<nettime> Syndicate: draft of text ".....Home" for Syndicate meeting in Budapest

[Ana Peraica <ana.peraica@st.tel.hr> (by way of geert lovink <geert@xs4all.nl>)]

Dear all,

This is the draft of the text for Syndicate meeting in Budapest. Hope I
managed to explain some aspects of refugee problem, taking example from
Croatia WARART of living.
For those who think it's too long, the whole point is: try not to forget
them when the thing is over. It's a bit in future, but wars do ask for
thinking few steps in further.

See you...

ana

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----

               Digital nomadism - refugee - displaced person
                       Is this place "Home"?

            (For all war babies, and Edie with them now)

introduction: What to take into account creating of a good strategic game
for politiscians, with big credits and a lot of levels, in regard to Home
(Clinton - Jelcin 1 : 0)

Regarding life in '90s in those areas a new concept, or better disappearance
of concept appeared. Most of those I mentioned possibly relating of problems
of mobile and identity to both technologies experienced lately on the
Balkan, under topic "Digital nomadism-refugee-displaced person-Is this place
Home?" in first had a thought that it would be a kind of a metaphor, used
for an explanation of phenomenology that strongly connects in a way split
realities. But, considering war could be taken even more splitten on with
dualities such as secure - unsecure game, digital (so called) immortalism -
analogue very mortality, or else, but both possible on creating, which is a
consequence of communication, a battle, at least an argumentation. And Home,
which could be sawn as in a game of hiding; a place to be taken when
temporary switching play off, and where those rules of game doesn't apply.
Home as relaxative and secure place. In wars mainly leading war authorities
manage to keep this definition.
Others thought as that is to be something like "How to explain art to a dead
Beuys" theory. Or how to explain to a spoiled child what he has is not to be
taken for granted, and Home token in a meaning of a background makes playing
possible. Something that is tooken as predemand, unquestionable. When
entering the war mostly ordinary people try to keep this concept, and go
fight for it.
But, things seem more complex than a nice comparison.
Generation of '90's to which I belong as well, experienced in a short period
both of those very fared away experiences; sudden impact of digital
technology, and machine, sometimes not even that, war technology. War
technology used in attacks on Croatia was VBR racket technology, "pig"
bombs, granates, knifes... As far as I know digital technology hadn't been
in some usage, while Internet wasn't used the way today is. Those two
realities, one of which was present 1991-1995, and other at the end of that
period and after, in latter wars become more interconnected, mostly on one
side; infowars that entered net as well, all until recent NATO's high-tech
equipment used in analogue.

                           Home and tip "Home"

Some explanations of digital nomadism already tooken a war metaphor:
"Nomadism introduces a paradigm of chaos and direct response. The warfare
model of pitched battle, characteristic to the Western mentalities/culture
and older tactics of indirect attack, avoidance, faked retreat and surprise
blows are combined here in mixture of response and provocation. The user is
invited in new spaces by the apparent submission of the machine, just to be
hit back a reaction meant to bring things and the initial point." (Calin
Dan, Nettime, Sun. 8 Feb. 1998)
The notion can be taken as overgraduated if token in regard with real wars,
but speaking truly there could be as well infowar made digital refugees.
Although, those experiences in analogue world and digital have uncomparable
consequences, and all refugees are dreaming on possibility to reset or
switch off, is possible, so would turn  all happened to become a illusion,
dream or a game of Descartes Evil Demon. And with new switching on start
position taken again, if ever decide to play it again.
On the other side, the notion of being displaced or non-located is the whole
purpose digital nomad's wandering, so is regarded positive. Valorisation
premark can not be mediated, because of some terminology overlap; even for
digital nomads wouldn't be so comfortable to move with their laptops each
day, and stay in some unwanted place. Would be only easier and sublimative
to adjust new locating continuing the same action of surfing. So, location
is to be regarded important until total entering to digital world or as far
it's stabile. And that means at least safe home, society or state, or a
totally unsocial position, that could be something like living alone on the
Planet.
If we would like to describe digital nomadism to a person that is a refugee
wouldn't be so hard, the only thing they would got to include in their
experienced is; if your wishes where to let you were listened, when putted
in a campus.
On the other hand, if we tried to explain to a digital nomad meaning of a
refugee position would be something like this kind of a program; virus /as
an unexpected bad experience/ that subscribes to a tip Home other command
and throws each time to an totally unpredictable position. Tip Back can be
used only after first move, and can not get to a start position or Home
page, and tip Forward pushes you deeper in a site new tip Home chosen. So, a
person is stocked. And can not switch off or reset.
Both contemporar wonderers could have similar description of Home as an
eventual start point, but moovings are happening for different reasons; one
has valorisation remark, the other could be even a pure process addiction.
In both cases that mentioned concept could eventually become a start point;
as a page someone puts as the first or the first place remembered. But only
for a part can be built as a  Homepage, but where did all privacy has gone,
if that's all?

