In my previous life, I was an artist. I still paint. I love art. I love the joy that color can give to our lives and to our communities, and I try to bring something of the artist in me in my politics, and I see part of my job today, the reason for being here, not just to campaign for my party, but for politics, and the role it can play for the better in our lives.
Ne jeten time te meparshme, isha nje artist. Akoma pikturoj. E dua artin. Me pelqen gezimi qe i jep ngjyra jeteve tona dhe komuniteteve tona, dhe perpiqem qe te jap dicka nga artisti brenda meje politikes sime, dhe tani nje pjese te punes sime sot, arsyeja pse jam sot ketu, jo vetem per te bere fushate per partine time, por per politiken, dhe rolin qe mund te luaj per permiresimin e jeteve tona.
For 11 years, I was mayor of Tirana, our capital. We faced many challenges. Art was part of the answer, and my name, in the very beginning, was linked with two things: demolition of illegal constructions in order to get public space back, and use of colors in order to revive the hope that had been lost in my city. But this use of colors was not just an artistic act. Rather, it was a form of political action in a context when the city budget I had available after being elected amounted to zero comma something.
Per 11 vjet, kam qene Kryebashkiaku i kryeqytetit tone Tiranes. Ne u perballuam me shume sfida. Arti ishte pjese e pergjigjes, dhe emri im, qe prej fillimit, ishte i lidhur me dy gjera: shkaterrimin e ndertimeve pa leje ne menyre qe te rikthenim hapesirat publike, dhe perdorimin e ngjyrave ne menyre qe te gjalleronim shpresen qe kishte humbur ne qytetin tim. Por kete here perdorimi i ngjyrave nuk ishte vetem akt artistik. Ishte nje fome e aksionit politik ne nje kontekst qe buxheti i bashkise qe kisha ne dispozicion pasi u zgjodha kishte vleren e zero presje dickaje.
When we painted the first building, by splashing a radiant orange on the somber gray of a facade, something unimaginable happened. There was a traffic jam and a crowd of people gathered as if it were the location of some spectacular accident, or the sudden sighting of a visiting pop star.
Kur ne lyem ndertesen e pare, duke sperkatur nje portokalli te feksur mbi nje fasade te zymte gri, ndodhi dicka e paimagjinueshme. Trafiku u bllokua dhe nje turme njerezish u mblodh sikur te ishte vendndodhja e ndonje aksidenti spektakolar, apo sikur papritur te shikonin nje pop-star qe po vizitonte.
The French E.U. official in charge of the funding rushed to block the painting. He screeched that he would block the financing.
Zyrtari francez i B.E i ngarkuar per financimin u ngut per te bllokuar lyerjen. Ai klithi se do te bllokonte financimet.
"But why?" I asked him.
"Por pse?" e pyeta ate.
"Because the colors you have ordered do not meet European standards," he replied.
"Sepse ngjyrat qe ju keni porositur nuk permbushin standartet Europieane," mu pergjigj.
"Well," I told him, "the surroundings do not meet European standards, even though this is not what we want, but we will choose the colors ourselves, because this is exactly what we want. And if you do not let us continue with our work, I will hold a press conference here, right now, right in this road, and we will tell people that you look to me just like the censors of the socialist realism era."
"Mire" i thashe, rrethinat nuk i permbushin standartet Europiane, edhe pse kjo nuk eshte ajo qe duam, por ne do te perzgjedhim ngjyrat tona vete, sepse kjo eshte ekzaktesisht ajo qe ne duam. Dhe nese ti nuk na lejon te vazhdojme me punen tone, une do te mbaj nje konference shtypi ketu, tani, ketu ne rruge, dhe do ti themi njerezve qe ti na dukesh tamam si censura e kohes se realizmit socialist."
Then he was kind of troubled, and asked me for a compromise. But I told him no, I'm sorry, compromise in colors is gray, and we have enough gray to last us a lifetime. (Applause) So it's time for change.
Keshtu, ai u gjend keq, dhe me kerkoi nje kompromis. Por i thashe atij jo, me vjen keq, kompromisi ka ngjyre gri, dhe ne kemi mjaft gri sa per te gjithe jeten tone. (Duartrokitje) Keshtu qe eshte koha per ndryshim.
