Flying for Kosovo

Recognize Kosovo's Independence!

Archive for November, 2010

Senegal

Posted by flyingforkosovo On November - 30 - 2010
What a nice short flight from Nouakchott to Dakar, Senegal today.  Continuing along my African journey, I am starting to see minor cultural shifts in each country. Its beginning to feel like I am finally making progress!

My original flight goal was to leave Mauritania early enough to avoid darkness upon arrival in Senegal.  As usual, the pre-flight nonsense set me back a few hours and quite a few Euros – the fuel people in Nouakchott dragged their feet for three hours and ended up costing me an arm and a leg.  As a result, I landed in Dakar ‘after hours’, meaning that the runway lights had to be turned on, costing me another 130 Euros.  Welcome to a pilot’s life.  After landing though, it was quite interesting to me that I did not have to through questioning in the terminal, even though I was coming from another country.  I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing, considering that safety and security are so important nowadays, but it sure did help shave some time off of my routine and get a great night’s sleep.

I owe a big thank you to my friend M.r Saliou Ndiaye, who was quite familiar with the big city of Dakur and brought me to all of the media houses with no problems or hesitations (because of this, I was able to meet with them all quite quickly).  I have lots of respect for this man, who is very down to earth and quite friendly.  He was kind enough to drive his own car, which had a personality all its own.  I was unable to see out the passenger side of the front window and I was never sure at any time if we would make it to the next destination or not.  Especially given that I could not for the life of me figure out how to open and close the passenger door by myself.  No worries, my friend Mr. Ndiaye, as kind as he was, offered to close it for me each time.

The interviews were quite successful,  My sincere thanks to Mr. Ousmane Mangane, who took much care and pride during our interview and was excited that it would be shown on WALF-TV (a national station); Mr. Abdoul Aziz Agne who wrote an excellent article for the newspaper Walf Fadjri; and the entire team and Le Soleil.  I was excited to be introduced to their team and met each and every one of them.  Mr. Ali Diouf was wonderful and took time to do a detailed interview with me (along with his co-worker Mr. Jean Pires Dos Santos who was sitting next to us and also participated during the interview).

The people that I have met here in Senegal have lots of respect for the solidarity that we have shown them.  Many times at the airport, the police and border guards were very appreciative to know that the people of Kosovo had lots of respect and appreciation for them.  These moments are an exciting part of my journey.

Senegal is very dry right now and seems to be struggling economically like the past few countries that I’ve visited.  It appears that they are trying very hard to improve their living conditions.  The people are quite nice and friendly to me and I am noticing more and more languages being spoken and slight differences between ethnic groups the further through Africa that I travel.

Wal Fadjri

Wal Fadjri PDF

Le Matin PDF

Le Soleil PDF

 

Current Location, Flight News, Pictures

Kosovo away from Kosovo…

Posted by flyingforkosovo On November - 28 - 2010

My dearest people,

I have visited over half of the countries on the planet during my lifetime. But I have never once experienced such a shocking and chilling event as I have here in Mauritania.

Did you know that during the hardest times of our life, during our darkest hours, through the war, the killing and loss of loved ones at home that we were not alone? Did you know that there were actually people in other parts of our planet who were praying all along and who were feeling the sorrow and the sadness of our souls?
The people here in Mauritania are from a completely different part of our planet. They have a completely different background than us who live as far away as Kosovo. But despite the distance, the people here have felt our pain. These beautiful, caring, loving, sharing souls have been sharing our hard times.
My friends, never in my lifetime did I ever imagine that there would be a little Kosovo on the other side of the world. Through this mission I have learned a lot. But this simple fact, that we have brothers and sisters on the other side of the planet who have named a suburb of their town after us, might be the most shocking and heart-warming thing of all. This experience will be remembered until the end of my days.

Walking into Nouakchott, Mauritania was like walking into a dream. The amazing people of this place have a soul that is rare to find. Eleven years ago, they decided to share our love and our sorrow. During our hardest times, when we were suffering through our war, they decided to show the world and the people of Kosovo the highest form of respect and honor. In the name of solidarity, they chose to name a subdivision of their capital Nouakchott after us.

