[ 175 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 WAR STORIES IN POST-CONFLICT SOCIETY: The Experience of The Kayeli Christian Refugees in Ambon Selvone Christin Pattiserlihun Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta Email: selvone.pattiserlihun@gmail.com Mohamad Iqbal Ahnaf Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Email: iqbal.ahnaf@ugm.ac.id Jerson Benia Narciso Central Philippine University, Philippines Email: jersonarciso@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Conflict narratives that develop in post-conflict societies are always considered dangerous as conflict triggers that lead to new conflicts. In communities where oral tradition is the primary source of knowledge, storytelling about past con- tests becomes a central means of transmitting both violent and peaceful cultures. Post-conflict society cannot be separated from the role of war stories in forming individuals and constructing dynamics of communal relations. This study aims to observe and analyze the extent of the role and influence of conflict-telling in post-conflict societies, particularly in conflict-vulnerable communities that were victims of the 1999 conflict in Maluku. This qualitative research was conduct- ed in 2023. The data was collected through in-depth interviews with 15 Kayeli Refugee respondents, who were selected as a sample of vulnerable people based on objective scientific considerations. The results of this study indicate that con- flict-vulnerable communities still maintain war stories up to 20 years after the conflict, both with nuances of violence and peace in the limited public and do- mestic space of religious segregation that is not reached by peacebuilders in ef- forts to peacebuilding in Ambon. Interestingly, conflict experiences, especially vi- olent stories, become a tool to maintain segregation and present the continuation of structural and cultural violence. On the other hand, there are stories of peace and reflection on the conflict that can be used as a new way to support simple peacebuilding in Ambon as the Multicultural Capital of Maluku. Keywords: War Stories; Post-Conflict Society; Kayeli Christian Refugees [ 176 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 INTRODUCTION “At that time, people were running, hiding, seeing houses burning, crying, and we even celebrated Christmas at the police station and in the middle of the ocean. We sang the hymn of the congregation (Kidung Jemaat), whose title is in the middle of the waves (di tengah ombak), with tears in our eyes.” This statement was a small part of my parent›s story from when I was about six to twenty. This story is often told with a sad expression and a very low intonation. The fairy tale made the young listeners fall asleep, but the listeners, from teenagers to adults, cried. This phenomenon reflects how conflict experiences are told like a fairy tale, which is very interesting and entertaining but influences behaviour and perceptions. At the end of the story, they advised: “Never believe in Muslims. They will always be different from us”. The storytelling carried out by the victims of the 1999 conflict, like the previous simple stories, is usually maintained by the next generation of simple things like storytelling. Conflict 1999 to 2004 in Maluku left a bad experience for every victim who experienced the conflict directly. The impact of conflict storytelling is especially prominent in urban areas where people have mixed religions. People believed that the conflict happened because of a strong religious identity. That is why, after the conflict, people tend to live in segregation and regard people of different religions as threats (Satya Wacana et al., 2018). Conflict stories (conflict experiences) replace fairy tales, such as fables, legends, local oral histories, etc., with children being told in family rooms in daily life and activities even before bed. These stories are also told in the spaces of segregated society and are considered normal for the victims, maintaining and remembering the conflict is a right and good thing for them. The war stories and collective memories as conflict legacies are still big problems in the post-conflict community dynamics in Ambon. These legacies are tucked away through narratives conveyed through stories in the family (Tapotubun, 2019) and symbols of religious customs transmitted through stories, songs, and other customs types (Lattu, 2019). Besides that, several researchers stated that telling stories orally in daily life of people is the best cultural way that people choose from ancient times until the present day (Foley, 2012; Palombini, 2017; Wellfelt 2020; Chancellor and Lee 2018; Tamboukou, 2020; Moon & Bahn, 2022). Referring to conflict resolution for post-conflict communities in Ambon, many approaches try to restore peace by touching on several aspects, such as traditional aspects like  Panas Pela  tradition in several schools (Hasudungan, 2021) and Pela Gandong  tradition as local wisdom in Maluku (Hasudungan, et al., 2020) et al. Second, economic aspects like economic rehabilitation (Rieuwpassa, 2010). Third, the political aspect [ 177 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 prevents identity politics (Ernas, 2018). These reconciliation efforts are not sufficient if they are carried out temporarily. Because recovery, inter-communal trust takes a long time, and this sustains a sense of threat from other groups. As a result, most communities prefer to develop a defensive mechanism that strengthens segregation and causes peace discourses to be replaced by conflicting narratives of experiences and traumas that are difficult to remove. Therefore, the government has to play a big role in keeping the peace efforts still going on continuously (Randazzo & Torrent, 2021; Love, 2020), and peace should promote democracy, economics, and peace (Bräuchler, 2018)security and peace. It emerged as a critique of the liberal peace paradigm that promotes a happy alliance of democracy, economic development and peace. However, an epistemological turn towards culture has not yet taken place due to long- standing solutionist and quantitative traditions, but also due to the difficulties dominant peace and conflict studies disciplines have in conceptualising the local and culture. Drawing on lessons learned