Sorry Martin! I feel guilty too!

2024-11-27 09:28:00, Opinione Besnik Bakiu

It has been a few days since the "Fan Noli" school in Tirana has students who are absent. Martin, who passed away in the most cruel and undeserved way, is missing, his injured friend in the hospital, the author of the macabre crime is missing, and many others who were present in the shocking event are missing. There are also shortages in other schools, as concerned parents refuse to send their children to school due to the pressure of this event. The state formally (as always) claims to have fulfilled all its duties. He has approved laws, VKM codes, strategies, guidelines, agendas and the like.

I am quoting some of these acts: Juvenile Justice Code, Law "On the rights and protection of the child", Family Code, Law "On measures against violence in family relations", Law "On protection from discrimination", National Agenda for Children's Rights, etc.. The State has also established structures for the protection of children, such as: the National Council for the Rights and Protection of the Child, the State Agency for the Rights and Protection of Children, with structures at the local central level, cross-sectoral technical groups near each municipality and each municipal administrative unit, Child Protection Units, etc. Many structures have been set up in schools, starting from the directorate, the pedagogical council, the parents' council, psychologists, to security officers.

Seeing all these acts and structures and the real situation, I remember the old debate between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law, when the latter had just entered the husband's house: "When he sees you with his eyes - I say the river about you, when he sees you as you behave and work - I say woe to you". In the face of such screaming tragedies, we cannot justify ourselves with the widely used fact these days, that such events are not only an Albanian phenomenon, but a global problem, since according to the WHO, over 10,000 young people in Europe between the ages of 15-29 lose their lives every year. from the violence of the use of cold weapons. In England, knife crimes between the ages of 13-19 exceed 280 each year. In the USA for 2023, the number of knife murders will reach 119,892 people, where teenagers make up the absolute largest group of these victims. In my opinion, (and not only) we are a society in crisis. In a deep moral crisis, since the honest person is called ungodly, while the criminal is called a godly person.

Money makes a criminal beautiful and knowledgeable, it also makes a deputy, mayor and senior citizen. This situation, where the "strong" almost always wins, not the right, has reduced the self-esteem of the individual and our society to a minimum, so unfortunately we have started to believe that we deserve this way of life and do not aspire more than survival. Every day we lose our civic and cultural values, we underestimate civic awareness and behavior and social responsibility. The honest Albanian (although it is the overwhelming majority). He who gets up before dawn to go to work every day feels and is unappreciated. This majority fights for survival, does not speak, does not shout, does not curse.

She waits for God to make it better. Very sad, Plato was right when he said: "This city is what it is because our citizens are who they are." This grave tragedy was not a bolt from the blue, but it was forewarned. It appeals to us to reflect deeply. Let's also find "Who is to blame?". We are all guilty. As Migjeni would accuse, "Take these statues and take them to the city. Put it in a square! And dedicated to someone as a memorial. Dedicated to the one who has the most merit for this country! I'm sorry for the minister or deputy, or anyone else...".

We all killed that child, in that school. Even the other child, who used the knife, we destroyed his life, his future, we killed him forever. I am one of these culprits. I feel guilty, that I was silent and did not react, when the "fathers of the nation", our elected representatives in the parliament and municipal councils, quarreled, cursed and fought among themselves, as declared and sworn mortal enemies. The Assembly, the Municipal Councils and the parties are the clearest mirror where you can see how yesterday's allies, friends and friends can be announced and vice versa, how love turns into hatred and violence not for conviction, nor for ideology, nor for politics, nor for alternatives, but for personal, momentary interests. I feel guilty that I was silent and did not react when I heard that they bought your vote, forcing you to sell your soul in a shameful, irreversible bargain. I feel guilty, that I was silent and did not react, when, as rarely anyone in Europe, the result of the elections comes out after a few weeks, through a long ordeal of counting and recounting, and in the end the parties do not recognize it. I feel guilty, that I was silent and did not react when the parliament and municipalities turned into raw material for SPAK.

I feel guilty, that I was silent and did not react when the spaces and playgrounds in front of the buildings, the spaces of the streets of the neighborhood where the children played, were robbed and concreted with constructions. This caused parents to take their young children out to cafes and, in order not to annoy them, give them a mobile phone to shake their coffee and alcohol. I feel guilty, that I was silent and didn't react when I saw parents who don't parent, although in order to appear cultured they recited Naim Frashër's verses for children very beautifully: "Forgive all kindnesses/To shave with honor in life/To learn knowledge/ Let them become true/They will honor you, that is to say/They will exalt your values/They will raise you above the whole world/They will decorate you like flowers"! I feel guilty that I was silent and did not react/report when I heard the neighbor screaming at his wife and children. I feel guilty, that I was silent and did not react to the bars full of young girls and boys while the bookstores are empty. I feel guilty, that I was silent and did not react when the villains promote their songs with violence and crime, which become hits. I feel guilty, that I was silent and did not react when I heard that universities paid money to take the exam, even to graduate as a teacher.

I feel guilty, that I was silent and did not react when I saw and listened to hundreds of hours of television, which are devoted to violence, crime, murders and not an hour of mind and vision; when the news chronicles poison our souls and minds, as they only talk about murders, rapes, crimes. I feel guilty that I was silent and did not react to social networks, which have turned into spaces of scum, aggression, hatred and crime. I feel guilty, that I was silent and did not react to the children who curse their parents, that they are not mafia, that they did not become rich, regardless of the path they could follow. I feel guilty that I was silent and did not react when theaters, cinemas, libraries and bookstores were closed. I feel guilty, that I was silent and did not react when I saw that the message of Saint Mother Teresa for children was not taking shape in Albanian society: "Children are like birds: you want to teach them to fly, but they will not fly with your wings." . You want to teach them to dream, but they won't dream your dream.

Parents should be trustworthy, not perfect. Children should be happy, not make us happy. What can you do to ensure world peace? Go home and love your family"! I feel guilty, that I was silent and joined the "suppressed and oppressed wills" against the injustices and the spread of the "crime culture", who only know how to be silent about the use of violence as a "legal" means to "set off accounts", or to "solve" inherent individual problems and disputes. My friends, this tragedy (which is not the only one) shows us that it is not enough to blame individuals, families, schools, or special occasions. It requires a comprehensive review of our educational and social system. "And put the full stop here/Now talk to me about the debts you owe me", appeals the poet and my friend, Xhevahir Spahiu. In conclusion, I want to humbly apologize to Martin, the innocent angel who watches over us from above, for all that I had the opportunity and duty to do and did not do./ CNA