We, children, live in a house at the crossroads
My first encounter with politics, without even realizing it, was a history lesson: 'We, children, live in a country that, due to its geographical location, is at the crossroads of world roads...' Back then, I understood it in a boyish way – cheerfully and optimistically. The beginning of the nineties shattered those boyish dreams into a thousand pieces.
TL;DR
- The author's initial optimistic view of their country's geopolitical position has soured due to political events, especially since the 1990s.
- Foreign powers and their "satellites" exert influence, described as "lions and hyenas and vultures" pulling apart a carcass.
- Political "diplomacy" in the Balkans involves foreign entities using local individuals to implement their agendas, shifting from direct funding to offering positions of power.
- This shift to positions of power leads to "self-financing" where domestic actors, who are also "traitors" and "mercenaries," are funded by the country itself.
- The author draws parallels to the Milošević regime, where services "self-financed" through customs, cigarette smuggling, and oil smuggling, leading to negative consequences.
- Upcoming elections are highlighted as a period where these influences will attempt to control the outcome, presenting a critical choice for the nation.
- The political process is described as a "game" for the powerful, but a matter of "life or death" for ordinary citizens.