Are you comfortable, Macedonia?

Are you comfortable, Macedonia, in your current situation?  Is life just gliding along without a worry?

Inflation in Macedonia is the highest in the region.  There are worries about heating for the winter. There continues to be a real lack of foreign investment and job creation in general and yet the government’s public relations machine spits out social media posts several times a day insisting that the economy is “strong as hell” to quote a certain failed politician. 

Many of your elected and appointed politicians continue telling you that you must change your constitution – again – to “recognize” Bulgarians living in Macedonia – as if they were currently “unrecognized.”  Foreigners – most recently the German president – continue to come in and harass you on the same issue – “You must change your constitution and agree to the demands of your neighbor if you want to join the EU.”  They said the same thing in the past and will likely say the same thing in the future.  Remember, there are no guarantees that the Bulgarians – or some other current EU member – will not ask for more from you to meet their childish demands.

Macedonia’s elected and appointed ethnic Albanian leaders continue to take on new roles in the current government – and the prime minister and his party, SDS, are happy to give them new roles, new powers.  Now, on the face of it, it should not matter about the ethnicity of who is in power.  But in Macedonia’s case it does matter because the agenda and goals of Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian leaders are not the same as most of the population of Macedonia. Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian leaders are chauvinists, hell bent on dividing Macedonia in two; not necessarily physically partitioning the country but doing so in all but name.

And there are plenty of other problems you can name: rampant corruption in the government, especially the judiciary, problems in educational institutions, increasing crime and general violence, the so-called “brain drain” where Macedonia’s youngest are fleeing the country, and a flailing healthcare system, to name but a few.

But again, are you comfortable with all this Macedonia?  It seems like you are because I see no major pushback against all of this.  VMRO seems rather quiet – or perhaps they are just boring these days (the bright spot for VMRO is in most of the mayors elected last year and what they are doing in their cities and towns.) Rank and file SDS members seem rather pleased with handing Macedonia’s core interests – identity, name, culture and more – to those aforementioned chauvinists who care nothing for those core interests. Others who could – and should – speak up also seem rather silent.  

The only ones comfortable with all of this, even excited by all of this are senior members of the government and Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian parties.

Where are the protests, from party leaders and people alike?  Where is the righteous anger?

Or are Macedonians not only comfortable, but perhaps would prefer to simply stand aside and allow all these injustices to continue? 

Oh, I know, many Macedonians think there is nothing they can do.  Many like to point fingers at “the Americans” and “the English” and say, in so many words, “they run the show, they are guilty, they are powerful, and there is nothing we can do about it.”  

That is a defeatist attitude (and “the Americans” and “the English” writ large don’t even know where Macedonia is). Remember: past performance does not guarantee future results.  Just because others have imposed their will at times on Macedonians in the past does not mean they will be able to do so in the future.  To say that they will, and to not do anything about it is both lazy and defeatist.

Macedonians have risen to the occasion in the past.  I know this to be true because of history and because I have read that history.  Macedonian heroes and heroines have stood up, fought for what is right.  Sometimes they have prevailed, and sometimes they have failed. Sometimes, in standing up and fighting, they have laid the groundwork for future generations to come along and seize victory.  Sometimes they have made only incremental gains, but enough to continue making gains until a victory is secured.

But one thing these Macedonians from the past all have in common – they acted.  They were not comfortable with their status quo, and they rose up and said and then did something.

Most Macedonians know the names of the major leaders of the Ilinden Uprising; but do you know the names of the thousands who participated in that uprising?  The Ilinden Dossier contains the names – and stories – of several thousand Macedonians who fought for the freedom of Macedonia.  These men and women were awarded a pension and status as Ilindenci, members of a select group of national revolutionary war heroes by the governing authorities of Macedonia in the early 1950s. The Ilindenci should be an inspiration to you and proof that you do not have to accept injustice – and that you can do something about it.

In my next column I’ll write more about these Ilindenci and what they should mean for you today as you think about whether you are comfortable.  Hopefully, their voices and stories from the past will inspire you in the present as you contemplate the future. In the meantime, go.  Stand up straight with your head held high.  Make your Macedonian ancestors proud of you.  Build something for your children and future generations.  Seize the day.