Footsteps In Kosovo
by Kristina Lucas
Category: Travel

Footsteps in Kosovo - a travel book that deals with an unusual subject in a different manner. Initially when learning she was to visit Kosovo the author, searched for information about the land and the inhabitants... "to find out what it was like". Admitting ignorance of the land other than knowledge of the conflict in 1999 when NATO conducted an air offensive on humanitarian grounds to halt what was termed as the ethnic cleansing of the Albanian population of Kosovo. Much has been written about the war period but despite extensive investigation she came across very little on the domestic front. The book is an attempt to remedy this. The personal dialogue draws a sensitive picture of this small part of the world - not much larger than the county of Yorkshire - now a UN protectorate, and still an 'active posting' for the NATO military forces after 5 years of 'nation building'. With the aid of her camera and a quirky sense of humour that saw Kosovo becoming 'curiouser and curiouser', aspects of living in Kosovo today are revealed. First seeing Kosovo from the comparative safety of one of the myriad of white 4x4 vehicles she falls irrationally in love with the land, the people and the fascinating history. With her camera ever ready she portrays a land of often violent contrasts. Written looking at Kosovo briefly from history - the day before; the war years - yesterday; the author takes to her heart the Kosovo of today. Determined to attempt to analysis her attraction 60-year-old Kristina returns... alone. To find her affinity, interest, intensifying. She has since been back yet again on her own, to stay in the capital Pristina just prior to the recent elections; feeling her way in this unsettled land; 'to test the water' as the frustrations of the population continue to simmer.