Under the sky of Prizren, 41 teens, including Albanians, Serbs, Palestinians, Israelis, and Americans, spent seven nights together at a camp dedicated to peacebuilding and open dialogue.
During the bus trip to “Via Ferrata” in Peja, the Palestinian Mohammad Shibli took a moment to say, “when I go back [home] I’m gonna talk and engage more with people to make peace with them and make friends.”
Shibli, along with 16 other students both Jewish and Palestinian, came to Kosovo, on July 22, to participate in the international camp on peacebuilding and dialogue organized by the local NGO Kosovan Organization for Talent and Education, TOKA.
After five nights in Prizren—located almost 85 km from Kosovo’s capital Prishtina—the group traveled around 103 kilometres to Via Ferrata in Peja-Rugova Gorge to hike and go ziplining.
The 17 year old Shibli, who lives in Jerusalem, told BIRN that, after having shared a room with an Albanian participant, he was more critical of media, specifically the news about Kosovo, which he believes does not reflect the positive communication between ethnic Albanians and Serbs he witnessed at the camp.
“I’ve seen they’re actually talking to each other and, actually, they’re friends, they can connect. They’re humans at the end.”
“It’s the same thing that happens to us. A lot of people here thought that, as an Arab, I wouldn’t talk to any Jewish people, or I wouldn’t [engage] with the culture, but no, most of my friends, especially in Israel and here are Jewish and Israelis,” Shibli said.
Jonathan Holzer Zelenko, an Israeli participant two years younger than Shibli, traveled with him to the camp in Kosovo, where he made many friends and tried to talk to almost everyone.
Hatixhe Zeka, the executive director of TOKA, said she had not seen a “more united group” at any other similar events.
TOKA was founded by Jehona Gjurgjeala in 2015 and over the last ten years they have organized 80 summer camps with educational and volunteer programmes.
Teaching ‘tools for dialogue and peacebuilding’
Mohammad Shibli. Photo: BIRN/Arbrita Uka
The idea for the camp was presented in an email sent to TOKA in late 2024 by Steven Aiello, founder of the organization ‘Debate for Peace,’ who grew up in the Jewish community in New York.
Zeka explained to BIRN that the camp aims “to empower these young people, to equip them with certain methods that encourage critical thinking, and help them understand what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes—especially in very difficult situations or in unsolvable conflicts, such as the one currently happening between Israelis and Palestinians. So the whole idea is how to show them some tools for dialogue and peacebuilding.”
“We thought they wouldn’t be able to come at all, but they still managed to make it despite the flight restrictions they faced,” Zeka said, referring to how flights from Tel Aviv were halted because there was a 12-day war between Israel and Iran thirty-nine days before the TOKA camp began. Iran’s Ministry of Health reported that 627 people were killed and 4,870 were injured by Israeli attacks.
In October 2023, Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in response to a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. The Israeli offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Most of Gaza’s population has been repeatedly displaced and more than 90 per cent of homes are believed damaged or destroyed. A UN-backed body has confirmed that a famine is under way in Gaza City and its surroundings, in what UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called “a man-made disaster, a moral indictment—and a failure of humanity itself.”
In August, the Guardian published Israeli data showing that five out of every six people killed were civilians.
Jonah Carlson. Photo: BIRN/Arbrita Uka
During the TOKA camp, which lasted until July 29, participants also held dialogues about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict where they shared their perspectives. Zeka emphasized that the conversations were held with mutual respect for each other and for differing viewpoints.
She also shared that participants were placed in mixed rooms in Prizren: “There was no resistance, like ‘I won’t stay [in a room] with a Palestinian,’ or ‘I won’t stay with an Israeli,’ or ‘I won’t stay with an Albanian or a Serb’.”
Because of the success of this camp, Zeka said they have already discussed a second edition next year.
“We’ll definitely not stop—because we’ve seen how necessary and important it is to bring young people together and talk about topics that might not be the easiest in the world, but are still essential to address.”
Aiello, who also works as a teacher, was convinced to join the camp after hearing that Kosovo is a unique place from his students who had attended other events organized by TOKA.
“It’s a good place for us to have our dialogues because the people we’ve met here are very open and empathetic for both Israelis and Palestinians.” Aiello said.
A total of 41 youngsters participated in the camp: 19 from Kosovo, including 5 ethnic Serbs from North Mitrovica and Zubin Potok and 14 ethnic Albanians; 5 Americans from Iowa; and 17 from Israel, including 9 Palestinians and 8 Israelis.
“We achieved a small miracle”
Klea Gashi. Photo: TOKA
Holzer Zelenko, an active student in the diplomacy and international communications elective at Atid Raziel school in Herzeliya, Israel, said that “I’ve been to other programmes as a foreigner, this is one of the best.”
Amazed by the warm welcome, the 15-year-old, visiting Kosovo for the first time, said, “I was very shocked about Kosovo to see how much stuff they have that I didn’t think they would have. They have so much culture and how the cities were built, I wasn’t expecting how nice it is to be here.”
Before trying the zipline in the Rugova Gorge, Jonah Carlson, an American camper, told BIRN that he had never heard of Kosovo before and that’s why he initially decided not to apply for TOKA’s camp.
But when a spot opened up because a student decided not to participate, the 18 year-old from Iowa saw it as “a sign from the Universe” and changed his mind. “So I decided I’ll come.”
“What I’m taking out of it is just to think with an open mind and never judge someone—like judging a book by its cover,” Carlson said, explaining there are many prejudices towards the country, claiming that even his parents had feared that a trip to Kosovo would not be safe.
Klea Gashi, an ethnic Albanian from Prishtina, told BIRN that her camp group was made up of people from all the nationalities at the camp. “I have Albanians, Serbs, Israelis and Palestinians. I am feeling very good that I am understanding all their viewpoints and it seems interesting for me to discuss with them.”
Jonathan Holzer Zelenko, Poto: BIRN/Arbrita Uka
According to Gashi, they usually spoke about how to make more peace and help each other. “About Kosovo, I tried to tell how we try to behave and what we need to improve to make minorities feel more comfortable.”
Aiello, the coordinator of the Israeli and Palestinians campers, claimed that, “we achieved a small miracle because we had a very diverse group… They really opened their hearts to each other.”
In his sessions for peacebuilding and dialogue, Aiello spoke about collective memory and historical trauma.
“We are not political, we are not trying to tell political parties that they are weak but we would like the participants to go back to their families, schools, and communities and just create positive changes wherever they are… to make the world around them a little bit better, everyone in their own way. And the second thing is just to be friends, like we want them to be in touch, be friends,” he said, speaking about the importance of the camp.