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 />
they forced me to escape, the Albanians I mean… They were my friends,<br />
we have eaten together, we have worked together… they have killed my<br />
brother, my wife, I have been wounded [he shows his ear]… and it is<br />
clear that I had to escape and now I feel bad because of it… I am happy<br />
to talk, it is important that everyone knows what shameful action has<br />
been done… Albanians have killed their Albanian brothers… You are<br />
Albanian, I am Albanian, it is not right that we kill each other… They<br />
asked me to call my sons from Germany to come to fight when they<br />
knew that I couldn’t do that… no, I cannot, I feel bad, I feel bad… I apologize…<br />
I say goodbye… I cannot talk now… [Majkell]<br />
Arta: We didn’t talk about tradition, we worked and no more…<br />
Question: What language do you talk in your family?<br />
Arta: Albanian.<br />
Question: Do you know Romane?<br />
Arta: Just a little because we used to stay with Albanians, we<br />
know their language… we are Roma but we always lived<br />
with Albanians… this is why I cannot speak my language<br />
properly, at school we have always studied Albanian…<br />
I know that we liked the Albanians, instead they didn’t treat us well… I<br />
am 25, I have to say that I had a good relationship with them but for the<br />
last two years relations with Albanians have started to go badly… I don’t<br />
know why the Albanians did it… I know that they wanted us to declare<br />
ourselves Albanian but I cannot write on my document that I am<br />
Albanian when I am the son of a Rom… I cannot understand it… they<br />
wanted to force us to declare we are Albanian… [Lyfti]<br />
I talk with my relatives, with my friends in my language… But there are<br />
no schools in Romane… some books, very rarely, not really written in<br />
Romane… [Lytfi]<br />
This is how Romany have represented themselves and their relationship<br />
with “the others”, namely the Albanians. Of course, their portrayal as victims<br />
might lead us to forget the responsibility that some Romany held in<br />
the conflict. As has been stated, however, in our work we are not interested<br />
in taking a position for or against any individual or group, beyond our<br />
legitimate empathy. What is important, rather, in the previous quotations,<br />
is the Roma ability to be close to the other culture, and to use aspects (language)<br />
belonging to the Albanian culture, apparently without losing their<br />
own sense of belonging to the Roma group. What seems a great resource,<br />
however, can also be a source of great weakness, in a world where the<br />
dominant values are exclusive identities and strong boundaries.<br />
The gaze that the Albanian interviewees turn on the Romany clearly<br />
reveals the elements that have complicated the relations between the<br />
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