By Maya Phillips – daughter of David L. Phillips /
I
am
a fifteen-year old student who believes that bringing people together and
fostering dialogue can help solve some of the world’s problems. From the moment
I was born, my parents have taught me to be a force for good in the world.
Throughout my life I have done humanitarian projects with my sister and father.
This year we are helping to rebuild a library in Kosovo to restore relations
between Serbs and Albanians and foster reconciliation. I often talk about my
projects because they are a very important part of who I am. I feel proud
because I try to help our world, spread kindness, and have an impact on
others.
My current project rebuilding the Mitrovica Library and Cultural Center is
one of my favorites. In March 2019, we flew to Vienna, Austria. We stayed in
Vienna for a one and a half days exploring the beautiful and historic city. The
next day, we flew in a small propeller plane to Kosovo. While on this plane, we
reviewed our schedule and talked about the history of the city.
Mitrovica is split in two parts, divided by the Ibar River. Serbs live in the
north and Albanians in the south. Mitrovica was divided after the war of
independence in 1999 when Kosovo Albanians rebelled against Serbia’s tyranny.
Serbia cracked down and the United States intervened to save the Kosovo
Albanians. Kosovo became independent, but Mitrovica was divided.
We envision the Mitrovica Library and Cultural Center as a place
where students can meet, read and study together, sharing experience and joint
projects. During our trip, we met many influential people in Kosovo who would
help us with our project. We met the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister.
We toured the city of Prishtina and dined with many of my father’s friends.
It was time to visit Mitrovica, the place for our library project. After a long
drive along a wet and bumpy road, we got out of the car. I could feel the
frigid wind blowing against my cheeks. My family and I walked around all day
viewing potential locations for the library, and we met with the mayor and
community leaders.
Our appointment schedule in Mitrovica was arranged by Anesa, a local teacher
with whom we are collaborating. She arranged for us to interview Albanian and
Serb students to discuss the library project. We wanted to have a joint meeting
with the Albanian and Serb students, but the Serbs would not attend. They did
not want to come over to the Albanian side. They were wary of socializing
together. Surprisingly, this was not discussed further in our meetings in
the north and the south.
The group of Albanians was a big mix of college students, including both boys
and girls. They were eager and excited. The Serbians were a small group of
young men. We met with two of them before moving to a different café where more
joined us. Members of the group on both sides were all eager to get involved
with the project. They came with a lot of enthusiasm and ideas.
Before coming to Mitrovica, I was aware that Kosovo was still a divided
society. Walking north across the bridge over the Ibar River later that day, I
saw numerous rows of Serbian flags hung from lampposts and strung across
streets on strings. That was when the division became a reality. I passed
coffee shops with people sitting around because there are no jobs. My head was
full of thoughts circling around me. I thought about these groups of people:
how different they were yet very much the same. I thought about why they
could not get along. I want the project to lead to reconciliation and new
relationships between the two different groups of people. My goal is to promote
reconciliation in this war-torn society and make a difference.
I am not Serbian or Albanian, but Kosovo has always been a very important
part of my life. I have grown up knowing many family friends from Kosovo. I
heard stories about the war and Kosovo as a divided country. I believe that I
can make a change and help build peace. This is very important to me. The
library is now being built and continues to grow every day. I hope the country
will follow.
Maya Phillips
New York
15 January 2020