It was so powerful to meet with the local children and hearing them call their homes Kosovo. If you ask anyone (young or old) in this great city about us, they all know where we are located and they know about our history. They know, my friends, because some of them live in Kosovo right here in Mauritania! This giant subdivision will always carry our names, our people, our nation, our identity.

Today, my tears would not stop coming down as I walked down the streets of this subdivision in the dry lands of Africa. The sun was shining and dust was blowing from the winds of the desert. But I am sitting in a place called Kosovo. Our home away from home.
I was able to walk in Kosovo, away from Kosovo. Their mosque is the mosque of Kosovo. Their school is the school of Kosovo. Their outdoor market… Kosovo. And so on. Here, in this great city, the word Kosovo is repeated countless times throughout the day, every day.

These tears and this great feeling of love have fulfilled me today. No experience in my life so far has been this touching or had such magnitude. I am walking on the clouds. I feel like the entire world is mine right now. I only hope that you can feel and experience the tremendous amount of love and humanity that these beautiful people have shown us. The solidarity that they have given us. The people of the great country of Mauritania have heard our voice and have recognized our independence!
These people have so much love and compassion. They have shown such strong solidarity with us. But they also struggle. They struggle daily just to feed their families and loved ones. Despite this, they were still able to think about people all the way on the other side of the planet who were also going through a hard time in their lives.

I bet that you never knew that there were people here in Mauritania who have sacrificed for us, despite their own suffering. Elderly people were selling their precious jewelry, their golden belongings, just so they could raise money and send it to you, my people. When we were homeless, with no shelter, no basic necessities like food, clothing and security, they were trying to raise money for us.
I hope that you, my people of Kosovo, read these words carefully. Please, let us all do something to give back to these amazing and caring people.I hope that one day, we can all connect with these wonderful people of Nouakchott to try and build something together, so that we can all progress and prosper together. Lets not forget that there is love to be shared and help to be given, so that we can all have better lives and sunny days with our people and our loved ones. The people in Nouakchott, Mauritania have shown us such strong solidarity during our darkest hour. Now that our nation is stronger, let’s show the people of Kosovo, Mauritania our solidarity and remember to help these loving people, our brothers and sisters who struggle today on the other side of the planet.

Lastly, I don’t want to forget to mention a few of the amazing people that I met during my visit.  Mohamed Fall Ould Oumeir wrote an excellent article about my visit here.  He is very knowledgeable about Kosovo and even surprised me with some things that I did not know.  He is quite familiar with our history and our great writers like Ismail Kadare.  Moussa Samba Sy is also an amazing person with a great background.  He really seemed to have a passion about our Albanian culture.  Finally, I don’t want to forget to mention my awesome friend Ablaye Benjelloun, who acted as my local tour guide and accompanied me the whole time, making sure that I had everything that I needed during my stay.

My friends, let’s remember to show our solidarity and help our friends here in Kosovo away from Kosovo.

Flight News

Mauritania

Posted by flyingforkosovo On November - 28 - 2010

After our last post, James had an unexpected delay caused by a missing fuel cap.  With the help from a great mechanic, Baali, another cap was obtained in a town one hour away (though it took over a day to transport it back to Laayoune).

This morning, James finally arrived in Nouakchott, Mauritania after an 8 hour flight (over 5 of which were in the dark).  The current goal is to stay two days before flying to the next country, which is Senegal.

Le Quotidien de Nouakchott

Le Quotidien de Nouakchott Newspaper

 

Current Location, Flight News, Pictures

Western Sahara

Posted by flyingforkosovo On November - 24 - 2010

I hope you all are doing well. Flight went well 06h 30 minutes flight. I took lots of picture while approaching this place, though once on the ground, the environment prevented me from taking many more.  It looks very nice from above surrounded by sand everywhere (most of the landscape here is desert).  I plan on leaving the Western Sahara for the capital of Mauritania the day after tomorrow.

