Psychosocial Notebook - IOM Publications - International ...
Psychosocial Notebook - IOM Publications - International ...
Psychosocial Notebook - IOM Publications - International ...
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Chapter 4 • Nicola Mai<br />
which their stories were collected. The original interview model consisted<br />
of 13 questions grouped into nine themes. The narratives used by Serb<br />
IDPs have been analysed here according to the four most relevant of these<br />
themes, focussing on coexistence, antagonism, war and displacement.<br />
Although care was taken to select interviewees who by their age, gender,<br />
education, and by their position on different sides of the sharp rural/urban<br />
divide, represented the diversity of Kosovo’s Serbian population, their<br />
combined experiences could not possibly depict a cross section of the<br />
entire displaced population. They might, however, draw attention to certain<br />
factors and dynamics that to a greater or lesser extent concern all of<br />
the Kosovar Serbian IDPs, and that will be significant to the development<br />
of a Serbian culture and society, in its existence beyond the context of<br />
Kosovo.<br />
Section C: between public normative logic and individual experience<br />
Section C of the interview framework focused on the gap between normative<br />
public logic and the deep, lived experience of war, displacement and<br />
return. Some of the more important questions asked included the following:<br />
4 (c) How did the events taking place in Kosovo in the past 10-15 years<br />
influence your life and that of your family?<br />
5 (c) How was the situation before the recent escalation of events?<br />
When did the war begin? Why?<br />
6 (c) Did you leave the area in which you were staying during war? – If<br />
so, how would you describe this experience? How did you feel<br />
about having to leave? Do you think you will ever go back? How<br />
did you manage to stay before you left? – If not, how do you feel<br />
about the Serbian refugees in the FRY?<br />
7 (c) How do you feel about the role that the YNA/Militija [Yugoslav<br />
National Army] has held in Kosovo in the past years? What was<br />
this role? Whose interests were they trying to protect? Did they<br />
succeed?<br />
Following are extracts from the responses we received:<br />
98<br />
Ugly things were happening. There were physical conflicts, attacks,<br />
kidnapping, murders, and all of that was the consequence of the western,<br />
so called ‘democratic’ policy imposed by America, especially since the<br />
nineties onwards. Everything was directed so that Kosovo should leave<br />
the republic. Shiptars [Kosovo Albanians] had no rights, they are<br />
oppressed, unemployed, poor. On the other hand, when you had a look<br />
at----, that is, Kosovo in general, the biggest deals, the biggest busi-