Polyparty-ism - Search for Common Ground

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for their milk, about the bad country
road, about the "big" sum of money
they have to give for their children's
education.
That's what both Fikri Limani and
Mile Chikarovski say. "We have been
here for generations. Fathers, grandfathers,
great-grandfathers have
shared food. We live together and
share the sadness and the happiness.
We celebrate both Bajram and Easter
and all the other holidays according
to tradition. My house is always open
to him; I am welcomed in his home as
in my own. Is there anything better
than that? You saw the young ones.
They mingle and play. We, the older
ones, gather in front of the small village
shop. We chat; we tell each other
our troubles about life and the cattle.
We sometimes sit down and play
cards, Albanians and Macedonians
together, says Chikarovski. Dimche
Dimitrovski adds: "It's great for the
time being. The war brought distress,
but it didn't spoil relations. The politicians
are trying to spoil our harmony.
They want to make us quarrel, so they
can collect votes at the elections more
easily. They won't succeed, because
people have already seen through
their intentions," laughs Dimitrovski.
People in Ohrid agree. Most likely,
the war hadn't disturbed the
interethnic relations there either.
"During the crisis there was growing
distrust, but it only got to a certain
point. Macedonians, Albanians, and
Turks live in Ohrid. There has never
been hatred and unease between us.
There have been and there will be
extremists and nationalists. Both
among the Albanians and the
Macedonians. But, in Ohrid they have
never managed to incite hatred,
because the mentality of Ohrid people
is special. I think that foreign culture
has had its influence. For thirty years
foreigners have visited the city en
masse. I think that encouraged Ohrid
people to develop a positive attitude
and mutual respect, to develop cultural
principles, regardless of religious
and national differences," says Gjoko
Mojsovski from Ohrid. Elmaz
Huseini lives in Voska Maalo, an old
Ohrid neighborhood inhabited by
Macedonians, Albanians and Turks.
"What problems? We all know and
respect each other. Many nationalities
live in Ohrid, but there were never
interethnic problems. Not even during
the crisis. Ohrid is a UNESCO city
and it would be a disgrace if people
fall under any influence that would
cause mutual animosity," says
Huseini. The only incident that could
damage the interethnic relations in
Ohrid took place during the crisis,
when a Molotov cocktail was thrown
at the mosque. But, according to the
Albanians, that was carried out by
people who do not live in the neighborhood.
Unlike Ohrid, there were incidents
in Struga, manifested through fights
between Albanians and Macedonians.
Mass fights between fellow students,
Albanians and Macedonians, took
place at Niko Nestor high school a few
months ago. The riots lasted only a
few days and some occurred on the
streets of Struga, too. A few vehicles
were destroyed then. The people from
Struga say that that is the past. "Now
things are alright. For the time being.
There was tension and uneasiness, and
incidents as well. However, it did not
lead to hatred. You will see that
Albanians and Macedonians sit in the
same cafes in the center of town. This
tells you that there was and there will
be cohabitation. Maybe the young
people display more anxiety, but it's
not so easy for them. They are nervous.
They don't have work, money, nor
does the state offer them any way to
start a life," says Veselin Markovski
from Struga. Ihmet Ajdisovski suggests
to the politicians that they forget
their own interests for a while and start
taking care of people. "They should
stop talking about how they have done
so much work to ease interethnic relations.
They should do something to
help the hungry people. They can
leave the interethnic relations to us, the
citizens. They were excellent until the
politicians started 'relaxing' them,"
protests Ajdisovski. Dushko Djorgan
from Struga thinks that relations are
not as they used to be. "Everything got
all mixed up once global democracy
came in. That so-called democracy,
with no morality or respect. Nothing.
Only politicians' appetites for staying
in power longer, got bigger. The new
democracy spoiled our relations. I
recall how it used to be ten years ago.
A lot of time will have to go by for that
kind of life to come back. I've sat with
Albanians and made conversation.
Now the same people see me in the
streets, and they ignore me. They do
not even want to say hello. If we want
something to be changed, the politicians
should be the first thing on the
list, since the fish smells from the
head," says Dushko. According to
Shefki Dauti, relations are not good
and distinctions are still made on an
ethnic basis. "Recently, a whole truck
full of chemical fertilizer which was
brought in as humanitarian help for the
Struga villages was distributed only to
Macedonians in the village of
Morovishta. Not a single bag was
given to Albanians. I begged them to
give me one, I was even prepared to
pay, but they didn't give me one,
because I'm Albanian. They only gave
to the inhabitants of Morovishta, settled
by Macedonians. Not a single bag
has been distributed to the inhabitants
of Radolishta, settled by Albanians.
Kichevo is another ethnically
mixed city in western Macedonia.
During the crisis, there was no conflict
between the citizens there.
Kichevo folks tell how they haven't
felt the war psychosis that caught up
the rest of the country. "The situation
was good all the time. Almost the
same as it was before the war. I work
as a taxi-driver. I drive both
Albanians and Macedonians. I never
felt that some Macedonian didn't
want me to drive him because of my
ethnic origin. We live to survive
because the conditions are rough.
There are Macedonians here also, and
we think together every day to find
out a way to earn more. We are not
interested in politics, especially when
it is misused to gain political points,"
says Adnan Salifovski. Sasho
Trajkovski is a Macedonian from
Kichevo. He is Adnan's colleague.
Meetings, not divisions, June 2003