Two men relaxing on the southern shore of the river Ibar. Before the conflict in the 90's, the river was a place of recreation. Now it is for the most part abandoned.
A group of children crosses the pedestrian bridge over the Ibar into the northern part of Mitrovica. Today, out of fear of possible assault only few dare to cross the river to the other side.
Mikronaselje, a small mixed neighborhood in the northern part of Mitrovica.
During the war in 1999, Agush was arrested by the Serbian military in front of his wife and children. For over a month, he was severely tortured, hoping he would reveal information about the secret plans of the Albanian UCK' (The Kosovo Liberation Army). Agush, however, did not know anything. His health is impaired by the imprisonment.
View from the main bridge over the Ibar. The river acts as a physical barrier between the Albanian and the Serbian side. The de facto division of Mitrovica was established in June 1999 after NATO forces intervened in the conflict.
Zara is afraid of the reactions of other Serbs, if she were to be seen mingling with the Albanians. Together with her mother she makes expeditions into the southern side, where she visits the mosques and goes shopping. To avoid being noticed, she crosses the river by way of the smaller bridges, skirting the main bridge.
An Albanian shepherd driving his sheep along a barbed wire fence on a cloudy day.
Radoica worked together with Albanians for the Trepca mines for most of his life. With almost 25,000 employees, the mining complex was one of the largest companies in former Yugoslavia. Since the end of the war, he has been afraid to cross the bridge to the Albanian side of the city for fear of being attacked by young Albanians. Most of his friends from the past have long since left Kosovo for central Serbia.
A monk leaving the orthodox 'St. Demetrius' church, erected in 2005 in the Serbian sector of Mitrovica. The city is also religiously severed between the Muslims and Orthodox.
Lumnije and Bujar Terzici live with their four children on a backstreet on the northern shore of the river. They are one of the few Albanian families still living in the northern section. Their Serbian neighbors eye them suspiciously. Lumnije expresses her fear: “When my kids are leaving in the morning to cross the river and go to school in the south, I am constantly scared. You never know if they will get threatened or violated”.
A man standing on a pile of mud and stones on the barren shoreline.
Savete Jahovic, her husband Hajrulla, and their 10 children share a small flat in the Roma neighborhood, which is located in the south of the city. To feed their family, they receive 100€ welfare a month from the Serbian government in the north. “As a Roma in Kosovo, it is impossible to find a job,” claims Hajrulla. Even though they receive more support from the Serbian community than from the Albanians, they do not feel accepted by either side.
Market road shortly before sunset. In the south the economy consists primarily of small trade businesses and agriculture. With over 60% officially unemployed in Mitrovica, the city has the highest unemployment rate in Kosovo.
In 1999, Mashic Biserka lost everything all at once. Her house south of the Ibar was burned down by fighters of the “UCK” (The Kosovo Liberation Army). Mashic now lives alone with her cats in a former school building in the north of the city. Her tiny room has neither constant electricity nor water supply. Just before the communal elections in November 2013, Mashic was offered money and food, if she would cast her vote for the mayor’s party. Mashic refused.
A swarm of crows flies overhead at the end of an autumn day.
Children playing in a small side road in the south. Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe with around 50 percent under the age of 25.
Sejda Xhemajli works night and day in a small restaurant in the center of southern Mitrovica. Nine to ten hours a day, six days a week, he grills sausages and meat patties for a monthly salary of 200 Euros. He is glad that he at least has a job while most of the people in his country are unemployed.
The area of 'Roma Mahala' in southern Mitrovica. The neighborhood was destroyed during the war in 1999, forcing the Roma community to resettle into refugee camps in northern Mitrovica. New housing was recently built, enabling about 1.900 Roma to return to 'Mahala'.
Aleksandar moved to the northern part of Mitrovica to study at the university. Together with his family he is one of the last 40 Serbs who still make their home in the Kosovo-Albanian capital Pristina. Before the war, approximately 40,000 Serbs lived in Pristina. Aleksandar is uncertain about his future prospects. He claims, 'As a Serb in Kosovo, no one really cares about you.'
A woman walks towards the river Ibar in the southern section of Mitrovica on a frosty winter day. The three 'towers' in the background are some of the few buildings in the north, which are still inhabited by both Serbs and Albanians.
Children playing in an early snow in November 2013 next to a former orphanage in southern Mitrovica. Some Albanian refugees, who are striving to repossess their homes in the north of Kosovo, still live here while they wait.