ESCAPING RESPONSIBILITY FROM AN ACTIVE SOCIETY
Now is the moment to learn a bit from our history, the history of the big turning point of students. Now history is different, but the change of the state should be the same. Students shouldn’t be silent. And when one day it’s late to seek justice towards yourself, who do we face?
Illustration: Argjira Kukaj
An active society should be the voice of the people and the “fear” of the people in power. We can do more than what we’ve done and seen. A popular expression says “as the country is, so shall the assembly become”. And we’re not good with either, because we’ve remained silent towards scandals of state officials. We’ve remained silent of millions stolen, we were silent even when the citizen’s interest was directly touched upon. Increase in price of bread, electricity, water, violating employees’ rights (death at the workplace). These and more problems are now unfortunately normal. A comparison of the last case in France where the citizens’ interest was impacted had led to a fire of a part of the location, and it was because there was a price increase of 2 cents. Protests were effective because the day after, the government took the decision for decreasing the price of gas.
And we showed our moral support for the active society of France in social media. Now we’re facing a 26% increase of registering vehicles, and we have the same approach. We react the same as we did with France (in social media) as we do in our Republic.
Now is the moment to learn a bit from our history, the history of the big turning point of students. Now history is different, but the change of the state should be the same. Students shouldn’t be silent. And when one day it’s late to seek justice towards yourself, who do we face?
Who’s at fault for passivization as a society towards the system’s injustices created now for many years, and we’ve remained silent throughout all these years. To speak now because there’s an end and a beginning, and this beginning should be today because yesterday was also late.
The force of an individual has a power we’ve barely used as people- because nothing can be done alone.
We’ve been silent when despised at the beginning of life as an independent young person who has just started their studies.
We’ve been despised even when we had a right to talk, and it was often denied- you’re still young, when you’re 20 years old.
And the contempt goes on, now graduated and ready for work, and every application says: At least one year of work experience (and no one provides such a thing)
And continuing with photographs attached to the CV to see if the boss likes your physical appearance so that you can get a job at a boutique, or with the way you dress; preferably wearing heels and lots of makeup (Pro dress code, and against the boss’ preferences)
And now we’re more than a quiet voice, more than that, more than a graduate, more than an unemployed person who looks for a job.
Now we are aware of the system created, we should begin to take responsibility for the quiet voice.
Now every day with a CV in hand asking for a job according to the Labor Law in the Republic of Kosovo, not the boss’s. Not with heels for the employee, but with knowledge gained through education for changing the system.
Because together everything is possible, and we can build our republic.
But we must create an active society, to become an active society such as the prior example. The Facebook complaints should be applied to the streets and city centers if needed, to go out and ask for responsibility.
To not fear the people in power, because we vote for them, we give them force and legitimacy. And no one can take the power of the active society away from us. For our Republic, for our future because we have no other country.
About the author: Bleona Kelmendi, 22 years old from Peja, is a graduated lawyer.
