Nazar Chabar, a Ukrainian child who has found refuge in Kosovo since August 2023
During November and December 2023, Perspektiva closely followed the activities that were organized in Kosovo by journalists who have come to Kosovo thanks to the “Journalists in Residence” program, financially supported by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, as well as the Hannah Arendt initiative.
In an exclusive interview with Perspektiva, 18-year-old Kira Yakuba shared her remarkable journey to Kosovo, shedding light on her encounters with the constant upheaval of schools, places of residence, and society at large. The unique perspective of this young individual in the program and in Kosovo is noteworthy on multiple fronts. Not only is she the sole young girl in Kosovo, accompanied by her journalist mother, but she also stands as the only teenager who has sought refuge in Kosovo through this program. Her presence in the region is a direct consequence of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, stemming from the Russian invasion. The Perspektiva Plus team in Kosovo had the opportunity to meet Kira during a solemn evening event held in Pristina. The gathering was organized to pay tribute to the memory of Ukrainian journalists who tragically lost their lives while reporting in the midst of war conditions in Ukraine.
“I arrived in Kosovo three months ago and I’m studying now in American School of Kosovo, we met a lot of Ukrainians, around 14 Ukrainian journalists, and they decided to organize this beautiful evening, just to show our culture, to exchange cultures with Albanians”, said Kira for Perspektiva.
When questioned about the challenges she faced as a high school student adapting to life in Kosovo, Kira shared her insights. In this interview, the Ukrainian teenager shared her harrowing experience of seeking refuge from the ongoing war in her country. According to her, Kosovo became the third destination she sought solace in, in an attempt to escape the war-torn environment. However, she revealed that the process of constantly changing her place of residence, along with the simultaneous challenge of adapting to new societies and schools, has been far from easy. Each new school presented its own set of difficulties, making it a daunting task to keep up with her lessons and especially with making new friends.
“I left Ukraine when the war started on the 12th of March and I was living in Poland for six months and then I was living in Canada for six months, and then I went back home to Ukraine for three months and then I came here. It is very difficult because I changed like three countries, I changed three schools and the hardest thing is to make friends because we have a different point of view, how to say it, different curriculums and here I find out it’s quite difficult to have Albanian friends”, said Kira among others.
Kira presenting in English next to journalist Tetiana Kraselnykova
Kira, 18, next to her mother, Yana Dolgopolova
Nazar Chabar, only 10 years old, the son of Ukrainian journalist Tetiana Kraselnykova, who has been settled in Kosovo for five months, during the commemoration organized in honor of Ukrainian journalists killed during the last year, said that yes, he was happy and that he was liking Kosovo until now.
Nazar Chabar, 10, waving at his friend
Throughout the evening, various activities took place at this event, including the singing of various songs and the recitation of poems with Ukrainian national and patriotic motifs. What was noticed throughout the evening was the weaving of the symbols of the two states by the Ukrainian journalists and their children; that is, the intertwining of the symbols, traditions, and culture of the host state, Kosovo, and the homeland of the journalists who were in Kosovo together with their children, Ukraine. Traditional Albanian and Ukrainian foods dominated the table of this event.
Yana Dolgopolova, Kira’s mother, who took care of cooking traditional Ukrainian food
Until now, Kosovo has sheltered a dozen Ukrainian journalists, and until the end of this year, there are 12 journalists and two Ukrainian children. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with various local and regional non-governmental organizations, with special emphasis on the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, has taken care of the travel, accommodation, adaptation, and hospitality of the journalists in the host country, Kosovo. These journalists continue to work from Kosovo as correspondents for various regional, local, and foreign media, including some still active in their homeland, for which they worked even before leaving Ukraine.
Ukrainian child
Ukrainian children
Nazar Chabar playing hide and seek
Ukrainian child reciting Ukrainian national poetry in front of
Albanian and Ukrainian audiences in Pristina
The table laid with a mix of traditional Kosovar and Ukrainian foods
Ukrainian child reciting Ukrainian national poetry in front of
Albanian and Ukrainian audiences in Pristina
