Some of the people we encountered in Kosovo stayed with me. Photographically there were two that hit me. The family living across the street from the brown coal plant was difficult for me. The Mother of two was telling us that she was happy there, and did not want to leave Kosovo, although her family was living on 70 Euro per month. I was able to make her portrait with her house and the plant behind her. The smile on her face made the image more surreal to me.
The Refugee story was, at times heartbreaking. On the one hand you had people who were leaving secure jobs in Kosovo for an uncertain further, and on the other hand, families who were living on 60 or 70 Euro a month. The common denominator among all of the people we spoke to was that they wanted to work for a better future.
As I open my suitcase, the stench of burned brown coal stings the inside of my nose, evoking good memories of a trip that was over much too soon. The glint in the eye of the many Protagonist’s open faces I stared into, stare back at me, in my mind’s eye, every time I blink. Kosovo, Europe’s youngest country, has me under her spell.
