ESI PRODUCTIONS
MITROVICA
chronicle of a death foretold?
Caption:
Filmed in Summer 2003
Titles sequence
Voiceover (In English)
The future of the Mitrovica region, once the industrial heart of Kosovo, is hanging in the balance. Foreign peacekeepers and police patrol the town. In the world, Mitrovica is widely known for its separated communities and images of ethnic violence. International forces guard the lines of division.
Behind the headlines there is a story of economic collapse. 11,000 people once worked at Mitrovica's major employer, the Trepa mining and metallurgy enterprise. Mitrovica was a multi-ethnic "one--company" town. But fire has destroyed its zinc processing plant. Its mine, once one of the biggest in Europe, is affected by flooding. And its lead smelter is closed because of environmental concerns. Today Trepča produces and sells nothing.
Mitrovica's divided status means that money comes in from Pristina and Belgrade, and from international organisations. But how long will this last? Who will invest in the future? Other regions of the Balkans deal with ethnic tension. Other towns of the Balkans face industrial decline. Mitrovica faces both. So can the town survive? Can the people of Mitrovica's various communities rebuild their lives?
INTERVIEW WITH 3 BOYS (UNNAMED)
Caption:
Partisan Hill -- North Mitrovica
First boy (in Albanian)
The people living here... how can I say this?...are Albanians, Serbs (Shkije) and Bosniaks. Three people. The Albanian houses are down there, around here, and on the other side of the bridge. The Serbs live around here, down there as well as downtown. The Bosniaks live there and up here. Yes, here there are Albanians, Serbs and Bosniaks.
Second boy (In Serbian)
There are three kinds of people, three nationalities, three nations living in these three apartment blocks -- -- Shiptars-Albanians, Serbs and Bosniaks.
Third boy (In Serbian)
I live in Mikronaselje, which is in Mitrovica. My street is Vlade Ćetkovića and a mix of people live there. There are Serbs, Muslims, Albanians. We are friends with them. They like to provoke us, but we don't care about that. That is what I have to tell you. I live modestly with my family, I have a brother, mother and father.
Caption:
Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs are the two biggest communities in Mitrovica