from previous cultural turns in conflict and peace theory such as ADR, traditional justice and HTS, the article argues for a twofold cultural turn in peace studies, with regard to (1. This paper focuses on the storytelling of violence and peaceful stories of war as a part of the oral tradition carried out by vulnerable communities like refugees, based on small Christian refugee community (Kayeli) stories in Ambon. The data of this paper is based on the answers of 15 respondents who were interviewed in depth because they were victims directly. This research analyzed the data using qualitative methods with two methods, such as a narrative and an ethnographic approach based on what John W. Creswell (2015) suggests. I decided on the Kayeli refugee community as the representative because they moved out from a small village established with local people in Buru Utara, Maluku, because of the conflict in 1999 with numerous experience varieties. They survived their lives from zero as refugees in Ambon City. They spread to several Christian places in Ambon, such as Amahusu, Airlouw, Latuhalat, Gunung Nona, Passo, and Ambon City. However, interestingly, they still provide their original congregation in Ambon because they defend their community as the first GPM congregation in Buru Utara. But the problem is they still preserve the conflict and collective memories in their daily, going along with structural and cultural violence that they also receive in their new context as refugees in Ambon. This problem is rarely reached by peacebuilders in Ambon as a peacebuilding dynamic. In some cases, refugee people will not agree if people in the big sphere city of Ambon stated that Ambon has 100% achieved a peaceful context because there are still conflict memories preserved in the small groups like the conflict [ 178 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 refuges community. Before people assemble a fresh way for peacebuilding in Ambon society, it is essential to look at how people express violent stories because of conflict and peaceful stories when the conflict occurs. Those stories will be a window to opening peacebuilding perspectives in Ambon. Meanwhile, they yet preserve conflict through violent stories; at the same time, they also maintain peacebuilding through peaceful stories regarding the segregation condition. Post-conflict segregation, like in Ambon, has been a key issue in the studies on post-conflict society and communal violence. This research dramatically contributes to peacebuilding because efforts to make peace are not only done temporarily but must be done sustainably. By making people aware of the history of violence during the conflict and post-conflict eras, they will be more alert in efforts to prevent conflict in the future. THE WAY OF CONFLICT NARRATIVE TRANSMISSION Conflict narratives transmitted to the next generation have an excellent opportunity to affect people’s lives in general. The ways to transmit conflict narratives vary widely. However, one of the methods used by the Christian refugee community, which was victims of the 1999 conflict, was storytelling. As suggested by Victoria Biggs (2021), the transmission of conflict narratives to the next generation through storytelling has implications for character- building and individual perspectives that directly impact the dynamics of the social life of refugee communities who are victims of conflict. Based on data in the field, the respondents explained that transmitting conflict narratives through storytelling is considered an effective method, and it is always carried out regularly in limited public and domestic spaces. Storytelling in the Public Sphere How to transmit conflict narratives in public space is an effective way that is always done in the general public. The Kayeli Christian refugees have always used public space to transmit narratives of the 1999 conflict within their community. Conflict narratives are often transmitted through storytelling, which is carried out in four public settings within the Christian community of conflict victim refugees in Ambon during the post-conflict period, namely Gatris, church, school, and workplace. First, Gatris  is an abbreviation of garis tiris-tiris rumah (or literally the house line in English, but in a different meaning). This term is often addressed to small groups in society, consisting of several heads of families or the closest neighbour group. Within this group, there are usually 3 to 4 adjacent houses. People in Ambon know this term in the Christian community because this small group refers to some people in [ 179 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 a congregation doing some religious activity like worshipping together. This term was so popular during the COVID-19 pandemic happens. In this case, the respondent confesses that this term is suitable to describe the transmission process of conflict stories. Second, the church is also the place to transmit the conflict narratives. Some respondents confess that as a religious place, the church plays a role in continuing the social dynamic, including war stories—the way to transmit the stories coming from religious leaders and congregation members in Sunday worship. Sometimes, the conflict narrative is described by the pastor’s sermons. Pastors in Kayeli, such as the leader or even the ex-leader and guest pastor who comes and leads the Sunday service in the Kayeli congregation, usually use this topic of conflict to make their sermons more actual and contextual. During the congregation members, conflict narratives are transmitted through discussions of in several moments like after Sunday worship, and even it might happen in other moments like small communal worship on other days like Unit Worship, Pelpri (Pelayan Pria) (Man communion), Pelpem (Pelayanan Perempuan) (Woman communion), AMGPM (Angkatan Muda Gereja Protestan Maluku) (Youngest generation communion of Maluku), etc. Third, In the young generation ecosystem, it turns out that conflict narratives are transmitted through teaching or advice conveyed by teachers who are victims of conflict to their students who are children of victims of the conflict. So, in the public limited segregation sphere, sometimes, conflict narratives are transmitted in educational institutions. Even though it is rare, it is