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"For the good of all compatriots"/ Protester: Rama in prison, Veliaj is waiting for you

On the 23rd day of the protest, the protesters' speeches i...

Curiosity that torments me

2026-06-22 19:21:00, Opinione Frida Mavriqi

On the 22nd day of the protest, amidst many question marks, dilemmas, conspiracy theories, algorithms, patronizing comments, and everything else that has accompanied this movement, what I still can't give the slightest answer to is this: what the hell drives young members of this Parliament to become spokespeople for a 35-year-old corrupt system?

I can understand any politician connected to the system who, unable to sever his ties with corruption, whether as a protagonist or simply as a silent spectator, is forced to write 2-3 lines against citizen protests. Someone maintains their long-standing relationship with crime and the system, someone maintains their comfortable place, someone was unable to raise their voice when they should have and cannot do so now because they probably would not have any credibility. And many other "someones", which in a way I can also explain.

But I will never, ever be able to grasp how it is possible that these young people, newly elected to Parliament, with no known connection to corruption, electoral crime, theft, propaganda, injustices, and the shame of this system, can write so horribly about a fantastic protest by this generation that is marking history.

Why should a young girl or boy, who theoretically should have less fear of the past and more faith in the future, write that the protests are an algorithmic wave of foreign agents, when thousands of his peers are in the square? Why should he write that everything is going smoothly in Albania?

Human beings carry many shames on their skin. Some we do consciously and some unconsciously. Some because we don't know any better, and some because necessity requires us to survive and adapt. But what motive prompts these young people to commit such shame?

I don't want to think that they have no morals and dignity, because maybe my standard of measuring morality and dignity is completely different from theirs. I don't even want to admit that they are there for one purpose only, to distribute statuses that the propaganda office prepares for them and that their only duty is to publish. I refuse to accept that they are motivated by these motives, because it is painful.

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History, on the other hand, continues to remember Sophie Scholl, the 21-year-old German student who refused to remain silent in the face of a system that most had chosen to accept. She is remembered because instead of easily conforming to the times, she chose to follow her conscience. Moments before her execution by the Nazi regime, she is said to have said: “It is such a splendid, sunny day, and I have to go… What does my death matter if by our acts thousands of people are warned and alerted.”

I don't bring up this story to make forced comparisons between times or circumstances. I bring it up because it reminds me that history has always admired young people who find the courage to say what they believe, not those who choose to become spokespersons for what was convenient.

I also know that it is not too much to ask that this youth, this spirit that is being conveyed in the square and that is showing us that we are not protesting only for bread, but also for dignity, for values ??and for freedom, also exist within that Parliament. It is not delirious to hope for this, because after all, that is why they were elected: to reflect the people.

Our people are not without foundation. They are not without values, without courage, and without the strength to speak out and break censorship. On the contrary, every time they have been put to the test, they have shown that they have more dignity than many of those who claim to represent them.

It is certain that after many years the statuses, declarations and propaganda of the day will be forgotten. But one simple thing will be remembered: at a time when a generation was seeking dignity, each one chose for themselves which side of history they wanted to stand on.