Berit Backer (født 3. august 1947, død 7. mars 1993) var en norsk sosialantropolog, tilknyttet Institutt for fredsforskning (PRIO) 1978-82. 7. mars 1993 ble Berit Backer drept i sitt eget hjem av en asylsøker fra Kosovo, som i 1987 fikk avslag på sin asylsøknad.[1] Backer var på drapstidspunktet ansatt som saksbehandler i UDI og behandlet domfeltes asylsøknad. Drapsmannen ble idømt sikring, men fikk senere norsk statsborgerskap og oppholdstillatelse i 2001.
Berit Backer var datterdatter av Kontreadmiral Edvard Christian Danielsen og datter av Ina Backer og krigsfotograf Ole Friele Backer.
http://www.esiweb.org/pdf/kosovo_%20backer_behind_stone_walls.pdf
‘Behind Stone Walls’ is a sociological, or more specifically, a social anthropological study of traditional Albanian society. It focuses, in particular, on the formation and evolution of household and family structures among the Kosovo Albanians and was written on the basis of field work carried out by the author in the village of Isniq in western Kosovo in 1976. The study provides the reader with a fascinating glimpse into an exotic world which will soon belong to the past, as the author predicted.
PREFACE
‘Behind Stone Walls’ is a sociological, or more specifically, a social anthropological study of traditional Albanian society. It focusses, in particular, on the formation and evolution of household and
family structures among the Kosova Albanians and was written on the basis of field work carried out bythe author in the village of Isniq in western Kosova in 1975. The study provides the reader with a
fascinating glimpse into an exotic world which will soon belong to the past, as the author predicted.
Of all the phenomena which the ‘tribal’ society and heroic culture of the Kosova Albanians
produced in the past, few have been regarded as more unusual than the family structure itself,
characterized by a strongly patriarchal hierarchy and an extended family, with typically up to 50
members living in one family compound or indeed under one roof. This type of family structure, known
to anthropologists commonly by the Serbian term ‘zadruga,’ still occurs in Kosova today, though in a
more sporadic fashion than it did thirty years ago. In the other parts of the southern Balkans it has long
since disappeared.
Up to the 1970s, the Kosova Albanians lived in relative isolation from the rest of Europe and,despite the open nature of Yugoslav socialism, their traditional society had not been affected in any major
way by globalization. The mid-1970s, however, marked a period in which Yugoslav gastarbeiters in
Germany and Switzerland - many Kosova Albanians - were returning home and bringing back not only
money but also new ideas. The author of this book, the late Norwegian anthropologist Berit Backer (1947-1993), had thegood fortune of penetrating this very foreign, though European culture just before the turning point, i.e.before it was subjected to substantial foreign influence and change. It was a time of relative politicalstability and social order in Yugoslavia. After years of oppression by the Belgrade authorities, theAlbanian population of Kosova had finally been given a modicum of autonomy and official equality withthe other peoples of the Yugoslav federation. This period was brought to an end by the Albanian uprisingof 1981, which signalled the beginning of the slow and irreversible demise of Yugoslavia. ‘Behind Stone Walls’ was first submitted as a masters thesis to the Institute of Social
Anthropology at the University of Oslo in Norway in April 1979, but was never made available to the
public at large. Berit Backer was a great friend of the Albanian people and, during the 1980s, became
a leading human rights activist, in particular in defence of the cause and rights of the Kosova Albanians.Her activities on behalf of the International Helsinki Federation and her active support of KosovaAlbanian refugees in Norway made it impossible for her to find time to prepare a definitive form for thepublication of the thesis during her lifetime. Since her untimely death in Oslo on 7 March
1993, many people have expressed an interest inthe publication ofthis work. For this reason, the edito
rs agreed to prepare the present edition eventhough they were, alas, unable to consult the author herself. It is possible that, had the project beendiscussed with her, the author might have made substantial alterations, amendments, omissions oradditions to the original manuscript. The present, somewhat revised version omits many of the graphs and charts of the original thesis as well as much
material of purely economic and statistical concern. Readers particularly interested in the economic aspect s of Kosova village life in the period are advised to consult the original typescript, of which a number of copies are in circulation. ‘Behind Stone Walls’ offers much food for thought
to anyone interested in the structures of traditional Albanian and Balkan society. It is hoped
that through this publication, marking the tenth anniversary of the author’s tragic murder, the memory of Berit Backer will live on.
Robert Elsie
Berit Backer var datterdatter av Kontreadmiral Edvard Christian Danielsen og datter av Ina Backer og krigsfotograf Ole Friele Backer.
http://www.esiweb.org/pdf/kosovo_%20backer_behind_stone_walls.pdf
‘Behind Stone Walls’ is a sociological, or more specifically, a social anthropological study of traditional Albanian society. It focuses, in particular, on the formation and evolution of household and family structures among the Kosovo Albanians and was written on the basis of field work carried out by the author in the village of Isniq in western Kosovo in 1976. The study provides the reader with a fascinating glimpse into an exotic world which will soon belong to the past, as the author predicted.
http://www.esiweb.org/pdf/kosovo_%20backer_behind_stone_walls.pdf
BEHIND STONE WALLS CHANGING HOUSEHOLD ORGANIZATION AMONG THE ALBANIANS OF KOSOVA
by Berit Backer
Edited by Robert Elsie and Antonia Young,with an introduction and photogr aphs by Ann Christine Eek
Dukagjini Balkan Books, Peja 2003
This book is dedicated to Hajria, Miradia, Mirusha and Rabia– girls who shocked the village by going to scho
(Fjala është për intelektualet shqiptare nga fshati Isniq i Deçanit :Profesoreshen Hajrie Ahmetxhekaj-Avdimetaj,infermieren Miradije Tishukaj, mësusen Rabije Pajazitaj-Mushkolaj dhe mësuesen Mirushë Haxhnikaj nga fshati Isniq)
*****
PREFACE
‘Behind Stone Walls’ is a sociological, or more specifically, a social anthropological study of traditional Albanian society. It focusses, in particular, on the formation and evolution of household and
family structures among the Kosova Albanians and was written on the basis of field work carried out bythe author in the village of Isniq in western Kosova in 1975. The study provides the reader with a
fascinating glimpse into an exotic world which will soon belong to the past, as the author predicted.
Of all the phenomena which the ‘tribal’ society and heroic culture of the Kosova Albanians
produced in the past, few have been regarded as more unusual than the family structure itself,
characterized by a strongly patriarchal hierarchy and an extended family, with typically up to 50
members living in one family compound or indeed under one roof. This type of family structure, known
to anthropologists commonly by the Serbian term ‘zadruga,’ still occurs in Kosova today, though in a
more sporadic fashion than it did thirty years ago. In the other parts of the southern Balkans it has long
since disappeared.
Up to the 1970s, the Kosova Albanians lived in relative isolation from the rest of Europe and,despite the open nature of Yugoslav socialism, their traditional society had not been affected in any major
way by globalization. The mid-1970s, however, marked a period in which Yugoslav gastarbeiters in
Germany and Switzerland - many Kosova Albanians - were returning home and bringing back not only
money but also new ideas. The author of this book, the late Norwegian anthropologist Berit Backer (1947-1993), had thegood fortune of penetrating this very foreign, though European culture just before the turning point, i.e.before it was subjected to substantial foreign influence and change. It was a time of relative politicalstability and social order in Yugoslavia. After years of oppression by the Belgrade authorities, theAlbanian population of Kosova had finally been given a modicum of autonomy and official equality withthe other peoples of the Yugoslav federation. This period was brought to an end by the Albanian uprisingof 1981, which signalled the beginning of the slow and irreversible demise of Yugoslavia. ‘Behind Stone Walls’ was first submitted as a masters thesis to the Institute of Social
Anthropology at the University of Oslo in Norway in April 1979, but was never made available to the
public at large. Berit Backer was a great friend of the Albanian people and, during the 1980s, became
a leading human rights activist, in particular in defence of the cause and rights of the Kosova Albanians.Her activities on behalf of the International Helsinki Federation and her active support of KosovaAlbanian refugees in Norway made it impossible for her to find time to prepare a definitive form for thepublication of the thesis during her lifetime. Since her untimely death in Oslo on 7 March
1993, many people have expressed an interest inthe publication ofthis work. For this reason, the edito
rs agreed to prepare the present edition eventhough they were, alas, unable to consult the author herself. It is possible that, had the project beendiscussed with her, the author might have made substantial alterations, amendments, omissions oradditions to the original manuscript. The present, somewhat revised version omits many of the graphs and charts of the original thesis as well as much
material of purely economic and statistical concern. Readers particularly interested in the economic aspect s of Kosova village life in the period are advised to consult the original typescript, of which a number of copies are in circulation. ‘Behind Stone Walls’ offers much food for thought
to anyone interested in the structures of traditional Albanian and Balkan society. It is hoped
that through this publication, marking the tenth anniversary of the author’s tragic murder, the memory of Berit Backer will live on.
