My grandmother was always saying the only thing important to me is to go somewhere, to travel. However, I think that for the first time in my life I just wanted to come home. 

This trip was easy to organise, no problems with visas (like Darko), or arranging hotel or finding ticket (not that easy to find good offer but done) and Prof. Davis was very kind and co-operative. Everything went so smoothly.  

But then JAT started my bad luck series. We boarded into the plane and everything seemed to be ok. When we were in the middle of the runaway and just about to take off the plane stopped and the pilot informed us that because of “the small technical problem we have to go back to the starting position” and we did. No explanation, of course. Why do we need to know what was the problem with the plane we were in!? They kept us in for more than 30 minutes and then just informed us we have to go out. At that moment situation didn’t look so bad. After 20 minutes we were informed we should go to another gate and board another plane. After spending more than half an hour in the gate one guy came and informed us we are not going to board into this plane, since they are sending it into hangar. After stating this he left. Of course, no explanation or info when should we expect to start our journey. At Information Desk they directed us to displays at which they were just changing expected time every half an hour. After hours of sitting (whoever has been at Belgrade Airport knows there are not many things you can do to kill hours of waiting) display informed us we should leave at 3 p.m. (the original time is 11 a.m.!). But, that was not the end of our odyssey. Only around 3:30 we were told to go down from the gate and recognise our luggage and only after that board the plane. After 5 and half hours we finally left Belgrade. The pilot informed us that there is a very strong head wind that is slowing us down additionally. It was clear that day was lost.  If you think this is the end BIG MISTAKE! When we finally make it to Heathrow we had to wait about an hour to collect our luggage. But was happy it was over. Or at least I though so. 

Another great news struck me just when I relaxed a bit. Somebody attempted a fraud with a false credit card (with my number) so to prevent damage my credit card was blocked! Hope this person enjoyed
Miami (where the fraud happened) for the last time and hope your poor identity will be revealed! Don’t like people stealing my identity I am working hard for it!!!

I was told in a bank the whole procedure might take up to six months :(((

There is a belief in Serbia bad news come in number 3, so I was ready and waiting. I’ve made it to the plane back to Belgrade, the plane was almost (20 minutes pass almost unnoticeable now) on time, whether was great. Whilst standing next to the carousel and waiting for my luggage for about half an hour was already thinking it was lost. When my little blue suitcase appeared from the depths of Belgrade
Airport broken I understood what was causing all the noise. But maybe I should be happy it was not lost!? 

Don’t know is it some bad planet constellation, bad energy, bad carma, pure bad luck, world conspiracy or what, just hoping it is over. 

So hello and greetings from Tbilisi. I’m in the middle of my work. Hope everybody are doing fine and better then me. Not that I have something to complain about, but still. Georgia is beautiful country, but not organized, so everything is in some kind of controlled chaos. Especially the traffic. I thought that coming from Macedonia and being used to it is an advantage. But here it is impossible, 2 or 3 times worst then in my country.
I had 5-6 meeting until now and the progress of the story at least in my opinion is going ok. I’m not satisfied only from the official part because nobody from the government was able to talk to me this week. Luckily I got two important interviews when I come back from Abkhazia on 26 of June.
Yea, I forgot to mention, tomorrow (21.06) I’m going to Abkhazia and first time in my carrier I’m this excited. Not because the working part, but because meeting with Margarita Akhvlediani from IWPR (who by the way knows Gordana very well) got me a little bit worried. She explained everything to me but also told me to be very careful. You know it is a conflict zone, she told me. All those information from her even before I get there I know that they are useful. So, wish me luck. I should be back on 25 of June in Tbilisi and two days later I should be in Skopje. Then you should expect a new blog from me since then internet will be much easier to find. 

This weekend I’ll try to escape Serbian post-election-coalition-government-talks and all the stories and speculations around it. I am going to
Oxford for the historical part of my research and I am hoping for one good conversation with Prof. Davis. 

But, whether I will be able to ask all the right questions to an Oxford Professor is not my biggest concern. And I don’t have problem with visas (although it is not easy to find out about the “only possible” way to get “visa” for
Russia) and finding ways to travel to my destinations. Was thinking about general perception of “lightness” of my subject and was reminded of Kundera’s “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” not only because he deals with ’68. there. Anyone who read it knows how “heavy” can it be. 

It is very difficult to come to big “stars” especially of ’68. Actually not difficult to come to them but to make them give you at least half an hour of their time. Those former revolutionaries fighting against the system/rules when they were young are surrounded by rules now. On the other hand, it is very easy to approach and arrange interview with people who are still in civic sector, journalists or academicians. Guess that gives answer to my questions about commercialisation and conformism, as well. However, I do hope, at the end, the idea will prevail. 

By Gjergj Erebara in Skopje

Almost every time, when I had traveled in Balkans, I have found myself in a “historic momentum”. I have not traveled a lot at all; just twice or three times in Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro etc. This time, I have found Macedonia in post-re-election day, where my good compatriots attested again their understanding of democracy and rule of law. I had read two Albanian newspapers, and not surprisingly I found out that one of them declared the victory of PDSH and the other, the victory of BDI. I didn’t know which of those parties belong to the left wing and who the right-wing. Maybe they are both. Anyway! The fact is that early elections were caused by PDSH which had withdrawn on April from government coalition, creating troubles for Macedonia NATO bid. Their competition had caused one death and several injured last Sunday. And both had lost, pushing in serious surviving test the co-called ‘Belgian model of Macedonia’. For what I now, a Macedonian party had reached for the first time full control of Parliament, making useless Albanian parties. Although is almost sure that Albanians will hold a symbolic presence in the new government, power division system, a tool invented in 1993 from EU to save Macedonia from ethnic madness, now is a specie on way of extinction.

On the same day, many other ‘historical moments’ happened. Kosovo got its new constitution. Bosnia signed the Pre-association Agreement with EU. The absurd stile debate about Macedonia name, continued between Greece and Macedonia.

By Gjergj Erebara in Skopje

Almost every time, when I had traveled in Balkans, I have found myself in a “historic momentum”. I have not traveled a lot at all; just twice or three times in Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro ecc. This time, I have found Macedonia in post-re-election day, where my good compatriots attested again their understanding of democracy and rule of law. I had read two Albanian newspapers, and not surprisingly I found out that one of them declared the victory of PDSH and the other, the victory of BDI. I didn’t know which of those parties belong to the left wing and who the right-wing. Maybe they are both. Anyway! The fact is that early elections were caused by PDSH which had withdrawn on April from government coalition, creating troubles for Macedonia NATO bid. Their competition had caused one death and several injured last Sunday. And both had lost, pushing in serious surviving test the co-called ‘Belgian model of Macedonia’. For what I now, a Macedonian party had reached for the first time full control of Parliament, making useless Albanian parties. Although is almost sure that Albanians will hold a symbolic presence in the new government, power division system, a tool invented in 1993 from EU to save Macedonia from ethnic madness, now is a specie on way of extinction.

On the same day, many other ‘historical moments’ happened. Kosovo got its new constitution. Bosnia signed the Pre-association Agreement with EU. The absurd stile debate about Macedonia name, continued between Greece and Macedonia.