If you walk down Mother Theresa Boulevard in Prishtina, you’ll notice black footsteps paving the way. Each one has ‘Where are the 1,648?’ written on them, enquiring as to the whereabouts of those still missing after the Kosovo war, each person a beloved family member. Though transitional justice seems like an abstract concept, it goes beyond courtrooms and conference halls. We experience it — or the lack of it — every day.
While it’s been almost 20 years since the end of the war in Kosovo, and a quarter of a century since the wars in Bosnia and Croatia, there are still important topics relating to the past that have not been addressed.
It is not only the cases of missing people. There are the politicized memories of the past, institutions and leaders with tainted histories, tense relations between countries in the region, and a dialogue process between Kosovo and Serbia that seems to have done little to ‘normalize’ relations. All these issues are constant factors, challenging the daily lives of citizens and preventing post-Yugoslav states from reconciling.
Following the launch of our latest monograph, “The Past, Now”, join us for an open and participative discussion on how transitional justice has shaped today’s realities. When so many citizens in Kosovo and throughout the region have experienced trauma, oppression or displacement, how can the past be tackled in a way that serves justice?
What have institutions done to address the cases of missing people? Are institutions doing enough to support survivors of wartime sexual violence? Can current reconciliation efforts ever bear fruit? How do the open issues between countries in the region affect the lives of citizens?
Join us at 18:00 on Monday, October 8, at the Documentation Centre Kosovo, for a participative discussion, where we’ll tackle all these questions and more. We’ve invited a few people to help get the conversation started:
- Ardian Arifaj – Political Consultant of President Hashim Thaçi
- Sofija Todorović – Program Coordinator of YIHR Serbia
- Linda Gusia – Sociologist
- Nidžara Ahmetašević – Regional Editor of K2.0
- Saranda Bogujevci – Member of Committee on Human Rights, Gender Equality, Missing Persons and Petitions
The discussion will be moderated by Besa Luci, K2.0’s editor-in-chief.
Translation in Albanian/Serbian/English will be provided.
This talk has been realized with the financial support of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and that of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).K
Feature image: Majlinda Hoxha / K2.0.
