Sadije Aliti was born in the village of Glloqë, the municipality of Tearce. She has been working as a teacher of Albanian language and literature in Tearce for more than two decades, but she is also a translated poet and participant in many literary events, as well as a civic activist. She also worked as a journalist for the newspaper “Fakti”, including the war period in 2001.
The interview was recorded in 2020.
FLLANZA JUSUFI: Hello Sadie. Can you introduce yourself, tell us your name and surname, something about yourself, where you work, the school…
SADIJE ALITI: Hello. I’m Sadije Aliti, I’m an Albanian language teacher in an elementary school in Tearce, for more than two decades now.
FJ: Can you tell us something more about this school?
SA: My school has classes in three languages, it’s a multi-ethnic school, we teach in Albanian, Macedonian and Turkish. And it’s also one of the oldest schools in the Pollog region. So, it has a long tradition in education and has had classes in three languages since it was established.
Before this … I took my first steps in teaching in September 1999, in Glogji, where I was born. I worked there for 3 years and later on continued to teach in the elementary school in Tearce, and I have been in regular work relations in that school until now.
Apart from teaching, I also worked as a journalist for a long time, for a former daily newspaper “Fakti”. So, for more than a decade I had two parallel jobs, one as a teacher and another as a journalist.
Some people know me as a teacher, some know me as a journalist, and others as a poet, since I started writing poetry from an early age, until now I have published around 19 books of poetry, translated in more than 15 languages around the world. I have been an active participant in many literary events on Albanian soil but also abroad, in Europe, where my poetry was acknowledged, appreciated, it won first, second, third prizes … A large corpus of my works…
I have also been active for a long time in the civic sector, and continue to be, especially when it comes to the humane aspect and the human rights matter, with a special emphasis on women’s rights. I went through several workshops, trainings, but also contributedand implemented one important activity in the Tetovo region. I started working as a journalist as a student, as an external associate for a column in “Rinia”, and later on also for “Flaka e Vllazërimit” that was published three times a week.
So, through this work, apart from disseminating information about events, different cultural happenings, civic events, which were in fact intertwined, I was working two or three jobs at once. I was informing the public on current events, but was also directly participating in those activities, especially when it came to women’s’ organisations, which have given an outstanding contribution to many spheres of society in the years before pluralism in Macedonia, with a strong stress on the education and emancipation of Albanian women.
FJ: Thank you Sadije for sharing this information, well done. So, you also worked before 2001. Can you tell us something about that time period, how was it, did people cooperate with others? Since you mentioned that you also had colleagues and pupils from other nationalities.
SA: Let’s talk about those years, that time period. I started working in daily journalism and education in a transitional period, in a war period. When I started working as a journalist and joined “Fakti” I found myself in a difficult situation since I was working for a daily information outlet during the war in Kosovo. I started working in May of 1999, when the war in Kosovo had just begun. Even more since the newspaper “Fakti”, at the time gave an extraordinary contribution, by informing us on different events, by depicting the lives of people that had flocked to the different camps, which were set up for Kosovo refugees, in order to reunite them with their families.
I would like put a special emphasis on a very interesting segment, my colleagues and I, at that time, as employees of the “Faktit” editorial team, gave an extraordinary contribution to the reunification of families, Albanians that were deported from their homes, carried out by the barbaric Serbian police forces, on this side of the border, but also in Albania. So, families were dispersed and family members didn’t not know where their close family members were and this compelled the “Fakti” newspaper to give an extraordinary contribution in the reunification of these families. At the time, this was a story in itself, which requires its own spotlight.
In September 1999 I took the Teacher’s Grade Book in my hands for the first time, with the still fresh flashes of the war images in Kosovo going through my mind. For a certain period of time, the war situation had spread to the Preshevo Valley and once again, we as journalists, as humans, citizens and Albanians were affected by this and we shared that pain, we offered, we gave our contribution, our assistance in different ways and manners.
March 2001 came about, it was either the first or second year of me working as a teacher, in a bilingual school, although the number of pupils and colleagues in the Gllogji School was small. With such a small number of pupils and teachers we had one combined class, with pupils ranging from the first to the fourth grade. at that time.