Seeing the vastness of the Sahara Desert is something that I have been dreaming of for a long time.  I was absolutely fascinated when I set my eyes on this great landscape for the first time.  The beauty of our planet has a lot to offer to humanity.  The many picturesque landscapes (mountains, rivers, oceans, deserts, etc.) that dot our planet all have something to offer to humanity.  These landscapes are something to really be happy and proud of what we have.
Though the landscape is phenomenal, the Western Sahara has had some political difficulty in recent years in regards to its own independence.  In fact, I was certainly surprised upon arrival to find police and military on nearly every street corner.  After spending a few days here, I quickly learn why this is the case.
This country has a long history of occupation, first by Spain and then by Morocco. And, though it has been formally recognized by various countries around the world, there is also recognition from other countries of it being part of Moroccan territory.  Regardless of the facts at hand, I learn quickly that there has been a long struggle here of it’s people fighting to be an independent nation.
The Western Sahara people are absolutely amazing.  They are very friendly, family oriented and dedicated to taking care of their own people.  It soon became clear to me that many people here share a common vision.  That is, to be independent and have their own identity.
One interesting side note is that I quickly learned that people here do not enjoy their picture taken at all.  So I promptly put my camera away and opened my ears to their stories.  I’m glad that I did because I ended up making many good friends here during my short visit and learned a tremendous amount of information about these wonderful people, their history and their ongoing struggle.  I will make sure to come and visit them again in the future.
My next flight is to Nouakchott,Mauritania, which will be a very long flight through the vast and empty African desert.

Note:  On November 7th, 2010, Morocco and Polisario began informal talks regarding the situation in Western Sahara.  Around this time, violent clashes between Moroccan security forces and Western Sahara protesters ensued, resulting in conflicting reports on the number of casualties.

Current Location, Flight News, Pictures

Morocco

Posted by flyingforkosovo On November - 21 - 2010
I arrived yesterday in Rabat, Morocco.
It was a long day and everyday is getting harder for me.  I am flying a single engine airplane that is not made for this kinds of work.  Being alone and having to deal with everything is not an easy task at all.  As a pilot, I am also dealing with many things such as bad weather, an old airplane (which increases the chances of mechanical issues), permits to fly in and out of the countries (and their timing), dealing with the media, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc.
Part of my current outlook is due to the fact that each day on the road seems to be getting longer (often 16-18 hours daily).  Yesterday, I was in the airplane for 7h 30 minutes, which was  just the flying portion.  I have inner energy but the logistics are becoming exhausting.  Last night, I was flying in a single engine airplane over a continent that I don’t know.  My speed was miserably slow and I ended up being airborne for 9 hours total.  It was raining, foggy and dark.  With only one motor, the entire 9 hours were stressful, as I had to remain on high alert for any problems that the airplane may have.

I am also worrying daily about any of my permits that may expire.  Before flying into a country, you have to pay for a permit to arrive and also to leave.  Each permit is time sensitive. So if I don’t arrive in a country on time (due to weather, mechanical problems, etc.), often times, I have to buy another permit because the original one has expired and so forth.  Again, the logistics can be frustrating and expensive (which is why I try to work such long hours each day – the sooner we can complete the mission, the less expensive it will be).

Usually, these types of situations are only seen in movies, so you can imagine how it feels.  All this because we are trying to fight for our country and freedom. So, please continue to support this mission and know that we are all relying in your help!

After a few good nights of sleep:

After the great difficulty that I had in fighting strong headwinds and an overnight stop in Fes for technical purposes, I have finally reached Rabat.  Though I did not get to see much of the town of Fes, I did notice that it was a beautiful city with lots of tourists coming from all different parts of Europe.
I landed in Rabat at around 1:00pm in the afternoon and taxied to a flight club called Aeroclub Royal De Rabat so that I could have a few things checked on my airplane.  It was here that I would meet and great and caring mechanic, Baali Zayani.  He was originally in the Morrocan Army and now works with civilian airplanes and helicopters.  He took very good care of me and my airplane and made sure that I got taken care of all the way to the hotel.  Even after leaving Rabat, while I was in Laayoun, Mr. Zayani drove me more than two hours to Casablanca and back to help me get parts that I needed for my airplane.
The city of Rabat is very clean and has great architecture.  The downtown area has lots of palm trees and is full of friendly people.  Here again, I had the impression that this was very much like any other French or Spanish city.  This makes sense, given that it borders Spain to the North and has only been independent from France for a little over 50 years or so.
The real test of a new city for me, though, is my first impression of the hotel in which I will be staying.  The staff at Royal Hotel of Rabat did not disappoint me in this area.  Their caring front desk staff were very nice and made me feel at home from the minute I walked into their door.
The media people in Morocco were also very friendly, especially at the Arab newspaper Al Massae.  Other newspapers (Driss, El Guenbouri and Ahlam Meziane) also took their time for a great interview.
It would be a great joy to return to Morocco again if the opportunity arises and I would recommend this place to anyone as a vacation destination.

Morocco PDF

 

Current Location, Flight News, Pictures

Algeria

Posted by flyingforkosovo On November - 14 - 2010

Friends:
Once again, I have been pleasantly surprised upon arrival to a new part of the world.  Getting here was tough because we had to order the Visa from Geneva,Switzerland, who made sure to tell us that it was a process that would take at least 2 wks.  My visit to Agleria actually turned out to be a pleasant experience and I received much better treatment than what I had initially expected

Seeing this country from above seemed very nice and the fuel here was quite cheap compared to places like Italy and Greece.  The only thing I knew prior to visiting, was that this country had its own civil war in the 1990’s.

My first stop was Annaba.  The people I met here during my brief technical stop were a great indication of what I was to find in the capital.  After reaching the airport in Algiers, it was nice to meet with friendly faces and border guards who had a great sense of customer care and satisfaction.  The friends that I met during my stay here have really helped me maintain a positive attitude in this country.

The capital of Algiers is a beautiful city with beautiful French style architecture (Algeria only gained independence from France in 1962).  Getting around here was easy and the food was awesome.

Meeting intellectuals like my good friend Lamia Tagzout, a journalist from the El Waton newspaper (who wrote an excellent article about our mission and the people of Kosova) is also something that surprised me.  Caring people like her who take things very seriously and try to make sure that something good will come out of our mission here in Africa was an experience above and beyond what I expected.

Hassan Gherab, from the journal La Tribune, was also an individual that I will remember for many years to come.  His efforts in publishing a great article about our country Kosova are to be commended.  Additionally, two new friends (Adjadj Belkacem and Samir Hamitouche) with the Arab newspaper Echourouk interviewed me and made sure to ask very intensive questions before inviting me out for a traditional lunch at a local cafeteria.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs were quick to respond to my request to meet on such short notice and Fouad Bouattoura, Director General of the Protocol, took time with me to explain Algeria’s position on Kosova.

This great country and its people will always be remembered and I hope to return here someday soon.

La Tribune

El Watan

El Watan PDF

City DZ

Echorouk Online

 

