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