The rehabilitation of public spaces revived the feeling of belonging to a city that people lost. The pride of people about their own place of living, and there were feelings that had been buried deep for years under the fury of the illegal, barbaric constructions that sprang up in the public space. And when colors came out everywhere, a mood of change started transforming the spirit of people. Big noise raised up: "What is this? What is happening? What are colors doing to us?"
Rehabilitimi i hapsirave publike rigjalleroi ndjesine e perkatesise se nje qyteti qe njerezit humben. Krenaria e njerezve per vendin e tyre aty ku ata jetonin, dhe keto ishin ndjenjat te cilat ishin varrosur thelle per vite nen furine e paligjshme, ndertimeve barbare qe mbiu ne hapsiren publike. Dhe kur ngjyrat dolen gjithandej, nje gjendje ndryshimi filloj te transformoje shpirtrat e njerzeve. Filloi nje zhurme e madhe : "Cfare eshte kjo? Cfare po ndodh? Cfare po na bejne ngjyrat?"
And we made a poll, the most fascinating poll I've seen in my life. We asked people, "Do you want this action, and to have buildings painted like that?" And then the second question was, "Do you want it to stop or do you want it to continue?" To the first question, 63 percent of people said yes, we like it. Thirty-seven said no, we don't like it. But to the second question, half of them that didn't like it, they wanted it to continue. (Laughter)
Dhe ne beme nje sondazh, sondazhin me te mahnitshem qe kam pare ne jeten time. Ne i pyetem njerezit," E doni kete veprim, te keni ndertesat e lyera keshtu?" Dhe pyetja e dyte ishte, "Doni qe te ndalojme apo doni qe te vazhdojme?" Pyetjes se pare, 63% e njerzeve thane po, ne na pelqen. 37% tha jo, ne nuk na pelqen. Por ne pyetjen e dyte, gjysma e atyre qe nuk u pelqente deshironin qe te vazhdonte.(Te qeshura)
So we noticed change. People started to drop less litter in the streets, for example, started to pay taxes, started to feel something they had forgotten, and beauty was acting as a guardsman where municipal police, or the state itself, were missing.
Keshtu qe ne vume re ndryshim. Njerzit filluan te hidhnin me pak mbeturina rrugeve, per shembull, filluan te paguanin taksat, filluan te ndjenin dicka qe ata kishin harruar, dhe me e bukura ishte e te vepruarit si roje ate ku policia bashkiare, apo shteti vete, mungonin.
One day I remember walking along a street that had just been colored, and where we were in the process of planting trees, when I saw a shopkeeper and his wife putting a glass facade to their shop. They had thrown the old shutter in the garbage collection place.
Nje dite me kujtohet kur isha duke ecur vetem rruges qe sapo ishte lyer, dhe ku ne ishim ne proces per te mbjelle peme, kur pashe nje dyqanxhi me te shoqen qe po vendosnin nje fasade xhami per dyqanin e tyre. Kishin hedhur qepenin e vjeter ne vendin e grumbullimit te mbeturinave.
"Why did you throw away the shutters?" I asked him.
" Perse e hodhe qepenin" e pyeta ate.
"Well, because the street is safer now," they answered.
"Mire, sepse rruga eshte me e sigurt tani." mu pergjigjen.
"Safer? Why? They have posted more policemen here?"
"Me e sigurt? Pse? Kane vendosur me shume police ketu?"
"Come on, man! What policemen? You can see it for yourself. There are colors, streetlights, new pavement with no potholes, trees. So it's beautiful; it's safe."
"Hajde pra, shoku! Ca policie? Mund ta shohesh dhe vet. Ka ngjyra, drita rruges, trotuare pa gropa, peme. Keshtu qe eshte bukur, eshte e sigurt."
And indeed, it was beauty that was giving people this feeling of being protected. And this was not a misplaced feeling. Crime did fall.
Dhe me te vertete, ishte bukuria ajo qe po u jepte njerzeve kete ndjesine e te qenurit te mbrojtur. Dhe kjo nuk ishte nje ndjesi e keqkuptuar. Kriminaliteti ra.
