28.04.2022. » 09:17
Op-ed - The healing power of literature
In the time we live in, writing verses about Kosovo and life in this magnificent place is a slippery slope that everyone walks around in fear of slipping and ending up on their knees. Most people believe that such songs can cause unrest among them, an occasion for conflicts, quarrels, and aggression. All works of art, out of fear, remain alive only as a secret. This fear has prevented, above all, young people of different ethnic groups to express themselves freely through their texts. Due to the current political situation in Kosovo, literary art is suffocating and if we don’t support it, it will perish.
In the time we live in, writing verses about Kosovo and life in this magnificent place is a slippery slope that everyone walks around in fear of slipping and ending up on their knees. Most people believe that such songs can cause unrest among them, an occasion for conflicts, quarrels, and aggression. All works of art, out of fear, remain alive only as a secret. This fear has prevented, above all, young people of different ethnic groups to express themselves freely through their texts. Due to the current political situation in Kosovo, literary art is suffocating and if we don’t support it, it will perish.
Many talented young people of different ethnicities live in golden cages created by their parents with the desire to protect them. All these years, looking at the situation that surrounds me, I wonder why people put art in a cage? Why do they want to chain it? Why don't they give it freedom and the opportunity to exhibit its beauty that does not separate but unites people? Why don't they allow it to heal the wounds from the past with its powers and take the blindfold off so that they can see that at least the future can be bright and beautiful?
It is poetry that has helped me realize that people on the "other side of the conflict" share the same fears and problems as us. We can save ourselves from this situation only if we open our hearts and listen to what the other side wants to say and if they can't do otherwise, let them express themselves through the verses. Growing up and living in Kosovo carries with it a certain burden. It is impossible to ignore the stories about various conflicts between Serbs and Albanians. The fears that our parents experienced were conveyed consciously or unconsciously to us and thus distanced us from our neighbors, and potential friends, but fortunately the true worth of pure poetry awakens in people only the good side and breaks down every barrier. It happened to me too. While one warm autumn day I was looking for inspiration for writing in a park surrounded by children's play and laughter, quite unexpectedly a guy approached me and spoke to me in Albanian. At that moment, I felt fear and panic. I replied in English that I did not understand his language and hurriedly picked up my notebooks, wanting to leave as soon as possible. "Do you understand the language of poetry?" he asked in English and handed me his notebook. The fear I had lived with for so long told me that I should distance myself from a stranger who belonged to the "other side", but poetry, I thought, was neutral ground and something that could not harm me. At that moment, curiosity was stronger than fear and encouraged me to take a notebook and read what was written in it. The verses were written in English. I realized he was very talented. "I dedicated the songs to my girlfriend, who recently passed away. The last one, as you can see, I didn't finish. I was left with no idea. It happens sometimes." As I write songs myself, I soon got ideas for a sequel that I was happy to share with him. We finished a song together that was later sung in three languages. You guessed it - English, Serbian and Albanian.
When I remember that day, I think that if I had listened to the fear that told me to stay away from a guy because he is Albanian, I would have missed the opportunity to meet such a wonderful person, such a dear friend. Poetry is, I was convinced for the umpteenth time, a magic that can heal wounds, eliminate fears and prejudices, and bring us closer to people who differ from us only in the language they speak. I hope that in the future, people will understand how important literature is and how much we all need to bring peace between two peoples who live together in a place where the stars shine brightest and where peonies illuminate unreal beautiful fields. Do not force us to hide notebooks that contain texts about forbidden friendships that are doomed due to our past. Let us express ourselves freely in writing, let poetry breathe, and don't judge us because you don't even know that the strongest friendships and the greatest loves live right there, right next to you - on the other side of the barbed wire.
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