Hajrulla Çeku: Revolutions happen only when fear switches its side from the citizen to the ruler

Hajrulla Çeku, a politologist and one of the most vocal public space activists in Kosovo, was at Anibar 2019 as a member of the “The city that we want” panel. Anibar Press interviewed him to understand the concept of activism for the collective good and public spaces. Read the interview below..

Besarta Breznica 

 

Anibar Press: Do you think that there are enough public spaces for use and how are they perceived by our society. 

Hajrulla Çeku: Public space is the whole city, everything that isn’t privatized is the property of all citizens at the same time. There are certain countries in the world where even private property is used partly by the public, it means that they challenged the private property and it is used for the collective good. We in our countries, here I am talking specifically about Peja, have a lot of spaces that if we do not rush to use for our own good, will be occupied by others who have a certain motive and that would leave us without the spaces that were already limited.

 

Anibar Press: How developed is the concept of “Public Space” in Kosovo?

Hajrulla Çeku: Maybe it is developed as a concept, but it is mostly left in the discussion phase. When our municipalities come up with urban plans, public space is rarely talked about or usually it is only a nuance or a level of that plan. But there is hope for public spaces because a lot of organizations and the media is bringing up the problematics behind this issue and this causes the public to mobilize because not necessarily is the public unaware when the spaces are unused.  This is often tied to fear too, the fear that the citizens have towards the rulers, certain groups that control the city or the public spaces. Thus, occupying the public spaces in a good sense means that we’re overcoming fear, it means that we’re bringing the city back to our own hands and that fear is switching sides, it is switching to the other side where it is supposed to be, fear is supposed to be felt by the rulers and by the groups of interest who abuse public spaces for their own gain. 

 

Anibar Press: Does the project making process include public spaces?

Hajrullah Ceku: The project making process by the Municipality is accomodating the interests of building companies and private land owners so that their buldings take up a taller and a wider space. A correct plan is supposed to keep the citizens and the communication between the citizen and the city as a priority and not the constructions that strangle the space and also the green spaces which are a parameter of the public health.

 

Anibar Press: Is it difficult to revive public spaces because of politics in Kosovo? 

Hajrulla Çeku: Politics are often obstacles. Public politics are usually limiting, meaning they create unnecessary barriers when someone tries to initiate a revitalization of a public space. Starting from the issue of ownership, privatization status and the right of use etc.Our institutions don’t have enough mechanisms in the first place and they don’t have mechanisms to ensure other organizations or entities revive public spaces successfully. This is because of unfortunate events. One of the other issues might arise from the fact that funds to revitalize public spaces are also very limited. The only things that municipalities build are a few squares without asking the opinion of the public and these constructions do not improve the citizens’ lives or solve their problems in public spaces. Lastly, something that gives me hope is the fact that there is a lot of cultural and urban activism and countless instances where certain public areas or cinemas have been saved or the destruction of monuments, the degradation of public spaces were simply prevented and also there are instances where the loss of collective memories were prevented and all of these examples give us optimism to mobilize in order to save that part that was left from our cities.

 

Anibar Press: Anibar’s theme this year is “Hopes and Fears”. Can you share your hopes and fears with us?

Hajrulla Çeku: My hope is that public spaces will be spaces of democracy, meaning that when Kosovo becomes democratic it will be seen by the naked eye when we look at our public spaces. I fear that fear remains by the citizens. Revolutions in the world only happen only when fear switches from the citizen’s side to the ruler’s side. I am afraid that fear remains on our side and I hope that it goes to the other side. The ruler will be afraid of the citizens and when it passes to the rulers, that is the moment when we occupy our own public spaces and create a country and a city that we like for ourselves and our children.

 

(Përktheu / Translated by: Ermal Boshnjaku)