              Location: neuro-home, Home, Hometown, Homeland

As it seems that would be easy to mediate experiences of one to another, in
both ways, we can suppose they are in a way similar. But the problem is, if
a person has both of them, and had no others qualitative different, would
that similarity make them to become a congruent background for a new kind of
a person, or conjuct in a psycho-patological way, that surely depends on
compostion of the world. There is a point where all oldfashioned and
specialists would agree, considering behaviour of both no-located; because
of some characteristics of media, as time (speed) in one or space (place) in
another, some counscioussnes of interactivity is missing, so it becomes
exteriour. At least comes that Home as a neurocomputation location is at
least free of out-of-Home demands to be conquered? But in wars sometime that
can be conqered too, not in Home defence, but in ideology wars for sure.
Both technologies produce similar psyho-phenomenology, but not the same
terminologies are used, and are from specialists regarded as pathological if
start to reflect on a behaviour pattern outside of immediate involvance to
situation behaviour. Speaking on split realities, some already consider
schizoprenic, may be added that in Croatian "not all is at his Home" is used
for schizoid person, unstable or at least lost.
Seems that the one that can not have a concept of Home can not possibly have
a concept of Hometown, Homeland.

              Traditional and actual Home of migrants and refugees

Refugee campuses are non-lands, temporary interzones, holes.No life exists
there, only a waiting to be moved further or back, and still dream of an old
concept of Home. Image of it, in most cases, unfortunately doesn't coincide
with the reality any more. So, both time and space are not coordinated with
it. Their position is something like waiting for finding and downloading the
page, but 404 or else can appear anyway. And it happens in most of cases,
unfortunately.
Several scenarios for refugees exist after campuses; they get back and
rebuild, but most of them if in a meaning time experienced better life
conditions, never want to. A number of them start nomadic life. If nomadic
group is formed, for example war/post-war family, problems appear on their
integration, as refusal of sedentarisation /alike gipseys/, or they are
gethoised, while keeping on one place. They still keep their concepts of
Home that include mother-tonque and culture. That first generations of
migrants, as professionals state, expresses only temporality and
non-interess in space position, so resignance. They do still remember where
they belonged, and have a kind of a memory definition of Home, and a
nostalgia. Second assimilates and adjust, but live in two worlds, Home
concepts, in this analogue one. So, children that are refugees would have,
considering those experts notes, be unstable, resignant and no-located,
without a stable notion of Home, and as are young would have the problem of
the second generation of refugees, split reality. They would hang between
their parents definition of Home, wich could include different language and
culture, and one in which they are actually raised. Having both traditional
and actual concept of Home.
Maybe new technology can engrove the problem, splitting reality once again,
but maybe it can solve it? Generation that is born in shelters or camps, or
in that moovings of families, would probalby be more to make last one
decision. They as well are belonging to a first refugee generation, but have
no couscience of that position, as are too young. And having time to adjust
to another position that some social pedagogs predict will be a problem.
I would like to give an example that is connected only to one part of
behavioral pattern of children born in refugee campus. Three months after my
collegue delivered a child her husband gotten kill in defence of their Home.
Although not remembering of staying in a refugee camp, and living at one
place for last five years, that litlle girl is packaging her toys in plastic
bags each time she is over with playing. As we all know in plastic bags were
oftenly all refugees could carry with themselves. All prescioust to them.

