Representation of the “Other”

Representation of the “Other"

STUDENT Arben I. Llapashtica
KIJAC

INTRODUCTION
Media is often referred to as “fourth power” in a country, and for the development of democracy media is considered of special importance. Media is considered as pillar of a society and it can’t be imagined that a society can be democratic without free and open media with equal approach to all communities.
After the war Kosovo has changed deeply by adapting democratic values and in this context also the concepts like “the other”, women portrayal in the media have started to be treated more seriously by the media. The transitory period Kosovo is going through made the media go through certain political processes following these developments and very often supporting certain policies.
This support of certain policies has made the presentation of the events to contain political message by leaving aside the essence of the event.
It is important that the Kosovan media has changed during this period, but unfortunately very often they were forced to, or else, they changed as a consequence of learning lessons from the problems they created themselves while not understanding the importance of the media and professional and ethical principles. In other words through the theory of GUY, Hall et al. who expresses the cultural differences is the easiest way to understand and to treat the phenomenon of presenting the others in printed media in Kosovo.
The presentation of “the others”, like the minorities and other marginalized groups, in the printed media in Kosovo, does not have a single form, but it differs according to groups and events. The historical aspect should be in mind, too. The region lived through undemocratic regimes and this general memory also influenced the presentation of “the others” to have a different background. In this essay I will try to analyze some of important printed media, by analyzing some stories, related to these groups, published in these media.
I will expound an article of the daily newspaper “DITA” “When Petar becomes Peter”. And also I will analyze a story of another newspaper with title “MASTER OF CHEATING” a case of a Kosovo Parliament member of Roma-Ashkali ethnicity. We will also treat some other marginalized groups like: women, poor, street children.

REPRESENTATION OF SERBS IN THE KOSOVAN MEDIA
An increase of the media reports about the Serb minority is noticeable, yet not enough. But, compared to the number of the population the number of the reports about the Serb minority is satisfying. The voice of the Serb political representatives can be heard more than the voice of Serb people in the inside of the daily newspapers. Very rarely are the living conditions of the Serbs presented, their opportunities or their perspective to live in Kosovo. Media in Kosovo does not treat the problems, lives and events of Serbs. The subject that the media treats more have to do with Serbian poetical thinking, and by developing the thoughts of a group of Serbs, who often declare themselves as Serb leaders, and with written media support become decision making factors, although not being such at all. When Serb media represents the life of a Serbian they usually show them as victims or “forgotten” either on photos or articles. Are the newspapers fabricating or stimulating hate between the ethnicities? Is the Serbian community really violated by the Albanian majority in Kosova? How is Serbian minority represented in written Medias?
All this we will analyze with an article we extracted from a daily newspaper “DITA”
“DITA” CASE
Petar Topoljski a member of the Kosovo Serb community was found dead in a village near Prishtina (capital of Kosova). Topoljski was accused two weeks earlier by the daily “DITA” that before and during the NATO bombardment in Kosova in 1999 has plundered, beaten and ousted his Albanian neighbors. Petar Topoljski was an administrative employee within the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Journalists Gjylije Rexha and Muhamet Gashi published an article in the daily “DITA” 2 weeks prior to his murder, with this title: “WHEN “PETAR” BECOMES “PITTER?” (Date: 27 April 2000)
“Whilst witnesses talk about his actions during the war, he continues to work and wander freely within offices of municipality of Prishtina”, states the newspaper subtitle. After this article UNMIK doesn’t react at all towards this article saying that they: “Welcome every case and proof which would help in discovery of people involved in crimes, but those should be submitted to police.”
UNMIK reacted only when Topoljski was found murdered by unknown persons still. The article accuses Topoljski basing on interviewed witnesses and quoting them by initials and is accused as a criminal in the neighborhood of Bregu i Diellit in Prishtina. Witness F.B. says that Petar caused him and his father a lot of harm during the war: “Although he (Topoljski) carried a mask, we knew him, all the time he had carried various weapons even in the first days after arrival of NATO troops, and said to me “how did you elude my effort to get your head”.
On 15 may 2000 Petar Topoljski was found dead, this information was delivered at the daily KFOR and UNMIK press conference, where they mentioned also the article in daily “DITA” which weeks earlier accused UNMIK employee for crimes. Behlul Beqaj, editor of “DITA” says the article was published with an effort to make UNMIK to react towards the criminals: “Article was based on facts having all the statements from witnesses of Petar Topoljski’s actions”. The case was denounced by the UN Special Representative of Secretary General, Bernard Kushner, saying that this article has violated the law and the essence of Resolution 1244 which administers Kosova. UNMIK spokesperson said that “the article included personal information, including name, place of work and victim’s daily itinerary”.
Behlul Beqaj wrote to chief of UNMIK saying that the newspaper he edits will continue publishing the names and photos of criminals which carried out crimes in Kosova. In an interview for “Free Europe” in defending the newspaper and the article he states: “We don’t decide for justice, we inform the justice”. He also adds that his journalists didn’t make a mistake when investigating this case since it is the duty to inform the public on these cases. UNMIK reacts harshly and decides with a decree and no normal procedures to close the newspaper “DITA” with justification that: “Editors have breached UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and have endangered Petar Topoljski’s life”. Editor Behlul Beqaj reacted against this decree saying: “Resolution 1244 doesn’t say anywhere that media are obliged to hide the facts and not publish them”. Dan Everts, chief of OSCE (Organization for Security for Co-operation in Europe) says that an article with so many details for one person is dangerous: “If Topoljski would have not been murdered … I don’t know maybe the daily “Dita” wouldn’t not be closed…simply I don’t know”

