{"id":138212,"date":"2026-10-30T21:14:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T20:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/?p=138212"},"modified":"2026-11-01T21:15:49","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T20:15:49","slug":"two-worlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/","title":{"rendered":"TWO WORLDS"},"content":{"rendered":"

1<\/span> November is just around the corner. And with November come the municipal holidays marking the 82nd anniversary of the liberation of various towns from the fascist occupiers. These are days when mayors and various party delegations, each bearing their own fresh flowers, usually visit the Partisan memorial cemeteries in their respective municipalities.<\/p>\n

About ten days ago, we published a report on the Partisan memorial cemetery in Bitola. It\u2019s overgrown with grass and weeds, the inscriptions on the memorial plaques have faded, and the tiles along the path leading to it are broken. The Municipality of Bitola says its only obligation is to maintain the path leading to the cemetery. The rest is the responsibility of the non-governmental association Union of Fighters. That cemetery isn\u2019t private property, is it?<\/p>\n

Unlike the cemeteries of the Macedonian Partisans, the cemeteries of soldiers from other countries who fell during the First World War are well-kept parks. That\u2019s because the maintenance of the German, French, Serbian and Bulgarian military cemeteries is handled by the home countries of the fallen soldiers. They take care of their history, regardless of what that history entails or what their soldiers were doing here.<\/p>\n

Honouring their fallen soldiers is the responsibility of the state, not of some associations or non-governmental organisations. Germany, France, Serbia, Bulgaria and Great Britain all preserve the memory of their soldiers who fell on this territory. Over here, however, the state can barely manage to maintain the path leading to the graves of our own fallen fighters. And even that path hasn\u2019t been maintained properly.<\/p>\n

Then again, why should the Partisan cemeteries be considered a matter of public interest and maintained by the state? After all, those are merely the graves of some fighters against fascism whose struggle led to the Macedonian people gaining their own state for the first time in history. Those are merely the graves of some young people to whom we owe our codified Macedonian language, orthography, universities, theatres, opera and ballet, media, our academy of sciences, and even our church. Everything we apparently don\u2019t need today, everything we went centuries without.<\/p>\n

4 years ago, the United States funded the restoration of the Monument of Freedom in Kochani. Until then, Americans had generally given us money for the preservation of archaeological sites and medieval cultural heritage, and this was the first time American funds had been used to restore a modern monument dedicated to the anti-fascist struggle.<\/p>\n

And what happened? Gligor Chemerski\u2019s mosaic has been restored, but the lights illuminating this monumental memorial dating from 1981 have been stolen.<\/p>\n

We use American money to preserve the memory of anti-fascism, yet we steal the lights in a Macedonian fashion. And we proudly speak of protecting our identity.<\/p>\n

2<\/span> All week, we\u2019ve been hearing analyses of the spectacular victory of the Student List in the Serbian elections and the downfall of Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107, following a two-year struggle in which the students defeated both the government and the opposition. The struggle was sparked by the collapse of a canopy at the newly renovated railway station in Novi Sad, which claimed the lives of 16 people, including a Macedonian scientist.<\/p>\n

Around the same time that Serbian students won the elections, a water heater exploded in a recently renovated student dormitory in the centre of Skopje, while Stojna from Kuklica struck back at the state and, despite facing arrests and lawsuits, continued to charge an entrance fee for the natural monument. Simply because she can.<\/p>\n

Serbia and Macedonia are two close neighbours, yet two entirely different worlds. And not just because \u00a0Vu\u010di\u0107 lost in his own country while winning in ours. Why would it matter that a water heater exploded in a newly renovated student dormitory, as long as the company that carried out the renovation is close to the ruling party? Why would it matter whether the students are satisfied, as long as the company that won the tender is satisfied?<\/p>\n

Two days after \u00a0Vu\u010di\u0107 lost his battle with the Serbian students, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and Minister of Education Vesna Janevska received a group of Macedonian students at the Government building. After two years of demanding an increase in their subsidised meal allowance from 140 to 200 denars a day, it was finally their turn.<\/p>\n

The students are asking for more money for their daily meals, but Mickoski and Janevska have offered them electronic vouchers worth 4,500 denars per month. In other words, instead of raising the daily allowance to 200 denars, they were offered a monthly sum, along with an app designed to monitor whether the money is spent exclusively on food.<\/p>\n

In the best country in Europe, students have 140 denars a day for food, yet the Government wants to control how they spend that money. It\u2019s not a problem if a student is hungry. The problem arises if they aren\u2019t under control.<\/p>\n

3<\/span> Back in 2018, at an academic conference held at the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Professor Christina Kramer of the University of Toronto revealed that “idiot” and “moron” were the most frequently used internationalisms in the wiretapped conversations from the so-called “information bombs” released by SDSM in 2015, which consisted of illegally intercepted conversations recorded during the era of Nikola Gruevski\u2019s rule.<\/p>\n

