How does the minority voice function in the majority society?
Speaking from the perspective of a spokesperson for people with disabilities, Dr. Sebastian Barsch pointed to the fact that this minority constitutes about 16% of the world population and the marginalization of this group and its history is still the case “when it comes to history textbooks, media, and popular culture.” “This idea of normality is a social construct,” he went on, “and these social constructs divide societies in what is being considered as good and considered as bad.” Dr. Barsch quoted a key concept, “nothing about us without us,” stressing the importance of including the minority voices in the construction of the narrative.
Goran Sadikarijo, representing “the tiniest, smallest in number community in my country, North Macedonia,” of around 160 Jews, underlined that the Holocaust Museum in Skopje “is not dedicated only to the Holocaust, because Jewish life does not begin, nor it ends with the Holocaust.” Besides the story of Jewish life before WWII and its destruction, the exhibition explores the narrative of the contribution of the minorities, the Jewish minority included, to the building of the state itself.
Konstanty Gebert pointed to the absence of Dr. Joanna Talewicz, who could not make it to the panel, which would contribute to the absence of the voice of the Romani community in the discussion. Speaking of how the minority narratives function, Gebert drew attention to the issue of the de-Judaization of the story of the Shoah. “The more universal your story becomes, the less it is your story. The more you want to keep it your story, the less universal relevance it has,” he explained, noting that he saw no good solution for this dilemma.
Can you dwell upon your experience of making your voice heard? What are the main challenges that you are facing?
Reflecting on how universal stories would function without different subgroups of identity, Dr. Barsch stated that “the societies at the moment pretty much shift backwards to exclusive societies, where different groups are seen as not equal, not same worthy as other groups.” Sadikarijo mentioned Holocaust distortion as a challenge faced from the perspective of the Jewish community in North Macedonia, which lies in the fact that Bulgaria denies its contribution to the destruction of Macedonian Jews. “History is being included in our negotiation process [concerning the access to the EU],” he noted. Gebert joined in by arguing that the main problem for minority voices was to be heard at all. “There needs to be a place from which we can speak as we are, not as we are being constructed and edited. And that is getting more and more difficult,” he noted.
What is the role of education in responding to those challenges?
Gebert outlined the idea of cooperation between minorities in the name of a shared interest, which could be extended to education as well. “In fact, that shared interest is not against your majority interest, it's part of your majority interest,” he added. Dr. Barsch stressed the significance of empowering “history teachers to deconstruct curricula, to deconstruct narratives which they are urged to teach, and to talk with their students about […] who are shaping the ideas of collective memory.” Echoing the ideas concerning the role of teachers, Sadikarijo summarized, “Receive the information, process it, and see what you can do, not alone, but together with others, in promoting narratives which are historically correct.”