Robert Elsie
Norvegjezja Berit Backer, heroina e paharrueshme e Kosovës
E shoqëronte Kujtim Çashku, regjisori shqiptar. E ndali flashi i fotoaparatit tim. Më njohu. Shpërtheu nga befasia. Duke thirrur emrin tim dhe duke ngritur duart hava ajo praktikisht po vraponte drejt meje. E pritën krahët e mi të hapur dhe shtrëngimi i gjatë dëshmi miqësie e respekti.
Ishte Berit Backer dhe ishte pranverë.
«Nesër shkojmë në Tropojë, në bjeshkë…». Duke mê shikuar me sytë e saj që po merrnin edhe më shumë zjarr, autoritetshëm tha: «Eja! do të vish me ne…!»
Beritin e kisha takuar disa herë në Lubjanë. Nga aty përgatisnim ekspedita aktivistësh për të drejtat e njeriut. Ajo e njihte Kosovën dhe shqipen e saj. Ishte antropologe. Në Isniq kishte kaluar shumë kohë në studime të degës së saj profesionale. E kisha takuar edhe në Oslo. Ajo atje bukvalisht më kishte shkulur nga një kallaballëk shqiptar. Donte të më nderonte duke më çuar në shtëpinë e saj, e cila në një reportazh timin të asaj kohe del si shtëpia më e ndritshme që kisha parë ndonjëherë në jetë. Ajo kishte një bibliotekë të pasur me shumë libra shqip.
Berit i donte shqiptarët. Ajo brengosej për ta.
I shihte të përçarë, ndërsa dëshironte që ata, së paku në atë etapë të historisë së tyre të ishin të bashkuar. Ajo bënte një jetë thuaja se krejtësisht shqiptare. Jetonte me shqiptarët e militonte në dobi të çështjes së tyre. Ishte familjarizuar me Kosovën. Ishte e dashuruar në shqiptarët. Nuk pata shkuar në Tropojë me Beritin. Nuk iu ngjita bjeshkës me të. Një vit më vonë atë e vrau gjakatarisht xhelozia e një çobani shqiptar.
Më ngelën kujtimet e mia nga takimet në vende të fshehta si në bjeshkën Horjul në Slloveni, në katet e sipërme të Nebotiçnikut në Lubjanë, qosheve të restorantit Maxi…, ecjet rrugëve të qytetit të vjetër. Të qeshurat e saj, të gjitha të dala nga zemra, dhe emri im nga goja e saj.
Berit Backer ka bërë punë të madhe për Kosovën. Do të bënte edhe më shumë. Për të mund të flasin dhe duhet të flasin Gazmend Pula dhe Nufri Lekaj. Ishin bashkëveprimtarë të pandashëm dhe shumë të vlefshëm të saj e të çështjes shqiptare.
Le ta kujtojmë dhe kurrë mos ta harrojmë Berit Backerin. Ishte heroina e Kosovës. E ka shpërblyer Presidenca deri tash?! E ftojmë ta nderojë me mirënjohjen më të lartë. Sa më parë. Ndryshe, turpi s’lahet. E kujtoj me dhimbje e mall, krenar për një rrugëtim sado të shkurtër që bëmë . Dhe përulem. (dialogplus)Salih KABASHI