conveyed by the conflict victim teacher. Nevertheless, the teacher conveys the conflict narrative just like a reflection conflict. It is not too comprehensive, but it has a small amount of conflicting descriptions. Fourth, The workplace is a more prominent and potential place to transmit conflict narratives. Many workplaces connect people who were victims of the 1999 conflict, especially if in that workplace, people who are the victims meet and work together. They spend much time together to build teamwork goals. So they can share their own experiences about the conflict in 1999 in Maluku. For the Kayeli refugees who started living in Ambon as part of a post-conflict society, they certainly have a dominant workplace, such as rough work and odd jobs. In such a workplace, it is evident that conflict narratives are still well-channelled among the victims of the conflict and even toward them. The four places described as the public sphere above affirm that the public sphere in this research is not pure tend as public where to reach the wider public. However, it is limited to religious segregation in the public sphere, in this case, the Christian community. [ 180 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 Storytelling in the Domestic Sphere In addition to storytelling about conflict narratives that develop in the public environment, the domestic sphere is also the most important. It has tremendous potential for maintaining conflict narratives in the Christian community of refugee victims of the 1999 conflict in Ambon. We all know the domestic sphere is more important than the public sphere. Because all social dynamics come from the entire group, namely family, this vital group shapes the individual to go out to the big group as well as society. The conflict narratives in the memory of the victims of the 1999 conflict in Ambon were transmitted to the next generation through two types of domestic spheres. Those are a small and big family. First, Small families are seen in family activities such as storytelling before sleep, storytelling while eating at the dinner table, and relaxing moments in the living room and other moments. These activities are the most effective means of imparting lessons to children through advice from parents. This phenomenon makes the conflict narratives that are transmitted to children very powerful. Second, Extended family is seen in family gatherings or friendly gatherings when there are family events, namely birthdays, graduations, baptisms, Sidi, and religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter, and at the end of the year and the new year. Both small and big families potentially transmit conflict narratives and maintain conflict stories that are benevolent based on peace stories and malevolent based on violent stories. Post-conflict society keeps on the psychology and social shaping through conflict narrative. Sometimes, it makes people consider peacebuilding, but on the other hand, it considers trauma memories that may create cultural and structural violence in their context. VIOLENCE AND PEACE STORIES OF WAR Kayeli Refugees are a community that initially lived alongside the Muslim community in Kayeli Village, an area adjacent to the District Capital in North Buru, Namlea. When the conflict occurred, they were forced to flee from Kayeli to a safer place in Ambon City. They prefer to live in Ambon and never return to Kayeli again, in the post-conflict period, until today. This choice was based on prolonged and unfinished trauma from the conflict and the convenience adapted to life in urban Ambon for approximately 25 years— those reasons described in their storytelling about the conflict maintained in their daily relational society dynamic. The types of stories are divided into violent and piece stories. [ 181 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 Violent Stories of War Stories about events and experiences during the conflict era associated with liyan or the reality of vulnerable people (in this case, the Kayeli refugees) who still maintain stories of war are characterized by several violent behaviours or characteristics embedded in each of the stories. Some of the narrator’s experiences imply that there were several forms of violence felt by the refugee community and post-conflict communities in Ambon and around Maluku in general who experienced a direct conflict that could be identified as below: Table 1. Piece of violent stories by the source people a. Association of Islamic Clothing Types with Violence War stories certainly build the reality of society close to violence. The story themes described experiences when witnessing the perpetrators of violence commit acts of violence by voicing Islamic religious identity. This depiction of violence is repeatedly recounted in several story themes by the narrators, namely the perpetrator (Jihad) wearing a white turban and voicing takbir (Allah hu Akbar). Confessions about the perpetrators wearing white turbans and voicing takbir are found in several stories. These images are indirectly from the reality of the Kayeli refugee community, who always remember that people wearing white turbans and voicing takbir remind them of the 1999 conflict. This association of Islamic clothing and Takbir singing will always be associated with violence because it refreshes the collective memory of the conflict that is hard to lose in the Kayeli refugee community. The violence formed from these stories is cultural violence, such as fear, hatred, and racism. [ 182 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 b. Glorification of Violence Perpetrators The glorification of the perpetrators of violence is depicted in the war stories. One of the most famous forms of violence was the pride of the perpetrators of violence on the part of the victims. The violence depicted in the story is positive violence from the point of view of the victims of the conflict. According to the narrators, the violence committed was aimed at self-defense, saving oneself, and helping others who have also experienced violence elsewhere. This act of violence is narrated as an act of heroism which is then considered a good thing from the side of the victims of the conflict and is even recounted repeatedly in several themes of war stories. The glorification of perpetrators of violence is