“For us as an organization, it was really important that the citizens really know the difference between patriotism and nationalism. They know very well what it means to love one’s own country, as well as what the consequences of hating certain communities under the excuse of love towards the country” stated Xhabir Deralla from CIVIL at the panel discussion “Patriotism – yes! Nationalism – no!”
At the beginning Deralla thanked all the participants, columnists and those who agreed to video interviews, for their cooperation in the project under the same name, the goal of which was mapping of opinions and views on this topic, and precisely they as creators of the public opinion gave their contribution in unveiling the differences between patriotism and nationalism.
“Our organization, clearly, loudly, and unequivocally says that nationalism is a tool used by the destructive elements and structures in the Republic of Macedonia. They hinder the democratic process. Our serious remark is directed to the institutions. They simply either do not know or do not want to or have other priorities, so they do not want to deal with the big problems that nationalism, hate speech, fake news, calls for violence cause in the country.” highlighted Deralla
At the end, he pointed to the resistance to nationalism through illustrative examples, pointing to the clear boundary of its irrationality, through creative unveiling of hate speech as an accompanying element.
“In post war Bosnia, 1995, I asked a man to briefly describe to me what this war was about, what it represented, and he replied ‘You know man, this was a war of rock and roll versus folk music’. I hope rock and roll will win” ended Deralla.
Biljana Jordanovska
Camera: Dehran Muratov
