The book “Encyclopedia of Pain: Chronicle of Emigration in Verse”, by academics Kosta Barjaba and Joniada Barjaba, PhD, recently published by the Academy of Sciences, represents a special achievement in the field of Albanian cultural and sociological studies. By collecting, selecting and interpreting popular verses about emigration, from the times of the wandering monks to the present day, authors Kosta and Joniada Barjaba have reflected a deep scientific and humanistic reading, turning the publication into an encyclopedia not only of emigration, but of the collective memory of Albanians. The work is notable for its methodological originality, analytical precision, interesting interpretation and documentary value that it gives to the study of emigration through popular culture that addresses the theme of flight, longing, loss and return. Through this methodology, among the first and few in Albanian studies, the authors have reconstructed a history of individual and collective experiences of emigration, expressed through the symbolic and narrative means of folklore.
In this great spiritual wealth, the anthropological dimensions of emigration are reflected, from the economic, social and political dimensions of Albanian migratory movements, complemented by emotional experiences and the shaping of the identity of the diaspora. The book comes as a project of two generations of sociological thought, academician Kosta Barjaba, a researcher with a prominent contribution to the analysis of migration and demographic transformations of Albanian society, and Dr. Joniada Barjaba, a scholar trained in the most prestigious international academic centers, such as Stanford University and Emory University in the USA and Sussex University in the UK. Kosta Barjaba's contribution brings depth of content and analysis, the result of his long research experience as the founder of studies on contemporary Albanian emigration, while Joniada Barjaba gives the work a contemporary sensitivity, a contemporary approach and a modernity of presentation.
As a member of the Youth Academy of the Academy of Sciences of Albania, Dr. Joniada Barjaba, this young and promising researcher, published and cited in many international academic environments, is contributing to the field of studies on the topics of population movement, diaspora policies, sustainable development and social capital of migration. With her research and publications, Joniada is bringing an empirical and modern perspective on the current economic, social, demographic and cultural dynamics of Albanian society. In terms of methodology, the work builds a dual analytical paradigm: on the one hand, it uses the ethnographic approach to document oral texts in an authentic way; on the other hand, it applies interpretative sociological analysis to highlight their social and identity functions. This combination of techniques gives the study the character of a research monograph with outstanding reference value, which treats emigration as a historical process and as a cultural experience. At a conceptual level, the authors see emigration not only as a risk, but also as an opportunity to preserve and reproduce national identity in the conditions of globalization and demographic transformations. Through a poetic language, the authors build an encyclopedia of human experiences, where each verse and each narrative reflects the pain of absence, separation and the search for identity in new spaces. This form of research-poetic writing represents an original contribution to Albanian sociological literature, placing the phenomenon of emigration in a sensitive field of humanistic interpretation.
“Encyclopedia of Pain: Chronicle of Emigration in Verse” constitutes an original contribution to Albanian sociology, especially in the disciplines of sociology of culture and migration processes. The reader feels the “emotional geography” of emigration: abandoned houses, closed gates, unwritten letters, long roads towards an unknown future. But beyond the poetic sensitivity, there lies a strong national, social and historical awareness. This is also reinforced by the fact that the authors refer to migratory experiences and popular creativity about them not only from Albania and Kosovo, but also from other areas where Albanians live. The authors see emigration not only as a personal experience, but as part of the social, political and national structure, which has influenced the fate of Albanians, proving that collective memory and feelings can be a valuable form of knowledge production about the social dynamics of the Albanian nation.
* Author, Rector of "Luigj Gurakuqi" University
