People are home. But the exuberance ends just around the corner from Fizri's cafe. The distance between her and the elated Firzi may be only 100 feet, but they are separated by an giant chasm of fear and anger. Twelve months into the peacekeeping mission, the basic rhythms of life have returned here. At the same time, few officials are brave enough to say this failure threatens the peacekeepers' mission or the region's future stability.
Reality is more complex in Kosovo.
Now the roads are clogged with with shoppers, 18-wheelers transporting food and construction materials and sleek Mercedes sedans. Most of the 100,000 homes destroyed by looting paramilitaries have been rebuilt. Farmers are returning to fields cleared of land mines. Water and electricity have been restored thanks to the United Nations and other aid organizations. America's NATO allies agreed to foot most of the bill for Kosovo's reconstruction after the United States paid the lion's share of the military costs to end the Serb onslaught.