My name is Emir, and I grew up in Mitrovica.
Since my early childhood, music was the only thing that was a constant around me, something that I would always come back to, as a part of my daily life. When I was young, I never analysed much why I did that, why it felt good, why it gave me a sense of relief. As someone growing up in a post-conflict area in the Balkans, music was one of the few things that made sense. Music was universal, and gave me a sense of belonging. It became a part of my identity that didn’t exclude the other parts.
In my teenage years, my town got a new place: Mitrovica Rock School (MRS). The Rock School was something that we, young musicians, heard about, but we didn’t know quite what to make of it. With a lot of teenage angst and rebel spirit, we questioned the motive behind it and asked ourselves why we would be part of it. Initially we joined for selfish reasons: we wanted a rehearsal space, and well-equipped rooms.
But this step opened up a new world: new people, new ideas, new places. The Rock School offered something that people my age in our town could only hope to experience.
For me it felt natural to take a commitment in MRS operation after I stopped being a student there – since we all felt like it was another home, keeping it running and developing was a privilege and responsibility. I started being more interested in new things, like sound recording and teaching, soon I got the chance to test myself in those areas. That developed in taking more interest in how school is operating and how the programs should develop, which brought me to the place I currently take in the school. The biggest difference was the responsibility to keep the school open, safe, and challenging for everyone interested.
In a world torn apart by archaic ideas of conquest, wars, and misery, which we all feel daily, the Mitrovica Rock School serves as a place where a young person can clear their mind, find calm, distance oneself from it all, and for a moment think that there might be another way.
As it was for me, and as it remained for many people who were part of the Mitrovica Rock School, and who keep coming back to it, I just hope that there will always be a place for those who don’t agree, who don’t accept those archaic ideas, and want to see things from another perspective.
Seeing students and bands that I worked with during their time in the school, taking their stand, developing their own acts , taking responsibility, and bringing it all on the stage, gives sense, validation and joy for all the time, words and advice exchanged.
By giving what you can today, you can help keep the Mitrovica Rock School open, and give young people the chance to use music as a tool against archaic ways of thinking, and as a way of opening new doors for them. Just €10 can pay for a month’s worth of strings or drum sticks for a student of Mitrovica Rock School, and €125 is the cost of a full day recording session for an ethnically mixed band.
Thank you
Emir
