The violent student protests in Albania are about more than just tuition fees

The violent student protests in Albania are about more than just tuition fees Despite growing the economy, many young people see no future in their country. They benefit little from the booming tourism. The head of government Edi Rama speaks of foreign interference. The student protests in the Albanian capital Tirana escalated again on Sunday night. The demonstrations began on Tuesday and brought tens of thousands, especially young people, to the streets during the week. On Saturday, there were significantly fewer, but the protest was even more violent. The gatherings began peacefully with the symbolic burning of a travel suitcase in the courtyard of the Ministry of Education. The students pointed to the high youth unemployment rate of 20 percent, which forces many graduates to emigrate. Albania has lost a fifth of its population through emigration and declining birth rates since the end of communism. The young people, among whom are also brawl-prone football hooligans, attacked government buildings in the city center with Molotov cocktails and set them on fire. In the days before, shops were demolished and bank branches were set on fire. The police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets and acted harshly against the young people. Since the start of the unrest, over two hundred people have been injured, three-quarters of whom are police officers. However, the conditions at the universities and high tuition fees are only the trigger for the anger of the young people. The reasons for the frustration are deeper. Many graduates remain unemployed or make ends meet with poorly paid seasonal jobs in the tourism sector. Only those with connections to an entrepreneur or to officials of the ruling party have a chance of permanent employment, said a hotelier in Ksamil on the southern Albanian coast in the summer. It is also the ruling party, the socialists of Prime Minister Edi Rama, that decides who receives the building permit for a hotel. The good spots are already taken. Conversely, many entrepreneurs find no qualified labor and complain that higher education did not provide practical training. There are no vocational schools in Albania, as there are in the neighboring countries. Many young Albanians continue living with their parents after education, hesitate to start a family – or go abroad. Rama warns of foreign puppet masters The anger of the young people is therefore directed less against their schools than against "the system," the government, and its powerful leader, Edi Rama. The 62-year-old was the city president of Tirana in 2000. He was celebrated as a nonconformist abroad and is the main responsible for the impressive skyline of the city center. Insider reports say he awarded building contracts freely and according to his discretion to international star architects. Rama has been Prime Minister of the country for thirteen years. After the pandemic, the economy developed quite well, but this is almost exclusively due to the tourism and the associated construction boom. And the academic youth benefits very little from this. The protesters' demand that he resign is rejected by Rama. He said the state will not capitulate to stones and Molotov cocktails. Behind the demonstrators are foreign puppet masters who want to push the country's integration into the European Union. There is no evidence of this. The student protest is a problem for Rama, above all, because he could unite with a civil movement, the so-called "Flamingo Revolution." They have been with him since May of this year. It was then known that a luxury resort worth four billion dollars was to be built on the Adriatic coast opposite the former naval island of Sazan. The builders, Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, received a permit for this, although the coastal strip is under nature protection and flamingos breed there. From the resistance of residents, the protest grew and became a civil movement. They gathered peacefully for months almost daily in the capital. With the slogan, Albania must not be sold, tens of thousands demanded the cancellation of the construction project. Since the summer, they have also demanded Rama's resignation, who sticks to the plans. Even then, the head of government spoke of foreign powers that wanted to harm his relations with Trump. The movement reached its peak in June, when over 100,000 people gathered in Tirana, strengthened by the influx from the diaspora. Strengthening civil society This points to a pattern that extends beyond Albania. In many countries in Southeast Europe, in Romania, Serbia, or even Kosovo, civil societies are strengthening. This is linked to the emergence of middle classes in urban areas, but also to the influence of an educated diaspora who are attached to their homeland and interfere politically. Protests are often mobilized by severe environmental crimes or corruption cases by the authorities. However, these civil movements have not yet managed to come to power in any country. A serious attempt is underway in Serbia in a week. A party-less "student list" is challenging President Aleksandar Vucic in the elections. His party has controlled the country for fourteen years.