Current Location, Flight News, Pictures

Mission in Africa

Posted by flyingforkosovo On November - 13 - 2010

Videos

Jeta ne Kosove 2011

Jeta ne Kosove 2010

Alsat-M

CANAL 3 – Burkina Faso

_________________________________________________________________

Radio Interviews

Guinea-Bissau

Ghana

Mali

Sao Tome and Principe

_________________________________________________________________

Malta

Times of Malta

IT-Torca

_________________________________________________________________

Tunisia

Le Quotidien PDF

Ansa Media

Tunis Hebdo

_________________________________________________________________

Algeria

La Tribune

El Watan

El Watan PDF

City DZ

Echorouk Online

_________________________________________________________________

Morocco

Morocco PDF

_________________________________________________________________

Mauritania

Le Quotidien de Nouakchott

Le Quotidien de Nouakchott Newspaper

_________________________________________________________________

Senegal

WalFadjri

WalFadjri PDF

Le Matin PDF

Le Soleil PDF

_________________________________________________________________

Cape Verde

ASemana

Expresso das ilhas

_________________________________________________________________

Gambia

Observer

all Africa.com

The Point Newspaper

_________________________________________________________________

Guinea-Bissau

Nô Pintcha

Radio Interview

_________________________________________________________________

Guinea

L’independant PDF

_________________________________________________________________

Sierra Leone

The Daily IIJ

Awoko Newspaper

Standart Time PDF

_________________________________________________________________

Liberia

Daily OBSERVER

The Inquirer

_________________________________________________________________

Ghana

Newspaper

Radio Interview

_________________________________________________________________

Togo

FORUM de la semaine 1, 2 PDF

_________________________________________________________________

Benin

L’AUTRE 1, 2 PDF

_________________________________________________________________

Mali

Le Republicain

Le Republicain PDF

Document

Radio Interview

Le Echos PDF

_________________________________________________________________

Burkina Faso

CANAL 3

L’Observateur

Sidwaya

Le Pays

Le Pays PDF

L’Observateur 1, 2 PDF

_________________________________________________________________

Niger

Evenement Bihebdo

La Roue De L’Histoire PDF

Le Republicain

_________________________________________________________________

Sao Tome and Principe

Radio Tropicana 1

Radio Tropicana 2

_________________________________________________________________

Cameroon

Cameroon Tribune

Africatime.com

Le blog de Tchoua

Le Messager PDF

_________________________________________________________________

Central African Republic

Le Citoyen

La Redaction

L’HIRONDELLE

Le Confident PDF

_________________________________________________________________

Nigeria

Weekly Trust

_________________________________________________________________

Republic of Congo

Les Depeches

_________________________________________________________________

DR of the Congo

Le Potentiel

Le Potentiel PDF

Congo News 1, 2 PDF

Forum Des As PDF

_________________________________________________________________

Zambia

Zambian Watchdog

MUVI Television

MUVI Television 2

Zambia Daily Mail

Lusaka

_________________________________________________________________

Botswana

Mmegi online

Mmegi PDF

_________________________________________________________________

Namibia

New Era

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Zimbabwe

News Day

Zimbabwe Press PDF

____________________________________________________________________________________________

South Africa

IOL travel

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Zimbabwe

News Day

Zimbabwe Press PDF

The Financial Gazette

Bulawayo24 NEWS

The Financial Gazette PDF

The Herald

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Malawi

The Guardian PDF

Malawi PDF

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Comoros

Al-watwan

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Madagascar

Journal PDF

L’Observateur PDF

Mada Plus

__________________________________________________________________

Mauritius

Le Mauricien PDF

Lexpress

People

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Seychelle

Seychelles NATION Online

Seychelles NATION PDF

TODAY PDF, page 1, page 2

Weekly PDF

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Mozambique

Premiero Journal

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Tanzania

IPP Media

Scanned Newspaper 1

Scanned Newspaper 2

Scanned Newspaper 3

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Burundi

IWACU

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Rwanda

Orinfor

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Kenya

The People 1

The People 2

DAILY NATION

allAfrica.com

The East African

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Uganda

Ggwanga

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Ethiopia

Capital Ethiopia

Capital Ethiopia PDF

Society Ethiopia PDF

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Somaliland

Qaran News

Berbera News

MagudheNews

Waaheen

Waaheen PDF

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Flight News, Media

James Berisha Flying for Kosovo

Posted by admin On November - 10 - 2010

Here you can see some photos of James Berisha by his plane Cessna 172 in Prishtina International Airport.

