND ALSO IS HOME TO MANY KOSOVARS AND NORWEGIANS. NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE (PRISHTINA, OSLO OR BERLIN), PEOPLE FACE COMPARABLE, CHALLENGING MOMENTS. THIS SHOWS US THAT, FUNDAMENTALLY, WE ARE ALL THE SAME, REGARDLESS OF WHERE WE LIVE.

PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ORGANIZERS MARAL HOUSHMAND / ORGANIZER ORGANIZER. LIVES AND WORKS IN PRISHTINA, KOSOVO AND OSLO, NORWAY.

ARBEN LLAPASHTICA / PRISHTINA PHOTOGRAPHER, VIDEO JOURNALIST. LIVES AND WORKS IN PRISHTINA, KOSOVO.

JOAR RASMUSSEN / OSLO PHOTOGRAPHER, TECHNICAL CONSULTANT. LIVES AND WORKS IN OSLO, NORWAY.

MARTIN WÄHLISCH / BERLIN PHOTOGRAPHER, LAWYER. LIVES AND WORKS IN PRISHTINA, KOSOVO AND

BERLIN, GERMANY.

BUS STATION

BUS STATIONS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PLACES WHERE ADVENTURES BEGIN OR END, WHERE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS ARE TORN APART OR REUNITED, WHERE DISTANCES ARE BRIDGED AND WHOLE WORLDS COME TOGETHER. IN PRISHTINA, BUSES ARE THE PRIMARY LINK TO NEIGHBOURING REGIONS, AS AIRLINES ONLY FLY TO A LIMITED NUMBER OF DESTINATIONS AND CARS WITH KOSOVO LICENSE PLATES CANNOT CROSS ALL BORDERS. INTERESTINGLY, IN OSLO, BUS TERMINALS ARE OFTEN MEETING POINTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. IN BERLIN, THE CENTRAL BUS STATION (ZOB) IS A MYSTICAL PLACE. IF YOU LISTEN CLOSELY TO THE WAITING PASSENGERS YOU MIGHT EVEN HEAR SOME ALBANIAN, SERBIAN, TURKISH OR NORWEGIAN.

Kindly supported by:

WWW.PRISHTINA-KOMUNA.ORG WWW.VISITKOSOVA.ORG WWW.OSLO.NO WWW.VISITNORWAY.NO WWW.BERLIN.DE WWW.COMETOGERMANY.COM

BOOK SHOP

BOOKS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN BRIDGES THAT ALLOW US TO ESCAPE TO OTHER COUNTRIES AND TIMES. AS WE FIND ANSWERS IN THE WISDOM OF THEIR AUTHORS, BOOKS ALSO LEAVE US WITH MANY NEW QUESTIONS. A RECENT SURVEY (2010) SHOWED THAT NORWEGIANS TOP IN READING.

NINETY PERCENT HAD READ AT LEAST ONE BOOK DURING THE PAST YEAR.

GERMANY BOASTS A LONG HISTORY OF FAMOUS WRITERS (E.G. SCHILLER,

GOETHE), WHOSE WORKS CAN BE ALSO FOUND IN THE BOOKSHOPS OF

PRISTHINA AND OSLO. IN KOSOVO, A DEBATE HAS EMERGED ABOUT THE

POSSIBLE ABOLISHMENT OF THE GENERAL SALES TAX FOR BOOKS.

ALTHOUGH THE INTERNET AND E-BOOKS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY

POPULAR, CAN ANYONE REALLY IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT HARD- OR

SOFTCOVER BOOKS, IN PRISHTINA, OSLO OR BERLIN?

SCHOOL

SCHOOLS ARE PLACES WHERE YOUNG PEOPLE FIND BOTH INSPIRATION AND TROUBLE, PLACES FOR EAGERNESS BUT ALSO FRUSTRATIONS. AMAZINGLY, DESPITE ALL THESE DIFFICULTIES, MOST PEOPLE RECOGNIZE EDUCATION AS A PATH TO A BETTER LIFE. THE REFORM OF THE GERMAN EDUCATION SYSTEM IS UNDER CONTINUOUS DISCUSSION. SIMILARLY, DESPITE REFORMS, A MAJORITY OF NORWEGIANS ALSO CALL FOR AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE QUALITY OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. IN KOSOVO, OPEN AND SAFE SCHOOLS FOR EVERYBODY HAVE NOT ALWAYS BEEN A MATTER OF COURSE. BUT AS IN BERLIN AND OSLO, SCHOOLS IN PRISHTINA ARE ALSO CORNERSTONES TO SECURE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SOCIETY. AS SCHOOLS NEED PROGRESS THEMSELVES, THEY ARE INDISPENSABLE INSTITUTIONS TO ALLOW US TO GROW AND BROADEN OUR PERSPECTIVES.

PARLIAMENT

PARLIAMENTS ARE AT THE HEART OF EVERY DEMOCRACY IN EUROPE AND AROUND THE WORLD. THE KOSOVO PARLIAMENT IS A PLACE WHERE HISTORY WAS MADE: DURING A SPECIAL PARLIAMENTARY SESSION ON 17 FEBRUARY 2008, KOSOVO PROCLAIMED ITSELF THE WORLD'S NEWEST STATE. THE “STORTING“ IS THE NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENT. IT IS GUARDED BY TWO ANCIENT LIONS AT ITS ENTRANCE, WHICH GAVE THE PARLIAMENT ITS NAME, “LION’S HILL”. THE “REICHSTAG” IS THE SEAT OF THE GERMAN PARLIAMENT. WHILE KOSOVO WAS UNDER THE ADMINISTRATIVE RULE OF UNMIK, NORWAY ONCE WAS UNDER THE AUSPICES OF SWEDEN, AND GERMANY WAS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE US, THE UK, FRANCE AND THE SOVIET UNION. THE PARLIAMENT BUILDING REFLECTS THE OLD AND NEW, THE PAST AND THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY.

DOG SHELTER

DOG SHELTERS ARE MULTIFACETED HAVENS. FOR SOME THEY ARE ZOOS; OTHERS SEE THEM AS PRISONS. BUT ONE CAN ALSO UNDERSTAND THEM AS TEMPORARY HOMES. EUROPE’S LARGEST ANIMAL SHELTER IS IN BERLIN AND HOSTS MORE THAN 1,000 FOUR-LEGGED AND WINGED CREATURES WAITING FOR NEW OWNERS. MEANWHILE, THE FIRST AND ONLY DOG SHELTER IN THE BALKANS IS LOCATED IN A SUBURB OF PRISHTINA. INTERESTINGLY, ONE OF ITS FOUNDERS IS A KOSOVAR WORKING AT THE NORWEGIAN EMBASSY. IN NORWAY, THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT ESTABLISHED GENERAL RULES FOR THE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS BUT, AS IN GERMANY AND KOSOVO, ONE CANNOT PREVENT PEOPLE FROM ABANDONING THEIR DOGS. IN ANY CASE, A VISIT TO A DOG SHELTER IN ANY CITY WILL BREAK YOUR HEART.

STREET PEOPLE

FOR MOST PEOPLE, STREETS ARE WAYS TO GO FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER. SOME WORK ON CROWDED ROADS AND SOME EVEN LIVE UNDER THE OPEN SKY. ALTHOUGH MANY PEOPLE PERCEIVE NORWAY AS A “PERFECT” COUNTRY, HOMELESSNESS DOES NOT STOP AT THE GATES OF OSLO. BEGGING WAS PROHIBITED YEARS AGO, BUT RECENTLY WAS LEGALIZED AGAIN. STATISTICALLY SPEAKING, KOSOVO IS THE POOREST COUNTRY IN EUROPE. CHILDREN CLEANING CARS OR SELLING PEANUTS IN THE STREETS THUS ARE PART OF THE SCENERY IN PRISHTINA. IN BERLIN, AN UNDETERMINED NUMBER OF PEOPLE LIVE UNDER BRIDGES, IN HOUSE ENTRANCES OR IN SUBWAY STATIONS. A MAN CARRYING TWO PLASTIC BAGS AND WEARING GLASSES MAKES THE ROUNDS IN THE LOCAL TRAIN DURING THE DAY. HE COULD BE ANYWHERE IN EUROPE, COULDN’T HE?

BAKERY

BREAD HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR DIET IN EUROPE. GERMANS ARE PROUD OF HAVING THE LARGEST VARIETY OF BREADS (300-500 BASIC KINDS) AND GERMAN PRETZELS CAN HARDLY BE RESISTED ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. NORWEGIANS COMMONLY EAT A LOT OF BROWN BREAD. ONE OF THE MOST DISTINCTIVE ASPECTS OF NORWEGIAN CULTURE IS SMØRBRØD (SANDWICHES). THERE IS EVEN AN INFORMAL PROTOCOL SAYING THAT LUNCH PACKAGES (”MATPAKKER”) HAVE TO CONSIST OF A PAPER-WRAPPED STACK OF OPEN-FACED SMØRBRØD WITH TOPPINGS. KOSOVO’S BAKERIES ARE FAMOUS FOR FLI, MANTIA AND BUREK. AND, AS A UNIVERSAL SNACK, THE LAST ONE OF THESE IS ALSO MUCH APPRECIATED IN OSLO AND BERLIN.

TRAFFIC LIGHT

TRAFFIC LIGHTS ESTABLISH ORDER THROUGH COLORS. AT THE SAME TIME, IF WE HAVE TO WAIT TOO LONG, WE TEND TO BREAK THE RULES. WE SOMETIMES DO SO UNINTENTIONALLY, BUT MORE OFTEN INTENTIONALLY. IN GERMANY, RULE-BREAKERS HAVE TO PAY BETWEEN 5 AND 20 EUROS IF CAUGHT BY THE POLICE. IN KOSOVO, THE FINE IS UP TO 30 EUROS, ALTHOUGH THE RULES ARE RARELY ENFORCED. IN NORWAY, THE OPPOSITE IS THE CASE: IT IS NOT ILLEGAL FOR PEDESTRIANS TO IGNORE A RED LIGHT. HOWEVER, MOST PEOPLE FORTUNATELY WILL CHOOSE NOT TO CROSS THE ROAD UNTIL THE LIGHT TURNS GREEN. RED OR GREEN: THIS GENERAL COLOR CODE DOES NOT NEED ANY EXPLANATION. ALTHOUGH CROSSING THE STREET IN BERLIN, OSLO AND PRISHTINA CAN BE CHALLENGING IN DIFFERENT WAYS, THE AMBIGUITY OF RUSH, CONTROL, SAFETY, IMPATIENCE, AND REVOLUTION IS QUITE SIMILAR.

HOSPITAL

HOSPITALS ARE COMPLEX LOCATIONS. THEY ARE THE PLACES WHERE WE ARE BORN, BUT ALSO WHERE WE DIE. THE URGENCY OF GETTING AN AMBULANCE TO THE SCENE OF AN ACCCIDENT IS IDENTICAL REGARDLESS OF WHERE WE ARE. FOR COMPLICATED SURGERIES OR TREATMENTS, NORWEGIANS AND KOSOVARS OFTEN GO TO GERMANY, A COUNTRY WHICH OFFERS STATE-OF-THE-ART SURGICAL PROCEDURES. AT THE SAME TIME, GERMAN DOCTORS MOVE TO SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES, SUCH AS NORWAY, WHERE HEALTH CARE SECTOR SALARIES ARE HIGHER. AND MANY EXCELLENT KOSOVAR DOCTORS HAVE STUDIED IN GERMANY OR NORWAY TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE BEST POSSIBLE TREATEMENT FOR THEIR PATIENTS – THEREBY LIVING UP TO AN OATH TAKEN BY DOCTORS ALL AROUND THE WORLD.

CEMETERY

DEATH MAKES US ALL EQUAL.

VISIT PRISHTINA & KOSOVO!

WWW.PRISHTINA-KOMUNA.ORG WWW.VISITKOSOVA.ORG

VISIT BERLIN & GERMANY!

WWW.BERLIN.DE WWW.COMETOGERMANY.COM

VISIT OSLO & NORWAY!

WWW.OSLO.NO WWW.VISITNORWAY.COM

IMPRINT PRISHTINA.OSLO.BERLIN. PEOPLE.PLACES.PERSPECTIVES. MARAL HOUSHMAND • ARBEN LLAPASHTICA • JOAR RASMUSSEN • MARTIN WÄHLISCH PRISHTINA, JUNE 2010 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE PHOTO EXHIBITION WAS INITIALLY SHOWN FROM 28TH JUNE – 2ND JULY 2010 IN THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF KOSOVO, PRISHTINA. KINDLY SUPPORTED BY: MUNICIPALITY OF PRISHTINA ROYAL NORWEGIAN EMBASSY ART HOUSE PRINTING: Art House CO.LTD Internet: http://www.arthousepr.com E-mail: info@arthousepr.com

people, places, perspectives - pristina, oslo, berlin

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