Psychosocial Notebook - IOM Publications - International ...
Psychosocial Notebook - IOM Publications - International ...
Psychosocial Notebook - IOM Publications - International ...
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<strong>Psychosocial</strong> <strong>Notebook</strong>, Volume 2, October 2001<br />
More than anything else, they don’t feel they’ve done anything wrong;<br />
they feel that they did what any honest Serb would have done, that they<br />
did their duty, because if he kills a dog he’s got to face the responsibility,<br />
but not if he kills an Albanian; more than anything, they don’t ask to be<br />
pardoned today for what they’ve done… [Arben].<br />
Their conscience tells them they acted properly; while there are thousands<br />
of people who will never know if their relatives are dead or alive…<br />
[Gjolek, Arben B.]<br />
These points of view recurred in many of the interviews, from conversations<br />
held with ex-fighters to the accounts of subjects who went into exile<br />
early in the conflict, just as in the accounts of self-declared pacifists. This<br />
sentiment is certainly understandable, and is to a certain extent a sign of<br />
humanity, of participation in other peoples’ misadventures, even of empathy.<br />
Nevertheless, these passages cannot be accepted or quoted uncritically,<br />
as the feeling expressed is not a natural reaction, insofar as this<br />
humanity is the only possible emotion in such a circumstance. It should,<br />
because of this, be considered indisputable and unchangeable. This sentiment<br />
should therefore be accepted by Kosovo political and civil society<br />
only after it has been processed and worked-on. It should then be maintained<br />
until the people who harbour this sentiment can confront it, in all of<br />
its implications. The necessary corollary to these emotional shocks was<br />
also expressed in the narratives, in the claims that the Serbian population<br />
should make a public apology. This, in the view of many interviewees,<br />
could change the situation both for Serbs in exile, and for those who, at<br />
their own risk, have stayed in Kosovo. Here, therefore, begins to emerge<br />
the idea of collective guilt, as it emerged in post-war Germany. This is not<br />
an easy emotion to bear: in post-war Germany, the notion of collective<br />
guilt only radiated through society via a great deal of suffering, and even<br />
then, it left dark shadows behind. The implementation of this change in<br />
Kosovo goes far beyond our contribution of gathering and interpreting testimonies,<br />
and it also surpasses the direct responsibility of the people interviewed.<br />
It is not our role to point to a solution or suggest how to transform<br />
an indefinite and vague request, one that does however show a desire for<br />
reconciliation, into realized fact. It must be pointed out, however, that this<br />
feeling has taken root and spread that the attitude of the interviewees is not<br />
significantly different from the declarations made in public by Kosovar<br />
Albanian political and civilian leaders, and repeated in recent months. In<br />
these circumstances, therefore, the way that should be followed for socalled<br />
“repentance” must be defined, whether it be public or private,<br />
whether symbolic and delegated to the political representatives or left to<br />
meetings between people who were once neighbours and to the initiatives<br />
of civil society.<br />
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