Flight News, Pictures

Tunisia

Posted by flyingforkosovo On November - 7 - 2010

I have to admit something to you all: I just don’t like flying anymore on a single engine airplane over open water but, I guess the love for your country is bigger than I thought.  Anyway, I will be over land for a long period of time now.  Flight to Tunisia went well over 3 hours with lots of headwind, which kept me standing still over water much longer than I would have liked.  But now that I am on the African continent, I must admit it feels amazing…   After Africa, the only continent I will have left to conquer will be Antarctica!
Something else that I must admit to you: I was wrong again, having perceived Tunisia differently before I came here.  After landing, I got the greatest reception (and this time, free of charge!)  Our friends at the handling company FAST (First Aviation Services of Tunisia) and supervisor Chamek Haider gave me a quick briefing about Tunisia and helped find a taxi for me with absolutely marvelous customer care reception.  He gave me his card and told me to call him 24/7 if needed.

Hospitality in Tunisia is great so far and, of course, there is more to be discovered later during my week stay.  The taxi driver brought me to several hotels, making sure that I found just the right one and one that was within my budget.  Hotel Belvedere was my choice which also had a great team working there.

For the next few days, I have been running around trying to find the media and going to visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Again, GREAT! Reception at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tunisia.  I was able to meet with the Director of Protocol, despite no arranged meeting in advance.  I hand delivered a letter that was given to me by our own Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The first newspaper that I contacted was Le Quotidien, where I was introduced to Lotfi TouAtir, Redactor in Chief – a great human being who was knowledgeable about Kosova.  He was glad to receive me in his establishment and soon after he called over Sameh Meftah, an excellent journalist. She interviewed me, making sure to take time throughout the discussion to make sure that nothing was missed.

Sameh became my friend and a friend of our entire nation of Kosova and our people.  She wanted to make sure that something great would come from my visit to Tunisia.    The article came out wonderfully and was republished by other online media.  It was also discussed on the local radios!  Another kind-hearted person, Melek Lakdar, from the Tunis Hebdo newspaper was also ready to share an article about the people of Kosova.  So I am pretty confident now that the great people and government of Tunisia have the most current and latest news about our country and our desire to be independent.

My friend Sameh then introduced me to her wonderful family and friends.  They made sure that I was comfortable everyday while I was in Tunis, not forgetting the great dinner invitation by her family, which will never be forgotten.  Her mother made excellent homemade couscous, which will be remembered for many years to come.  That kind of hospitality is hard to find these days, but I am so blessed to have been the recipient of it so many times throughout my travels.

Tunisia is a beautiful country, with a beautiful landscape and great food, which  I have noticed is offered by excellent and hospitable people.  What more could you want in life?  Everyone that I was able to talk with in Tunisia already knew about Kosova very well and also about our history.  I was wrong again, prejudging a country before ever even visiting it once to experience it firsthand.

Our next country is Algeria, and the routine keeps going….

Ansa Media

Le Quotidien PDF

Tunis Hebdo

 

Current Location, Flight News, Pictures

Malta

Posted by admin On November - 5 - 2010

James is currently in Malta.  Today he had several interviews for local newspapers and will soon depart for Africa. He is awaiting the landing permit for Tunisia, which will be his next destination. James still needs your help and support for the fulfillment of this very important initiative!  Show your support and become a part of lobbying for Kosovo!

James has made it to Malta after five very difficult, long and expensive days in Greece.  He was able to get one newspaper interview in Greece, though their media was somewhat hesitant to address Kosovar concerns.  He was able to meet with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs though and they were somewhat receptive.  After multiple attempts to make it all the way to Malta (part of the issue is that many airports in Greece don’t carry AVGAS, which is necessary for the plane), James was able to make a few stops in Italy before finally landing in Malta.

During this phase of the mission, it is very important to have your ongoing support.  Many African countries are themselves dealing with issues similar to ours.  Therefore, working with the local media, aviation regulations and governments may be much more challenging than the South American and/or Caribbean portion of our mission.  Your support means so much to Mr. Berisha!

From James himself:

Landing in Malta was easy and joyful.  Upon approach, I was able to take some great pictures of this beautiful island.  I had been wanting to visit here for a long time now.

