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OPINEWS

Op-Ed | Korça is emptying. Who is to blame?

Politiko 2025-04-22 20:56:36
Op-Ed

Politiko.al

Korça was once the pride of the Southeast, the center of knowledge, work, and civic dignity. Today, the city and its surroundings are facing a crisis that did not come from nature but from politics. Not from the weather, but from dislike. Not from chance, but from governance.

If there is a symbol of empty promises, it is Korça agriculture. Apples, cherries, potatoes, and onions – once the pride of the local farmer – are now being thrown into the canal. Not because there is no production, but because there is no market. There is no protection. There is no attention.

The Rama government has filled the screens with words, but has done nothing when frosts damaged all fruit crops. Opposition councilors demanded the declaration of a state of natural disaster. Silence. When the farmer screams for help, Rama wears the oligarchs' headphones.

Schools are closing. Not because there is no construction. But because there are no more children. The school in Shën Gjergj, reconstructed with 200 thousand euros, no longer has any students. Young people are leaving. Parents no longer have faith. The place of speech and knowledge is turning into an empty place.

University? A symbol of decline. The number of students falls every year. But in the meantime, new buildings are being built. Buildings without students. Money without vision. Tenders for concrete, not for minds.

The Qafë Plloçë–Qukës road – a project initiated by the DP – continues to remain unfinished. They changed the project to corruptly benefit.

The fashion industry is facing a shortage of workers. Tourism is falling due to the depreciation of the euro. Hospitals? Korça residents find it easier to go to Greece than to get services in Tirana.

Korça does not need alms, but justice. For subsidies like in Macedonia, Kosovo, or Serbia, not for promises on Facebook. For education that produces life, not just buildings. For politics that sees the southeast as part of Albania, not as its border.

Yes, Korça is emptying. It is the emptying of young people, of hope, of knowledge.  

 

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