Aynura Akbas is a researcher and a PhD student in Gender Studies at London School of Economics. She joined the WCM team in 2019 as a Research Coordinator. We spoke with Aynura about WCM’s international research activities, its role in the global museum scene, its potential, and its contribution to building sustainable peace.
Contribution to decision-making about children’s rights
“War Childhood Museum developed a unique methodological approach to documentation that is now applied in various conflict and post-conflict zones around the world,” explains Aynura, adding that in this way, WCM contributes to the democratization of history. While some museums serve national interests, WCM uses non-normative methods of archiving that are strictly focused on the community and contributors.
“Every individual can actively participate in shaping history through their personal stories and memories. This is how our archive continuously grows and gets new depth and texture with each new story. Moreover, due to its transnational character and numerous projects and activities around the world, WCM has the potential to become a relevant and active participant in decision-making processes concerning the rights of children and youth in conflict zones, children on the move, and all those whose childhoods have been marked by war,” says Aynura.
WCM collection has over 6,000 exhibits from 20 different conflicts
The War Childhood Museum currently has over 6,000 exhibits. Many of them are from the Bosnian and Ukrainian wars, but we also archive a significant number of stories and objects from 20 different conflicts around the world.
“The WCM has been consistently conducting significant international projects. Following that, it’s not a surprise that in 2018, just a year after its opening, the Museum documented over a hundred personal stories and objects from children in Syria, followed by stories from Afghanistan. The opening of the first international office in Kyiv, Ukraine, marked an important step in expanding the collection, during which we learned and worked on adapting our methodology. We have documented the experiences of children on the move from Iraq, Yemen, Kashmir, and Eritrea, as well as the experiences of children from the Gaza Strip and many other conflict zones. It is important to mention that in 2022, we applied our methodology in Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo, connecting personal stories from the region into a joint archiving project,” explains Akbas. She adds that last year we also started with documenting experiences of individuals whose childhoods were marked by conflict in southern Thailand and Myanmar, currently residing as refugees in western Thailand.
“One of our contributors is Kei, a sixteen-year-old boy currently living in western Thailand without parental care. Kei, whose parents are still in Myanmar, decided to donate a special woven bag gifted to him by his mother. Because weaving is very important in Karen culture in Myanmar, the bag is decorated with special Karen patterns that are passed down from generation to generation. Kei’s story, along with the stories and objects of other contributors from Myanmar, can be found in our museum.”
Our two stories family house in Hpa-An town, Myanmar, holds lots of fun memories. I lived there with my parents, my older sister, and grandmother. My best friend and I spent most of our time having fun, watching TV, and playing together. But things changed when the war started.
Our hometown became unsafe, and we couldn’t go to school anymore. My parents had to run into hiding. Soldiers would often come to our house, intimidating my parents, breaking things, and stealing stuff. Soon after, they imposed curfews. My sister and I stayed with our grandmother, but we didn’t feel safe.
In 2021, we decided to leave for Thailand. We took a one week journey through the jungle until finally reaching Thailand. Before leaving, we stayed over at my cousin’s house. I was very close to her. The night before we left, she made this clay doll for me and said to look at it whenever I miss her.
Things are a bit better now. I go to a school for migrants and have made new friends. But I still often think about our hometown and my cousin and wonder if we’ll ever see each other again.
Kaung, b. 2011 (Myanmar)
Collaborative work with local researchers and contributors
“To ensure that each exhibit and its story reflects the specificity of the local language, context, culture, and personal narratives, every research and documentation project involves a lengthy and detailed process of collaboration with our local researchers and contributors. Although the WCM collection holds over 6,000 objects, our primary focus remains on the process itself and the contributors,” stresses Akbas.
The museum will continue expanding its research activities and including as many different stories as possible in the collection, “which is already one of the most significant and largest collections worldwide regarding the war childhood,” says Aynura.