The ATC air traffic controllers were very friendly. Those are the first people who reflect their country’s friendliness by how well they cooperate with the pilot.   Based upon this first experience, I will be happily give them Euros for their friendly and cooperative service.

After landing we were great-ed by friendly staff of the airport and in no time we were on our way to the hotel. Here in Malta, people speak either English or Maltese, a language that I never heard before. For the next few days, we were able to speak with the media and visit parts of this beautiful island, which is loaded with tourists from around the globe.  This gorgeous island’s economy is very much concentrated in tourism, so they tend to cater to outsiders and take care of them. They are very customer-service oriented and are there to help at any moment.

The architecture of this beautiful country is great, the hotels are very
nice,cleanliness is great and people are amazingly friendly. Restaurants are full everywhere.  Boardwalks are so busy that it is difficult to walk at times.  It appears that anyone could afford a vacation here as everything seems to be within a budget and not extremely expensive (no $5 hot chocolates here!).  The temperature here is also very pleasant.

Here, the AVGAS has been the cheapest that I have paid in months (this helps make up for the expensive price that I paid in Greece).  The airport fees were also very reasonable, making the entire trip nothing but good memories!

The journalists and everyone I came in contact with here were happy to know that the people of Kosova have lots of respect for them!

The next country is Tunisia.  This will be my first landing and Flying for Kosovo’s first touchdown on the continent of Africa.  My journalist friend from Macedonia Mr. Jusufi, will be leaving me here in Malta.  So, starting in Tunisia, I will be on my own.

Africa, here we come!

Times of Malta

IT-Torca

 

Current Location, Flight News, Pictures

Greece

Posted by admin On November - 5 - 2010

Hello everyone,

Greece.  The very first country to visit after leaving my comfort zone of being at home with my family and my people.  What a beautiful country with lots of great history.  I would like to visit here again in the future, although it is a very expensive country.

Luckily, the people are very nice and are customer-care oriented. Unfortunately, their services end up costing you an arm and a leg.  I had to pay $5 for a cup of hot chocolate – the most I’ve ever paid in my life!  Handling fees for our Cessna 172 (which weighs slightly over a ton) were 197 Euros.  Fuel was almost 2 Euros a liter and they added another 20% for tax.  Additionally, to have the fuel pumped into the airplane was 33 Euros.

For three hours of flight, I had to deal with another three hours of bureaucratic nightmares.  This is probably the hardest, continuing frustration of the mission – the bureaucratic issues in each country.

At least the two airports in Western Greece were much better and easier to deal with (though the fuel prices didn’t seem to change).  They also had a very friendly staff.

First country of the Africa portion of our mission is now complete!

Flight News, Pictures

Africa, here we come!

Posted by admin On November - 1 - 2010

Dear Friends and supporters of our mission Flying For Kosovo:

One more time I have decided to continue our mission – this time to the African continent. This portion of our mission is the largest yet and will likely be the most challenging, since there are 56 countries lined up on the agenda.

It has been a great joy to have all of you around, giving your continued support. The great energy that you transmit has kept me going during my hardest times.  I have learned so much from each of you and have enjoyed my time with you all during this past summer in Kosovo.  I want to take a moment, again, to thank you for being there for me.

Thank you for your moral and financial support and all that you have sacrificed for our mission.  You all have become my family during these last two years and have been there for me as I have traveled the globe representing you.

Flying for Kosovo belongs to all of you individually, and I will continue to need your presence during this next phase and throughout the time that I am traveling throughout Africa.

Don’t forget that we all can contribute toward improving our country’s image around the world.  It is our duty to continue to lobby and represent Kosova in the best way that we can – let’s continue to show the world who the people of Kosovo are and share with them the beauty of our country and our people.  Let’s do this so that we can build a better future for all of us and our children.

Kosova needs you all now more than ever.  Let’s build a more prosperous home and share our country with the world.

Stay with us,

James Berisha

Flight News, Pictures