Yesterday I went to a small city in the Southwest of
Macedonia called Kichevo (Kërchovë) to get some business owners to fill out the survey for my thesis. This meant that I had to sit down with each business
owner after being introduced by my friend, ask them to fill out the survey, and
then we would chat over coffee for an hour or so.
The first person I met was a former business owner whose
name was Ibrahim (not his real name). Since he no longer owned a business, he didn't really qualify
for my survey, so instead I thought it would be interesting to just have an
informal interview. I took notes and got his permission to quote him in my
thesis. I found the interview fascinating, and wanted to share some of the main
points below.
The first part of the interview centered on the nature of
the business and if it was profitable. Ibrahim explained that the business was
very seasonal, so it was busiest right before New Years and during the summer
months when all the emigrants returned home. Averaged out, it made around
300-400 euros/mo., which is around the average salary in Macedonia.
He also mentioned that 99% of his customers were Albanian,
but he didn't think this had to do with any inherit discrimination. Ibrahim explained that the bigger reason was that his shop was a bit more high end, so
the only people who could afford his products were the Albanians and
Macedonians working abroad, but that the Albanian population had a much higher
percentage of emigrant workers than the Macedonian population.
This led to a discussion about communist era discrimination
that caused the current situation where over half the city’s population is working overseas. Basically, according to Ibrahim, Albanians had found it nearly
impossible to get jobs into any kind of state-run organization or company under
a Slavic Yugoslavia. Since under communism nearly everything was state-run,
this left the Albanian minority with only two-options: farm their land in the
villages, or move abroad and get work. The government was happy to encourage Albanians
to get visas to leave the country, since they figured that the emigrants would
not return.
The percentage of emigrants is also higher in Kichevo
because, unlike other Albanian areas, there is less fertile farmland along the
mountainside, and also because there was an energy plant built on Albanian
lands. This is a sore spot for Albanians around Kichevo, since the government
took Albanian lands to build this plant and then bused in Macedonian workers.
Even though the area around the plant is majority Albanian, less than 25% of
the plant employees are Albanian. This is a good example of why the Albanian
minority feels a bit resentful over the way they are treated by the Macedonian
state.
When I asked Ibrahim why he stopped his business, his answer
was very clear: custom corruption. He was importing his products from abroad,
and every time he went to customs to pick up his shipments, they would
infinitely delay releasing his goods until he paid the custom employees. This
is an important point because for most of the business owners I have talked to,
more than any kind of ethnic discrimination or tension, it is corruption and
the non-business-friendly laws that they see as causing the most problems within
Macedonia.
Lastly, I asked Ibrahim how he saw the current relationship and
future relationship between Albanians and Macedonians. He mentioned that at the
moment they collaborate and work together, but ‘secretly we hate each other’.
He also mentioned that the only real hope for the future is due to the policies
of the U.S and the European Union. Once Macedonia joins the EU, the Albanians
will be able to cross freely to Kosovo and Albania and so have a kind of unity
by default. Also, being part of the EU will force the government to abide by
certain laws that allow for economic development and protect minority rights,
preventing the government from following a lot of the policies they do at the
moment.
I also asked what would happen if Macedonia was blocked from
joining the EU for some reason, and although Ibrahim didn't think that would
happen, if it did he supposed that the Albanians would push for a split
federation for their part of the country or similar kind of ethnic-based territorial separation.
All in all, a very interesting interview and one that I felt
was a fair reflection of the perspective and grievances of many Albanians living in Macedonia.
Sincerely,
Mr. Loew
Skopje, Macedonia
originally written on Sunday, March 9, 2014
