Flying for Kosovo

Recognize Kosovo's Independence!

Archive for the ‘Flight News’ Category

Planned Route (EL PASO -> PANAMA)

Posted by admin On May - 18 - 2009

Support from all of you around the world has been enormous these past few days. I sincerely thank all of you from the depth of my heart, and I promise not to let any of you down. As promised, here is the planned route so far for the trip from El Paso, USA, to Panama City, Panama. After Panama City, I will continue to Colombia and the rest of South America.

The destinations and the order they will be visited in are subject to change due to bad weather, political reasons, or unforeseen circumstances. Check back in the next few days for the route updated all the way through South America.


Route:

  1. El Paso, USA. KELP
  2. Chihuahua, Mexico. MMCU
  3. Torreon, Mexico. MMTC
  4. Zacatecas, Mexico. MMZC
  5. Toluca, Mexico. MMTO
  6. Veracruz, Mexico. MMVR
  7. Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico. MMTG
  8. Belmopan, Belize. PABV
  9. Guatemala, Guatemala. MGGT
  10. San Salvador, El Salvador. MSLP
  11. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. TRPA
  12. Managua, Nicaragua. MNMG
  13. San Jose, Costa Rica. MROC
  14. Panama City, Panama. MPMG

Slogan Decals

Posted by admin On April - 24 - 2009

Without further delay, we present to you the completed paint and decals of the official Flying for Kosovo Airplane. On the left side, the plane reads “Please Recognize the Independence of Kosovo” and on the right, it reads “Kosovo es Independiente, Reconocenos Por Favor” which means the same thing but in Spanish.

We are nearly done with preparations for the journey, please check back often for news of our launch date.

Status 4/11/2009

Posted by admin On April - 11 - 2009

Greetings everyone! It looks like we have missed our estimated launch date of the month of March, and some of you may be wondering what the status of the trip is at this time. Well, here is an update:

  • The airplane has completed it annual inspection and has had several crucial instrument upgrades that are required for the type of flight we are planning.  New radios, GPS, among other things.
  • On the outside, the tail has been painted with the flag of Kosovo, and the words “Please recognize the independence of Kosovo” are written in big blue letters in both English and Spanish along the sides of the plane.
  • As far as paperwork goes, James has acquired a majority of the travel Visas he will need to complete the trip, but there are some complicated Visas that require James to be given a vaccine to make sure he doesn’t catch a disease before it will be granted.  All in all, we know what needs to be done and are working as efficiently as possible to make sure it is done.
  • We are trying to collaborate with news agencies to try and get a reporter of some kind to accompany James for various parts of the trip to report his progress.  If you know any agencies interested, please contact us.

As you can see, we’ve been working very hard here at Flying for Kosovo, but although things are going slowly, they’re going smoothly.  Please stick with us these next few days as we anticipate a launch date some time within the next couple of weeks.  Don’t forget to check out the Flying for Kosovo store HERE, or the Sponsorship page HERE if you would like to support us!

Glorious Day for Flying for Kosovo

Posted by admin On March - 23 - 2009

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We have painted the tail of our plane with the flag of Kosovo. We are very proud of the work that has been done, and are very happy to say that the identity of our aircraft and the identity of Kosovo have become one and the same. After the plane was painted, James hand washed every inch of the aircraft from the nose to the tail, and while doing this he was asked “The plane is going to be exposed to many elements during your trip, how do you intend to keep it clean?” James looked at the freshly painted flag of Kosovo, and with a glimmer in his eye he responded:

“Though I will not have time to wash the entire aircraft every time I land, I will always wash the flag and make sure that it shines bright enough for the whole world to see. Because when I see the colors of Kosova I don’t just see a flag, I see the mountains, the rivers, and the people of my country. When I see my flag I remember people of the past who have fought so hard and died for my country, and I think of the future of our children who deserve happiness and should never have to experience fear and uncertainty for standing on the ground they were born on. This flag is so much more than just paint, the image represents something so profound for so many people and while I am alive I will never let it become clouded with dirt.”

-James Berisha

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The aircraft is currently undergoing maintenance and an annual inspection to make sure she is airworthy and prepared for the task she is about to be given.  There will be a few more modifications to the exterior appearance of the aircraft in order to compliment the flag and state James’ purpose in this journey.  On both sides of the aircraft we plan on putting the words “Please recognize Kosovo’s Independence!” in English and in Spanish, if you have any suggestions as to the wording of that phrase feel free to send an email to james.berisha@flyingforkosovo.com and let us know, we will consider your suggestion. We will have more updates for you soon, so please check back often.

