By Tara Goodsir
Hey family and friends of my Peace Lab fam and other friends, hope everyone is doing well wherever you all may be! I would like to center this blog post around voice; having one and using it or not having one, and the problems and necessities that come with speaking on behalf of others. Before I get more into that, I’ll tell you a little more about the project that Maud and I were doing for this course.
When we were a couple of days in to Peace Lab, Maud came to me with a rather interesting article, written in 2018 and one that discussed Kosovo’s ‘national anthem-situation’. We learned that the anthem does not have any lyrics, just a melody, and that the title of the anthem was ‘Europe’. The composer, Mendi Mengjiqi, does have a text that goes with the anthem, but is saving it for when hethinks the people are ready. We were intrigued. Our goal was to ask people about the anthem. Do they identify with it? Do they know that is is called Europe? A question we introduced during the trip was ‘Do you know the national anthem (at all)?’.
When we came back to NL, we made a podcast that presents the region’s anthems and uses history to contextualize them. I can now proudly say that we are on SoundCloud! The link is at the bottom of this blogpost, in case anyone would like to listen to it. In an attempt to put our experience and conclusion into a couple of sentences, I would say that Kosovar Albanians, although they do know of the official national anthem and sometimes do not criticize it, identify more with the Albanian national anthem. Kosovar Serbs relate more to the Serbian anthem. Of course, we elaborate on this in the podcast, and explain people’s opinions more specifically.
But this is also where I would like to link it back to speaking on others’ behalf. A lesson Anne has tried to teach us way before Peace Lab, is that it can be harmful to speak on behalf of others, as it is hard to do so without altering what is being said. My experience in this course, with this project, has taught me a lot about that. We were not using actual recordings as we felt it was unnecessary, but it is only afterwards that you become properly aware of the fact that you will have to rephrase and interpret the things people have told you. This can hardly be done objectively. So although we did our best, this project is definitely one that, given more time, could become something that even better represents the people that we talked to. For instance, we could have used actual recordings of people, worked with translators (although that brings other challenges with it), and just talked to more individuals.
What I learned is that it is very hard not to speak on other people’s behalf. Especially when you come back home, and you’re trying to tell your story and also other people’s stories. The problem is you may get it wrong. Nonetheless, speaking on other people’s behalf, frustrating as it may be, is closely linked to speaking up for people. When I am telling a story that is not my own, I do so with good intentions. I think we can all agree on the importance of speaking up for people whose voice is not heard, or at least not in that particular place and time.
So one of the lessons that I learned that applies not just to this trip but always and everywhere on the globe, is to always try and find a balance between speaking up for people whilst avoiding speaking on people’s behalf.
Another thing that relates to many different areas, both socially and geographically, is to use our experience in critically evaluating the state of human rights in a particular place, and apply that in our home country also.
As for other things that changed for me, I definitely learned more about how to interview and question people in such a way that it is pleasant, or at least as pleasant as possible, for everyone participating in the conversation, as well as about how to make a podcast!
Lastly, I think everyone can grow by visiting places that are not covered positively in the media, as you learn that media coverage is, albeit valuable, just another viewpoint. As for my viewpoint, I had the best of times in Kosovo. Anne created a little school of life for us in that wonderful place, I learned so much!
All the best and see ya on soundcloud:
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