What do we remember about the Kosovo War? Could it be that we’ve already forgotten everything? Did we ever know what really happened there? Have you ever tried to find the village of Tekija on a map? Do you know how far Priština is from Batajnica? Have we ever asked ourselves what happened to the survivors? Have we ever wondered about the lives of those who died? About what happened on the banks of the Danube in the Spring of 1999? About what was left of Cambodia towards the end of 1979? Have you ever heard the survivors of Phnom Penh telling their stories? Do you know what the countryfolk ate when there was no food left? Do you remember the photographs of the concentration camps? Has anyone ever told you about the rituals that the survivors hold onto so that they can remain connected to those who are no longer here? How do they sleep? How can they rest? How can they live? Who guards the memory of what happened? What do the voices of the survivors say? What do the voices of the dead say? Do you know the story of the Austrian politician who denied his Nazi past? How is it possible that he was secretary-general of the UN for ten years? Who made the excuses which allowed something like that to happen? Who lied? Why did the media paint the picture that everything was in order? Who made sure that everything carried on in the same way? Who convinced an entire people that everything should carry on in the same way? How did those lies become political truths? How can everything be exposed? Do you remember the end of the Uruguayan Dictatorship? Do you remember the 1989 referendum? The “Yes” and “No” campaigns in the streets of Montevideo? The attempt to repeal the law granting amnesty to soldiers who committed crimes against human rights? The questions that were asked in the streets? “What does peace mean to you?” “What does justice mean to you?” Why do we forget everything so soon? Can we make it so that nothing of what happened actually happened? Can the past be hidden? Can the past be denied? Who lies? Who feels ashamed? Who has ever asked for forgiveness? Can an entire country deny its history? Where did we look when these things were happening? What is our role in the story? Have we ever been complicit? Could it happen again? It is starting to happen again? Is it already happening?
What do we remember about the Kosovo War? Could it be that we’ve already forgotten everything? Did we ever know what really happened there? Have you ever tried to find the village of Tekija on a map? ...