The town's water pumps are supposed to work but fail almost as often as the power. Other sanitary services, such as garbage pickup, have mostly been abandoned. Once the responsibility of the Serbian government, trash pickup now is occasionally performed by men pulling farm wagons with small tractors. In Pristina, I saw children playing atop mounds of garbage covered with snow. On the other side of the street was a large park with a charming gazebo, but the children could not play there because of the danger of land mines.
Land mines are a danger everywhere.
Our driver warned us not to go off the road for any reason. Those plots left fallow by farmers are suspected of containing land mines. Security dominates daily life. My first lesson begins immediately upon landing at the airport in Skopje, Macedonia's capital. I see several military helicopters.