The " NEWBORN " monument, whichthrones in the city center of Pristina,symbolizes by itself the situation of thecountry.

Kosovo is a "newborn", it will be oneyear old on February 17th, 2009: it isthe youngest country in the world. .

Kosovo : a « newborn » country.A Photo story by ©Bruno Fert/LightMediation

Contact - Thierry Tinacci - LightMediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry@lightmediation.com

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-02: United colors of ... the Police.Gëzim, 35, police officer, is delighted by his cooperation with his Turkish, Indian and Chinese colleagues. Half-heartedly, he admits he is sometimes embarrassed by the Indians: "certain acts that we consider as criminal

are not so for them". In 2001 more than 3000 policemen coming from 50 countries participated in the training of the " Kosovo Police Force ". For 8 years 8 700 policemen were recruited and trained. /

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-03: A politically correct flag.Trimi, 33, was a fighter of the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army). He is now designer and won the contest for the new flag of Kosovo. The international administration had forbidden the red, the black, the Slavic colors, and

the eagle as any ethnic symbol... " I had no more choice than the European colors! But it will remain the most beautiful work of my life "./ Prishtina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-04: International administration or neocolonialism? Albin Kurti, age 33. Charismatic and tireless activist, Albin was imprisoned in Serbia in March 2000 during the withdrawal of theMilosevic?s troops. Today he steers henceforth the movement "Vetevendosje" (self-determination) which denounces the seizure of the international administration on all the executive powers of the country. / Prishtina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-05: Everything except politics !Rona Nishliu, 22 years is the young star of Blue Sky Radio, the most listened to in the country. During Rona's show people speak about everything except politics! "The politics became our obsession. My show is a

window on the true life. It is necessary to free people from politics that invaded all our media. »/ Prishtina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-06: 43 % of the population is jobless.Shefzet, 36, began selling cigarettes in the street to the age of 17. In spite of his diploma of traffic engineering, Shefzet has never found any work. In Kosovo, the unemployment rate is 43 % of the working population and

60 % of the young people. Shefzet makes approximately 250 euros a month. It is approximately 100 euro over the average wage. / Prishtina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-07: Getting inspired.With 34 % of the population living under the poverty line, Flutura and Gresa recognize that the Kosovars have bigger problems than keeping up with the latest fashion trends. Freshly graduate from a design school,

Flutura and Gresa work on their first collection. " We start from zero and it is rather exciting. As we have no foreign fashion magazine, we draw our inspiration from some everyday life details and our feelings "./ Prishtina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-08: Mafia and corruption. Astrit, 33 and Jeuta 26, play the role of Bekimqorri and Saranda in "Our Cafe ", the most popular sitcom in Kosovo. Bekimqorri is a maffioso: he corruptsthe politics, sells weapons, and is devoted to all kinds of traffics. According to a study of the Kosova Institute for Democratic Society, the corruption is perceived as the main problem of the country after the

unemployment. / Prishtina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-09: From hip hop to politic. Memli, 28. Within his Hip-hop band "Ritmi Rruges" (the rhythm of the street), Memli made the crowds vibrate with his political songs. But to changesociety, the young man has chosen to enter in politics. No more songs but speeches: Memli is the spokesman of the government. / Prishtina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-10: Free medias. Jeta Xharra, 30. In Albanian, her first name means " the life ". The talk show, which she produces and leads, is entitled " Jeta e Kosova ", The life in Kosovo. It isthe terror of the politicians because Jeta demonstrates their lies in front of 350 000 televiewers. During the war of 1999, Jeta committed herself as translator for the BBC in the front line. " It was necessary to show to theinternational community on what was going on in Kosovo: " Mission accomplished; NATO will not delay bombarding the Yugoslav army. Today Jeta takes back the fight to open eyes and ears of her fellow citizens on the

carelessness of their leaders. / Prishtina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-11: Graduating from Secondary school at 30 years hold. 13 % of the women of the rural zones of Kosovo are illiterate. Shehendere stopped school at 15: too dangerous for a girl inan isolated village in these times of political unrest. After the war, Shehendere took advantage of the international assistance to create her NGO. Objective: the female literacy in the countryside. While working,

