TIRANA, April 14 /ATA/- By Maela Marini/ North Macedonia’s Parliament Speaker, Afrim Gashi, drew attention today to the emigration of young people from their country, emphasizing that the focus of every country’s policies should be on developing the right mechanisms to address this phenomenon.
During the proceedings of the IV Diaspora Summit in Tirana, Gashi underscored that the primary objective of policies that each country should implement is to prevent the emigration of its citizens.
“This demographic ‘hemorrhage’ that has occurred in recent years, primarily due to economic factors, as well as the lack of law enforcement, demographic development, and shortcomings in educational, healthcare, and cultural policies, must be sorted out as soon as possible,” he stated.
“It is crucial that we meet at such a summit, and in our discussions, we turn attention to and sound the alarm about the current situation in our countries. The biggest issue that must be highlighted is the emigration of people,” he stated.
According to Gashi, in recent years we have mainly seen the departure of young people.
“The best young people are leaving, the best students, the best-performing people This is a very big loss for our societies and states, so I think that if we want to reconnect with those people, it is essential to urgently focus on building policies that will stem this ‘hemorrhage’ that is unfolding,” said Gashi.
Gashi argues that mechanisms and policies are urgently needed to keep people from leaving and to encourage young people to return. He highlights that one of the main reasons for youth emigration is a lack of hope. Political turbulence and constant focus on partisan battles have sent young people the message that there is no future for them in their countries, and that party affiliation is the only path to advancement.
Gashi warns that if youth emigration continues, the future of states and societies will be bleak. He identifies the rule of law as the primary reason young people leave. While some countries, including Albania, have made progress in strengthening the rule of law, he argues that the ongoing departure of young people is the strongest indicator of failed policies. Elections, he adds, are not the true measure of public sentiment—youth migration is.
/sm/