a form of cultural violence that is applied in the form of racism and hatred. Suppose this collective memory is left unchecked, and the value of violence continues to grow and develop. In that case, acts of violence are preserved in every dynamic of the lives of conflict- affected communities. This value of violence forms the victims’ perspective to survive in war by defeating violence with violence. c. Hostile Identity Vocabulary The themes of violence formed in the reality of conflict victims are also reflected in the vocabulary chosen to describe the identity of opposing communities and their communities. Some of the identities conveyed by the victims implied inter-communal hostility. This identity was mentioned by several narrators when telling several themes of the story, such as Orang Sabala1 (next-door people), who interpret the Muslim community as another community that is very different and refers to the enemy community. If the narrator uses this call, they consider the Islamic community to be a community with very different views. Vice versa, Orang Katong2 is a term for the Christian community. The word Katong means us in English, which refers to the members of their own community. If the word Orang Katong is used in the story, the narrator is trying to separate the two sides of the community. Apart from Orang Katong and Orang Sabala, two identity designations are used in storytelling, namely acang and obey. The word can is addressed to the Islamic community. The word acang is not known for certain, but Djatmiko (2006) explains that the word acang comes from the nickname of a Muslim 1 Orang sabala is people who are Muslims. Orang sabala is addressed to people who are not of the same religion. This call is usually known and used in general in Christian com- munities and even in Muslim communities in Ambon and as a whole in Maluku. 2 Orang Katong is a term for their religious identity as a community. If those who say are Christians, the term Orang Katong is addressed to the Christian community. If those who say are Muslim, the term Orang Katong refers to the Islamic community. [ 183 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 boy named Hasan. This word then changes its function as a description of the identity of the Islamic community in Ambon. Vice versa, to describe Christian groups, usually use the word obet, which comes from a boy named Abednego. Suppose these two words continue to be used in the post-conflict society in Ambon. In that case, they will continue to perpetuate hostilities because these words were very popular during and after the war. One identity that prioritizes hostilities is the Jihad word. For the victims of the conflict who are Christians, this word refers to the toughest enemy during the conflict. The Jihad used is always depicted with terrible figures who have committed many acts of violence during the 1999 conflict for refugees. They burned houses, tortured, besieged, and even killed. So, whenever they tell stories using the word Jihad, the victims agree that the group is criminals. d. Armaments with Violent Nuances One form of a story that shows violence is illustrated by how the narrator tells a story about the conflict through the context of war using war tools. Several weapons of war are described in two themes. Some forms of war ornaments used in conflict and conveyed by the narrators are bullets and weapons used in war, even in contexts where the victims have never used these war tools. Stories about the means of war by the narrators describe the context of violence, which has implications for cultural violence, such as fear and racism. Some related objects affect the victims’ psychology and the relationship dynamics. e. The Sore Evacuation Plots The flow evacuation process for refugees took place sadly. The flow of the evacuation process experienced by the refugees is one of the patterns of stories with nuances of violence that occur in the dynamics of post-conflict society when the conflict occurs. The evacuation of the victims went through a sad process. This evacuation process started from the evacuation when the dispute first occurred. In several story themes, the evacuation process is carried out in a state of panic. Stories from sources narrated the evacuation path they went through as a low evaluation flow. Starting from the first time they heard about the war that had occurred in several contexts (when they were at the market, at work, at a neighbour’s house, and so forth) then, they tried to save themselves by going through various challenges such as witnessing a murder, almost losing a child due to panic, and trying to find an accessible place for evacuation. The evacuation process took place in a precarious situation; they had to try [ 184 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 to survive at several evacuation points; some survived on the mountain, in the forest, at the church, and in the houses of Muslim neighbours. During the evacuation process, at several points, they had to accept the fact that they did not have adequate clothing and food and even had to endure pressure overshadowed by death and hardship. In the following process, they were evacuated to a safer place, such as the police station, and even celebrated Christmas there in silence and solitude. The evacuation process occurred when they were rushed to other areas using ships in confusion, sadness, loss, and even hopelessness for the future. The evacuation process experienced by the victims proved that they (the victims) were living under pressure, stress, and emptiness during the evacuation process. The violence depicted in the evacuation process is a part of cultural violence, likewise, Galtung theory. Peaceful Stories of War The war stories that coloured the lives of the Christian community of refugee victims of the 1999 conflict were not only violent stories of war nuance but also peace stories of war nuance. The peaceful stories of war tucked in are not recognized as peaceful stories because only a few takes place in a tense conflict. Through experiences that are often recounted by the sources, there are several forms of peace stories of war that could be identified as below: Table 2. Piece of peace stories by the source people a. Rescue by Muslims During the War The precarious situation faced during the 1999 