ECONOMY SHOW
25. 07. 2003
(Hysni)
INTRODUCTION: Hello and welcome to UNMIK on air.
A person’s economic situation dictates many things –
one’s politics, education, relations with people and crucially, one’s
professional future.
Everybody wants to have good living conditions, a
steady job, a decent salary, in brief a normal life. No one would suggest that
these are over-ambitious targets, yet they remain out of reach for many in
Kosovo.
Today’s economy programme focuses on what young people
think about how the economic situation impacts on their lives and their choices
for the future.
And joining us to disucuss these issues - Flutura,
Gezim, Besnik, and Qemal.
Flutura Germizaj studied psychology and womens’
issues in England. When she got her degree last year, she could not wait to
come back and contribute to developments in Kosovo. Paying taxes is not a
burden she insists, but a civic duty.
CUT 1: I often discussed this with my friends,
when there was that tax increase for example, why, how etc…To have a strong
economy, you need to contribute a lot to the state, to fight for it. When I
lived in England, I know I paid over 30 % taxes, and I considered it to be my
duty since I knew that money was paying for public services; education,
healthcare.
LINK: Paying taxes is fine, says Qemal Marmullaku,
who studied political science in Malaysia, but there is nothing wrong with
being critical either, when you consider that certain legislation is not
correct. But Qemal did not study political science to get involved in politics.
CUT 2: I studied political science
because my personality is such that it always wants to keep abreast of what is
going on around me, be that in a small or a big circle. This is why I studied
political science and international relations to understand……the actions a
state takes, or states. I want to know about them, the reasons behind, causes,
results.
LINK: Many people get into psychology because they
want to understand other people, their behavior, what makes them tick. For
Flutura, it was a kind of preparation to help her people.
CUT 3: Given the situation, that we
have always been a people with traumas, schools being closed down, unemployed
parents, other problems… I felt a moral obligation; our people need healthy
advice. Psychology is a broad subject, so you can work with children, with
youth and women, briefly with all the people.
LINK: Despite the noble intentions, Flutura, like many talented and qualified young Kosovars realized she could not afford to work for local institutions.
CUT 4: I had a chance to get a job
paid by the Kosovo budget, social services, to work as an advisor to people,
but when you come from a country with different conditions, and when you see
that the salary you get here is minimal, then naturally you look for better
alternatives.
LINK: Gezim Kasapolli, on the other hand was working
as a translator for UNMIK when he decided to quit and start a business of his
own. You need to prepare yourself for
the long run if you want to start a business, he says.
CUT 5: It was a big challenge for me to quit a very steady
job, and start an experiment, in a private business, in an economy where there
is no fair competition, where there are irregularities, when it is just the beginning
of a meaningful economy, but on the other hand I felt some pleasure being on my
own feet, to be a person to decide for myself, to see the real life outside
UNMIK, which is a big bastion, where everybody is closed in, they have one way
of thinking and are not aware of what is happening outside.
LINK: The unresolved issue of Kosovo’s final status
was a bit of a problem for Gezim when dealing with a Japanese firm, but he
says, it wasis not an insurmountable obstacle.
On the other hand, says Qemal, local companies face
unfair competition and are not protected. He recalls the words of a farmer in a
village he recently visited.
CUT 6: I need to
send peppers to the market as soon as possible, because if I am late it will be
difficult. The market will be flooded by goods coming from Macedonia, Serbia,
Albania. The authorities need to regulate this.
Music or atmosphere up and under
LINK: So how do these four young people see the
future….
CUT 7: If we
develop according to sound economic policies I hope we will be successful.
CUT 8:
Flutura
We should not be individualistic, we
need to think about the society, whatever we want to do or invest, to benefit
the whole society.
CUT 9:
Besnik
We need to be optimistic. It will become better, but when, that depends on
all of us.
CUT 10: Let’s go
ahead, today, we have the chance, maybe we will have it for another 5 or 10
years, but not after that.
BACK/ANNO: that was unmik om air for today - thanks
for listening