Kosovo in Manchester – voices of a new community
In 1999 the most serious humanitarian crisis in Europe since the Second World War was at its height in the Balkans. Kosovar ethnic Albanians were airlifted from refugee camps to Manchester in an unprecedented British government humanitarian evacuation programme.
Following the exodus from ethnic cleansing in the Balkans and NATO military intervention, ethnic Albanian Kosovars received protection in Manchester. As well as a 3 month exhibition at the People’s History Museum in Manchester MaK will lead workshops on identity, recovery and new life using oral history, art, creative writing and music.
We will share the little known personal stories of a new community of men, women and children.
This is their story.
If you would like to get involved either telling your story or as a volunteer, helping to run the project please contact us.
MaK is very grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund UK for support with this project.
The experience of Kosovar refugees establishing new roots in Manchester is the delicate story of a fractured, isolated community struggling to develop an identity that both respects its history and culture whilst aiming for recovery and integration into the complex wider world.
MaK will capture the stories of Manchester Kosovars whilst facilitating connections with people in the region, allowing them to hear and learn from these stories and respond in a variety of ways. The project’s cornerstone, oral histories, documents the origins and growth of the community, recording unheard voices of Kosovars who fled from genocide during the mass exodus of 1999.
Refugees rebuilt their lives in Manchester. Fifteen years have passed. It is important to record individual and collective histories for future generations including British-born Kosovars. The project will provide a legacy connecting the young, particularly, with their history and country.
Central to the project, oral histories will reconnect the community and ensure its stories are heard, recorded and shared. In response to oral histories other heritage work, including education outreach / resourcing, artistic workshops and exhibitions, will be carried out. This mutual enrichment will benefit the wider NW community revealing the undocumented, hidden history of its people.
