1 We need to build two monuments in memory of the tragedy at the “Pulse” nightclub in Kochani, where a fire on 16th March killed 59 people and injured almost 200 young people, some of whom are still fighting for their lives. One monument should list the names of the victims, including 6 children. The other should list all the legal procedures that were ignored, along with the names of all those who allowed this establishment to operate as a night club for over 12 years, whether through signing documents or failing to react to the clear illegality.
Once we stand before that monument, let us remember that corruption isn’t merely about giving bribes, jumping queues, or getting rich by breaking the law… It would be inappropriate to say that this monument should remind us that corruption kills. No. Kochani was not an accident. This monument would serve as a reminder that what we witnesses was a systematic murder enabled by corruption, resulting in the devastation of an entire generation in a town.
2 Once we stand before the Monument to Corruption, each of us will have the chance to ask ourselves: What do I expect from myself as a citizen of this country? Do I expect to live, or merely to survive? All these flaws in the system, which the government and the prosecution managed to uncover in less than a week, are a list of accidents waiting to happen in hundreds of public venues. But then again, it’s not as if we were unaware of them until now. We live, work and socialise in those buildings. Recently, an entire ministry moved into a building that hadn’t undergone a technical evaluation or obtained a usage permit.
Now we all blame the “system,” which is clearly so harmful that it drove our children away and numbed those who remained. However, the system didn’t appear out of nowhere. That system can’t be changed through apathy and self-pity.
If, when asked whether we want to live or merely survive, we choose survival, then we deserve to continue wallowing in self-pity, until the next disaster strikes. We all knew, but now we’ve come to realise in the most horrifying way possible that within this system, there are people who are simply not mentally mature enough for the responsibilities we, as citizens and taxpayers, have entrusted to them. All the procedures are designed as if we, the citizens, are the criminals when we report pollution, noise, unpleasant smells, blocked streets, sidewalks, and building entrances. We are the ones expected to prove we’re right, to warn that we’re unsafe, threatened, or harassed by the overlords… There are laws, countless bylaws, regulations, and technicalities for the most efficient violence against citizens, rather than serving the interests of the public and the common good.
If, however, we want to live, then we’ll need to learn to make that our primary demand from all the politicians we vote for, to fight for the fulfilment of that demand, and never give in, no matter what the government and the opposition say. Because they make it seem as though we’ve never asked anything of them. Except for jobs on a state salary.
This tragedy will either overwhelm us, or we’ll emerge stronger and smarter. That’s why the answer to the following question is crucial: What do we want from ourselves as citizens? To live? Or merely to survive?
3 My friends and family often make fun of me about how, whenever we were in an enclosed space with a lot of people, the first thing I notice is how to exit as quickly as possible. Maybe it’s a remnant from the time when we studied defence and protection, and schools would occasionally hold rescue drills, and since we can’t check if owners have the necessary licences, it wouldn’t hurt to have an evacuation plan at least in our heads whenever we find ourselves in a closed space.
If we haven’t already made a plan to evacuate the country.
Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski
