ALBANIA GOING ROUND IN CIRCLES From the Student Dormitories of December 1990 to Today’s Youth: A Country at Risk of Losing Its Future Political Editorial by Flamur Buçpapaj

ALBANIA GOING ROUND IN CIRCLES
From the Student Dormitories of December 1990 to Today’s Youth: A Country at Risk of Losing Its Future
Political Editorial by Flamur Buçpapaj
I am a former student of December 1990. I belong to the generation that rose up against dictatorship, demanding freedom, democracy, dignity, and an Albania where people would no longer be afraid to think differently. That is why, when I see students taking to the streets in protest today, my heart aches. In their faces, I see myself, my youth, my hopes, and the Albania we dreamed of building after the fall of communism.
I remember the Zdrale student dormitory in Shkodër, where we lived in conditions that any society claiming to be civilized should consider unacceptable today. The rooms were cold, the windows were broken, and there was no heating. Several students shared rooms without the minimum conditions necessary for studying or resting. We were not even freely allowed to use portable heating appliances. Winter crept into our rooms while we struggled to continue our studies with the few resources available to us.
Student life was not marked by material poverty alone. It was also subject to a system of political and ideological control. Instead of helping us develop intellectually and professionally, some lecturers treated us according to political beliefs, the interests of the time, and the demands of the system. There were people connected to the structures of the Party of Labour and the State Security Service. Surveillance, demagoguery, and pressure were part of everyday life. In a society where a family’s background could determine a person’s future, even the university was not always the place of intellectual freedom it should have been.
We lacked food, clothing, financial resources, and security for the future. Yet one thing kept us going: the conviction that Albania could change. We were not asking for luxury. We wanted to live as free people, to have the right to speak, to study without fear, and to build lives of dignity.
This is precisely why today’s student protests cannot be treated as an ordinary political issue. They are a warning bell for Albanian society as a whole.
Thirty-Six Years Later, Many Wounds Remain Open
More than three decades have passed since December 1990. Albania has changed in many ways. It has political freedoms, multiparty elections, new institutions, more developed infrastructure, and communication opportunities that our generation did not have. Yet the fundamental question remains: have we built a state that gives young people the opportunity to live, work, and build their future in the country where they were born?
In many respects, the answer is disappointing.
Today’s students no longer face the same repressive system that existed under communism, but they face a different set of problems: high living costs, scholarships that often fail to cover basic needs, difficulties paying for accommodation, unequal educational opportunities, and uncertainty about finding employment after graduation.
A student coming from Tropoja, Kukës, Dibër, Gjirokastër, or Sarandë should have the opportunity to study without becoming an unbearable financial burden on their family. Dormitories should be safe, heated, equipped with internet access, and provided with suitable study facilities. Universities should have modern laboratories, functional libraries, and genuine connections with the labor market.
We cannot ask young people to build Albania if we fail to provide them with the minimum conditions necessary to live in it.
The problem is not merely economic. It is also social, educational, and political. When a young person graduates and cannot find a job suited to their abilities, when they see political or family connections valued more highly than a diploma, and when they face low wages and high housing costs, leaving the country ceases to be simply a personal choice. It becomes a strategy for survival.
This is how Albania’s negative cycle begins: young people leave, the workforce shrinks, the population ages, rural areas become deserted, and the economy loses precisely the people it needs to develop.
A Depopulated North and a South Struggling with Poverty
We need only look at many parts of northern Albania to understand the scale of the problem. Villages that once had schools, shops, large families, and vibrant economic life now have closed houses and young people living abroad. Tropoja, Kukës, and other mountainous areas possess extraordinary potential for tourism, agriculture, livestock farming, energy, and cultural development. Yet potential does not automatically translate into prosperity.
In the south, too, families in many rural areas and small towns struggle with a lack of investment, stable employment, and quality public services. This is not a competition between north and south. It is a failure of the development model, in which opportunities become concentrated in a few centers while the rest of the country loses its population, human capital, and hope.
Albania cannot be built around Tirana alone. A serious state must adopt policies that enable people to remain in their own towns, establish businesses, pursue skilled professions, and raise their children without being forced to emigrate.
We need investment in manufacturing, industry, agriculture, year-round tourism, technology, and infrastructure. We need vocational schools that train specialists, universities that produce knowledge, and a public administration that serves citizens without forcing them to seek political intermediaries.
Without economic development beyond the main urban centers, Albania will continue to lose its most capable people.
A Political Class That Must Be Held Accountable
Responsibility for this situation rests with the political class that has governed the country throughout the transition. For more than three decades, the main political parties have had opportunities to test their programs, build strong institutions, and create a development model that provides citizens with security.
Nevertheless, many promises of prosperity, justice, and equal opportunity remain unfulfilled. Political polarization, the struggle for power, clientelism, and a lack of trust in institutions have damaged the relationship between citizens and the state.
Some members of the elites that emerged from the old system adapted to the new order, while other political and economic elites subsequently arose. Yet ordinary citizens have often continued to face the same problems: insecurity, injustice, inequality, and a lack of prospects.
It would be wrong to claim that nothing has changed since 1990. The changes are real. But it is equally wrong to suggest that democracy is complete simply because elections are held.
Democracy is not measured solely by the number of political parties. It is measured by the quality of institutions, the independence of the judiciary, freedom of the media, the opportunity to compete fairly, and citizens’ ability to live with dignity.
A democratic police force must protect citizens rather than serve partisan interests. Public administration must recruit people on the basis of ability, not political affiliation. Universities must be free from political pressure. Courts must deliver justice without asking whether someone is powerful or weak.
This is the difference between a state that exists only on paper and one that genuinely works for its people.
Young People Must Not Merely Repeat Our History; They Must Correct Our Mistakes
To today’s students, I say: you have the right to protest. You have the right to demand adequate scholarships, dignified dormitories, modern universities, quality education, and genuine employment opportunities. You have the right to hold the government and every institution that manages taxpayers’ money accountable.
But protest must be transformed into a concrete program for change.
History teaches us that popular discontent can shake even regimes that appear invincible. In different countries, from Eastern Europe to North Africa, protests have brought down leaders and changed political systems. But history also teaches us something else: the fall of a government does not automatically guarantee democracy, justice, or prosperity. Without institutions, a program, and organization, a political victory can be followed by new disappointments.
Albanian students should therefore demand genuine dialogue, not dialogue staged for photographs. They should call for transparent committees, independent representation, and public agreements to resolve their concerns. They must also be careful not to allow their cause to be appropriated by political parties seeking nothing more than political advantage.
If the government fails to find solutions, it must face democratic pressure from citizens, parliamentary scrutiny, elections, and all other constitutional means. Any change must be grounded in the free will of the people and in democratic rules.
Dialogue, Political Accountability, and Fair Elections
Albania needs a new political and social agreement. When the crisis of confidence deepens, institutions fail to produce solutions, and citizens feel unrepresented, political forces must sit down for serious dialogue.
This dialogue must have measurable objectives: improving the electoral system, ensuring fair political competition, strengthening institutional independence, making political financing transparent, and fighting corruption.
Any proposal for a broader-based government, a transitional cabinet, or early elections must be discussed in light of the specific political crisis, the Constitution, and the public interest. New elections are not an automatic solution to every problem, but they may become necessary when the political and legal conditions justify them and citizens need another opportunity to express their will.
Likewise, amendments to the Electoral Code and the Constitution must not be designed merely to serve a particular party or interest group. Their purpose should be to ensure fairer elections, better representation of citizens, a clearer separation of powers, and stronger democratic oversight.
There must be no secret agreements between parties to divide up power. There must be public agreements setting out responsibilities, concrete deadlines, and clear methods for measuring results.
Albania does not need a political rotation that merely changes the names of its leaders. It needs a change in the way the country is governed.
European Integration Cannot Remain an Endless Slogan
For years, Albanians have been told that integration into the European Union is our national objective. This is an important goal, and Albania should pursue it seriously. But the process must not be used as an endless excuse for postponing solutions to everyday problems.
Membership of the European Union will not be achieved through political declarations, conferences, or diplomatic photographs alone. It requires verifiable results in the rule of law, the fight against corruption, the functioning of institutions, economic competition, the protection of citizens’ rights, and the implementation of European legislation.
Albania has made progress in its EU accession negotiations, but opening and advancing negotiation clusters is not the same as becoming a member. Accession requires meeting the necessary criteria, concluding negotiations, and obtaining the required approvals from member states.
No one can responsibly claim that membership will never happen. But no one has the right to promise citizens that it is guaranteed by a particular date, regardless of the results achieved.
The question we should be asking is different: what are we doing today to make Albania genuinely ready for membership?
Are we building a justice system that works? Are we fighting corruption at every level? Are we protecting property rights and investment? Are we creating jobs with decent wages? Are we giving young people reasons to remain in their own country?
If the answers are negative, European rhetoric cannot conceal reality.
A National Program to Stop Albania’s Depopulation
Albania needs a national development program that does not change every time the government changes. Education must be a budgetary priority, not merely a campaign talking point. Students should receive scholarships that reflect their actual needs, housing assistance, and practical opportunities for employment after graduation.
Partnerships between universities and businesses must be developed, alongside modern laboratories, research centers, and programs that enable young people to work in Albania. Manufacturing companies, small and medium-sized businesses, agriculture, food processing, technology, and tourism must receive support, particularly in areas that have lost population.
Regional development policy must be concrete. Tropoja and Kukës need functional roads, healthcare services, quality education, digital infrastructure, and support for local businesses. Villages need economic opportunities, not just promises during election campaigns.
Equally important is the creation of a transparent public employment system. Young people must know they can secure a job on merit rather than by seeking a politician’s recommendation. There must be free competition, protection of private property, and institutions that treat investors in accordance with the law.
This is how Albania can stop its negative cycle: not through slogans, but through work, investment, justice, and institutions that are accountable.
Albania Must Not Return to Square One
When I look at today’s students, I do not see merely a generation protesting. I see a generation seeking answers to the questions we raised in 1990. The difference is that we fought to escape dictatorship, while they are demanding that democracy fulfill its promises.
We demanded freedom. They demand that freedom be accompanied by real opportunities.
We demanded that politics stop controlling our lives. They demand that politics stop determining their future.
We demanded an Albania where we could live with dignity. They demand not to be forced to leave their country to find that dignity abroad.
These demands are not against Albania. They are demands made in the name of Albania.
As a former student of December 1990, I feel it is my duty to say that the sacrifices of my generation cannot be measured solely by the overthrow of the old system. They must also be measured by the Albania we have left to the generations that followed us. If our young people continue to leave because they see no future, then we still have a great deal of work to do.
Politicians must understand that power is not private property, that the state is not an extension of a political party, and that citizens are not merely votes counted once every four years. Students must be heard, workers must be respected, pensioners must live with dignity, and families must have the opportunity to build their future in their own country.
Albania cannot continue moving in the same circle, changing governments without changing the way the country is governed, announcing reforms without results, and promising Europe without establishing European standards in everyday life.
To the students, I say: do not lose hope, but do not settle for words either. Demand accountability, demand solutions, demand fair institutions, and do not allow anyone to appropriate your cause.
To the government and the political class, I say: listen to the younger generation before disappointment turns into an even greater exodus. Open the way to dialogue, accept responsibility, and implement reforms whose results can be measured.
I am Flamur Buçpapaj, one of those who experienced December 1990. I know what it means to live without freedom, and I know what it means to dream of a different Albania. I do not want today’s generation to spend its life fighting for the same things while the country loses its finest people.
Albania must break out of this negative cycle. It must move forward instead of continually returning to square one. And this is not the responsibility of students alone. It is the responsibility of all of us.