FJ: In which languages were the lessons delivered?
SA: Mainly in Albanian, but there was a class with a few pupils that was in Macedonian, and we also had Macedonian colleagues. War has its demons, it evokes fear, but the severity depends on the region where it takes place. Since the Pollog Region, actually the region of the villages where I gravitated was part of the conflict, although it still lacked the accentuated intensity that was present in those other regions of the conflict. Meaning, the village or municipality of Tearce was part of the conflict but still it did not have the same accentuated intensity as the highlands of Sharr, Kumanovo or Skopje.
The fear of war was felt by adults and children, since media was heavily reporting on ongoing events. People witnessed those events as well, these memories of the tragic scenes that had happened in Kosovo were still fresh, and they could even often hear the bombing from the highlands of Sharr and the surroundings of Prizren.
Since I was living in a place with mixed population, no one could guarantee what would happen tomorrow, we could also hear the gunfire in our villages as well, the bombing, different experiences which were part of the truth but also bared some untruths within, such things spread fast in those unsafe conditions, since people are more prone to believe what they hear than what they see.
March 2001 affected our setting as well, for a certain period of time the school classes were interrupted, but since most pupils lived locally, it meant that education was not disrupted for a large number of pupils and afterwards, when we could commute and move more freely, pupils and teachers could return to some schools.
FJ: How long did this disruption last?
SA: The length of time depended on the current situation on the field, at one point it was for 4-5 days, at another for a week, and so on… As the intensity of events grew, it was proportionally reflected on the interruption of the education process.
FJ: So, there was no…
SA: No, there was no lengthy disruption at that time, at the place where I worked.
FJ: Yet, still, classes weren’t conducted ….. As usually?
SA: It so happened that sometimes they were stopped, or the lessons were not always delivered under normal conditions since there was fear, in pupils, parents and teachers, as well as the school administration which had a higher level of responsibility, had something happened they would be the ones held accountable. Still, colleagues from other places continued to commute, of course they were cut off from school for longer, since everything was blocked for months, public transport was blocked and it was very difficult.
Of course, there was fear, since part of the conflict took place during the summer as well, in June and onward, when the school year had finished.
FJ: Yet, while it lasted, were there pupils that left, that stopped participating in…?
SA: Of course there were a number a families that left their homes and moved to Kosovo, or other places, each to the best of their abilities. These things did happen, albeit not in large numbers.
There were times when we heard the bombing, the situation was deteriorating, of course we would pick up students or let them off early, stop the classes or gather them all together in one place until … we had information that the situation had calmed down and then they would disperse, go home. I mean, yes, there were times when even the parents themselves were not safe and there were days when the children did not go to school at all.
FJ: How was this period for you, as a teacher?
SA: Well, yes of course it was very difficult. I said that it was the first years of me working as a teacher with the Student’s Grade Diary under my arm, and it was not easy because first of all, everyone is afraid of war. I was also facing something else, the fact that I was following the situation in other countries as well, thus I was closer to the war scenes.
Even now I was very close, I was also very close to the scenes and stories that I recounted from ’99, of those events, of those stories that I had experienced, that I had collected, that I had discussed with the family members who came here, displaced from their homes and settlements and this situation was difficult.
I had that responsibility, that greatest fear, I had that …. Uneasiness of not knowing what would happen tomorrow, and I had that trauma, that dread, that responsibility … Because I stood in front of pupils and they were very young, like fifth grade or sixth grade, ten or eleven years old, twelve years old, and they were afraid. They too were, in fact, listening, they too were part of those events and in them you could feel the fear, it was panic, it was that uncertainty of what might happen in an hour, or what would happen tomorrow. Because, nevertheless, it was a time of war, the intensity depended on the day, on the month, it depended on the general developments…
FJ: Did you ever hear shooting during your classes, or something like that… something that happened to you?
