Diasporas Speaking

Fatbardh Kqiku is a writer and essayist based in Berlin. His work explores growing up between Kosovo and Germany, the aftermath of political violence, and the ways migration, family, and loss shape intimacy and desire. He writes about memory as something carried in the body, and about sexual identity as something formed under conditions of displacement and inheritance. His debut poetry collection, Zwischen den Rissen (Re:sonar Verlag), follows the sudden loss of his father and its impact on how he lives his identity. He is currently working on his second book, in which war and migration appear not as history but as everyday life, in family, in bodies, and in silence. Alongside his literary work, he leads the Sustainable Finance cluster at econsense, the Forum for Sustainable Development of German Business. He holds a BSc in Economics from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and an MSc in Sustainable Finance and Investments from Utrecht University, which he completed cum laude.

Borders do not stop at the checkpoint. They run through families, languages, bodies and the spaces where people are allowed to be seen. In this episode of Diasporas Speaking, Berlin-based writer, essayist, and poet Fatbardh Kqiku joins us for a candid conversation on queerness, language, and belonging between Kosovo and Germany.

His writing treats memory as something carried in the body, and sexual identity as something formed under conditions of displacement.

Drawing on his work, we reflect on grief and coming out, and on how family relationships shift after loss.

We explore what Albanian and German each allow him to say, and the silences that remain in both. Together, we look at how state and family shape ideas of the “proper” body and acceptable desire, how those expectations carry across borders, and what it means to be seen as “too ethnic” in some spaces and “too queer” in others.

The conversation closes on his second book, in which war and migration appear not as history but as everyday life, in family, in bodies, and in silence, and on the joy now finding its way into his writing.

Albanian Migration from Montenegro and Kosovo to the United States with Dr Klement Camaj

In this episode of Diasporas Speaking, Klement Çamaj, PhD, joins us to discuss migration, memory, and belonging. Drawing on his 2025 book, The Migration of Albanians from Montenegro and Kosovo to the United States: In Search of Home, he traces the journeys of Albanians who moved to the U.S. over twenty years, many of whom had planned only a temporary stay as refugees of the 1990s. We explore the stories that were recorded, those that were lost, and how home is imagined across borders. Together, we reflect on why people move, why they stay, and how telling these stories becomes an act of remembrance and belonging.Dr Klement R. Camaj is a Lecturer in International Migration & Diaspora Governance within the Public Administration programme at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS). A multilingual, storytelling researcher, his work focuses on international and forced migration, diaspora governance, transnationalism, and cultural identity, with a regional emphasis on the Western Balkans and Europe.
He is the author of The Migration of Albanians to the United States: In Search of Home (Taylor & Francis, 2024) and co-editor of The Modern Scottish Diaspora in the Contemporary World (Edinburgh University Press). Specializing in qualitative and multidisciplinary methodologies, his research has been published in Population, Space and Place, Diaspora Studies, and the Journal on Migration and Human Security. Alongside his academic outputs, his policy research has actively shaped diaspora engagement strategies in the Western Balkans, and he frequently participates as an invited expert at international policy forums and academic conferences.
Dr Camaj holds a PhD in International Migration and Transnationalism from UWS, an MA in Geopolitics, Territory, and Security from King's College London, and a BA in Political Science and International Relations (Summa Cum Laude) from Radford University. He is a Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA) and the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS).

Interlude: Malesori - 'Kthehuni'.

Dr Phil ⁠Chloe Fagan⁠ is our guest for the episode Writing Oneself into History | Kosovar-Albanian Literature in the German-speaking space.

Dr Chloe Fagan received a Bachelor's Degree in German and English, and then her PhD in German Literature from Trinity College Dublin. She currently works for Goethe-Institut Irland. She has published 'Translation and the Renegotiation of Albanian-Austrian Migrant Identity: Ilir Ferra's "Halber Atem" as a Critique of Migrantenliteratur' in Moving Texts, Migrating People and Minority Languages (2017) and "Senthuran Varatharajah's Vor der Zunahme der Zeichen.

Representing the Kosovo War and the Tamil Conflict as an Absence and the Trauma of Language" in Germanistik in Irland. Writing oneself into history | Kosovar-Albanian Literature in the German-speaking sphere. Situating and differentiating between experiences matters. Unlike Turkish-German literature, which took root in Germany with the arrival of the Gastarbeiter, Kosovar-Albanian and Albanian writing in German-speaking contexts did not begin to appear until the 1990s. While it is gaining more traction, it remains a marginal movement, and precisely for that reason, it highlights the stakes: the need for recognition and for recording different ontologies of place, memory, and identity. It shows how communities carve out visibility when the archive has not made room for them. To discuss this and the quest to learn Albanian, I spoke to Chloe Fagan for this episode.

In this episode I am joined by Jasmin Mujanović to explore Bosnia's political and social landscape three decades after the Dayton Peace Accords, which were initialed on 21 November 1995 in Dayton, Ohio, and formally signed in Paris on 14 December 1995.

We discuss how the country's constitutional setup shapes its sovereignty and democratic development, the importance of understanding pre-war ideologies from the 1990s, and how the memory and narrative of genocide continue to inform national identity and political life.

Bosnia's geopolitical position in the Western Balkans also comes into focus as we trace the key turning points that have shaped the country since the war.

We also speak about the role of the diaspora in shaping narratives about Bosnia from abroad and much more.

Dr. Jasmin Mujanović is a political scientist and policy specialist focused on Southeast European politics and international affairs. He holds a PhD from York University in Toronto and has worked across North America and Europe as a scholar, analyst, consultant, and researcher.

