Left to right: Agnesa, Emma, Albiona and Sophie, ninth floor OSCE fun for Albiona's birthday...

Name: Antigona Kajtazi
Birth place: Pristina, Kosovo
Nationality: Yugo -Brit
About me: I am the descendant of a Bosnian mother and Kosovar Albanian father. I love socialising with people from all around the world, getting to know more about their culture and most of all I love travelling. At the moment I am working for OSCE -Communities Division in Prishtina Kosovo.

Name: Nensi (as Nancy) Jasharaj
Age: Was born when the man said "little step for me, big one for the human kind"
Nationality: I am a product of a Kosovo Albanian father and Montenegrian mother
Place of Residence: Prishtina. stateless, for the time being
Occupation: Lawyer ( it's in the family)
About Me: Mother of beautiful Donika, single (again), love to drink (montenegrian) wine, love to hang out with my best friend ( I have one, the kind which is 4ever and ever), always argue with my mom (who's super women) when she over-cooks pasta and claims that pasta tastes better when she cooks it, like to tease internationals about their "sufferings" in mission in Kosovo which is by all means 5 STAR MISSION. I think that I have managed to do something perfect in this life- my daughter DONIKA. She is adorable and life itself for me.

Ethnic Kosovo

Name: Agnesa Mehmeti
Age: 33
Nationality: Kosovo Albanian
Place of Residence: Born in Mitrovica, living in Pristina
Occupation:HR Assistant, OSCE Mission in Kosovo
About Me: I'm the first born child of a Bosniak mother and Kosovo Albanian father. I have two sisters and a gorgeous nephew. I love partying, having fun, travelling, telling jokes, being there for friends whenever needed, caring, reliable, late........(never on time).

Name: Diana Cena
Age: 43
Nationality: Albanian
Place of Residence: Prishtina, Kosovo
Occupation: Teacher
About Me: I have known Emma for a short time but I am certain about two things: Emma is very nice person to work and socialize with and she has all the determination needed to turn this experience into something valuable for her future. I wish her all the best and would like to offer her all the support she needs to make this experience worthwhile.

Name: Violeta Selimi
Age: 55
Nationality: Kosovar Albanian
Place of Residence: Prishtinë, Kosovë
Occupation: Graduated Engineer of Chemical Technology
About Me: Looking forward to becoming a grandmother!

Name: Sehadin Shok (right in photo)
Age: 31
Nationality: GORANI
Place of Residence: Pristina
Occupation: Community Protection Officer, OSCE
About Me: I am a member of a small, tiny ethnic community that primarily lives in the southern tip of Kosovo (between Macedonia and Albania). Gorani also live in Pristina, Prizren and other towns in Kosovo. I have been working in the OSCE for 7 years now dealing primarily with minority communities....and as I usually say...I am minority by profession and by birth. Love to travel, love music and LOVE cevapi and burek.

Many security incidents happening in Kosovo are thefts of farming-related materials. The above picture is allegedly a picture of an abandoned failed attempt of a stolen car and stolen cows.

We are having a wonderful summer here; in the 40's some of the time. Took a well needed long weekend with a group of friends in Sithonia (second finger), Chalkidiki, Greece (seven hour drive from Prishtina/Pristina)...and been chilling with my local and international friends on their balconies/in coffee bars or at the pool in the Kosovo Serb inhabited enclave Gracanica/Gracanice. Kosovo generally has a 'tense' atmosphere and escape is needed from time to time to feel the release. In fact my good Albanian friend just returned from a two-week conference in Croatia and she looks like a new person...

What am I doing?....

...Sorry it's been a while family and friends and I will make an effort to post some interesting updates!! So I've been here for what seems like nearly a year now working for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. I was asked to clarify exactly what OSCE is doing by a friend the other day so I will paste my response below:

The OSCE had a presence in Kosovo even before the conflict and was called the 'Kosovo Verification Mission' (KVM)...Then Nato came in...and the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo was set up under UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

The OSCE is the institution building pillar of the UN Mission in Kosovo and was responsible for rule of law and the setting up of independent institutions. Now the role is more of a monitoring and capacity building one...It is currently a very interesting time in Kosovo where we are all waiting for the members of the Security Council to agree on the future status of Kosovo...if Russia does not veto then there could be supervised independence here, and the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) Mission as well as the International Civilian Office (ICO) would be in charge...

Things are really very uncertain at the moment and it is hard to predict what will happen...

..I think maybe every 1.5 household in Kosovo has a weapon and the current Kosovo Protection Corps (many of its members have fought in the former KLA) could have acquired many weapons......

My role here is with communities...I am doing a mapping exercise which involves sending questionnaires out to OSCE field teams from which the data will provide an overview of the situation of minority communities in Kosovo...at the moment I am focusing on the Kosovo Serbs as it is of utmost priority to protect and ensure the sustainability of the small enclaves in Kosovo......

Stray dogs wander the streets in their hundreds in Kosovo. If they are not killed by cars, then many are shot by the municipal authorities during night time 'operations'. I returned home from work the other day to find a dog lying at the side of the road who had been hit by a car and was unable to use his back legs. Some locals had given it food but it remained their crying. The Shabani family called the Muncipality but it seemed that the police never came. The dog was crying throughout the night, and from the window, I watched it drag itself down some steps where it lay in a corner unsheltered from the rain. I could not sleep for the noise and knowing how much this dog was suffering. The following morning, I went to see it and left some food with some very strong painkillers. I returned during my lunch break with a friend to pick it up in a taxi. We took it to the 'Pet Hospital' where a colleague had made an appointment. Unfortunately it had a broken spine and was paralysed in both legs and had to be put down. We proceeded to find an area to bury the dog, since it was our responsibility, only to be told by municipal authorities to unbury the creature from land intended to be used for constrution of public facilities. The dog was eventually left in an open make-shift rubbish collection site. I am glad he is not suffering anymore.