Back then, we heard those words in private conversations between politicians. They weren\u2019t meant for the public. There\u2019s been progress since then and we\u2019ve moved from wiretapped conversations to live broadcasts. Now we hear politicians calling each other idiots in public, at press conferences and from the parliamentary podium.<\/p>\n

After SDSM leader Venko Filipche asked at a press conference, “Is it even possible for a man to be such an idiot, a total idiot?” Prime Minister Mickoski responded from the parliamentary rostrum: “Imagine an idiot beating you seven or eight times in elections, then you really have to ask yourself who the real idiot is.”<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know who the idiot is. But I do know who\u2019s paying both of them to argue about who the idiot is. And I fear that the era of idiots and morons may only just be beginning.<\/p>\n

Because of the stigma attached to them, medicine and psychology abandoned the terms “idiot” and “moron” back in the second half of the 20th century. Yet here, they\u2019re enjoying a political renaissance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

November is just around the corner. And with November come the municipal holidays marking the 82nd anniversary of the liberation of various towns from the fascist occupiers. These are days when mayors and various party delegations, each bearing their own fresh flowers, usually visit the Partisan memorial cemeteries in their respective municipalities. About ten days […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136151,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1528],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-i-want-to-say"],"yoast_head":"\nTWO WORLDS - Goran Mihajlovski<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TWO WORLDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"November is just around the corner. And with November come the municipal holidays marking the 82nd anniversary of the liberation of various towns from the fascist occupiers. These are days when mayors and various party delegations, each bearing their own fresh flowers, usually visit the Partisan memorial cemeteries in their respective municipalities. About ten days […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Goran Mihajlovski\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-30T20:14:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-11-01T20:15:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sdk-kolumna.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"597\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"\u0413\u043e\u0440\u0430\u043d \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0458\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\u0413\u043e\u0440\u0430\u043d \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0458\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\u0413\u043e\u0440\u0430\u043d \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0458\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/76d1fa38f96fe6641615fa81a9f99d3b\"},\"headline\":\"TWO WORLDS\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-30T20:14:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-01T20:15:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/\"},\"wordCount\":1069,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sdk-kolumna.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"I WANT TO SAY\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/\",\"name\":\"TWO WORLDS - Goran Mihajlovski\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sdk-kolumna.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-30T20:14:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-01T20:15:49+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sdk-kolumna.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sdk-kolumna.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":597},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/pochetna\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"TWO WORLDS\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"\u0413\u043e\u0440\u0430\u043d \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0458\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\",\"description\":\"\u0408\u0430\u0441 \u0441\u0443\u043c \u043d\u043e\u0432\u0438\u043d\u0430\u0440\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Goran Mihajlovski\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/goran-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/goran-logo.png\",\"width\":1020,\"height\":964,\"caption\":\"Goran Mihajlovski\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/76d1fa38f96fe6641615fa81a9f99d3b\",\"name\":\"\u0413\u043e\u0440\u0430\u043d \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0458\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"TWO WORLDS - Goran Mihajlovski","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"TWO WORLDS","og_description":"November is just around the corner. And with November come the municipal holidays marking the 82nd anniversary of the liberation of various towns from the fascist occupiers. These are days when mayors and various party delegations, each bearing their own fresh flowers, usually visit the Partisan memorial cemeteries in their respective municipalities. About ten days […]","og_url":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/","og_site_name":"Goran Mihajlovski","article_published_time":"2026-10-30T20:14:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-11-01T20:15:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":597,"url":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sdk-kolumna.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"\u0413\u043e\u0440\u0430\u043d \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0458\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"\u0413\u043e\u0440\u0430\u043d \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0458\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/"},"author":{"name":"\u0413\u043e\u0440\u0430\u043d \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0458\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438","@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/76d1fa38f96fe6641615fa81a9f99d3b"},"headline":"TWO WORLDS","datePublished":"2026-10-30T20:14:56+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-01T20:15:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/"},"wordCount":1069,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sdk-kolumna.jpg","articleSection":["I WANT TO SAY"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/","url":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/","name":"TWO WORLDS - Goran Mihajlovski","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sdk-kolumna.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-30T20:14:56+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-01T20:15:49+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sdk-kolumna.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sdk-kolumna.jpg","width":800,"height":597},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/i-want-to-say\/two-worlds\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/pochetna\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TWO WORLDS"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/","name":"\u0413\u043e\u0440\u0430\u043d \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0458\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438","description":"\u0408\u0430\u0441 \u0441\u0443\u043c \u043d\u043e\u0432\u0438\u043d\u0430\u0440","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#organization","name":"Goran Mihajlovski","url":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/goran-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/goran-logo.png","width":1020,"height":964,"caption":"Goran Mihajlovski"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/76d1fa38f96fe6641615fa81a9f99d3b","name":"\u0413\u043e\u0440\u0430\u043d \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0458\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138212"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138214,"href":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138212\/revisions\/138214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goranmihajlovski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}