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Book Discussion: The Strongest Link: An Oral History of Wartime Rape Survivors in Kosovo, by Anna Di Lellio and Garentina Kraja

Fri, November 21, 8:00 to 9:45am EST (8:00 to 9:45am EST), -

Session Submission Type: Book Discussion Roundtable

Brief Description

Stories about wartime rape usually remain untold, and forgotten. They are challenging to document, distressing to hear, and unsettling to describe. This contributes to the stigmatization of survivors and makes them feel even more alone with their emotional and physical scars. In The Strongest Link, Anna Di Lellio and Garentina Kraja aim to break that silence by presenting an oral history of women who survived weaponized rape during the 1998-1999 Kosovo War. Twenty women remember and describe in their own voices the war’s terror, forced marches, and sieges, as well as the nightmares and suicidal thoughts that still torment them today. Their stories are contextualized within a history of state repression and ethnic cleansing, woven together, and placed within a chronological storyline, so that they can be read as one might listen to a choir: Each woman’s unique voice and story can finally be heard, but their power lies in a shared memory, a story of endurance, courage, and strength.

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