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the context in which the war originated. The contrast between urban and
rural areas has been sharpened as a social and political separation. The status
of women and young generations has begun to change. These processes
and a perception of them can generate a sense of disorientation,
loss, and incoherence and can often be lived with difficulty, pain and a
sense of guilt at the individual or collective levels. At the same time, however,
these different changes and experiences should also be perceived as
resources, as they form an obstacle to the construction of a collective identity
that is rigid, monolithic, and based on an inner homogeneity of its
community. Instead, they reintroduce a plurality made possible by the multiplicity
of the individuals’ paths, but that is constructed upon commonly
shared characteristics.
It has already been demonstrated that a “storied community” can provide
a sense of security to both the individuals and the collectivity. In the words
of Dr. Renos Papadopoulos:
Stories of resilience based on traditional values, historic experiences,
religious convictions, ideological beliefs, political positions, etc., can be
most helpful in providing a solid and secure new context which can
counteract all feelings of being a helpless victim (Papadopoulos,
2000: 98).
In order to be included in the construction of a healthy community, however,
each story has to leave the stage to multiple voices and give value to
the variety of narratives. The awareness of the differences existing within
the boundaries built up around the community is the first necessary step
towards the breaking of those boundaries themselves. Further, such awareness
would allow for the recognition and acceptance of these “others”,
whose similarities and differences cannot be merely considered as descendent
from their national belonging.
Notes
Psychosocial Notebook, Volume 2, October 2001
1. All the names used in this paper are pseudonyms.
2. See Lino Losi: Introduction to the volume.
3. For geographical names, I have alternated Albanian and Serbian spellings,
using the most appropriate depending on context. In doing so, I have taken
into consideration the common use of the Serbian spelling in Western
literature.
4. Data collected by the Italian Kfor settled in Gorazdevac (1° Reggimento
Artiglieria da Montagna – Gruppo “Aosta”), which kindly made them available
to us.
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