Ismail Kadare, are you racist?
April 16, 2010
Right now I read that Ismail Kadare cancelled his speech in Athens because of the racist slogans that were heard in parade of 25th March. Sadly there is racism in Greece as in all countries of the world. Racism has a social-economic reason to exist in our societies. In a world of fear and terror racism and nazism is logical to be. But We ,Greek, are not all racists.We don’t agree at all. If someone says I cannot go to talk in Greece because there they hate Albanians, is racist like the one that says one Albanian stole me, all Albanians are thieves.
And even if Ismail Kadare did it to show something with his move, to show whom? To racists? I think they will say we don’t need him. Who lost from this movement? Everyone that would love to listen Ismail Kadare and sure hates also every Greek that agreed with racists slogans.
Also mr Kadare maybe didn’t read that greek public opinion was shocked from the video and many of Greek were disgusted by video.
I hope that he would change his mind and he will come…
photo by jlmaral
1 comment
Of course there is racism in every country. You cannot educate every single person in the society.
However, there is huge difference when racism is expressed in an official parade, in the presence of officials and done by people in uniform.
This is a repeated incident and Kadare did what every decent Greek intellectual would have done if something similarly offensive would have been done against the Greeks.
Kadare’s admiration for the Greek culture, tradition and literature is already known. So please don’t make this against the writer. He knows that his refusal to come will be displease many of those who were waiting to see him. But believe me, he is doing this for Albanians as much as he is doing it for the Greeks.
The Greek society must act more forcefully against those in its midst who forge a culture of non-tolerance, ridiculous extreme nationalism and xenophobia. This is not about Albanians, this about the Greeks. What kind of country do you want to live in. Intolerance comes back to bite you, even if you think it is directed only at foreigners. It is a lesson that comes directly from history of modern Greece and you should never go down that road again.