The freedom that was won in 1990 brought about a state of anarchy in the city, while the barbarism of the '90s brought about a loss of hope for the city. The paint on the walls did not feed children, nor did it tend the sick or educate the ignorant, but it gave hope and light, and helped to make people see there could be a different way of doing things, a different spirit, a different feel to our lives, and that if we brought the same energy and hope to our politics, we could build a better life for each other and for our country. We removed 123,000 tons of concrete only from the riverbanks. We demolished more than 5,000 illegal buildings all over the city, up to eight stories high, the tallest of them. We planted 55,000 trees and bushes in the streets. We established a green tax, and then everybody accepted it and all businessmen paid it regularly. By means of open competitions, we managed to recruit in our administration many young people, and we thus managed to build a de-politicized public institution where men and women were equally represented.
Liria qe u fitua ne 1990 solli nje gjendje anarkie ne qytet, ndersa barbarizmi i viteve '90 solli nje humbje te shpreses per qytetin. Boja ne mure nuk ushqente femijet, as nuk kuronte te semuret, apo mesonte injorantet, por dha shprese dhe drite, dhe ndihmoi qe te bente njerzit te shikonin qe mund te kishte nje menyre tjeter per te bere gjerat, nje shpirt ndryshe, nje ndjesi ndryshe per jetet tona dhe nese ne na solli te njejten energji dhe shprese ne politiken tone, qe mundemi te ndertojme nje jete me te mire per gjithesecilin dhe per vendin tone. Ne hoqem 123,000 ton beton vetem prej brigjeve te lumit. Ne shembem me shume se 5,000 ndertesa te paligjshme ne te gjithe qytetin, deri ne tete kate, me e larta prej tyre. Ne mbollem 55.000 peme dhe kacube ne te gjithe qytetin. Ne vendosem nje takse te gjelbert, dhe cdokush e pranoi ate dhe te gjitha bisneset e paguan rregullisht. Duke perdorur konkurrencen e hapur ne menaxhuam te rekrutonim ne administraten tone shume te rinj, dhe me ta ne u perpoqem te ndertonim nje institucion publik i depolitizuar ku grate dhe burrat ishin te perfaqesuar ne menyre te barabarte.
International organizations have invested a lot in Albania during these 20 years, not all of it well spent. When I told the World Bank directors that I wanted them to finance a project to build a model reception hall for citizens precisely in order to fight endemic daily corruption, they did not understand me. But people were waiting in long queues under sun and under rain in order to get a certificate or just a simple answer from two tiny windows of two metal kiosks. They were paying in order to skip the queue, the long queue. The reply to their requests was met by a voice coming from this dark hole, and, on the other hand, a mysterious hand coming out to take their documents while searching through old documents for the bribe. We could change the invisible clerks within the kiosks, every week, but we could not change this corrupt practice.
Organizata nderkombetare kane investuar shume ne Shqiperi gjate ketyre 20 vjeteve, jo te gjitha te shpenzuara mire. Kur i thashe drejtuesve te Bankes Boterore qe doja qe ata te financonin nje projekt per te ndertuar nje salle model per pritjen e qytetareve pikerisht per te luftuar korrupsionin e perditshem endemik, ata nuk me kuptuan. Por njerezit ishin duke pritur ne radhe te gjata ne diell dhe ne shi per te marre nje certifikate ose vetem nje pergjigje te thjeshte nga dy dritare te vogla te dy kioskave metalike. Ata pagonin per te anashkaluar radhen, radhen e gjate. Pergjigjet e kerkesave te tyre vinin nga nje ze qe dilte nje vrime e zeze, dhe, nga ana tjeter, nje dore misterioze qe dilte per te marre dokumentet e tyre ndersa ishte duke kerkuar neper dokumentat e vjetra per ryshfetin. Ne mund te ndryshonim punonjesit e padukshem te kioskave, cdo jave, por ne nuk mund te ndryshonim kete praktike korrupsioni.
"I'm convinced," I told a German official with the World Bank, "that it would be impossible for them to be bribed if they worked in Germany, in a German administration, just as I am convinced that if you put German officials from the German administration in those holes, they would be bribed just the same."
"Jam i bindur", i thashe nje zyrtari Gjerman ne Banken Boterore, "do te ishte e pamundur per ta te korruptoheshin nese ata punonin ne Gjermani, ne administraten gjermane, sic jam i bindur qe nese vendos zyrtar gjerman nga administrata gjermane ne ato vrima, ata do te korruptoheshin ne te njejten menyre."
(Applause)
(Duartrokitje)
It's not about genes. It's not about some being with a high conscience and some others having not a conscience. It's about system, it's about organization. It's also about environment and respect.