             Identity and rights of Homeless and "Homefull"

But, if refugees and displaced persons are born in the war period, that
means today have 8 years for Croatia, they don't connect even the first
place to the meaning of the word Home. They are even less located, and can
not have a concept of space positioning of Home, or images of it, we all do.
Speaking other words their "Homepage" has no visuality. Can eventually be
changeable first page. Although seems not too important in this period of
worst of Balkan wars, it is notables those kids will soon start to use net,
and probably even that way enlarge nomadic experience. In soon those Bosnia
kids and Kosovo ones will accompain to a new generation of persons that
would have problems in Home location. Today's technology position of Kosovo
is irrelevant to the discussion, as probabably those children whose parents
were masakred would be exported, as most of those before were, to more
developed states. And with nomadic experience of digital kind they would
make stronger argument that the idea Home as an oxymoron. Two kinds of
questions could immediately arise to them; what a tip Home means, and
similar what is a Home page. Ideas of Home, although were different till
today, personal, hardly communicable, would start to differe even more
between related people, if would be eventually created.
After those immediate questions would probably arise when comparation made
with those that could create a concept. With ones that include
space-location. So, next question will arise; why among all places that is
so glittering on those net presentations their "start point" was the one it
was. Final one would be in choosing a set to which a rule applies; as with
viruses attacked, those refugees had been attacked for a simple reason of
more or less accidental inclusion in an unwanted and noninteded set by some
formula, they can not create. As belonging to a certain set named nation,
certain space position as well /not all-Balkan refugees are nation
connected/, or just time they were born. For those born now problem, I hope,
would be unknown. But as war are suceeding each other, that "chosen" set is
only spatialy moving, so sucedds in time. Would be better opposite, I think.
If the only notion of Home would be the remark only written in documents for
identity, what would even that place have to do with the identity, as has on
mine temperament and a bit agressive mediterranean behaviour, and inborn
localpatriotism? Without an identity of Home, who can define a Homeland?
That kind of identity would be created differently, and could be even
digitaly created. In a way open.
So, finally, while navigating possibilites of eventual space locating, among
all other offered, would probably become horny about actual movings in, as
well. Would world be prepared on that? Statistics made by foreign instances
in Croatia state that 70% of high school students, means those who could use
net on their universities or elsewhere, already want to go out of the
country, and moreover; they want to do that immediately. From the position
of post-war rebuilt, denationalisation processes, poverty, unemployment,
post-traumatic-syndromes, and all others, those places really look as
promised lands. But these students still do know the meanining of an idea of
Home, even could not be satisfied with current state of it's broader
definition, for example Homeland, or Hometown. But generations to come would
not be the one that could take that into account in trying to fulfill their
desires. They would not be able to create those concepts.
Unlocated and those that can not recognise Home concept have only gender
border for becoming a Global person, Home-concept-less as totally Home-full,
their Home can be all. If that is a new ideology, which in fact went in
total opposition with all wars on Balkan ideologies (which was atomisation
and parcelisation, cleaning of tribes, but as well nacistic superhuman
conquering with elimination of others), borders should be opened for those
people. If not, this ilussion that can ruin stability of young generations
gots to be dismissed.  But, if that's not the illusion, but goal
contemporarity puts, I did find myself when told  "Refugees as heritage of
emotional impotence of the whole planet. Rarely first refugees happen, they
are a consequence mostly of long-sufferings. Noone leaves Home with the
first syrene, or with a belief that will stop", to my dear friend Zvone in
an e-mail, that this problematic is to be shared. For that reason obligation
for them goes on all.
And future will shaw that, what we saw was a large moving of refugees, after
that before that cleaned tribes, but will probably see much more of, with a
war/post-war consequences conjucted with a digital experience. The one would
not be so time coordinated, but would be mass as well. Not mass created by
others, pushed out, unsatisfied by others /political, economical,
historical/ decisions, put impossible to create deeper relations to that,
always on the surface of happenings.
So what it comes to be; would those moves to be regarded as legal when
current percentage of 60% of persons nomadic/refugee position becomes
enlarged with a new population? Or would that be democratic?
(But if not; how to re-establish a meaning of Home to them, if we count they
are not traditional nomadic culture, but a sociological as well, but
shorttime phenomena? Are we at least obligated to consider with Homeless who
can recognise meaning of concept Home to those who will possibly never be
able to form it. Something like Home concept agnostics. And while try to
care for their current life in awful conditions, not to forget their
future.)

---
#  distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission
#  <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism,
#  collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
#  more info: majordomo@desk.nl and "info nettime-l" in the msg body
#  URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/  contact: nettime-owner@desk.nl