artan wrote:Migjeni, what a post!
Thanks! Although much of it is from listening to Albin Kurti's analysis of things going on, so yeah...
Aurora Bulkualis wrote:Again, EU, now or then, means nothing. Albania has people who were pimps and murderers with fake identities in parliament, and they gained candidate status and are about to open negotiations. The difference between Bosnia and Kosova, is that in Bosnia, Serbs make up half the population. In Kosova, it's like 3%. Even then those Serbs are fleeing because of poverty. You guys have to get over your complex. You gotta realize no one gives a crap about Balkan states. They are irrelevant, rural, redneck countries with no power in the real world, including Serbia, Croatia, and whatnot.
The problem is when you have illiterate rural villagers, with 0 education, jobs, and AKs, praying 5 times in a mosque built by Erdogan & co, and are highly vulnerable to stupidity. Their religion brainwashing leads to those places becoming a cesspool for ignorance, since religion encourages passivity to corruption and acceptance of their problem in the hopes God will make everything better.
What needs to happen is Kosova needs well educated people, who question everything, protest corruption, but also accept the blame when blame is to be accepted and not blame politicians for everything. Fundamental change happens from the bottom up, not the top down. Religion, along with redneck culture, destroys the free thinking individuals that form a great state.
I'd like to set up your arguments in a numerical way, so it gets easier to get an overview of what I'm answering and what I'm commenting on.
1. Regarding the EU, you're contradicting this kind of exaltations of educated and free thinking countries and individuals. I mean, the countries of EU are full of the aforementioned people, so why is it that they accept these pimps and murderers in Albania and these criminals in the Kosovar leadership? - Because the internationals there are closely linked to the crimes committed in these places. There's no reason to exalt any nation before your own and there's no reason to have this inferiority complex regarding your background. We're not genetically prone to be corrupt, it's the system (this brutal neoliberal system which has been imposed on us) which is the wrong one, not the people, but that's another talk.
2. Regarding Serbs only being a few percent in Kosova: The thing is, that even though they're only making up a few percent, they control around a quarter of the territory in Kosova, as the Ahtisaari-plan created around 10 municipalities (I might be wrong about the number, and I don't bother checking it) and made new municipality borders so there would be Serb majorities in all of these 10 municipalities. So it's not the numbers of them which matters, it's the percentage of the territory they control which is the problem. Also, we have to remember, that there are more Albanians inside of Serbia than Serbs in Kosova. But the Albanians in Serbia have nowhere near the same amount of rights as the Serbs in Kosova.
3. Get over our complex? - Are you serious? - I guess it's easy sitting in America/Canada or wherever you are and tell a people which was murdered, raped and thrown out of their homes only 17 years ago to get over their "complex". You're acting as if Serbia has apologized, recognized Kosova, paid for the war damages, returned the plundered pensions trusts, returned the stolen artifacts and are acting like good neighbours. But Serbia hasn't done ANY OF THOSE. On the contrary Serbia calls Kosova an ISIS-state - just like you actually. Serbia has tried to destabilize Kosova since the war ended and continues to do so, while also blocking Kosova's incorporation into international organizations, the last case with UNESCO. Also, I don't give a shit whether you regard these countries as being redneck countries. I still have family there and I visit at least once a year, so the well being and the welfare of my country and my people means a lot to me. What apparently is irrelevant to you isn't for millions of people living there and living in other parts of the world as a result of Serbia. So no, you might try to get over your inferiority complex, instead of telling us to get over ours, as we don't have one. We have a real enemy, and we should treat that enemy as an enemy and not be told to get over it.
4. I honestly don't know where you have this picture of these so called rednecks praying five times a day. Tell me one thing: Have you ever been to Kosova? - If so, where in Kosova where you and for how long? Religion is not the reason for people being illiterate, jobless and stupid. Full stop. That's a flaw of the system which hasn't been able to bring jobs nor education for these people. So again, you're blaming religion while the blame should be somewhere else. It's as if you have this agenda which and then you try to fit things into it, although they don't match.
5. I agree. Fundamental changes start from the bottom. But mass movements have to have leaders, and that's why the blame should be on those leaders. They haven't been good enough to lead the anger and the desperation of people to topple the government. But I really think it's hard to do that, when you have this entire system - i.e EULEX, which is the most expensive EU mission ever which has done absolutely everything to "passivize" the people of Kosova. But it seems that this "passivization" has come to an end now. Again, religion has nothing to do with this.
Aurora Bulkualis wrote:You're misunderstanding my whole argument.
I'm saying almost all those problems could be avoided if the people there were very well educated, active politically, didn't accept corruption, and critical thinkers. At least a huge portion of the population. True progress comes from the people, not from the politicians. If you could take all Norwegians, or whatever place Bernie Sanders has a hard on for, and placed them in Kosova with those politicians, things would change radically. Instead you have people who only protest when they hear the word Serbia, instead of protesting for employment, corruption, nepotism, education. Just because you don't see 90% of women wearing head scarves it doesn't mean the place is not religious. Kosova =/= Prishtina, and Ilirida =/= Shkupi. The rural areas that need the most progress have a Turko-Islamic culture that is holding them backwards. Most people in rural areas there pray like 5 times a day, and you can hear Imams screaming wherever you go.
P.S. How am I being P.C. when I call Balkan states backwards and full of rednecks? I am simply saying Bosnia is 50% Serbs, while Kosova is 5%. It's not the same situation.
I'll do the same with the numerical order in this response, although you've responded to Artan.
1. Do you know how idiotic the example of taking Norwegians and placing them one place and saying that there'd be change is? - Try putting Norwegians under 500 years of Ottoman occupation, partition them, have them under a North Korean-like dictatorship (Albania) and have them under a 100 year occupation of Yugoslavia while being treated like shit for most of the time. Then "liberate" them when they've finally have had enough and begin to struggle and substitute their will for independence with an international protectorate where foreigners give them orders on how to act and what to do. Give them puppet a puppet regime which will have all possibilities to enrich themselves on the people's expense, but turn a blind eye to that, as long as they can secure you a stable Balkans. If the Norwegians would fan out better than the Albanians after going through all of that, we can begin to take that example a bit serious, until then just stop it. You can't compare two different people which have nothing in common when it comes to plight, problems and history.
2. People have been protesting for all of those things you mention. But Serbia is still the biggest problem for Albanians in Kosova, along with poverty and unemployment. Again; Not religion.
3. I'll ask you again; Have you EVER been to Kosova? - If so; When, where and for how long? - What you say is complete bullshit to say the least. I go to Kosova at least once a year, and it's NOTHING like you describe. Yes, there has been a rise of people with long beards, head scarves etc., but this rise is so tiny that I can't understand, that you spew this Serbian propaganda shit whilst calling yourself Albanian. It really ticks me off, that you portray Kosova and Macedonia in this way, because it's clear to me that you're clueless about what's going on in Kosova.
4. Hear imams screaming wherever you go? Are you fucking kidding me? - Proves you don't know jack shit about Kosova.
Chances Vv can win democratic elections and actually managing to change things are below zero.