war was embellished with a narrative of peace in the form of heroism by some Muslims. This narrative of Muslim heroism appears several times in several moments. Actions of [ 185 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 heroism refer to four forms, namely providing information and updating the dynamics of the conflict from before the conflict until the conflict occurred, hiding when the war occurred, and giving a ride when the war broke out, like the story when some of them were at the market and were confused about going home. The heroic actions carried out by Muslims prove that war stories do not only leave scars that have implications for bad individual psychology. However, on the other hand, conflict stories also remind us of the heroic actions of opposing religious communities (Islam) that were carried out to save the victims. The heroism of these Muslims is another form of heroism performed by opposing communities as opposed to narratives of violence in the form of heroism carried out by refugee community members as described in the Glorification of Violence Perpetrators. These narratives of peace can be re-edified to recall the collective memory of harmony during the war. b. Helped by Muslims in The Exile The narratives of violence that were present during the evacuation process were embellished with sadness, which resulted in deep trauma, instead inserting peaceful narratives that were recorded in several moments. These peaceful narratives are narrated by depicting assistance from Muslims in the context of refugees. Some of this assistance is reflected in actions of material support (providing food, money, and other necessities at the evacuation site even when they want to flee to another area) and spiritual support (in the form of encouragement with words). Another form of action is evidenced by the description of the provision of transportation when it is urgent to look for family members who are left behind and other rescue actions in the form of assistance to cross the river to the evacuation site. The assistance Muslims provide in refugee camps has indirectly replaced narratives of violence with acts of kindness carried out by Muslims. The forms of assistance these Muslims provide illustrate that a good relationship exists between the victims and some Muslims who help them. The Muslims who helped them were Muslims with whom they had close ties. These aids show that there are images of Muslims contrary to the images of evil Muslims, narrated in stories that have nuances of violence in the previous sub-chapter. c. Friendship Identity Vocabulary The conflict narratives told by the narrators also include the vocabulary of brotherhood and friendship. Some of the narrators still refer to some people [ 186 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 who are Muslim as their friends and relatives. The use of a well-known and recurring pronoun tucked in the stories of the victims is like brothers-sisters which describes the context of the brotherhood between them. Even though they are not siblings or have a close sibling relationship, the word brothers and sisters depicts a strong brotherly relationship. The brothers in each narrative refer to neighbours with whom they have lived for a long time. Apart from brothers and sisters, several narrators also use the word neighbour as a pronoun to describe the harmonious relationship between them and the Muslims when the conflict occurred. Neighbour is a term for people who live in a common area and have a close relationship with them. The neighbours in each conflict narrative refer to the good and close relations between the victims and the Muslims. Some context of the story can be seen when the victims described their neighbours as saviours when they were attacked by hiding them. However, in another context, neighbours are also referred to as people they consider to be relatives. In this discussion, neighbours can be seen as a positive call for people who help victims of war. d. Ornaments with Peaceful Nuances The conflict narratives conveyed by the narrators present several tools used for peace in the process of helping. Some of the tools in question include food and drink, clothes, blankets, and even other assistance in the form of medicines during evacuation during the conflict. The items given are tools used to support peace. Unfortunately, these tools were provided by Muslims who knew the victims well, which they called brothers and sisters and neighbours. Items used as tools for peace are told in the context of conflict without consciously reminding the stories of peace behind the sad stories experienced by the victims. Some of the tools used in these contexts are a sign that there is still concern and harmony that occurred during the conflict. Refugee victims of conflict admit that the tools described are an essential part of their survival efforts. The assistance provided through peace-supporting goods implicitly illustrates that stories of conflict also contain nuances of peace. e. Grateful for Safety and New Reality In dealing with conflict, conflict victims stated that they were grateful because even though they were under solid conflict pressure, they were still alive and could defend their lives. Their grateful narrative drawn in the several themes of war stories, that could be identified as follows: (1) Religious preparations are ahead of the conflict because they do an excellent prayer with the people [ 187 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 who are experiencing the conflict so that they can survive the conflict. (2) When they nearly lose a family member, they are grateful that through God’s help, their family can still be saved. (3) When they talk about murder in which, in this condition, the victim feels that he is saved from being killed. (4) When they talk about evacuation, where in this story, the victims feel that they were evacuated to the right place, namely in the city of Ambon, which makes them grateful; they can feel the dynamics of urban life. (5) When they talk about hunger, in the theme of this story, the victims explain that they are learning to deal with stressful conditions but can get through even without food. They are hungry, but they have no desire to eat. (6) When they talk about their survival ways in conflict and post-conflict