He is the author of Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans (Hurst/Oxford, 2018) and The Bosniaks: Nationhood After Genocide (Hurst/Oxford, 2023).

Dr. Mujanović is currently a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Western Balkans Center of the Washington, DC–based New Lines Institute.

After an enriching first season, Diasporas Speaking is happy to come back with a second season, with the first episode streaming the week of the 8th of December 2025.

In this episode, Rina Limoni, founder and host of the Diasporas Speaking Podcast will be interviewed by Arbër Qerka-Gashi, to reflect on her life experiences through music. Using songs and music as prompts to evoke memories, the conversation delves into how these songs and music have accompanied Rina throughout her journey of displacement and migration, through the difficulties of navigating identity formation, code switching in different environments and exploring the personal significance they hold and the ways they symbolise key moments in her life

Writing Oneself into History: Queer, Bosnian, Muslim, and Foreign with Ervin Malakaj Ervin Malakaj was born in Doboj. In the 1990s he lived as refugee in Germany before immigrating to the USA. After completing graduate degrees in German studies, he became a professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where he currently lives with his partner and dog. Ervin’s scholarly work focuses on queer and diaspora studies with a special focus on visual culture. He is currently completing a book of personal essays about live in the queer Bosnian diaspora provisionally titled Tetka Theory.What does it mean to write oneself into history when your existence sits at the margins: queer, Bosnian, Muslim, and foreign?In this episode of Diasporas Speaking, Dr Ervin Malakaj joins us for a moving and critical conversation on identity, displacement, and the radical act of self-definition. Blending personal narrative with critical insight, Dr Malakaj reflects on the politics of visibility, the weight of inherited histories, and the transformative power of storytelling. Together, we explore how queerness, diaspora, and cultural memory intersect and how speaking, writing, and remembering become vital acts of survival, resistance, and belonging.Intro music: North-Albanian Instrumental.Interlude: Himzo Polovina - 'Snijeg Pade Na Behar, Na Voće'

Selma Jahić was born in 1988 in Srebrenica and grew up nearby in a village called Blječeva. During the war years from 1992 to 1995, she and her family stayed exclusively in Srebrenica and the surrounding area.In August 1995, Selma came to Vienna after being expelled from Srebrenica in July 1995, a time during which she lost many family members. Since then, she has been living in Vienna. She completed her schooling in Austria and trained as a media designer.She currently works as a content manager for a public institution. In her private life, Selma is very active as an activist and has been deeply involved in memorial work related to the genocide against the Bosniaks for several years.On 11 July 1995, in the town of Srebrenica declared a United Nations "safe area" two years earlier—over 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were systematically murdered by Bosnian Serb forces. At the time the worst atrocity committed on European soil since the Second World War.Despite rulings from international courts, including the ICTY and the ICJ, formally recognising the massacre as genocide, denial and political manipulation continue to distort the truth. Over 8,300 victims have been identified, yet the remains of more than 1,000 are still missing.Truth, accountability, and recognition of the genocide are essential for reconciliation and lasting peace in the Western Balkans.For this episode of Diasporas Speaking, I speak with Selma Jahić, who, together with her brother and mother, survived the Srebrenica genocide. She shares her family’s story of survival, loss, and the ongoing fight for justice and remembrance.

From the Margins to the Centre: Reframing Mental Health Through a Community Lens with Alberta Sinani

Alberta Sinani is a Kosovo-born artist and community psychologist based in Austria. Her work explores themes of migration, intergenerational resilience, and liberation practices within communities. As a Fulbright Student in the U.S., she has focused on immigrant youth mental health and civic engagement—work that inherently demands generational healing as a first step toward sustainable peacebuilding. With a background in political science and social design, Alberta bridges academia, activism, and art to create transformative spaces for collective healing and agency, grounded in cross-communal solidarity.

Community psychology is a branch of psychology that looks beyond the individual to understand how wider social, economic, and cultural factors shape people's lives. It focuses on collective wellbeing, social justice, and empowering communities to address the root causes of inequality- such as poverty, discrimination, and marginalisation.In this episode, I am joined by Alberta Sinani, who shares her insights into how community psychology engages with these communities-not to impose solutions, but to work with them, recognising their strengths and supporting grassroots efforts to create meaningful change.Intro music:

North-Albanian Instrumental

Interlude: Defatoret Shamikuqet - 'Potpuri'.

Post-2000 Migration from Serbia: Storming Against Your Government's Political Legacy with Damnjan Jovanović'sDamnjan Jovanović was born in Montenegro and grew up in Serbia, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology from the University of Belgrade. A passionate technologist, Damnjan is fluent in multiple programming languages and thrives at the intersection of creative work, human connection, and technical problem-solving.Driven by curiosity and a love for engaging with people, he brings energy to every project and finds inspiration in meaningful audience interactions. Outside of work, Damnjan lives by a "family first" philosophy. He’s a proud father who cherishes time spent camping, hiking, exploring, and simply being present with his loved ones—no car, just adventure and closeness.A devoted endurance athlete, Damnjan’s biggest personal treat is long-distance triathlons. These solo challenges fuel his deep connection to nature, mindfulness, and the power of the human body in motion.In this episode, we explore the political legacy of Slobodan Milošević and how it continues under the leadership of Aleksandar Vučić. From nationalism to media control, we trace the threads of authoritarianism that have shaped Serbia’s post-Yugoslav reality. We also look at why so many Serbians—especially the young and educated—are choosing to leave, driven by corruption, stagnation, and a lack of real change.Tune in to listen to Damnjan Jovanović's story and understand how a healthy alternative to history can exist. Intro: North-Albanian Instrumental