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Lea Ypi: Someone who is unemployed cannot be free

2022-06-15 17:28:45Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA LINDITA ARAPI
Lea Ypi: Someone who is unemployed cannot be free
Lea Ypi

Albanian-British philosopher and writer Lea Ypi for DW on freedom in society, Albanians' lack of self-confidence, national reconciliation after the dictatorial past and the discovery of a little girl.

Deutsche Welle: You have titled the book "Free" - to grow at the end of history - Are Albanians today really free and "grown up", that at the end of history - you can not say that today after the war in Ukraine …

Lea Ypi: Shqiptarët kanë kaluar nga një fazë kur problemet e Shqipërisë ishin vetëm problemet e Shqipërisë në një fazë kur problemet e Shqipërisë reflektojnë edhe problemet e botës. Pra krizat që janë kriza globale ndjehen edhe në Shqipëri, ndoshta veçanërisht në Shqipëri, e vende të tjera me histori të ngjashme, ku procesi i ndërtimit të shtetit është ende i papërfunduar. Mendoj që liria mbetet ideal kudo në botë. Ne kemi kaluar nga forma shtypjeje të drejtpërdrejta nga partia, nga shteti, nga kulti i individit, në forma shtypjeje anonime, nga tregjet, nga globalizimi, nga kriza, për të cilat është shumë e vështirë të përcaktosh përgjegjësi individuale, por që gjithsesi i kufizojnë liritë e të gjithëve. Premtimi i një shoqërie të lirë tingëllon disi i zbrazët, nëse nuk përmbushet për të gjithë. Nuk mund të jetë i lirë dikush që është i papunë.

Pse ishte e rëndësishme për ju të shkruanit një libër autobiografik-filozofik, një “nonfiction”?

Ishte një lloj autobiografie intelektuale dhe një mënyrë për të kuptuar më mirë nga vija unë si profil filozofik. Libri filloi me një përpjekje për të analizuar idetë e lirisë në traditat liberale dhe socialiste të mendimit politik dhe gradualisht u kthye në rrëfim autobiografik. Për mua ishte interesant zbulimi pothuajse psikoanalitik se çdo gjë që unë besoja nga ana filozofike i kishte rrënjët në përvojat e një vajze të vogël të rritur në Shqipërinë e viteve 80-90-të, që nisi të zgjohej dalëngadalë në faqet e librit.

Lea Ypi: Someone who is unemployed cannot be free
Libri “Të lirë – të rritesh në fund të historisë” u botua nga Shtëpia Botuese “Dudaj” në Tiranë

Ajo vajzë e vogël është maturuar, por a ka arritur në fund të zbulimit?

Kërkimi i vetvetes është një proces që nuk besoj se njeriu arrin ta përmbyllë asnjëherë, ai na shoqëron në çdo fazë të jetës. Ne ballafaqohemi vazhdimisht me të shkuarën, por nga ana tjetër edhe perceptimi i të shkuarës ndryshon në varësi të eksperiencave që bëjmë në të tashmen dhe mënyrës si e shohim veten në të ardhmen.

Një përmbysje e tillë kaq e madhe pas rrëzimit të diktaturës sjell me vete edhe një krizë identiteti. Sa e vështirë është sot gjetja e identitetit për ata që u rritën në komunizëm, për një brez që ishte në moshë të re, e ku të gjitha përfytyrimet, jo vetëm ato për lirinë për lirinë u shkërmoqën brenda natës?

It has been especially difficult for our generation because he has become the bearer of all the ideals that their parents could not realize, but at the same time experiencing our specific disappointments. Children who grew up "at the end of history" have only childhood memories of the communist period, and childhood is a stage of life that is always seen with a kind of nostalgia, especially if the children grew up in a loving family environment. For our generation, the tragic reality of Albania in the communist period has been filtered by parents and the discovery of the truth has come not as a result of individual journey but as a consequence of the historical rift caused by the change of the system. For this reason this generation has had a confrontation with the present which was very burdened by the experiences of the parents and especially by the fact that all the impossibilities, all the obstacles, all the oppression of the generation of the grandparents became a burden and responsibility for the generation of new to accomplish what ancestors could not accomplish. This was certainly an extraordinary opportunity, but also an indisputable weight.

Lea, your book has been enthusiastically received abroad, in Albania there have been criticisms considering the book as a pardon for communism - do you think it was a misunderstanding?

Different people have had different criticisms, but I do not believe we can call them all misunderstandings. Many criticisms stem from different philosophical, methodological, or an analysis of history from a different perspective. In general, the criticism of the Albanian public is focused especially on the first part of the book, which in fact is less than half of it, while the main topics it deals with is the transition, the conception of freedom and its difference from propaganda or ideology. I do not believe that the book has an exculpatory approach to communism in Albania, it is critical of both the socialist period and the period that followed it. Some of the criticism in Albania is understandable, as a book that resonates a lot in the world, seems to risk becoming a representative of an entire people, but in fact no book can represent a people. Each author has his own experiences and each experience is conveyed differently. Certainly if there were more authors, more translated Albanian literature, and if the history of our country was better known abroad then the burden of representation would not simply fall on one or two authors and the criticism would take another form.

