A-Infos (en) Italy: Report on the "Evening with Rada Ivekovic" in Fano [it]

On 28th October 2006 in Fano (Marches region of eastern Italy) there was an
evening with the philosopher Rada Ivekovic (from the Collège International de
Philosophie - Paris, Université St-Etienne). The event was entitled "The
Balkans are nowhere else. Contemporary forms of nationalism and war" and was
organized by the Alternativa Libertaria association together with the Fano
Women in Black and the Millevoci association.
In a packed hall, Rada Ivekovic explained some of the communitary and
nationalist dynamics that led, in various situations, to the separation between
india and Pakistan, to the wars in Yugoslavia, to the creation of divisions
within present-day societies, through the mechanism of multiple separations
that are at one and the same time cultural, political and economic.

Ivekovic analysed in depth the divisions in French society between different
generations of immigrants on the one hand and non-immigrant French or
second-generation immigrants on the other. She also spoke on the divisions
between men and women within French immigrant communities.

At the centre of Ivekovic's talk was a reflection on the progressive
balkanization of French society which emerged in the revolt of the banlieues in
2005. Ivekovic underlined the fact that this was a revolt by young males from
the city outskirts, which was the latest outburst in a long wave going back as
far as the marches by young Muslim girls throughout France in 2003, when these
girls and women were demanding greater freedom and emancipation than their
patriarchal communities allowed.

Ivekovic pointed out that it was necessary for there to be post-colonial,
feminist political reflection in order to understand phenomena of this sort,
which French politics has not only failed to understand, but also exacerbated
with certain authoritarian decisions such as the famous anti-veil law, which
led to rebellion within communities and restricted freedom of movement for
young women who instead wished for greater control over their own futures.

The talk given by Rada Ivekovic was particularly informative and provided a
great deal of food for thought. Public interest was high and there were a great
many questions from the audience, leading Ivekovic to deal with complex
questions such as Europe's responsibilities in relation to internal nationalist
dynamics in European countries and the geo-political effects on Europe's
fringes - the ex-USSR, the Middle East and the Balkan peninsula. The event
lasted over three hours, but the audience was rewarded with an extremely
satisfying evening, thanks to the philosophical and political weight of Rada
Ivekovic's talk.

M.A.
FdCA - "Nestor Makhno" Branch, Fano/Pesaro

http://www.fdca.it/fdcaen

From: Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici <internazionale@fdca.it>
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