Intergenerational Memories of the Border History
Intergenerational Memories of the Border History

Summary/Abstract: The question of the border between Albania and Yugoslavia was a taboo subject for those who lived in the border region for almost half a century, because of the tense political situation between the two states. That border, as a historical event and experience, produced various detrimental effects for the residents of this region. At the same time, it produced very powerful personal stories which, when analysed through the lenses of memory and border studies, enable us to take a new position on the issue of the border. How really this political border has affected people’s life courses? In taking the example of an Albanian family from both sides of that political border, or more precisely, the experiences of three generations of women in the same family, I will try to examine this question at a micro level. In providing extracts from the interviews from the fieldwork, I will try to bring out the emotional side of this historical and political state border, as well as another aspect to the truth behind these facts. The most important part to this research remains the intergenerational memory that reflects the pain and longing caused by the border suffered by one generation after another. The theoretical framework of my paper will be based mainly on studies of Dianne Bell, Maurice Halbwachs, Astrid Erll, Aleida Assman, William Zartman, and Noel Malcolm.

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