Nemanja Blagojevic, a 23 years old Serb, looks Mitrovica from the heights of the city. He carries his guitar on his shoulder. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 27, 2017.

In Mitrovica, the main bridge across the Ibar river connects the Serbian and the Albanian sides of the city. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 24, 2017.

Ilda (on the left) and Tringa (on the right) are Albanians. They cross the main bridge from the Albanian side of the city to the Serb one in order to join their Serbian friends for a rehearsal with their multi-ethnic rock band. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 29, 2017.

Lazar Mladenovic is a 27 years old musician of Serbian origin. He walks with his bass on a railway located in the Serbian side of Mitrovica, Kosovo, on March 28, 2017.

Alem Redzepagic, 21 years old student at Mitrovica Rock School, with his guitar case. His family is from Montenegro. He was born and he lives in the Serbian side of Mitrovica. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 28, 2017.

Dua Kamberi, a 17 years old Albanian, lives in southern Mitrovica. She poses on the catwalk between the Albanian and the Serbian sides of the city. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 31, 2017.

In northern Mitrovica, the Rock School students wait for the bus which will bring them to the Serb enclave of Gracanica. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 25, 2017.

Students of Mitrovica Rock School sit and discuss together in the bus. The bus drives Albanian and Serb students from Mitrovica to the Serb enclave of Gracanica where they will perform a concert. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 25, 2017.

Baton Haxhikadriu plays drum during a rehearsal with his multiethnic rock band in the south branch of the Mitrovica Rock School. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 24, 2017.

Wendy Hassler-Forest (on the left), rock school director, in the facilities of the northern branch of the rock school. On the wall, a guitar and pictures of rock musicians who came by in Mitrovica to play. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 24, 2017.

In the southern branch of Mitrovica Rock School, Ruud Borgers, a regular external teacher, coaches a student who plays guitar. He travelled from the Netherlands to coach young people during the rehearsal week of multi-ethnic bands. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 24, 2017.

Albanian and Serbian young people in front of the Genchis Pub during the Mitrovica Rock School concert. The pub is located in the Serbian enclave of Gracanica. Gracanica, Kosovo, March 25, 2017.

The singer of a multi-ethnic rock band wears the Mitrovica Rock School t-shirt under his leather jacket and holds a microphone in his hand during a concert in the Serbian enclave of Gracanica, Kosovo, on March 25, 2017.

The guitar player of a multi-ethnic rock band wears a denim jacket with badges during the Mitrovica Rock School concert in the Serbian enclave of Gracanica, Kosovo, on March 25, 2017.

Boris, a young Serb who lives in northern Mitrovica, sings during a gig with his band in the north branch of the Rock School. Mitrovica, March 31, 2017.

Alem, Ilda and Tringa (from left to right) have fun and drink beers during the gig in the Serbian enclave of Gracanica. Alem is from Montenegro. Ilda has Bosnian and Albanian origins. Tringa is of Albanian origin. They are members of the same multi-ethnic group "Proximity Mine". Gracanica, Kosovo, March 25, 2017.

Stefan, Lazar and Ilda during the concert of their multi-ethnic rock band "Proximity Mine" at Genchis, the only bar in the Serbian enclave of Gracanica, Kosovo, on March 25, 2017.

Nemanja Blagojevic, a Serbian student from the rock school in Mitrovica, sings at the microphone during the concert in the Serbian enclave of Gracanica, Kosovo, on March 25, 2017.

Dua and Ilda listen to music and sing as Tringa writes messages on her phone. Before their concert at the Genchis Pub in Gracanica, the students from the rock school went to dinner and drink some beers at the Hotel Gracanica. Gracanica, Kosovo, March 25, 2017.

After rehearsals with their death metal band, Alem (on the right) and Boris (on the left), two young rockers who live in the Serbian part of Mitrovica, drink beers and smoke cigarettes in a public park. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 28, 2017.

A nationalist graffiti and a candidate's posters for the Serbian presidential elections in Serb-majority north part of Mitrovica, Kosovo, on March24, 2017.