Shehendere catches up her delay. She graduates and plans to enter to the university of Prishtina next year. This time nothing will stop her, not even the road: she bought a car./ Prishtina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-12: Being Serbe in Kosovo. Zarko, 23, is among the 140 000 Serbs who still live in Kosovo. He lives with his parents in a small enclave at thirty kilometres from Prishtina. Zarkohenceforth resigned to become a citizen of Kosovo and intends even to work in the administration of his new country. But a single thing matter for him: keeping his Serbian identity and especially the Serbian number

plates of his car!/ Donje Stanovce

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-13: Being Serbe in Kosovo. Adrijana, 21, lives with her family in the tiny Serbian enclave of Stanovce. The French soldiers of the KFOR who protected the village are all gonebecause the attacks have stopped. But Adrijana does not feel comfortable in her new country. She leaves the enclave only to join by taxi the Serbian university of North Mitrovica where she studies. She grants that later

she will have to find some work outside the enclave. Adrijana learns Albanian, but she worries about her future ? / Donje Stanovce

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-14: Being Serbe in Kosovo. Bozica, 47, is a Serb from Kosovo. She prefers to live with the illusion that her village is still in Serbia. Belgrade pays every month her secondaryschool teacher?s salary. So, the Serbian government maintains his administrations in the Serbian enclaves scattered inside Kosovo. The secondary school of Bozica remains stuck in the past with portraits of Vuk

Karadzic, the creator of the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, decorating the classroom. The pupils study the Serbian programs and do not learn Albanian. / Donje Stanovce

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-15: 76 % of the population is of Moslem confession. Ilijas, 86, is Imam since the age of 26. Before the war most of the Yugoslav's imams were studying at the university of theologyof Sarajevo and the Islam of the Balkans was characterized by its tolerance. However, the young Imams study henceforth in the Gulf countries and assert a more political vision of the religion. / Pristina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-16: The dervishes. Abidin Shehu, 26 years is dervish, as was his father. The mystic brotherhood of dervishes' orders is at the origin of the Islamization of the region, even beforethe arrival of the Ottomans in the XIVth century. This corresponds to a popular Islam rich in numerous syncretic faiths as the worship of holy figures. In the South of the country, the dervishes have a certain political

influence and an important social role. They could constitute a barrier to radical Islam. / Prizren

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-17: Minorities. Arianit, 8 years, is an ethnic Rom. This community represents 1,7 % of the population. Seen as "collaborators" by the Albanians, more than 200 000 Roms left thecountry since the end of the war. In spite of the new constitution, in which one of the fundamental principles is the respect of minorities, Roms of Kosovo still faces numerous difficulties. According to a report of the of

United Nations Program for Development (UNDP), only 10 % only Roms children over 12 years ended the elementary school. / Prishtina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-18: Threatened independence? Zeg, 78 years, never thought of seeing the independence of Kosovo in his lifetime. Two of his children died during the war and Zeg spent 18 yearsin the Yugoslav prisons. Today, the old man is very worried: in November 2008 the UN and Serbia negotiated a treaty that threatens the territorial integrity of Kosovo./ Obiliq

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-19: A country to be built. Dardan and Arieta, 35, lived quietly with them two children in London until the war started in Kosovo. Dardan left England to fight with the KLA. After thewar he decided to stay in Kosovo to set up one of the most listened to radio stations, then to create a political party, and to make documentaries movies. Dardan is happy to belong to his generation, the one of the

independence. "Here, we are all newborn, we have to learn everything and everything remains to be built! " / Prishtina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country. / 2287-01: The NEWBORN. Fisnik, 35, is an art director. In January, 2008, as rumors announced the imminence of the proclamation of the independence, Fisnik imagined and buildt amonumental sculpture with the words "NEWBORN". At the request of the international administration, the red letters, the color of the KLA, were, hastily, repainted in yellow. Fisnik's sculpture sits enthroned since

February 17th 2008* in center of Pristina. It became a meeting point, a playground for children and have even been awarded numerous international prizes.*February 17, 2008: declaration of the independence of Kosovo. / Prishtina

Kosovo : a « newborn » country.

The " NEWBORN " monument, which thrones in the city center of Pristina,symbolizes by itself the situation of the country. Kosovo is a "newborn", itwill be one year old on February 17th, 2009: it is the youngest country in theworld.

Kosovo is also a state of a new kind. Run by the UN during the 10 lastyears, it is a laboratory for the international community, which built all theinstitutions and imposed its " democracy standards ": free election, 30 % ofwomen in the National Assembly, affirmative action for minorities...

In demographic terms, it is also the youngest country in Europe: more than50 % of the 2 million inhabitants are under 25. This young generation takesadvantage of the climate of freedom to turn the page of the war. After a longperiod of repression, there is a real thrist for life: in this young country,everything has to be made, to be built or to be created. In spite of theeconomic and political difficulties (Unemployment, relations with the Serbianneighbors) many have chosen to come back from exile to build this theywished for long time.