contexts, on the theme of this narrative, the victims explained that even though they worked hard, they were very grateful because they could go through all of this until they could educate the next generation to a high level, both S-1 and S-2. Even their children can enjoy a better education than they did when they were in the area of origin, which can be said to be a hinterland. The six tunes of the war stories above indirectly explain that religious post- conflict people often cover up violent themes in conflict by reflecting on the bad events they have experienced. These reflections become conflict narrative material inseparable from the storytelling carried out by conflict victims who lived in the 20s after the conflict in the domestic and public spheres. Reflection on the conflict is a form of peaceful narrative tune that develops in religious communities in Ambon. In religious spaces, conflict narratives that smell of violence are presented as an effort to support religious reflections on the conflicts that occur. Therefore, conflict reflection narratives can be categorized as peace narrative that develops in grassroots communities that experience direct conflict and live in post-conflict times in Ambon. CONFLICT NARRATIVE STORYTELLING AMONG YOUNG GENERATION The generation that lived and was born during the conflict and grew up during the conflict to post-conflict are active speakers of conflict narratives. Conflict narratives with nuances of violence and peace are still neatly stored in post-conflict society’s individual and collective memory. Efforts to eliminate conflict narratives that have nuances of violence are no longer possible to achieve optimally because all of these narratives are attached to the memory of each individual and cannot be separated. [ 188 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 Figure 1 shows that in the Gen Z II generation, narratives of violence are not too strong. The main factor is the storytelling of conflict narratives inherited from parents, which tend to be more reflective. Children aged 12-19 years today receive more lessons from conflicts in the form of reflections and advice. Reflection on conflict is a conflict narrative popular in post-conflict religious societies. The description of the intensity of cross-generational conflict narratives in Figure 1 shows that the boomers, Gen X, millennials, Gen Z I, and Gen Z II have the same intensity of reflection, which is more prominent than narratives with violent and peaceful nuances. Each narrator tells a conflicting narrative based on different experiences. However, all the narrators ended their storytelling with a brief reflection stating that they were grateful that they were still alive because of God’s grace. They are also thankful because they can live in Ambon and feel the urban environment. They are also grateful because even though they suffered hard, they survived the post-conflict period with higher education, housing, and land, even though they still experience many psychological disorders. These reflections become learning material for the younger generation who grow and develop in a post-conflict society. These reflections also motivate the younger generation to remember the history of their parents and the generation before they managed to go through conflict so that they can strive to rise and become better. The narrators from Generation X and millennials who have children from Generation Z I and Generation Z II explained that they should spread conflict narratives in the form of reflections rather than recall conflict narratives that refresh trauma and are likely to present new psychological disturbances for this young generation. In other words, conflict reflection becomes learning material for the next generation so they can maintain social security and comfort in post-conflict times and avoid new conflicts created because of previous generations’ grudges. It is possible that the latest generation still [ 189 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 accepts conflict narratives with nuances of violence in domestic spheres, so this still needs to be considered and taken into consideration for conflict resolution and peacebuilding in post-conflict communities in Ambon. CULTURAL AND STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE IN POST-CONFLICT SOCIETY Cultural and structural violence is an ever-growing impact of implicit communal conflict. Galtung stated that structural violence hurts basic human needs. Still, no direct actor must be held responsible, such as violence that occurs within the scope of inter-institutional as well as violence that includes conflicts of justice in conflict areas. Meanwhile, cultural violence is the legitimacy of structural violence that usually occurs within the scope of individuals and groups of perpetrators and victims of violence. What is explained by Galtung is illustrated in Figure 2. Figure 2 Triangle of violence adapted from Galtung, 1990 The cultural and structural violence explained by Galtung is proven by the availability of violence in the context of vulnerable conflict communities such as the Kayeli refugees during the post-conflict period in Ambon. Based on the themes of the war story explained in the previous chapter and repeated broadly in the sub-chapter, it turns out that it implies a context of structural violence that significantly impacted the lives of refugee communities. Some of the contexts of structural violence are still embedded in the pattern of relations between the refugees and the native people where they live now (Pattiserlihun et al., 2024). Cultural violence is described in several forms of mental illness that refugees consciously or unconsciously still have, making it difficult for them to form an environment full of trust and peace in differences. Meanwhile, some of the structural violence that still occurred was identified [ 190 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 as follows: 1. Limited access to land certificates that have been granted since the move from the conflict period to the post-conflict period. Refugees have the same title as immigrants. The requirement to get a certificate is self-conversion as a resident of the village (in which it is occupied), including as a member of the village congregation even though their original congregation and Kayeli congregation should not be disbanded according to the GPM Synod because it is the oldest congregation on the island of Buru with a long and unique story. 