Fragmented Lives in Times of War – An Introduction

By Lidia Kuzemska

This text is an excerpt from the introduction to the volume “Fragmented Lives in Times of War: Displacement Within and From Ukraine”, recently published in the series “Forum Transregionale Studien – Dossiers” at transcript Verlag and edited by Lidia Kuzemska. The dossier is available in print and open access here.

What are the challenges faced by forced migrants within and from Ukraine due to the Russian invasion? Ukrainians feel, live with, and live through uncertainties, whether emotionally, intellectually, or bodily. The new edited collection sheds light on the lives of displaced persons, which are divided, in terms of time, space, and social context, into a “before” and “after” the war. It analyses the uncertainties faced by war migrants and those who have decided to remain in Ukraine, as well as how people cope with these uncertainties in their daily lives. The book presents case studies from various European countries that make an important contribution to the growing literature on forced migration from Ukraine and provides new insights into the under-researched areas of internal displacement and voluntary immobility in Ukraine.

Where did the idea for this edited collection come from?

This edited collection stems from a conference that the PRISMA UKRAЇNA: War, Migration, Memory research group at the Forum Transregionale Studien organised in November 2024 on the question of “Ukrainian Un/Certainties: Mobilities, Memories and Representations in Times of War”.[1] Though migration was only one part of a broader programme, the topic of uncertainties caused by mass displacement within and outside of Ukraine (due to the Russian full-scale invasion) manifested itself repeatedly in scholars’ presentations and discussions. We wanted to gather these empirical testimonies and theoretical considerations in a published volume to document how displaced Ukrainians navigate uncertainties in their lives. We aimed to analyse what has been done to alleviate these uncertainties and to explore their implications beyond the immediate context of Ukrainian displacement.

Fragmented Lives is the third volume in a series of open-access, blind peer- reviewed Dossiers resulting from the work of our research group at the Forum throughout the years 2022–2025.[2] Forced displacement was a key topic within our research group. We looked at the diversity of displacement experiences, recognising that depicting Ukrainian forced migrants as a homogeneous group ‒ either inside or outside of Ukraine ‒ did not align with the empirical evidence we were collecting. We saw how similar the experiences of ethnic and religious minorities were, of people with disabilities or with severe medical needs, of people from diverse socio-demographic and age groups, and of people coming from both occupied regions and areas farther from the frontline of Ukraine; however, we also noted important differences. Moreover, it became apparent that such diverse experiences of displacement will have profound implications for the post-war needs and expectations of these diverse groups, for their plans and decisions to stay, return or live, as it were, transnationally, and for the unfolding dialogue between Ukrainians, that is, between groups with different war experiences.

What is the meaning of the title “Fragmented Lives”?

What comes to mind when we think about “fragments” or something being “fragmented”? Broken, detached, disrupted, fractured, separated, incomplete, imperfect, disunified, chaotic, something smaller than a “whole” – such synonyms usually flash across the mind’s eye, where they feel loaded with negative connotations.

Yet there is another way of looking at fragments: in the Japanese traditional method of pottery repair called Kintsugi, the broken pieces are glued back together with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold. The outcomes are uniquely beautiful objects, where broken fragments are connected by the golden lines of glue to form a new pattern. “Unlike traditional repair methods that seek to hide the damage, Kintsugi celebrates the imperfections, making the repaired piece unique and valuable.”[3] Based on the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, which embraces imperfection and impermanence, Kintsugi calls for the acceptance of life’s transient nature and the appreciation of “the scars of life as integral parts of one’s journey”.[4] These restored objects serve as metaphor for human resilience, as ways to accept adversities, and as sources of strength and beauty.

Thus, thinking about lives as being “fragmented” reveals a dual meaning. Lives are simultaneously replete with imperfections and challenges, but they also show how resilient and resourceful people can be despite circumstances often beyond their control. Fragmented Lives is a deliberate choice of title for this book, one that carries the weight of difficulty in it. Together, these examples of “fragments” and “fragmentation” already signal that the book will reveal many difficult stories of displaced Ukrainians.

Yet it will also testify to Ukrainians’ resourcefulness and resilience, despite their uncertain life circumstances, and to how they find strength and agency to endure regardless of adversities or the indeterminate futures they face. We offer this dossier as an illustration not only of immediate, “fragmented” associations of imperfection and disruption, but also as a demonstration of the qualities of Kintsugi – resilience and adaptation.

Can you briefly describe the content of the book and its authors?

This book consists of nine chapters, two of which are dedicated to the situation in Ukraine (one to IDPs and one to those who decided to remain in their homes). The following seven chapters analyse the situation outside the country, including six chapters about displaced Ukrainians in multiple EU countries and one chapter specifically focused on Germany, discussing the situation of the Ukrainian diaspora here.

All chapters but one are written or co-written by women, predominantly Ukrainian, some of whom have their own experiences of migration or forced displacement. The profiles of the authors reflect the broader reality of current research about Ukrainian forced migration, one dominated by Ukrainian female researchers who often have their own migration history. The chapters draw from a variety of theoretical approaches, but all are written based on testimonies (interviews and surveys) with Ukrainians inside and outside the country.

What is the main contribution of this volume?

Together, the authors of Fragmented Lives tell a story of loss, disruption, and in-betweenness ‒ all inherent to war displacement. They also tell a story of hope, resilience, and agency enacted by ordinary people in situations of radical and protracted uncertainties during wartime. We hope these reflections might add some answers in these volatile times to the universal question: How to live with and within uncertainty?

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Notes

[1] See the program https://www.forum-transregionale-studien.de/fileadmin/pdf/Prisma/PRISMA_-_UA_Un_certainties-WS_Program_web.pdf

[2] See introductions to the two previous Dossiers published earlier on TRAFOblog https://trafo.hypotheses.org/54001 and https://trafo.hypotheses.org/62977

[3] Japanese Mythology, Kintsugi: The Myth of Beauty in Brokenness, n.d., https://japanese.mythologyworldwide.com/kintsugi-the-myth-of-beauty-in-brokenness/

[4] Ibid.

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About the Author

Lidia Kuzemska is a sociologist with a keen interdisciplinary interest in forced migration, internal displacement, borders and bordering, citizenship, and migration policy. She obtained her PhD in Sociology from Lancaster University in 2022 was first a research fellow (2022-2023) and then academic coordinator (2024-2025) at the Forum Transregionale Studien (Berlin) within the research group PRISMA UKRAЇNA: War, Migration, Memory. She is also a research affiliate at the Internal Displacement Research Programme (SAS) at the University of London. Her research focuses on internal and external displacement of Ukrainians since 2014.

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Forum Transregionale Studien – Dossiers

Sereda, Viktoriya (ed.), War, Migration, Memory. Perspectives on Russia’s War Against Ukraine, Forum Transregionale Studien – Dossiers, 4/2025, transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2025.

Klimenko, Natasha, Miglė Bareikytė, and Viktoriya Sereda (eds.), Images and Objects of Russia’s War against Ukraine, Forum Transregionale Studien – Dossiers, 05/2025, transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2025.

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Citation: Lidia Kuzemska. “Fragmented Lives in Times of War: Displacement Within and From Ukraine”, in: TRAFO – Blog for Transregional Research, 07.07.2026, https://trafo.hypotheses.org/66431

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