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)