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 />
Interpreting was, however, not always requested. Some of the interviewees<br />
spoke English, French or Italian. In these cases, even if their knowledge of<br />
the foreign language was fluent, the interviewees refused to speak in their<br />
native tongue, feeling uncomfortable with the translation of their words.<br />
Their resistance to the translation taught us to view a shared language as a<br />
primary necessity, in order to reduce the gap between interviewers and<br />
interviewees, and to grant all participants of these conversations equal status.<br />
We learned to allow the interviewees to choose their words, accepting<br />
any reduction in their ability to express themselves properly. Even in the<br />
most skilful of translations, the richness of the original language is lost.<br />
The situation became more difficult during group interviews, when some<br />
of the participants could speak several languages and others could not. At<br />
times, this mixture of tongues became overwhelming, as on one occasion<br />
where four different languages were used during the same interview.<br />
While on one hand, this Babel of idioms became an obstacle to clear communication,<br />
the confusion moved all participants to rely more on nonverbal<br />
language. The transmission of feelings and emotions became as<br />
relevant as the narration of events, and the significance of these same<br />
events came to depend upon the communicated feelings and emotions to<br />
support them.<br />
In Kosovo, 40 interviews were collected, 21 of these amongst Kosovar-<br />
Albanians, and 19 of them amongst Kosovar-Serbs. The bulk of the<br />
research focused upon three distinct municipalities: Pristina, Mitrovica<br />
and Pec.<br />
Pristina was one of the towns least damaged by the war, even though a<br />
great number of its population had been forcibly evacuated (as had happened<br />
throughout Kosovo) (OSCE, 1999, part I: 312). Following the end<br />
of the war, the town experienced rapid growth in its population, mainly<br />
due to mass migration from the countryside. Pristina now houses the highest<br />
concentration of international organizations in Kosovo. Only around<br />
600 Kosovar-Serbs still reside in Pristina, most of them concentrated in<br />
specific zones with only a few families remaining scattered in other locations<br />
around the city’s centre. For these Kosovar-Serbs, freedom of movement<br />
is practically non-existent, with many of them confined to their<br />
homes. Around 12,000 Kosovar-Serbs live in the villages of the municipality,<br />
protected (like the inhabitants of other Serbian enclaves) by the<br />
KFOR (UNHCR-OSCE, 2000: 38-39).<br />
Both Pec and Mitrovica were badly affected by the war. Respectively<br />
68 per cent and 65 per cent of their residential buildings were heavily damaged<br />
or destroyed (OSCE, 1999, part II). In Pec, the only Serbs still living<br />
in the urban area are the inhabitants of the orthodox patriarchate (the priest<br />
19