Member of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, writes in an opinion piece for the paper that for Kosovo Diaspora, the long way home doesn’t end at the Kosovo border but instead it is here when the people coming home for their holidays have to wait for hours. Even without stepping onto the territory of Kosovo, they face the institutional ignorance of Kosovo authorities. “This negligence is resulting in very serious difficulties which are making our immigration’s way back home not only long but almost impossible”, writes Osmani-Sadriu.

Long queues at the border points are not only a sign of institutional inefficiency but they are also a type of a rip-off as the Kosovars travelling with international license plate vehicles have to pay for an insurance tax before they enter Kosovo as a result of Kosovo’s non-membership at the Green Card bureau. And the reasons behind Kosovo’s non-membership, according to Osmani-Sadriu, have to do with the fact that family members of outgoing Prime Minister Hashim Thaci are involved in the car insurance business and benefit from collection of taxes.

“Kosovo Diaspora deserves to be treated with more dignity and feel welcome in its home country which it has kept alive for years. Even today, Diaspora contribution in way of remittances which reaches over half a billion euro, shows its assistance to the budget of its country and to the family members “, writes Osmani-Sadriu.