Part Two
Journalists learn N. Ireland, Kosovo history, and PJ's role 
in reporting about troubled, contested pasts
(Pristina and Mitrovica, Kosovo)-Last week, 20 journalists from Kosovo and Northern Ireland gathered for a workshop focusing on responsibly reporting a troubled past. The journalists learned about the conflict in Kosovo, and analyzed the obstacles they face in reporting about contested narratives about the past. Of course, peace journalism was also on the menu.

The four day program included classroom sessions and a number of fascinating trips.  (In my previous blog below, I discussed the first two days of the seminar, including an interesting visit to Mitrovica, an ethnically-divided city.)

Journalists brainstorm bridge-building story ideas

The third day of the seminar was the in-class portion of the program. I discussed how peace journalism might inform better reporting about controversial past events and contested narratives. This included a lengthy but important discussion about the nature of the word “terrorist,” and when and how to use it. I presented the 10 principles of peace journalism, and asked the journalists which might best apply to reporting the past. Many answered “all of the principles apply,” while others picked out several most salient principles, including rejecting ‘us vs. them’ narratives and instead building bridges; providing context; balancing reporting; and avoiding inflammatory language and images.

During my presentation, I also recommended that the journalists consider producing stories that discuss the role of denial in confronting the past; how different post-conflict generations have dealt with memories of the conflict; victims, victimization, and trauma healing; how causes of the conflict are still present today; the ongoing negative impacts of the conflict—social, political, economic; previously unexamined human rights violations during the conflict; contested narratives, and the reasons/motivations behind them; commonalities between conflicted communities; and ideas about, and examples of, bridge building initiatives between conflicted communities.

My presentation was followed by a revealing discussion led by Allen Leonard, editor of Shared Future news and the project’s Northern Ireland co-director. He delved deep into the region’s history (the Norman Conquest!) before giving a brief overview of the Troubles, the period of violent sectarian unrest from roughly 1968 to 1998. Noteworthy was his analysis of the BBC’s shifting focus of the coverage, and whether it should have given the “oxygen of publicity” (in the words of Margaret Thatcher) to anti-British forces. Leonard also led a discussion about whether journalists should withhold information that would jeopardize the peace process. Are we citizens first, and journalists second?

Xhemajl Rexha, director of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) and the project’s Kosovo co-director, then discussed reporting about the past in Kosovo. He began with a timeline of the conflict here, tracing it back to the 1970’s (Kosovo gets autonomy inside Serbia) through the beginning of attacks by the Kosovo Liberation Army in 1994, the war in 1998-99, and the birth of the state of Kosovo in 2008. He talked about one incident in 2004 when misreporting by the media caused riots that killed 19 and displaced thousands, and about the difficulty of reporting during this conflict, and in choosing language—Intervention or invasion? War or conflict? Peacekeepers or occupiers?

After the presentations, the participants visited the Kosova Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims, and the Barabar Center, a cultural dialogue hub in Pristina. They work to organize events and exhibitions that will “shift the pattern” and bring together people from all ethnicities to mingle and discuss an art exhibit, a book launch, a musical presentation, and so on. Interestingly, Barabar recently hosted a peace activist from Northern Ireland, Jo Berry, who gives presentations alongside an IRA bomber who planted a bomb that killed Berry’s father.

The week concluded with the journalists coming up with story ideas which they will utilize in reporting projects jointly conducted with one journalist from Kosovo and one from Northern Ireland.

The project was organized by the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, Shared Future News in Northern Ireland, and me, as director of education for Making Peace Visible. The project is funded by the British Embassy in Kosovo.

Next week, the project moves to Belfast and Derry, Northern Ireland. Updates will be posted on this site.

At "The Bridge" dividing ethnic groups in Mitrovica 
(Photo by Allan Leonard)

Part One:
Journalists from Northern Ireland, Kosovo convene to discuss reporting a troubled past, peace journalism
(Pristina and Mitrovica, Kosovo)-Other than being on the front lines during combat, journalists face no tougher challenge than reporting from and about places that are recovering from violent conflict. With this in mind, we convened 20 journalists last week from two such recovering conflict locations—Kosovo and Northern Ireland. Our task: to learn about conflict in Kosovo, to compare challenges in reporting contested narratives, and to discuss how peace journalism can be useful for reporting about troubled pasts.

10 journalists from Northern Ireland traveled to Kosovo for the project, organized by the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, Shared Future News in Northern Ireland, and me, in my roles as director of education for Making Peace Visible and director of the Center for Global Peace Journalism. In Kosovo, the Irish journalists met and collaborated with 10 Kosovo journalists. The project is funded by the British Embassy in Kosovo.

The four day program included a few classroom sessions, but also a number of field trips designed to educate the journalists about how the past is commemorated and reported about in Kosovo.

On Monday, we launched the program with a brief overview about the nature of memory. In short, memories are often distorted due to newly acquired information (misinformation effect), hindsight bias (people relate present perceptions with memories that they consider predictable), and the overconfidence effect wherein people credit themselves for better memory than they actually have. As journalists, I said we need to be aware of distorted memories, and how these help to fuel contested narratives, which are past events where the existing historical narrative is refuted or supplemented by alternative narratives and/or new perspectives. We then discussed the variety of distorted narratives in both Northern Ireland and Kosovo, many of which center on the origins of the conflicts, and how events and people are perceived (terrorist or freedom fighter? Massacre or battle?)

At exhibit on child war victims, Pristina

One of our first stops was an exhibit called “Once Upon a Time and Never Again” about the 1,133 children killed during the war between Serbia and Kosovo from 1998-2000. I had to fight back tears as I read the stories of kids who died, and looked at the artifacts they left behind, like shoes, a sled, and a tricycle.

On Tuesday, the 20 journalists traveled to Mitrovica, a city north of the capital Pristina that is essentially divided into two. Ethic Serbs live in the northern half. There, they fly Serbian flags, use Serbian currency and cell phone service, and consider themselves citizens of Serbia, even though their half of Mitrovica is inside Kosovo’s territory. Ethnic Albanians, who are the majority in Kosovo, live in south Mitrovica. Life in divided Mitrovica was addressed by north Mitrovica resident Jelana Rasic, who met with the journalists at the concrete barrier on a bridge that divides Mitrovica. Pedestrians calmly stroll across this bridge and around the barrier, though vehicular traffic isn’t allowed. In fact, there is a current proposal to open the bridge to vehicles which is opposed by the Serb minority. Interestingly, there was a rally at the bridge to protest this proposal the day after we visited Mitrovica.

Jelana Rasic, at the "border" between
North and South Mitrovica

In Mitrovica, we also met with representatives from Community Building Mitrovica, which is dedicated to building dialogue between ethic Serbs and Albanians. This exemplary organization is extremely active, and sponsors youth camps for young people from all ethnicities; a rock music school; local women’s organizations; and a coffee festival. They even helped to establish a peacebuilding course at a local university that is taught in English and enrolls students from across the ethnic spectrum.

In these first days of the program, I was thrilled to notice the camaraderie that the journalists built. They quickly became a team, and curiously questioned one another about the obstacles journalists face in both places, as well as the lessons they’ve learned in covering conflict.

At the end of the month,  the 10 journalists from Kosovo will travel to Northern Ireland to examine reporting a troubled past from an Irish perspective.

IN PART TWO: In part two of my report about our visit to Kosovo, we’ll discuss our visit to a peacebuilding organization in Pristina, as well as story ideas on reporting a troubled past produced by the participating journalists.

Assoc. of Journalists of Kosovo director Xhemajl
Rexha discusses the "border" situation in Mitrovica.