News

by Nora GJUZI and Luke BUTTERLY

Members of minority communities in Northern Ireland and in Kosovo say that they are neglected in the histories of those wars and in the post-conflict societies that followed.

Kosovo is a country where those who fought against the Serbian army in the 1998-99 war are held in high regard. However, even this status may not be enough to protect members of minority communities from discrimination.

Despite being a veteran of the war and enjoying the respect of the majority community, Haxhi Hoti, from the minority Egyptian community, said he faces a dire economic situation:

“We were part of the war because we also experienced attacks, but now, after the war, we have not received any support to avoid feeling discrimination or to feel different.”

Kosovo’s minority communities — Bosniaks, Turks, Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian, and Gorani — were victims of both the Serbian security forces (police, army, and paramilitaries) and the Albanian-led Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

After that conflict, which left thousands dead, missing, and displaced, peace between the various communities has been fragile.

While more than 15 years have passed since Kosovo declared independence in 2008, there is still discrimination, even in day-to-day interactions. Minority communities feel withdrawn and do not integrate with the larger population.

As in Kosovo, many members of Northern Ireland’s migrant and minority communities feel ignored by political parties.

These communities are varied in nationality and in how many generations they have lived here. Some have arrived in recent decades, while others trace their roots back long before the start of the Troubles.

Most of the 3,600 lives lost in that conflict were from the Catholic/Irish/nationalist or Protestant/British/unionist communities.

There is no single record of victims from migrant backgrounds, but it would include people like Ashra Chopra, a mother-of-two who was killed while sitting in her car with her children. She was shot as an IRA gunman attempted to kill a policeman. Chopra had moved from India to Derry/Londonderry in 1968, joining her husband and the small Indian community.

There are now around 10,000 people in the Indian community, which dates back to the 1930s.

Satyavir Singhal, chair of the Indian Community Centre in Belfast, said that minority communities still must navigate a place that remains in many ways deeply segregated. This is something that arises when new migrants ask him for advice on where to live or where to send their children to school.

Decades after the end of the conflict, 90% of social housing continues to be segregated into “single identity” communities. And figures from the Department of Education indicate that newcomer pupils are as segregated as their local counterparts. More than 87% attend schools which are traditionally deemed Catholic or Protestant, with less than 6% of newcomer children attending integrated schools (which intentionally aim to mix pupils from different backgrounds).

“People do ask us ‘is this a safe area or not?’,” Singhal said of giving advice to newcomers looking for places to live. He answers, “We advise them not to go near the flag areas,” referring to the Irish and British flags that are used to mark areas.

Many migrants end up inadvertently choosing a side in this post-conflict society, said Gosia O’Hagan from the Polish community. This can be due to where they live, who they marry, or where their children go to school:

“My husband, he’s Irish. My children go to a Catholic school, so by default, I’m associated with one side more than the other. But how much is it my choice? I don’t know anymore. It’s something that I wasn’t prepared for.”

Minority communities feel that Northern Ireland’s politicians largely ignore migrant voices and votes. There has only ever been one elected member of the Northern Ireland parliament from a minority community background; Anna Lo, originally from Hong Kong, served between 2007 and 2016 before quitting politics due to racism from British loyalists. Only a handful of Northern Ireland’s 462 local councillors are from minority backgrounds.

This is in marked contrast to Kosovo, where 10 of the 120 seats in the National Assembly are reserved for representatives from non-Serb minorities.

However, the greater levels of political representation has had little to no impact on the economic or professional development of the Roma community, of which unemployment rates are disproportionately high compared to other ethnic groups in Kosovo. Indeed, EU research reports mention economic and social challenges faced by the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian young people, including unemployment rates of 75%.

Across Kosovo, members of minority communities face the same issues regarding difficult social and economic conditions, and the assumption that their situation is solely due to belonging to these communities.

As Burbuqe Zepa from the Egyptian community said:

“No one sees us. We are surprised that so many years after the war, we still have such difficult conditions. We do not even have the basic necessities for living.

“Our children still live with great difficulties, and this is only because we belong to this community. They do not see us as individuals but only as votes.”

Arjeta Nosha, also from the Egyptian community, agrees. She lives in a village called Lutogllavë near Peja:

“We live in an area where the divide is evident because sometimes we don’t even have enough to eat. When we work, we can eat, but when we don’t have work, we often go hungry.

“It is not because we lack the desire to work, but the opportunities for us as a community are much smaller. However, our neighbours here always help us and respect us for who we are.”

Erxhan Galushi, a member of the Assembly of Kosovo from the Roma community, said: “After the end of the war in 1999, the Roma community, along with other communities, faced great difficulties, including displacement, discrimination, and marginalisation.”

“The role of the Roma community in peacebuilding after the war in the Republic of Kosovo has been significant, though often underestimated”, he added.

Despite challenges, some remain optimistic.

While recognising the discrimination, the situation for minorities is improving, said Elbert Krasniqi, Minister of Local Government Administration and a member of the Egyptian community:

“The Egyptian community, like all citizens of Kosovo, are in a better situation every day, with increased attention from the government of Kosovo.

“Although the difficult economic situation of the community members still requires a lot of effort to improve, they are undoubtedly an important part of the nation-building of Kosovo and in building peace, thereby creating harmony among all communities in Kosovo.”

Justina Cesnauskiene, a resident in Northern Ireland’s most diverse town, has also seen improvements.

She said when she first moved to Dungannon from Lithuanian aged 12, there were few migrants in her class.

“When we moved here, it (the religious divide) was very strong, and especially on the 12th of July, you know, it was mad,” she said, referring to an often-contentious cultural celebration that commemorates a historic battle fought on religious grounds.

“We were always in the house at that time, on that day, because it was not safe.”

But during her time living in Northern Ireland, she has seen huge changes in attitudes and demographic.

She has been invited to, and attended, local 12th of July celebrations with her young children.

“People see the children coming into their school are different, they’re from different countries, and they don’t care. They’re more accepting,” she said.

“Now (Dungannon) it’s very mixed. There’s not any more just Catholic or Protestant, black or white. It’s mixed.”

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This article is part of a series co-authored by Kosovo and Northern Ireland participants in a peace journalism project, Reporting on a Troubled Past, initiated and organised by the Association of Journalists of Kosovo in partnership with Shared Future News, with funding from the British Embassy Pristina. The facts presented and views expressed are those of the authors and editorially independent of any funder.