REPRESENTATION OF ROMA-ASHKALI IN THE KOSOVAN MEDIA
Roma position remains the same. This category of population is the most prejudged society in Kosova, and often with the help of media. One of the most spoken and presented cases was the case with a member of Kosova Parliament, of Roma-Egyptian origin.
If it is this particular case reported from the local media is analyzed then it can be understood that there is a huge focus in this case only because the accused is of Roma-Ashkali descendible person. This case was reported in daily newspaper Express written by journalist Gjergj Filipaj who has entitled this story “Master in action” and has reported these accusations.
”Sabit Rrahmani, head of Ashkalis Party does not stop on cheating people. He is signing documents where it is said that Ashkalis are threatened by Albanians. With no shame he collects 1,500 euros per each released document”.
The journalists team from this daily paper has found time and went to visit one of the villages dwelled by Roma-Ashkali community where Nasser Kondolli one of the Roma-Ashkali deceived by the member of the Kosovo Parliament. “Time has passed and we now are getting along with Albanians. Nasser is a good man and as I know he never had any problems with Albanians”.
Although in the material presented in the paper it is said that “Master in Action” has given certificates where it was written that no one gives any security about the future of Romas-Ashkalis in Kosovo.
The journalist says that Sabit Rrahmani through issuing these certificates could have caused tensions between the Albanian majority and the Roma-Ashkali minority.
In this manner through articles like this a degradation of Roma’s is being done. In Kosovo there are a lot of cases where Albanian members of the Kosovo Parliament do illegal things but these stories are not emphasized as when it is about minorities. It is important to say that Romas-Ashkalis are presented as exotic communities by the media. In media they are shown as a community with no complexes more or less misinformed about life in Kosovo. The Albanian majority always makes fun with them.

REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN THE KOSOVAN MEDIA
If we were to think just for a moment we would say that women are the most prejudged in Kosova, including the media here. Although it seems that media are trying to represent the real problems of people, to attack the society’s bad habits, breach of law or corruption, their representatives cannot elude the biasness and open drift towards marginalization.
Women are the most often victim in news in media, whose photos in every kind of circumstances are shown with rush on screens and newspapers whilst mistreating them profusely, although her guilt or innocence is not proven. The fashion of distributing video by Bluetooth has achieved culmination in Kosova and their victims are women of course, whose privacy is freely exchanged for fun from a cell to a cell phone, to end in a newspaper photo or a television chronicle with the aim to improve sales or ratings.One female is not “spared” even when she is the victim in an accident, suicide or rape.
Strangely journalists do not look into the cause of death or rape they more easily deal with its victim making her an object for gossip, which in most cases with the humiliation suffered destroys her life.This happens due to the fact that female is the most prejudged and most vulnerable creature in Kosova, and the media did not develop to that level yet, as to save them from abyss.

INTRODUCING POOR PEOPLE IN THE MEDIA
In regard to other groups, the care is not on the required level as well. Poor, lonely or abandoned people are introduced as miserable, uneducated, weak and hopeless. Usually, written and television media journalists make stories about poverty only when there are not so many subjects, especially during weekends, or eventually when there is an annual awarding for stories for poverty. These stories are presented by characters that are crying whilst journalists do not consider any other aspect which makes these people poor. Abandoned and orphaned children, the ones that beg on streets are subjects for which journalists try to show their darkest side, without any effort to at least hide their face, and without mentioning the sick and handicapped who are the most subject to compassion and mercy.

CONCLUSIONThe guilt is orphan and nobody’s in particular. It is an issue of culture and mentality, things which change by a very slow pace within the nation. And no matter how much is media the fore guardian of change, its representatives are humans like all others. Even they can not avoid prejudice and are not as open as they should to change. After the war there was a tragic incident where a person of Serb minority was killed after one newspaper reported on him (“When Petar becomes Peter”) and made him an identifiable target for the extremists. Other less tragic incidents occurred after the war which served as a lesson for Kosovar media, where they learned to report with responsibility regarding minorities so as not to put them in danger. We can even say that today Kosovar media are more than careful when reporting about minorities, especially the Serb minority because they understand the sensitivity of the issue. We can conclude that the Serb minority but also Roma minority get fair representation in Kosovan press.
Although sometimes one can notice that when it comes to Roma’s there is still a sense of prejudice towards them. Often they are presented as people who know only how to drink and sing, but not of any cultural relevance. Or for example it is easier for the papers to report on misdeeds of Roma’s (Sabit Rrahmani) than of Albanian or Serb officials. But in general Kosovan press reports on minorities without prejudice and ethnic hatred.