There is life beyond “the tent” too!

There is life beyond “the tent” too!
This article has been written for Albanian Free Press newspaper and www.afp.al

By Alfred Peza

At the peak of the recent debates on the films produced during the communist regime, I happened to think of a film called “There is life beyond the snowy forests”, to make an analogy about the country’s political life during the month of March, by saying: There is life beyond “the tent” of the Democratic Party. What I want to say with this is that the concerns that the opposition tried to voice through its protest could not shadow and dominate the reality and social life in the country. People were mainly focused on their own problems and not the problems of the Democratic Party’s leadership. Through the protest held on 18 February, the leaders of this party tried to “sell” their problem as a problem that concerns the entire nation.

About five weeks ago, when the opposition invited people to protest in the central boulevard in Tirana, it was the tent which was set up as symbol of the opposition’s resistance that was in the limelight. The opposition initially articulated three demands. Then it said that there were four. Nobody remembers them and all that has remained is the fact that the DP and its allies say that they will not enter the June 18 elections, unless Rama’s government resigns and a technocrat government is formed. But then, we soon learned that none of them had anything to do with their biggest problem: To block the vetting process and as a result, the judicial reform.

The more this becomes clear, the less interested are people on the “tent” and the stronger the voice of the international community encouraging the opposition to participate in the elections, end the boycott, go to Parliament and prepare for the election campaign becomes. As days and weeks go by, instead of seeing the opposition’s scenario take place, where more people would join the anti-government protest, the opposite is happening. The focus has shifted everywhere, on the media, in public debates, social debates, in formal and informal conversations, putting more and more aside the problem of the main leaders of the Democratic Party. This is the reason why most of the time, TV, newspapers, radio and other online media are focused on other topics and other issues.

The message that this gives us is very simple and clear: There is life beyond “the tent” too!

There is life for all of those who don’t think that “bad news is good news”. They are truly happy when they see how the “New Bazaar” was revitalized in Tirana or happy that in a few days, they will walk in the newly renovated “Skanderbeg” square, which has entirely changed.

There is life for all those who are fond of the outdoors, when they see how the park near the Artificial Lake in Tirana is revitalized. When they see the revitalization of Lungomare in Vlora, the new park of Farka, Tirana River, Funar Park and the Lakes of Belsh.

There is life for those who are fond of physical activities who can now take advantage of the 12 new sport centers which have been built in the past year, but also the new modern Olympic Park.

There is life for children, parents and their grandparents who are enjoying parks and other amusement spaces.

There is life for all of those who see that alongside urban renovations taking place in all 71 cities of Albania, the value of properties, homes and investments is going up. This makes people hopeful that one day, this country may offer a future for them and their children.

There’s also life for football lovers, who after the France 2016 European Championship, are now concerned and debating on the future of the national team.

There is life for all of those who realize that without the debate on “decommunization”, there cannot a fast European integration for Albania. This is why they have decided to be involved in the period “beyond the tent”, in the debate taking place about the films of the communist regime, in the debate taking place between the President of Republic and dissident poet, Visar Zhiti, in the debate for  Albanian “beautiful minds” that Enver Hoxha persecuted, in the debate for the opening of the former secret police files, etc.

There’s life for all of those who are concerned about girls leaving school and getting married at a very young age.

But also for those who are concerned about the import of Brazilian meat.

There’s also life for all those farmers or small and medium sized businesses, which benefit from the tax amnesty.

There are many others who are happy, because in March, they saw their salaries and pensions grow, although there’s still much to do in this aspect.

There’s life for all of those whose properties are being compensated or for those former dissidents who are finally being paid the money for which they or their relatives have suffered so much during the communist regime.

There’s also life for all of those who closely follow regional, international developments or the moves of the Albanian diplomacy. There are also those who are optimistic about the strategic partnership that Albania recently endorsed in Paris with France.

There’s also life for political parties, who, despite the “tent” and political rhetoric, are getting ready for the election. They are “aggressively” fighting to occupy as much as possible from that space which the DP and its allies have left empty for being secluded in that tent, refusing to understand or read the message that the citizens of this country are sending to them.

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Note: The stances expressed in the Opinion section do not necessarily represent the editorial line of Albanian Free Press

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