2. Discrimination as a foreigner is closely related to troublemakers. If even the slightest mistake is made in the area where the Kayeli Refugees live, the native people will turn on the refugees. Because immigrants need to understand the new reality in the pristine condition of the new location, the character in the old area (Kayeli, North Buru) might differ from the site’s context, which is close to the provincial capital like Ambon. 3. Stigmatization of the title of refugees as a group that pity needs to be pitied, even the areas where they live are referred to as areas of compassion, underdeveloped areas, and areas of deprivation. To this day, cultural and structural violence has become a new reality that is considered a risk for the Kayeli refugee community’s live dynamics in Ambon, so they take all of that for granted as well as usual. THE IMPLICATIONS OF WAR STORIES IN THE POST-CONFLICT SOCIETY After comprehending the magnification of violence and peaceful stories that developed in vulnerable societies, such as refugees, in the previous sub-chapter, the subsequent meaningful discussion is the implications of storytelling of war stories on the dynamics of the post-conflict society in Ambon. Two essential roles of storytelling war stories in the post-conflict society are to strengthen the psychological formation of each individual and the social dynamics dimension of a post-conflict society. Individual Psychology The most crucial role of violence and peaceful stories is to shape the lifestyle of a post-conflict society, from the individual to the community. Individuals, as the smallest part of society, also feel the impact of conflict. Victims of the conflict stated that they always remember the experience of the conflict and tell the next generation as a form of appreciation for remembering it as living [ 191 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 history through difficult events and surviving until the 20s years after the conflict. They live in other areas, they live as migrants or refugees, and they try to survive in extreme ways because all aspects of life have to start from scratch with adjustments to a new environment. Individual memories of conflict experiences also provide loans for the formation of the psychology of each individual. Some narrators explained, based on the data, especially violent stories by the source people, they elaborate that the conflict narratives maintained by each individual became a tool that always made them feel some of the psychosocial aspects that remained embedded in each individual. The formation of individual psychology is seen from their perspective when they are in the area of the Islamic community, such as (1)Anxiety  is a mental disorder that leads to excessive anxiety and fear because it is influenced by many factors, namely the individual and the environment (Agustin, 2022). (2) Paranoid is a form of individual psychology that leads to psychological problems characterized by the emergence of a sense of suspicion about something and results in excessive fear Agustin, 2022b). (3) Anger is one form of impact of conflict that occurs in post-conflict societies. Anger due to conflict is also a part of expressing emotions toward the conflict that occurs in addition to conflict trauma (Scheff, 2014)an approach that has been mistakenly cast aside. The last aspect considers the pride-shame axis as a key part of a major social system, my current work. Theories by C. H. Cooley and Erving Goffman imply that shame, particularly, is all but ubiquitous in modern societies, yet usually invisible. My current ideas suggest that this conjecture may be somewhat overstated, if only slightly. However, empirical studies by Norbert Elias and by Helen Lewis imply support for both ubiquity and invisibility. Both the Elias/Lewis conjecture on hiding shame and Billig’s theory of repression are supported by my Ngram study of historical changes in frequency of shame terms in five languages. Like other emotions, such as fear, shame can be recursive, acting back on itself (shame about shame. (4) Insecure is a mental and psychological condition that causes a person to feel insecure about many things (Fadli, 2022). (5) Hypervigilance is excessive alertness accompanied by a tendency to be alert to prevent danger. This attitude makes people who experience it feel and act as if there is a threat, so they are categorized as very sensitive to the people and the environment around them (Pramana, 2023). That individual disorder still maintains in the victims’ reality in the post-conflict society, especially 20 years after the conflict. Social Dynamic Post-Conflict Society The role of conflict narratives that are transmitted through storytelling [ 192 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 in society will help social dynamics that occur in post-conflict societies. Previously, the role of conflict narratives in shaping individual psychology has been explained. These forms of individual psychology also influence the social dynamics of a post-conflict society. Individual trauma preserved in conflict narratives remains a guideline for unique post-conflict social interactions. In this case, two essential points describe the social dynamics of the post- conflict community in Ambon. Those are residential segregation and public area desegregation. “Segregation based on home region is very difficult nowadays. Especially for the victims of the conflict directly. Because people feel more secure living in a space of regional segregation based on religion rather than being mixed up like before. For example, in 2019 the conflict that occurred between Muslims in Batu Merah and Christians in Kudamati caused tension in the city of Ambon, so that if we wanted to go towards Passo, we were afraid to go through Islamic areas such as Batu Merah. Because the conflict narratives still shape our ideology of conflict.” (NN. 8, 40 y.o.) Segregation of residence based on religion is a step that is appropriate to continue living in the plural city of Ambon during the post-conflict period. Religion is one of the causes of conflict, according to the victims of