Es el embajador ‘no oficial’ de Kosovo

Posted by admin On March - 16 - 2009

Es el embajador ‘no oficial’ de Kosovo

by: Iván Alejandro Rodríguez
El Diario de El Paso

Unofficial Ambassador of Kosovo

Unofficial Ambassador of Kosovo

El PasoHaber viajado por más de diez años alrededor de todo México, fue para un hombre que terminó huyendo de su país un motivo para ‘enamorarse’ a tal grado que inclusive encontró a su pareja.

Sin embargo, las relaciones políticas que se comparten con la nación donde nació –Kosovo– le entristece y le decepciona,  principalmente porque el país del que se enamoró y ahora llama su tierra, no reconoce a su lugar de origen como una entidad independiente por los conflictos que se han generado desde que era considerado parte de Yugoslavia.

Este es el caso del ahora paseño James Berisha, quien desde 1996 ha viajado por los cielos de México y otros países después de obtener su licencia de piloto en Suiza y de haberse mudado hacia los Estados Unidos para aprender inglés y desarrollar su profesión.

“Es impresionante y a la vez triste que un país tan maravilloso como éste no considere a Kosovo como una república independiente y esto puede ser tanto por ignorancia como por las relaciones políticas que hay con Serbia, con quienes ha habido un terrible conflicto por varios años”, dijo Berisha quien ha conocido varias ciudades mexicanas incluyendo Chihuahua y Ciudad Juárez.

Berisha quien habla cinco idiomas (entre éstos un poco de español), expresa su interés de dar a conocer en México el sufrimiento y dificultad por la que pasó la gente en Kosovo, haciendo una similitud con la violencia que sucede en Ciudad Juárez y otras ciudades invadidas por la guerra de narcotráfico.

“Los mexicanos al igual que yo en su momento, viven con miedos, con temor y se sienten vulnerables ante el gobierno en esta terrible situación. Yo quiero decirles que Kosovo pasó por una situación similar por lo que me gustaría que México escuchara una perspectiva humana de lo que viví”, agregó James, cuyo nombre original era Milazim antes de mudarse hacia los Estados Unidos para estudiar inglés.

Y es que datos de la página Web www.kosovothanksyou.com indica que la república contaba hasta ayer con 357 días de edad ya que pudo declarar su independencia desde el pasado 17 de febrero del 2008 y que sólo 55 países de los 192 miembros de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas lo han reconocido hasta hoy.

No obstante, información de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de México indica en un comunicado del 20 de abril de ese mismo año que había amplificado sus relaciones con Serbia.

“En Serbia, el funcionario mexicano copresidió los trabajos de la II Reunión del Mecanismo de Consultas Políticas entre Cancillerías México-Serbia, lo que permitió reactivar el diálogo político con ese país. Las partes hicieron una exhaustiva revisión del estado que guarda la relación bilateral, e intercambiaron puntos de vista sobre posibles mecanismos para fortalecer la cooperación bilateral en todos los ámbitos”, indica el comunicado.

Esto significa que México ha tenido un profundo interés por realizar comercio bilateral con esta nación (la cual se encuentra el Norte y Oeste de lo que algunos incluyendo a los Estados Unidos consideran Kosovo).

“Asimismo, el Director General para Europa sostuvo encuentros con funcionarios de la Oficina del Primer Ministro y del Ministerio de Economía y Desarrollo Regional de Serbia, a quienes propuso trabajar conjuntamente para incrementar el comercio bilateral e identificar alternativas de inversión en los dos países”, continúa.

Por lo tanto James enfatiza su punto de vista humanitario y no tanto el político, ya que asegura provenir de una cultura sumisa y trabajadora, la cual se preocupa por la intensidad humanitaria y familiar de una comunidad. “A mi padre lo mataron por cuestiones políticas. Yo por mí, quitaría los muros que ha hecho Estados Unidos, facilitaría los trayectos de Ciudad Juárez hacia El Paso, creo que me he logrado identificar con la cultura juarense debido a que hay una gran similitud con la mía”, dijo el ex director de hoteles en Suiza.

Según él, la comida picante, la gente humilde y la hermandad de la ciudad fronteriza son similitudes de lo que ahora llama ‘casa’.

“Viajo seguido de Juárez a El Paso con mi novia, vamos a restaurantes y disfrutamos de la binacionalidad en la que se encuentra esta región”, agregó James hablando unas palabras en español, unas en inglés y otras en francés.

La cultura de su país de origen acostumbra a hablar dos lenguajes, asegura, por lo que no le sorprende que las personas en Ciudad Juárez hablen el inglés y viceversa.

