Psychosocial Notebook - IOM Publications - International ...
Psychosocial Notebook - IOM Publications - International ...
Psychosocial Notebook - IOM Publications - International ...
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Chapter 4 • Nicola Mai<br />
122<br />
Subject: The same. On one side, we had Shqiptarian neighbours, and<br />
on the other, there were the Serbs. And I can’t say anything<br />
about those Shqiptars. Maybe they were richer, maybe richer<br />
than we were, but they also helped us when we were in<br />
crisis.<br />
Child (7): Who? The Shqiptars?<br />
Subject: Yes, son. When we were in crisis.<br />
Child: No, no. They didn’t help us.<br />
Subject: Yes, they did, son. Not this time. This time…But we were in<br />
crisis. They had their own stores. We could freely go there,<br />
too. There were no problems. But when we came here, I<br />
can’t…We are living in a village called---- I can’t say anything<br />
about the village…I would feel sorry if I said anything<br />
bad about it.<br />
[(J2):Serb woman, aged 35, tailor, from a village near an urban area, now<br />
living with her husband and children in a private accommodation. Her<br />
house in Kosovo has been destroyed, her uncle and her brother in law<br />
were kidnapped and the son of her brother died. She has experienced solidarity<br />
with Albanian families in times of hardship].<br />
Subject: Well, for instance, my relationship towards some people –<br />
towards Shiptars, generally. Since I, it may sound incredible,<br />
stupid – I regretted and I was sorry when they left for<br />
Albania. And the same people saw us off warmly, from the<br />
same area, only a few months later. I don’t know, I had too<br />
much confidence in those people. I mean, it never crossed<br />
my mind that something like that could be expected from<br />
them, all that happened – as if those were some other people,<br />
as if they didn’t do it. I mean, I don’t hold it against them<br />
much – it may sound like a paradox, I eat my own words, I<br />
understand their wish for independence, and all that. I hold it<br />
against us a lot more, ourselves as a nation, because I think<br />
we’re terrible, I don’t know how to define it…<br />
Question: What do you mean when you say we are terrible?<br />
Subject: Well, it means envious, it’s unlikely that someone will help<br />
you out when you need it the most. We are all great friends,<br />
on paper at least, until you really ask for something of a<br />
man. I don’t know, he won’t help, only if he has some interest<br />
in doing it. Everything that happened came out of that.<br />
Question: So, you think it happened because of all that?<br />
Subject: Well, let’s say it is one of the reasons. Not the only one for<br />
sure. The first and the essential one, certainly is the fact that<br />
it suited someone, someone out there. None of us “normal”<br />
people, so to speak, can judge why it would suit anyone, I<br />
think it’s definitely so. All I know is that I’m a pawn in<br />
somebody else’s game of chess, and I act accordingly.<br />
[(E4) Serbian man, aged 24, from urban context. A former university student,<br />
the subject had had a meaningful experience of harmonious multiethnic<br />
coexistence in the urban neighbourhood he used to live in].