Reporting
Kosovo, 15 years of independence plagued by exodus
At the entrance to Mother Teresa Boulevard, the main pedestrian thoroughfare in the center of Pristina, a banner reads “Boycott Serbian, Nazi-fascist and genocidal products”.
Tired of the endless quarrels, many Kosovars prefer to leave.
© Simon Rico / RFI
Text by: Jean-Arnault Dérens Follow |
Simon Rico Follow
5 mins
Every year, tens of thousands of Kosovars travel abroad.
Tired of the permanent crisis, everyone leaves with the hope of living in a “normal” country.
An exodus that sums up the disillusions, 15 years after independence.
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From our regional correspondents,
Officially, at least 50,000 people have still left Kosovo in 2022, almost 3% of the population recorded more than a decade ago.
These data from the Statistics Agency may even be underestimated since no one records departures.
“Ten years ago, those who left were mostly unemployed people.
Today, it is the graduates who are leaving
,” said economist Lavdim Hamidi.
“
I am angry with the leaders of Kosovo
,” sighs Nerimane Kamberi.
This professor of French literature at the University of Pristina saw her eldest son leave for Germany.
He founded a small digital marketing agency in Pristina, but followed his companion, a doctor, who left for the Frankfurt region.
“
We experienced Serbian repression, war and exile, but when the war ended, we thought our lives would finally change… Hope was very strong when Kosovo declared its independence in early 2008. Today, we wonder what will become of our country if all the young people leave.
»
The arms are already missing
"
Training a medical specialist costs around 200,000 euros in Kosovo, money thrown away since our young graduates go abroad", remarks
Lavdim Hamidi. "
If this continues, the country will find itself without doctors, without engineers, without architects or qualified professionals.
»
The social consequences of the exodus are immense: not only does Kosovo already lack manpower in several sectors of activity, but the shortcomings will further worsen when the baby boomers retire without being replaced.
While public finances are at their lowest, how will the fragile pension and social protection systems hold up?
►
Also to listen: Kosovo: fifteen years after independence, an uncertain future
Especially since the exodus of living forces is causing the birth rate to fall.
Young couples often prefer to postpone the birth of their first child after their expatriation.
Both for practical reasons, but also for these children to be born abroad, which favors the granting of residence documents in most states where they settle.
The explosion of teleworking in
outsourcing
Bujar, he has not gone abroad: this 25-year-old young man works remotely for an American insurance company.
He lives on New York time, starting his workday mid-afternoon and ending it after 10 p.m.
“
I earn 700 euros per month.
It's a very decent salary for Kosovo, but my colleagues in the United States earn maybe ten times more for the same job.
»
His case is far from isolated: this phenomenon of subcontracting,
outsourcing
in English, was brutally amplified during the Covid-19 epidemic and today at least 800 foreign companies have already registered subsidiaries in Kosovo for recruit local labor there, without having to bring it in.
This allows them to save on payroll and reduce their expenses as much as possible.
If these companies pay taxes – limited – in Kosovo, they are exempted from paying social security contributions for unemployment and retirement.
And in the event of illness, it is also the health system of Kosovo which supports these employees.
Read also:
Headlines: Kosovo celebrates 15 years of independence
Can this new form of outsourced telework represent a serious alternative to exodus?
The Kosovars are in any case tempted, those who master English and have solid technological knowledge, often acquired on the job.
The potential income can indeed provide them with a comfortable life in Pristina, staying close to their families.
“
Why leave to kill yourself on construction sites in Germany to earn 2,000
euros?
asks Kushtrim.
“
Here I can earn 1,000
with less fatigue and life is much cheaper.
»
The fear of the future
In truth, it is above all the chronic feeling of insecurity that pushes the Kosovars to take the road to exile.
"People don't just leave for economic reasons, but because they can't imagine their future or that of their children in a country always threatened by a new conflict or plagued by political instability"
, analyzes Belgzim Kamberi, of the Musine Kokalari Institute for Social Policies, a think tank in Pristina.
For the moment, there is no reason to imagine that the curve of departures will be reversed in the coming years, quite the contrary.
Kosovo is the last country in the Western Balkans whose nationals must apply for a Schengen visa to travel to the European Union.
After years of blockages and broken promises, the end of this regime has just been announced "
for 2024 at the latest
".
This long-awaited measure is likely to have devastating effects: according to a recent study, a third of Kosovars would consider leaving their country as soon as they can travel freely.
►
Also to listen: Kosovo Serbs worried about their future
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