1 If things have come to the point where the prime minister tells us that the air in Skopje is clean, while our noses sting from the stench and we fall asleep and wake up in smoke from burning landfills, then we’ve clearly reached a serious psychopathological state as citizens. And the prime minister knows exactly who he’s dealing with, which is why he dares to claim the air only looks polluted and that the parameters are not all that alarming. But what actually counts as an alarming level of pollution? We’re not yet dropping like flies in the streets. They’d have us put on rose-tinted glasses, so that even the smoke would look pink. Just like our future, apparently, is pink.
The ruling VMRO-DPMNE keeps insisting throughout the pre-election campaign for the local elections that “the best is yet to come.” We just need to wait for the same people who’ve run Skopje’s municipalities for four years, together with a central government that has enjoyed absolute power for over a year, to win again in order to finally sort out the landfills.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski says: The real question is who benefits from all this.” He’s precisely the one who should be answering that question. He goes on: “You know who benefits from this situation.” No, we don’t. How would we? He hides behind conspiracy theories, only to conclude with mathematical precision that “It’s strange how in certain public enterprises where directors are DUI members, such things happen.”
Really? It’s strange? What’s truly strange is that a government with a stable parliamentary majority and absolute dominance in all state institutions and in the majority of municipalities chooses to tackle this environmental catastrophe with conspiracy theories.
Of course, there are always people who believe Mickoski when he says their salaries are rising, even though their money can buy less and less each month. And even if they don’t believe him, some have clearly calculated that it doesn’t trouble them too much. However, how can anyone make their peace with being told the air isn’t polluted, while they’re choking on it? You can live with less food, fewer cafés, less travel, less culture… But how on earth are you meant to live without air?
I stopped being surprised long ago at how citizens get sucked into the priorities imposed on them by the parties. We’re neck-deep in rubbish, but we reassure ourselves: best not to complain, it could be worse, at least it hasn’t buried us completely yet. And if the leader says that the air is clean, then what’s the point in debating whether it’s clean or polluted? And even if it is polluted, whether the level of pollution is alarming enough. That’s how we’ve been conditioned. We’ve grown used to the Government telling us what our priorities for life should be.
Parties respond to what their voters demand. If voters don’t demand clean air, then why would the parties offer it?
2 The 8th of September, Independence Day, has come and gone. It remains my favourite holiday. Perhaps because I’m a contemporary of the historic days in 1991, the collapse of Yugoslavia, the birth of the new sovereign state, the transition from communism to capitalism, I’m bound by countless memories, overwhelmed by emotions, and feel proud to have been not only a reporter, but also a direct participant in many of the events of that time.
Who knows, maybe social networks fuel the urge for exhibitionism. But when I read lines like: “We don’t deserve a state” or “Macedonia, you don’t deserve us”, I feel dispirited by the thought that, on Independence Day of all days, so many people feel compelled to pour toxic cynicism on their country. Yes, we’re poisoned by rubbish and toxic air, but are we so poisoned with hatred towards ourselves that even the holiday bothers us?
It is, after all, a holiday. A day for joy. At least once a year.
I deserve to have a state. And I don’t believe in collective responsibility. I chose to stay here to live, to work, for nearly 35 years, and every Friday I persistently take notes on the history of my country, so I absolutely disagree that Macedonia doesn’t deserve me. After all, what is Macedonia? We are Macedonia, are we not? And what exactly is this supposed to mean: “Sorry Macedonia, we’ve disappointed you”? Another excuse for our own incompetence? Yet another excuse for the servility we show towards those we’ve elected to spend our money, the people whose salaries we pay.
3 Politicians know what kind of citizens they’re dealing with, and that’s why this year, as in every year before, the Independence Day celebration was a sorry affair. The leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties issued some greetings full of empty words and devoid of meaning, while the government staged something that looked more like a school play, applauding itself and laying a bouquet or two at the graves of the late presidents. The liveliest places were the Greek taverns.
Prime Minister Mickoski also knows very well who he’s dealing with. That’s why he could get away with scheduling the Independence Day ceremony for 10 a.m., early enough to catch his flight to Budapest and take his sons to a football match. The drowsy audience at the Philharmonic wasn’t an obstacle, so he gave them a pre-election rally speech about betrayals, red lines, wiretapping and purges.
To be fair, none of this is new. His predecessor, Nikola Gruevski, used every state holiday to lecture us on who the true patriots were and who the traitors were, instead of speaking about unity and setting differences aside.
On holidays, I expect the leaders we’ve elected to lead the country and call for unity, and not to settle scores with the opposition or pick fights with anyone who dares obstruct their unchecked rule. So at least on holidays, don’t burden us with your political clashes. At least on holidays, give us peace and hope. At least on holidays, let us rejoice.
4 Since the VMRO-DPMNE candidate for mayor of the Municipality of Karposh joined the official government delegation, alongside the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Health and the Director of the Health Fund to inspect the construction of the operating theatres at the “8 Septemvri” hospital, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to also inspect the building site of that 17-storey eyesore right next to the hospital and the ambulance station. To assess what will befall the citizens, not only his municipality but beyond, once 400 flats are occupied in that monstrosity and the shopping centre opens its doors. His responsibility will be to guarantee unhindered access for all of us, so that we don’t end up dying on the way to the hospital.
What business does a mayoral candidate have inspecting operating theatres in a hospital? Simply because the hospital happens to be on the territory of his municipality? How come they didn’t invite the current mayor? How come they didn’t invite the mayor of Skopje, given that the old Military Hospital is now a “city” hospital? How come they didn’t invite the SDSM mayoral candidate? If they decided to invite mayoral candidates at such an event, she would have been far more appropriate during the inspection of the operating rooms because she’s an anaesthesiologist. She’d have clicked instantly with the hospital director, doctor to doctor.
If only the operating theatres had actually been renovated to justify such media hype. Their idea was probably let’s come up with some events to illegally promote our mayoral candidate, since the local election campaign hasn’t officially begun. We can do whatever we like. The hospital director is one of us. If he’s one of us, then it’s as good as saying all the doctors in the hospital are one of us.
And the patients? Of course, the patients matter. But our candidate matters most.
5 The European Union is introducing a new system for registering entry and exit at border crossings from 12 October.
34 years after the proclamation of an independent Macedonian state, today, instead of discussing the opening of chapters in EU accession talks, we’re talking about how we’ll be photographed and fingerprinted when we travel to the EU.
Smile. Let’s at least look good in the pictures.
Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski
