At the end of last week, the Minister of Health and two other people were arrested in Croatia. The reasons were bribery and abuse of power. In this year’s report on corruption, Transparency International states that Kosovo, Albania, and North Macedonia have taken institutional steps to prevent corruption. Serbia, BiH, and Montenegro are stagnating or even worse than last year. Croatia has come a long way.
One United Nations study, based on 28,000 respondents from the Western Balkans, confirmed that very often citizens themselves offer bribes. As many as 43% of the respondents said that they had on at least one occasion offered a bribe. Is it the fault of the citizens and what do young people think? Do they also take advantage of the corrupt system? Adi from Mostar says:
“People are both good and bad by nature. It’s just that when they are given the opportunity to be bad, and we have a lot of opportunities to be bad, we act badly and use such opportunities. If there were laws that were followed, it wouldn’t matter.”
https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/perspektiva-mladi-mostar-dragan-markovina/33175130.html
Adi from Mostar admits that he takes advantage of the system.
“I have taken advantage of this system to serve my needs many times. I didn’t steal, but I saw how things function, and that it can’t be otherwise. So, no one can say for themselves that they have never agreed with or taken advantage of the system in which we live. I don’t pay for the ticket on the tram. If I were somewhere outside BiH, I would have to pay a fine immediately. Here I know I don’t have to and I won’t. I would respect the law if it existed, but it doesn’t.”
https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/perspektiva-mladi-mostar-dragan-markovina/33175130.html
Tijana from Banjaluka agrees.
“We cannot change the world if we do not first change ourselves, if we are bad.”
https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/perspektiva-banjaluka-seksizam-svakodnevnica/32894611.html
It is easiest to blame the system. But Aljosa from Mostar and Adna from Tuzla have a different approach.
“No bad person is to blame for coming to power. We, the voters, the people, are bad for not voting for the right person. Or for not stepping out and protesting if we think we don’t have anyone to vote for, instead of just letting our city crumble right in front of our noses.”
https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/perspektiva-mladi-mostar/33157014.html
“We are the system. The system is not some other people or some law. We are the system, we are those people, we are the law.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0_OJy8aVqw&ab_channel=RadioSlobodnaEvropa
What are the consequences? Mirjana from Skopje and Sanja from Montenegro saw the same results.
“So, starting with the process of social action, where there are no sanctions for those who commit corruption, and there is no reward for those who do good, people will leave. Where will they go? To countries where there is no corruption.”
https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/retrospektiva-perspektiva-skoplje/32855901.html
“A survey conducted in August showed that 40% of young people want to leave Montenegro. The extensive practice of nepotism was cited as the biggest reason for this.”
https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/perpektiva-mladi-crna-gora-problemi/32804765.html
Pavle Grbovic, the leader of the Movement of Free Citizens in Serbia, last August in “Perspektiva said that the country will go bankrupt due to the departure of young people.
“All these countries of ours are empty and we are becoming biologically and unstoppably old nations. We are slowly losing the possibility of having that human potential, human capital that will create a better society. I don’t think we have much time left. So we have no more new generations to waste. After the war years, after the war decades, after the opening of the borders, we are now in a situation where today, for example, for every newly employed person, for every young person who becomes employed for the first time, for every such young person, there are almost three new pensioners. This only means that such a state and such a society can function for another 20, 30, 40 years, after that we will have to draw the line and declare bankruptcy.”
https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/perspektiva-novi-sad-mladi/32431382.html
Experts say that the departure of young people benefits those in power because most of those who could impact change are leaving. Yet, those who have decided to stay disagree. They do want change.
