Summer Archives

Lauren Pak Prishtina, Kosovo - Centre for Research, Documentation, and Publication (CRDP)

“I was born after the war and so my parents named me Driton, which means light,” one of my workshop students through Peer Educators Network, a prominent local NGO focused on youth building and promoting healthy constructs of masculinity stated. Over the summer, I heard many a remark like this one referencing the time during the war from youth, adults, and elders. The history is clearly a part of today’s Kosovo society. Whether it be stories of how their father was solider in the Kosovo Liberation Army returning from war or traumatizing experiences being separated from family members during the deportations, I was offered a glimpse into the past through the eyes of co-workers and friends.

For my Ingram summer project, I had the incredibly fortifying opportunity working with the Centre for Research, Documentation, and Publication in Pristhina, Kosovo for 8 weeks focusing on the issue of reconciliation. I assisted with developing the first country-wide survey on perceptions of reconciliation. The CRDP survey looks to give voice to how the local community defines reconciliation—between who, what needs must be met for such, for what purpose. I worked on questionnaire development, establishing methodological framework, and creating a training sensitivity guide for surveyors when asking about cases of conflict, rape, missing persons, death of family member. Random sampling is difficult in Kosovo because of the lack of information and infrastructure. I helped problem-solve the lack of reliable population data by using the demographic information for individuals registered to vote as the sampling universe to minimize error.

The particular focus of my summer was on the issue of non-recurrence and collective memory. A set of the questions focused on the different narratives regarding the past 1998-1999 conflict: "Where did you learn or hear about the conflict?", "Which narrative do you trust the most?", "How much do you trust the narrative of the selected actor". There is incongruity between sources, varying rhetoric coming from parents, local and regional politicians, schools, the media, personal experience. Youth who are 18-24 today were 7 years or younger during the conflict, where much of their understanding of the past was told to them rather than their own experience. Over 50% of the civilian population are under the age of 25 and majority unemployed. Youth today attend ethnically divided schools unlike the generation before the war and there is great danger of othering or perpetuated hatred between groups.

My biggest take-away is that memory is fluid. The past is alive and is present in the structures that uphold today’s society. How we decide to remember our past is an individual choice that inevitably impacts how we approach each other. The 2008 monument that sits in the heart of the city reads ‘Newborn’, symbolizing Kosovo’s independence and future as a young democracy. Kosovars have incredible power to influence the future of the nation. I learned this summer that peace must be the jointly determined work of all.

For more, please visit Centre for Research, Documentation, and Publication.