the conflict. Based on the developing conflict narratives, religion is cultural violence (Galtung, 1990) which also occurred in 1999 in Maluku. That is why it is necessary to separate residents to minimize conflict. Strong segregation among conflict-affected refugees indicates that society does not want a conflict to happen again. The reasons why the community personally implemented separate living quarters were strengthened by their desire not to cause a recurrence of conflict in Ambon City due to inter-religious misunderstandings (Pattiserlihun, 2023). Difficulties for mixed living may be possible if the government intervenes in regulating urban planning. However, it will be difficult if carried out in post-conflict communities that experience conflict directly. From a different point of view, residential area segregation will be harmful if it escalates to the segregation of public spaces. However, in this post-conflict period, there is no need to worry about the segregation of public space. Conflict victims who experienced the effects of the conflict stated that segregation was not too high in the dynamics of social relations in public spaces such as educational institutions, workplaces, and other public rooms (malls, markets, public transportation, et al.). Disaggregation is the opposite of segregation which is the impact of post- conflict society’s positive narratives and perspectives. Desegregation is [ 193 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 synonymous with standard forms of relational patterns in society in general. This pattern of social life has the potential to occur in a non-conflict society that has never experienced conflict because of differences. This social dynamic is also the goal of many post-conflict societies that have experienced conflict because of differences. Desegregation in a post-conflict inter-religious society is a peace-building step motivated by a belief in a pluralist community, both religious and ethnic. A mix of ethnic, religious, and socio-cultural elements characterizes the pattern of relations in a dis- segregated pluralist society. Desegregation of residents is one of the wishes of the peace fighters in Ambon, which also exists in a small number of victims of the conflict. Desegregation is a good step for the post-conflict community to form a society that understands each other’s differences and lives in harmony again within differences. Desegregation of residents is also seen as an effort to create a post-conflict society that can slowly eliminate conflict narratives for future generations. Suppose the next generation lives in dis-segregated residents and tries to create a good community. In that case, this indirectly supports the breaking up of collective memories about conflict and is replaced with memories of harmony in religious differences. CONCLUSION Over twenty years after communal violence, post-conflict society in Ambon found themselves with memories of conflict transmitted from generation to generation in the oral stories on war. Storytelling activity is a straightforward choice of oral traditions for all people worldwide, including post-conflict communities in Ambon. Narrating conflict narratives is one of the patent activities for vulnerable conflict groups; in this case, they are those who experience conflict directly, according to the research presented by Biggs. Based on this research, vulnerable groups in post-conflict societies can be categorized into two forms, namely victims’ groups and perpetrators’ groups. However, in this study, vulnerable groups focused more on victim groups who left their original place and continued their new life in a new location. This group is known as the refugee community. This research focuses on a Kayeli Christian community. The nature of storytelling war stories such as violence and peaceful, has implications for personal life and the dynamics of social relations in society. Both violent and peaceful, these nuances seriously affect today’s society. Indeed, there are still many implications that could arise from other people in different contexts. However, this research shows that conflict narratives transmitted in the form of stories in the domestic and limited public spheres greatly [ 194 ] AL ALBAB: Volume 13 Number 2 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.24260/alalbab.v13i2.2750 affect post-conflict societal relations, especially in the negative implications. Interestingly, these negative implications do not take up much space because even though narratives of violence colour a lot of social dynamics, there are still many narratives of peace tucked into narratives of community conflict. The trauma of the 1999 religious conflict cannot be left entirely in the memory of the victims. One colour of the impact that appears is residential Segregation based on religion. On one side, segregation will be a challenge to peacebuilding because it makes people live in collective memories and maintain the ego of their community (truth claim). So, their segregated and limited society depletes the storytelling about violence and peaceful stories of war properly. Therefore, suspicion, hate, and prejudice against other religious communities are still happening based on the implication they got from war stories. This research contributes to conflict management studies. People should be aware of how to manage the community to be more peaceful through storytelling. The vulnerable people, such as the refugee community, should be focused on. Their story should be finished and transformed to be more peaceful. This research still needs to improve, especially the sample, because it is too narrow for the Kayeli community, which is one religion. However, if there are researchers who want to look into these same topics, they can be aware of the need to take more samples with different contexts. BIBLIOGRAPHY Agustin, S. (2022). Mengenal Anxiety yang mengganggu dan Berbagai Jenisnya. Alodokter. https://www.alodokter.com/mengenal-anxi- ety-yang-mengganggu-dan-berbagai-jenisnya Biggs, V. (2021). Youth and Conflict in Israel-Palestine (Storytelling, Contested Space and the Politics of Memory) (I). I.B. Tauris (Bloomsbury). Bräuchler, B. (2018). The cultural turn in peace research: Prospects and chal- lenges. 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