Damaso Reyes: Kosovo in Transition

Kosovo in Transition From photographer Damaso Reyes: The images presented here are part of a larger body of work that I began last year entitled The Europeans. While in Kosovo in the spring and fall of 2005 I was embedded with American and European soldiers attempting to stabilize Kosovo as its final status is negotiated. Kosovo, a province of Serbia and Montenegro, is an interesting example of some of the changes that Europe is going through. A small and often neglected part of the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo had a strong independence movement long before the conflict in 1999 between Belgrade and pro-independence forces led to a NATO intervention. Today, the international Kosovo Force (KFOR) and the United Nations, administers and protects the province while final status talks continue. Interestingly, European troops make up the majority of KFOR soldiers and the E.U. has taken the lead in helping the Kosovar people decide their future. This may foreshadow a time when Europe takes a leading role not only in policing confrontations on the continent but becomes more active in conflicts and humanitarian disasters around the world. More of this series can be found here, while this is a link to more images of "The Europeans." Here is a related article by Mr. Reyes. I will also link to several books about the conflict in a followup post. Kosovo1Kosovo14-1 Kosovo2 Kosovo3 Kosovo4 Kosovo5 Kosovo7 Kosovo8