SA: I remember once it was said that that day there would be an event, something would happen … Information was conveyed that there would be more … severe developments in the conflict. In fact, it was information that came from many sides and of course we talked to our colleagues, the school administration about what to do and we were … in fact, we took a common position that for that day, pupils that had come to class would be let to go off school earlier, we would stop with the classes earlier in the morning, while the afternoon classes would not start at all. And of course those situations are very … serious and difficult.
And now, when we go back in time, when we recall those scenes, it makes me wonder if we were part of that daily life that we carried that burden on our shoulders. That responsibility of being entrusted with the lives of children, the lives of pupils whose parents or family members had in fact put their safety into our hands. It was a very emotional situation, with a lot of responsibilities and a lot of…
I remember it today, I think it is also a very painful situation, to enter the world of teaching at that time, or to enter the world of a pupil of that age under those circumstances is very difficult. Because I did not know what tomorrow would bring, when we all know that there is nothing good about war, it’s always accompanied with horrible scenes, difficult words are spoken, there’s harassment, murder … You are not certain what can happen with your life.
In fact, even the different memories and photos from different scenes of different wars in the world, offer a clear picture of what can happen. And when you are so very close to it, you have it at your doorstep, you have it at the doorstep of your work, you have it at the doorstep of the place where you live and you live in a village or you live in a district where you are one of different nationalities and no one guarantees anything … when we had already known that the Serbian police forces had committed horrible crimes, such abuses, such vile things, creepy, bloodthirsty things in Kosovo, to Albanian families, children, women, the elderly … then of course, it was very stressful and very scary because there was no security.
FJ: Yes, the fact that you worked two jobs at the same time, and you had information from the field, as a journalist and … it had an effect, very interesting. Sadije, you mentioned that there was cooperation in the school, during this time, more specifically while the conflict was ongoing, with Macedonian colleagues?
SA: Of course when it comes to our lives, every person fears for themselves. Of course they too feared for their lives, for their children, for their pupils. Although there were much fewer of them, because they had only one class and it was combined.
But, fear existed. Although a number of Macedonian families had moved away from the village, some remained, they probably stopped going to school for a little longer, but we still had colleagues who taught in Albanian classes.
Fear existed, we all had that worry about what would happen tomorrow, or how to save our heads today. Maybe it was also due to transport issues, their absence from work was reasonable…
We cooperated, we talked about our ultimate priority, to protect each other’s lives, that is, that all people who are there should have the same security and responsibility for what could possibly happen. Because in that place, we, of course, were mostly Albanian …, but when it comes to fear, when it comes to war, people are more humane, people… become closer to each other for a certain interest, for a common interest.
We cannot say that Albanians experience those events in the same way whether they were living in Bitola, or in Ohrid, or in Prilep compared to Albanians living in Skopje, Tetovo or Gostivar. These two things that are very different from each other, they are … well, each is a story in itself, and of course the events that took place in those places compared to places with a larger number of Albanian residents, like us, that lived in places with a significant majority, it certainly differs.
Sometimes responsibility, fear and security do not care for nationality and or religion, but still it is human to want security, to want to save yourself, in fact to save your life. In this case the common interest is safety and fleeing … so that the situation would not become one of much greater proportions that … no one would have control over what could happen and of course that then no one would take responsibility.
FJ: Was there any kind of discrimination in the school where you worked or in the village?
SA: During the war, Albanians in this place have always been the target of discrimination, for decades and centuries. The position of Albanians in the Balkans and beyond is well known – how it was, what price Albanians had to pay for it … which sacrifices they made, what price they paid for their basic and fundamental rights: to have the right for education in their own language, the right to a flag, the right to fundamental human rights, which are also guaranteed by the United Nations Charter for Human Rights.
There were different situations and of course discrimination had been on the rise for years. I am talking about the time I remember best, not the stories I have heard from others, because we ourselves went through that stage of discrimination until we managed to get educated and graduate. In fact, twenty years ago there were no opportunities for education and schooling in your native language here, because it’s not the same to have a university at your doorstep, or to go to school in another city or another country.
It certainly was not easy, especially for those who were studying at the University of Skopje. They know the difficulties and the discrimination they faced. But, let us not forget to mention that we also have discrimination between Albanians themselves, discrimination within Albanians, until you manage to get a job, take your place in society, to take that part of society that belongs to you, for which you studied.
There are cases when discrimination came from Macedonians, but there are cases when there was discrimination also within Albanians themselves in a certain institution as a result of many other external factors.
FJ: Did the children hang out with each other in this period, Albanian with Macedonian kids? Did they have joint activities, or anything like it?
SA: Although I come from a village with a multi-ethnic population, with a considerable number of Macedonians, but the settlement of the population in the village is concentrated, the upper part is inhabited by Macedonians and the rest by Albanians, but of course there was cooperation.
Children who had Albanians or Macedonians as neighbours, although their games got interrupted from time to time, didn’t care what happened with the adults, they would go out and play. Or the possibility of travel, because the possibilities for transport were such that we … we would wait together at the bus stop and whether we liked it or not, we would meet.
There weren’t such pronounced, deep divisions in my village and in that region. But, again, that feeling of war, the feeling that the other side leading the state is to blame, it is easy to identify a whole mass of people with one person that is leading the state, or the police, the army… Instinctively and maybe even unconsciously that … Maybe it is not emphasized, but the feeling in the air is that that side is to blame.
When you look back, you can see that you have a neighbour and he is not guilty of anything, just as you aren’t that you just live near him. But the leadership itself, the governing policies, the policy-making of a state indirectly disseminates, the situation also disseminates these feelings, which are present even today.
FJ: How did your team talk about … specifically about the conflict? Was the idea supported, or what had happened?
SA: Wars always happen for a specific purpose and if the people who have given themselves the task of leading them have reached a situation, where they conclude that other forms of conflict resolution and the resolution of a certain issue, have been exhausted and now it is necessary to move on to the remaining forms and means of resolving that issue, of course there will be pros and cons. That the very situation that had developed over a long period of time, perhaps for thirty to forty years, seemed to have become, as people say, the straw that broke the camel’s back.
And at that time people seemed to be looking for something new, a change. Even the very appearance of the National Liberation Army on the scene, the appearance of war scenes, the demonstration of demanding change, wanting a larger freedom of expression, wanting more rights, the right to better education, employment, to receive and own that share that belongs to us as citizens of this country … that we give, we work, we pay various taxes and when it comes to taking, every time we could see that we did not receive the share that belonged to us.
And of course people were fed up with that and wanted change, they wanted positive energy, they wanted change to be brought to the place where they live. But, there were also those who feared of what would happen, those who didn’t want to see the scenes and massacres that took place in Kosovo happen here as well, the fear of that was also present. There were also the others … those who had defended this idea, who were afraid that the situation might escalate, that the situation might get out of control and there would be no…
Since the villages were with a mixed population, that is, if we take the region from Tetovo to Jazhince, on the border, we have villages that are ethnically pure with only Macedonians, ethnically pure with only Albanians and those with mixed ethnicities … and of course this fear existed. Because you have no security, you have no guarantee what might happen on your doorstep tomorrow.
Scenes of murder, rape and executions of entire families, separations of family members were well known. Since 1999 had not happened so long ago, it was still fresh in their memory and made them fear, there were people who endured the situation so that it would not escalate and those who had courage, the bravery to say “no” and based it on the fact that … they were certain that there will be change, that something will change.
FJ: Do you have any personal experiences during this period that you want to share with us? Whether in education, or in…
SA: Of course, I found myself in numerous situations and experiences and in fact it was a period of time when there were very few media outlets, very few, whether written or electronic. There were radios, local televisions and a small number of journalists, it was not as it is today, with such a large number of journalists. Technical and technological development had its impact, it changed many things, now there are more opportunities, more information, because the development of the Internet has enabled journalists to inform on everything from the scene of the event.
Then, it was slightly different, I might be among those first Albanian journalists who managed to get to the Sharr highlands. Had you seen them … I actually have a fresh memory of the 26th of March, in the village of Sellce, when the order was given for the villages of the Sharr highlands, especially the inhabitants of the village of Sellce, to leave their homes. And that order had actually arrived in quite a short time.
It was well known that Sellca or the Tetovo Fortress where the places where the war had started, that is, the battle cry was given from the Fortress. On April 2, I and a delegation – consisting of two MPs of the – at that time – ruling Party for Democratic Prosperity, Abdyhadi Veseli and Ismet Ramadani – then I was also an activist of the youth organization within that party – we used that opportunity to send, in fact we used the immunity of those deputies to send aid there. However, I did not tell then that I was a journalist and I hid the voice recorder, in the aid, so that I could pass some police checkpoints in order to get there.
And of course, they waited for us there, those few citizens that were left, even today I get goose bumps when I see them … in fact, the people that … there hadn’t been more than two or three days since the village had been emptied and there were tables left as they had been used, tables set with food. Imagine, as they were eating they had to leave. Or, as they had been sleeping, they had to get out of bed and leave … Such houses … there were houses that were bombed, houses that were … that police forces had entered and had been looking for something. That is, clothes were scattered, the furniture destroyed, the house bombed. It is a story by itself, it is painful, a feeling that is rarely experienced. Only if you were present in those scenes, in order to see and participate, in fact, to possess the journalist yearning to be as close to the news as possible.
When I see the pictures of those places that have been bombed and were not safe, because no one guaranteed safety, there still might be some explosive device remaining in those places. However, that journalistic yearning, that desire to inform people as much as possible made me not take the risk into account and not pay attention, maybe, in those emotional moments, in that state … Maybe I did not care for my own safety, but I wanted to bring that reality to the people, to place it in the public eye, because there were very few opportunities for people to get there. Because…
Then, on another occasion we went to the village of Gjerme, where we had to do a reportage for the village, and we went there and as soon as we started to do the reportage, we got the information, took pictures with my colleague and had lunch. A modest lunch, which was just bread topped with yogurt, but it was so delicious. However, we never got the opportunity to eat it, because shots were fired immediately and the people who accompanied us thought that it would be best if we were to leave as soon as possible, because above all, our safety was in question and no one wanted to take responsibility for somebody else’s life.
There are many such cases. Maybe they should be discussed in a special show or a special topic, to go back and listen about those events. Because they are living evidence, there are photographs, there are published writings…
It was not easy because there were very few Albanian women journalists in Tetovo, especially at that time, since it was very difficult to work as a journalist in those conditions. If you were a woman and worked in Tetovo, this one more, a third hindrance to overcome.
FJ: Very little information actually exists about 2001. I think not enough, I think there has been much more…
SA: Yes. However, I and the generation that belonged to that time think that we have given our contribution and we have tried to present reality everywhere but in general … We also had a responsibility to ourselves, because that writing, that material that was going to be published had to bear a message. The people who would read it had to understand the reality, but also we had to keep the morale up so that tomorrow something might change, and then that tomorrow would be a little better than yesterday was.
FJ: Thank you for sharing this with us. We will return to the educational process again. During this period, did you have contact with pupils during the period when the school classes were interrupted? Did you keep in touch with pupils or parents?
SA: Yes, of course, since those villages – the pupils were from the village of Glogje and the village of Prshevce – since they were studying in one school and people concentrated in one place, of course we kept in touch, because we were either neighbours, or we were related …, we had information.
And yet, it was a state of war and for a period of time telephone lines were disconnected and communication was made difficult for longer distances. But for shorter distances, there was word-of-mouth or ear-to-ear communication. And of course, we communicated with the children and their parents, and when they came back in September we went back to those memories of how they had experienced it and how they had overcame that difficult situation. Because in that part, as I pointed out above, the events had a greater intensity exactly in the summer, when we had finished with the school year.
FJ: When school started again in September, what was it like, after those events? Did they have an impact?
SA: Yes, most certainly they had an impact. You could still feel the fear among the children, that feeling of insecurity was still present, because even September itself – although the agreement was signed on September 29, 2001, when the decision to disarm the National Liberation Army was made – it felt as if processes began to take a turn for the better, a normalization. But again that feeling of fear was still very much alive, it was conveyed.
Maybe it was even more pronounced in some children, maybe that period had more consequences and produced trauma for them. Since the pupils were of different ages, it was a very delicate matter and not all of them have thought about the experience, they perceived it in themselves in different forms and ways.
Then it depends on the energy in the family, how family members have managed the whole situation and how it has influenced that situation which later reflect in the youngest. That was also very important, yet, even today a child of that time may still carry those traumas, more or less pronounced, but they may have them.
FJ: Did all the pupils return, the children who had left the country, as you mentioned earlier that some had moved to Kosovo?
SA: Yes. Those that had made a temporary relocation or displacement, they returned. However, there were such cases that had moved to live there for longer, although those numbers are many, in fact they are sporadic cases, they are families with a much smaller number, but there were such because there was a case, families who had relocated to Tetovo and continued their life in the city and did not return to the village. But most returned. Most of those families, again the children came in the fall and sat on the school benches even when their school classes had been stopped, someone sat for the first time, someone sat in other classes to continue the learning process in the following school year.
FJ: Have you had conflicts or misunderstandings with the Macedonians, on ethnic grounds?
SA: Yes. After a period of time it certainly starts, the debate with that idea and those thoughts about who was to blame. And of course those families which have had the biggest losses, whether material, at home or in their business … But, there have been cases with even greater losses, losses in human lives, in family members.
Of course, no matter which side it came from, that hatred was pronounced. And always the fault lay with the other. That it was the Albanians who were to blame for the tragedies in Macedonian families, and that it was the Macedonians who caused the tragedies in Albanian families and there have always been such debates. But, above all, one thing has been very important: that not everything depends on ordinary people, on citizens. Much of it depends on those who have decided to lead the people, that is, to lead a society and handle the policy-making of a country.
FJ: After the war ended, did anything change in the educational process?
SA: Most certainly, a large number of teachers who have taught after 2001, have had it a little harder in mixed, multi-ethnic schools, because, it was necessary to maintain that social balance, to maintain that line, to not create any ethnic division among pupils, since above all, they are children.
The families have had lots of responsibility and even if the child at home has been exposed to the idea of incitement, revenge, to look differently at others, to see a culprit in the other, of course these feelings were also transferred on school premises, and that period was very difficult.
Then in 2002 I started teaching in another school, where the number of Macedonian pupils was much higher, there were more classes, more pupils, more colleagues, and more teachers. There were also classes in Turkish and, in fact, after two years, I came and encountered a slightly different reality.
I can say that the school in Tearce was very responsible, both the school administration and the colleagues themselves. Because, they had to be careful every time in order to prevent any incidents from happening, so that the situation would not escalate, to avoid any confrontation between pupils. We have had such cases, but we worked with both parents and children, we were very dedicated to that idea and very responsible and the matter was also discussed in class.
That is, we took it upon ourselves as an obligation, as a decision for everyone to talk to their students. We have kept custody, in fact we have dedicated ourselves to our homeroom classes, we tried to communicate more with the children, and we kept many activities joint. We have joint programs and of course, it was very interesting, because even at that time there were projects which in these situations came to affect the wellbeing of children.
It was around 2005 and there was a project from an international organization, IOM (International Organization for Migration) was the one that supported it financially … There had been some projects, and now I will not stop mentioning these donors, because I can also make a mistake, but I will only mention that sequence when we had different activities, for example with folk costumes, traditional food, music … For example we had a common musical event, where a group of children from three ethnicities, Albanians, Macedonians and Turks, performed dance and song. Namely, a dance which was sung in three languages. In fact, the Turks sang in Albanian and Macedonian, the Macedonians sang in Albanian and Turkish, and the Albanians sang in Macedonian and Turkish, which they learned, and these were the elements that brought the students closer, reduced the division, and eliminated those factors that influenced the incitement of any conflict situation and prevented the escalation of any situation.
FJ: How does this ethnic division work today??
SA: It depends on the state led policy, the situations which are presented in the media…
FJ: … at school, in practice, how does this work?
SA: Yes, that’s what I wanted to comment. It depends on the manner in which the state conducts its policy, it is automatically reflected in everyday life, especially among pupils. If, for example, we have a sporting event, where emotions are expressed a bit more vividly, where patriotism and nationalism is slightly more expressed, the next day it will be automatically reflected on the school premises. That is, depending on what is offered to a pupil, a child, a family, it is automatically reflected in some direct or indirect form the next day.
We always have those mechanisms of managing that whole situation, because it is not easy to work in a mixed school. Especially at this time when children are slightly older, have more access to information, are more in touch with the virtual world, what kind of information is served to them, what has happened … It is a little difficult to manage and control and convince them that tomorrow they should sit down together, prepare a program for the 8th of March, or prepare a program for the school holiday, take part in a literary competition in the city library, or do a joint dance, study together…
With younger ages it is probably a little easier, but with these older ones it is a little harder to work with them and convince them. But, the biggest responsibility is on the families. In what spirit they grow up at home, how they are educated, formed as a person … As a responsible citizen in a future society, they will transfer that some other day in an another environment, whether it’s at school, or in a sports club, or in another social activity.
FJ: How can we move forward in education?
SA: It is a question that requires a slightly broader elaboration. The social factors that influenced schools, education, our education, our society and this situation that we find ourselves in, as well as all the international statistics and research that has been done, education in Macedonia is continuously dropping in international rankings, by each passing day, even comparing it also to … That is, we are far from the education processes that take place in the schools of European countries, in fact the achievements and the shown success of students is valued more in other countries, outside the Balkans and outside Europe.
It is an issue that requires much greater analysis and study. I would have based this on three points: remove politics from schools, require professional responsibility at school, cooperation and parental responsibility of parents for their children and their best interest.
We are mindful but we must become more aware. We must advance, put mindfulness to function so that we see our children as our future and not just care whether our children get good grades. That is, we should not raise children to just chase grades, but to teach them knowledge and responsibility in society, because children, youth is the future of a nation and a country, and that child should be prepared for tomorrow, to be capable of changing things and installing responsibility in society.
Because, the way that it is done now, so that all pupils would come out as knowledgeable, as graduates, all with university degrees, it only turns us back and brings us closer to the destruction of education, the consequences of which we will see after 10 or 15 years, because the educational process is not designed today for today, but rather today for the future. It is not a product that can be seen today, you bought a product in the market, it was broken and you return it. The problem with education, the consequences of it and the price of it, we shall pay after 5, or 10, or 15 years. But, of course, without responsibility in society, without professionalism, it’s difficult to secure a better future and perspective for education and schools in the Republic of North Macedonia.
FJ: Sadije, is there anything you want to share with us, since I have no more questions, you covered everything.
SA: I would like to thank you for your interest, so that I too am included as a character, so that I too can be a story, a portrait in your projects and activities. I think this conversation will send a message, it will send a message to all those who will hear and see it. Because, if we do not have self-confidence, if we are not responsible and if we do not demand responsibility from our work, from ourselves for what we do, we would find it difficult to ask for it from others.
Should there be change? Yes, there must be change because the educational process in Macedonia has gone through a lot of changes from 2001 to 2021. But, unfortunately, these are changes for the worse and not for the better. We hope that the new generations, the formed cadres will give their contribution.
Even the education policy makers in Macedonia will look at these things in a different manner and there will be responsibility, in the first place for those who will make these changes and so that those changes, these innovations will be for the benefit of education, for the benefit of children and young people, and not for the individual or personal benefit of some individuals.
Only if we become responsible as a society, we will get closer to other societies of developed countries, because they too are children, they also have schools, they have chairs, they have desks … but they also have a different system. And until we manage to regulate it, to make this education system functional, for the good of the people, for the good of society, for the good of the children, of course we will still need time. Because these are social processes that develop over time and it is difficult to bring a lot of innovation in a short period of time, overnight. But, there are some things that need to be changed automatically and as soon as possible, which would be a guarantee and a certainty for a better future, for a better tomorrow.
FJ: Sadije thank you for dedicating this time for us, and for sharing the story of your life with us, your experience.
SA: Thank you as well.