Albania went through one of the wildest eastern dictatorships, and yet facing the past was much more difficult than all eastern countries, the opening of files was delayed for years, the victims still feel denigrated today, and many of those responsible were at that time not only did they not reflect, but they were justified with words, that was the time… do you think that Albania today is a country that has faced the difficult past?

Dealing with the past is a long and complicated process and no one has a monopoly on how it is best done. Victim search for the truth is as important as national reconciliation, but while the truth is individual, reconciliation takes place jointly. This is a process in which all Albanian families contribute with their stories, with their experiences and by the search for truths, by the time that passes, by the debate that is ignited through these different experiences, perhaps the confrontation with the consequences of the dictatorship is achieved. But it is not black and white, it is not done simply to say that it was done, and there are steps that can be expected to be taken hastily from today to tomorrow.

Lea Ypi: Someone who is unemployed cannot be free
Lea Ypi in conversation with Wolfram Eilenberger as part of the Philosophy Festival

You are not only a writer, but also a professor of political theory, and you see the developments in Albania from the focus of the researcher, seen from this side, how do you see Albania today… a country where the political class can not get out of polemical and blocking stalemate, and people simple want to leave…

I think that Albania's policy should turn into a policy of ideals, a policy of visions, a policy of party platforms that face different social programs, and that explain how and why each of these programs leads to the right decisions and realizes the values ​​we should have as a society. Politics everywhere today is a policy of individual interests and personalization of power, the springboard to be empowered at the expense of others and not a bridge between citizens with different beliefs. Economic power conditions the political one in an extremely problematic way. In Albania, politics must go beyond individual accusations and give citizens the opportunity to orient themselves with the programs of different parties and find their convictions in them. Otherwise democracy will remain just an empty slogan.

How do you explain today the unquenchable desire of Albanians to leave the country, especially young people and those who have more or less a good life… Why Albania today can not offer this shelter, that people want to stay, is this related even with an identity crisis of the Albanian society that connects salvation only with leaving to the west?

I say it has to do with the historical trauma we have overcome, where the people have always seen themselves as victims, victims of great powers, victims of dictatorship and where this past of oppression has made us lose self-confidence and doubt that we can manage to build our institutions, our state. I am very sad when I return to Albania, and I hear expressions of a nature that Albanians can not do this, or we Albanians are terrible, or we are very bad for each other, because it is a form of essentialism and distrust in our common abilities that does not serve the future.

Identity crisis?

The whole world is in crisis in this period. I do not think that Albania is in a deeper crisis than other countries. Of course, the crisis in Albania has its historical features that are reflected in the institutions we have inherited and the way we seek solutions. But I think the time has come to see Albania from a global point of view and not the world from Albania's point of view. Albanian society probably lacks this, every problem is seen from the inside out and not from the outside inside. If we extend the perspective of Albania's role in Europe beyond the analyzes of the type accept or reject us in the EU, we will better understand the contribution that Albania can make in the Balkans and beyond in resolving crises.

Is this characteristic of small countries, which deal more with themselves and do not see themselves in the global context?

It is a problem of history, a history that has always been defined by the great powers. When a state is formed and exists simply as a result of the will of the great powers it is very difficult for the citizens of that state to have confidence that they can indeed achieve the promised autonomy. This is further reflected in the dynamics of relations with the outside world. It is very important for Albania to interact with countries outside Albania, with the Balkans, with the EU, with the US, showing in the first place respect for itself, for its decisions, its experiences, and its personality as a state. Albanians must prove that they value themselves before seeking the approval of others.

Something personal… thinks, that for a woman, Albanian, with the burden of a country unknown to Europe is much more difficult to get to where you have arrived, or moving forward is as difficult as for anyone…

Yes, I think all authors or academics coming from small countries have this representation problem, which I talked about earlier as interest both political and media towards small countries when they do not overcome wars or similar tragedies is very limited. Of course it is more difficult to be represented abroad if you come from a small country. But there are other dynamics, dynamics of ethnic, gender or class divisions, which are experienced equally everywhere.

Will there be another book after the book "Free"?

I am working on a novel with a historical-philosophical character that will have as its axis the life of my grandmother, who is also a character in the book "Free". It takes place in Albania in the 1920s and 1930s, in the first years of the formation of the Albanian state, and raises the question of what it means to have dignity - as an individual and as a nation.

Lea Ypi (born 1979) is an Albanian-British writer and philosopher, professor of political theory at the London School of Economics. Her book "Free - Growing Up at the End of History" has been widely circulated in both the United Kingdom and Germany. The conversation with Lea Ypin took place as part of her presentation at the Philosophy Festival, phil.cologne in Cologne, where she spoke about what keeps a society open in times of crisis.

 

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