On 3 March, 2022 students and staff at the International Institute of Social Studies held a discussion on the experiences of living and defying war. The event looked beyond the politics of war to focus on the human experiences of war.
Current MA student, Lizi Akhvlediani wrote this personal review of the event.
'I grew up with stories about war, but as a child I never imagined that war would become a lived reality for me.'
'In August 2008, weeks before my first day of high school, the media reported the Russian invasion of the Georgian region of South Ossetia that ended up with the Russian occupation of over 100 villages. Creeping annexation is ongoing, and our citizens constantly find their pastures, family cemeteries and even houses on a Russian occupied territory; barbed wires do not let families on different sides of a so-called border mourn the deaths of their loved ones together; citizens are arrested and ill-treated by the Russian military. Despite being informed about these events, I never considered myself a person affected by war, mainly because I never received any material damage from these events.'
The collective experience of war trauma
'I was once again proven wrong when a week ago I woke up to the news on the invasion of Ukraine. Paralyzed and hooked on media outlets for any developments, over 13 years later I found myself experiencing the same feelings as I did in 2008. I felt the pain of war. But so have my colleagues from Ethiopia, Palestine, Kashmir, Western Sahara, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, to name a few. I quickly learned about the collective experience of war trauma and found a new community at ISS.'
Looking beyond the politics of war
'Though inspired by recent developments in Ukraine, a student discussion event at ISS focused on the ‘Experiences of Living and Defying War’. The event looked beyond the politics of war and focused on human experiences of war.'
'It started with the screening of a documentary 'Children of Nikozi' by a young Georgian filmmaker, Nino Benashvili - an inspirational story of a war-torn village in the ongoing conflict zone in Georgia. It conveyed an important message of bringing life to a conflict zone as a way to defy war and rebuild the war-torn country. As the movie highlighted it, “we know the horrors of war, but you have to show what peace can offer people.”'
'Dr Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits and Professor Thea Hilhorst discussed human-centered aspects of living the war. The follow-up discussion and reflections focused on war trauma and its re-emergence, re-centering from building security to peace infrastructure, normalization of conflict, and life post-war. It was a reflective experience that brought together master students, PhD researchers, faculty and community members, and shifted focus inwards on the shared experiences of war trauma.'