“Así como mi novia visita y habla con su familia, yo hago lo mismo en Kosovo, el idioma en que lo haga no importa, lo que es esencial más bien es demostrar amor por ellos”, concluyó.

Kosova Photo Gallery

Posted by admin On March - 15 - 2009

There are some people in the world who don’t think Kosovo is so special. Because it is such a small country, some people think that there can’t be much to see there. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Kosova is full of beauty, and this gallery is now in place in order to shed some light on that beauty for the rest of the world to see.

If you have any photos you would like to submit, please send them to james.berisha@flyingforkosovo.com, and I will consider posting them here. A very special “thank you!” to Asdren Rrahmani for providing Flying for Kosovo with the first images to get this gallery started.

Plane Acquired

Posted by admin On March - 13 - 2009

To all friends and supporters of this website, I thank you very kindly for your emails, comments, feedback, and donations. As you all are aware, we have celebrated a very important milestone this year with the one year anniversary of Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence. We at flying for Kosovo are nearing the end of our planning stage for James’ trip through all of Central and South America, and we have some great news for you today. cessna1.jpg

This week we have acquired our aircraft! It is a Cessna 172. It can seat four people, and has a range of approximately 620 miles. In the coming week we plan on making some changes to the paint scheme so that when they see James coming down from the sky he will instantly be recognized as an emissary of Kosovo.  We have more content we are working on uploading to the site so check back often.  Updates will be happening very frequently in the next couple of weeks.

“It seems to me that I have lived all of my life in preparation for this moment.  My morale is good, nothing can stop my flight.”

-James Berisha

James standing next to the aircraft he will soon use to embark on his journey.

James standing next to the aircraft he will soon use to embark on his journey.

Press Release

Posted by admin On February - 28 - 2009

PILOT TO FLY THROUGHOUT ALL CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA IN SUPPORT OF KOSOVO’S INDEPENDENCE


James Berisha behind the controls of a Learjet which he flies for Sierra West Airlines

James Berisha behind the controls of a Learjet which he flies for Sierra West Airlines

El Paso, Texas, USA, 02/19/2009 – An El Paso resident and native Kosovo pilot is planning to fly throughout all of Central and South America in order to encourage recognition of Kosovo’s newfound independence from Serbia in a trip planned for late March.
James Berisha, 37, of Pristina, Kosovo, (www.flyingforkosovo.com) is planning to depart in his single engine plane from El Paso, TX in late March to more than 30 countries to rally support for newly independent Kosovo which officially became an independent country in February of 2008. Berisha, now an accomplished airline pilot, has made similar flights after graduating Flight Safety Academy in Vero Beach, Florida.

To gain flight hours, Berisha made a more than seventy hour flight from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Skopje, Macedonia. This time he is not in need of flight hours, instead he is funding his journey out of pocket so that he may talk to the people of South America and encourage them to recognize Kosovo’s declaration of independence.

“I will thank those countries who have already recognized us, I will tell the others how important it is for Kosovo to be recognized worldwide, and I will try to end racial stereotypes that belittle our people,” said Berisha about his upcoming journey.

Kosovo has been recognized by 55 out of the 192 UN member states as of the date of this publication.

Mr. Berisha and former president Bill Clinton

Mr. Berisha and former president Bill Clinton.

CONTACT:
James Berisha
Flying for Kosovo
+19154400187
james.berisha@flyingforkosovo.com
www.flyingforkosovo.com

FlyingforKosovo.com Launches!

Posted by admin On February - 17 - 2009

Today, February 17th, 2009, FlyingforKosovo.com is officially active. Please take the time to read the articles from time to time and comment on them. We are currently in the planning stages of our grand journey, but we will update the site often to keep you informed about our progress, as well as news from Kosovo.

What FlyingforKosovo.com is about:

An El Paso resident and native Kosovo pilot is planning to fly throughout all of Central and South America, in order to raise support and encourage recognition of the country’s newfound independence from Serbia in a trip planned for early March.
James Berisha, 37, of Pristina, Kosovo, is planning to depart in his single engine plane from El Paso, TX in early March to more than 30 countries to rally support for newly independent Kosovo, which officially became an independent country in February of 2008.

The Unofficial Ambassador for Kosovo

Posted by admin On February - 16 - 2009

James Berisha on the front page of The Diario, a regional newspaper that circulates through Northern Mexico and West Texas, on the 8th of February, 2009. In it, James talks about being a pilot that has flown throughout Mexico for over ten years and he discusses Kosovo’s declaration of independence. If you understand Spanish, you can read the entire article HERE