Jelena Zafirovic, 27 years old Serb, poses whit her guitar gig bag in front of an abandoned house located in the Serbian part of Mitrovica, Kosovo. Jelena is student at the Mitrovica Rock School and singer in the multi-ethnic band "Sublim 6". Mitrovica, Kosovo, April 1, 2017.

Tringa Sadiku, a 17 years old Albanian, and her guitar gig bag in the Albanian side of Mitrovica, Kosovo. Tringa is a new student in the Mitrovica Rock school and a guitar player in the multi-ethnic rock band "Proximity Mine". Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 29, 2017.

A ruined house in north Mitrovica, Kosovo, on April 1, 2017.

Two road signs in front of a bridge in south Mitrovica. One of the two provides speed limits for tanks. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 31, 2017.

An abandoned factory in front of a mountainous landscape in northern Mitrovica which is the Serbian part of the city. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 27, 2017.

In south Mitrovica, some kids play under a giant poster of an Albanian war hero. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 26, 2017.

Nemanja Blagojevic, a 23 years old Serb, sits with his guitar in the stands of a basketball court in Zvecan, Kosovo. Nemanja is student at the Mitrovica Rock School and singer in the mixed band IFO. Zvecan, Kosovo, March 27, 2017.

Stefan Kuc holds his drum sticks in front of a blue garage door located in the Serbian side of Mitrovica, Kosovo. Stefan is of Serbian origin. He is student at the Mitrovica Rock School and drummer in the multi-ethnic rock band "Proximity Mine". Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 29, 2017.

Ilda Krama, 17 years old, in the Albanian side of Mitrovica. Of Albanian and Bosnian origins, she is a student in the Mitrovica Rock School and the singer of the multi-ethnic rock band "Proximity Mine". Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 29, 2017.

A statue of Prince Lazar of Serbia and Serbian flags in north Mitrovica, Kosovo, on March 24, 2017.

An Albanian flag and a statue representing Safet Boletini, an Albanian war hero. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 25, 2017.

Boris, a young Serb who lives in northern Mitrovica, crosses a street with a microphone in his hand. Mitrovica, Kosovo, March 28, 2017.

The multi-ethnic rock band Proximity Mine in front of a caravan in the Serbian side of Mitrovica, Kosovo, on March 29, 2017. All of them are students at Mitrovica Rock School.

Rock’N’Roll Mitrovica

Mitrovica, the multi-ethnic former mining town, was a symbol of the 1998-99 conflict between Serbs and Albanians. I spent time there in March and April 2017 to meet young people trying to reunite their communities through music.

Before the Kosovo war, Mitrovica was also known as a rock'n'roll hotspot. Everything has fallen apart since the rise of nationalism in the 1990s. This city is now divided in two: two city centers, two governments, two city halls, two currencies, two languages and even two brands of beer! The city is known as « Mitrovicë » on the Albanian side, « Kosovska-Mitrovica » on the Serbian side.

In this tense and sometimes violent environment, a rock school opened in 2008. By forming « mixed bands », with both Albanian and Serb musicians, the school is attempting to restore the ethnic and cultural melting pot of the past. These young rockers, who share the same passion for music, transcend their origins and work towards the reunification of the city.
There are roughly 150 high school and university students in the rock school, all under 20 years old. Girls as well as boys, armed with guitars, bass guitars and synthesizers, face belligerent nationalism. As a result, the school is also divided in two but for safety reasons this time. Serbian-speaking students study in a building in the north side of the city whereas Albanian-speaking students meet up in a second building in the south side. These teens only get together every other month for a week of rehearsals to prepare a concert that will take place in another town. Gigs by mixed bands cannot be organized in Mitrovica at the moment due to the potentially violent reaction of some locals.

In a city still haunted by the memories of war, these youngsters have decided to leave the past behind. Some of them even meet outside school, despite the risk of assault and criticism by their friends and family. Most of them were born after the armed conflict and are the first generation of reconciliation. With black bikers' jackets on their back and a microphone in hand, musicians from Mitrovica intend to seriously rock the nationalists.

Rock’N’Roll Mitrovica

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