Nuk ka te beje me genet. Nuk ka te beje me disa qe kane ndergjegje te larte dhe disa te tjere pa ndergjegje fare. Eshte per shkak te sistemit. Eshte per shkak te organizimit. Eshte gjithashtu per shkak te mjedisit dhe respektit.
We removed the kiosks. We built the bright new reception hall that made people, Tirana citizens, think they had traveled abroad when they entered to make their requests. We created an online system of control and so speeded up all the processes. We put the citizen first, and not the clerks.
Ne i hoqem ato kioska. Ne ndertuam sallen e re te ndritshme te pritjes qe i beri njerzit, qytetaret e Tiranes, te mendonin qe kishin udhetuar jashte kur ata futeshin per te bere kerkesat e tyre. Ne krijuam nje sistem online kontrolli dhe shpejtuam te gjitha proceset. Ne vendosem te parin qytetarin, dhe jo nepunesin.
The corruption in the state administration of countries like Albania -- it's not up to me to say also like Greece -- can be fought only by modernization. Reinventing the government by reinventing politics itself is the answer, and not reinventing people based on a ready-made formula that the developed world often tries in vain to impose to people like us. (Applause)
Korrupsioni ne administraten shteterore ne vende si Shqiperia dhe nuk me takon mua te them per vende si Greqia mund te luftohen vetem me modernizim. Te rishpikim qeverine duke rishpikur vete politiken kjo eshte pergjigjja, dhe jo te rishpikim njerezit bazuar ne nje formule te gatshme qe bota e zhvilluar shpesh perpiqet me kot tu imponoje njerezve si ne. (Duartrokitje)
Things have come to this point because politicians in general, but especially in our countries, let's face it, think people are stupid. They take it for granted that, come what may, people have to follow them, while politics, more and more, fails to offer answers for their public concerns or the exigencies of the common people. Politics has come to resemble a cynical team game played by politicians, while the public has been pushed aside as if sitting on the seats of a stadium in which passion for politics is gradually making room for blindness and desperation. Seen from those stairs, all politicians today seem the same, and politics has come to resemble a sport that inspires more aggressiveness and pessimism than social cohesion and the desire for civic protaganism.
Gjerat kane arritur ne kete pike sepse politikanet ne pergjithesi, por vecanerisht ne vendet tona, duhet ta pranojme, mendojne qe njerezit jane budallenj. E marrin per te mireqene qe, le te jete cte jete, njerezit kane per ti ndjekur ata, nderkohe qe politikat, gjithnje e me shpesh, deshtojne te ofrojne pergjigje ceshtjeve te tyre publike apo nevojave te njerzeve te zakonshem. Politika ka filluar ti perngjaje nje loje te nje skuadre cinike te luajtur nga politikanet, ndersa publiku eshte anashkaluar sikur te ishte ulur ne stolat e nje stadiumi ne te cilin pasionit per politiken gradualisht po i ze vendin verberia dhe deshperimi. Te pare prej atyre shkalleve, te gjithe politikanet duken te njejte, dhe politika ka filluar t'i perngjaje nje sporti qe frymezon me shume agresivitet dhe pesimizem sesa kohezion social dhe deshire per pragmatizem qytetar.
Barack Obama won — (Applause) — because he mobilized people as never before through the use of social networks. He did not know each and every one of them, but with an admirable ingenuity, he managed to transform them into activists by giving them all the possibility to hold in their hands the arguments and the instruments that each would need to campaign in his name by making his own campaign. I tweet. I love it. I love it because it lets me get the message out, but it also lets people get their messages to me. This is politics, not from top down, but from the bottom up, and sideways, and allowing everybody's voice to be heard is exactly what we need. Politics is not just about leaders. It's not just about politicians and laws. It is about how people think, how they view the world around them, how they use their time and their energy. When people say all politicians are the same, ask yourself if Obama was the same as Bush, if François Hollande is the same as Sarkozy. They are not. They are human beings with different views and different visions for the world. When people say nothing can change, just stop and think what the world was like 10, 20, 50, 100 years ago. Our world is defined by the pace of change. We can all change the world.
Barack Obama fitoi (Duartrokitje) sepse ai mobilizoi njerezit si kurre me pare nepermjet perdorimit te rrjeteve sociale. Ai nuk i njihte gjithsecilin prej tyre, por me nje zgjuarsi te admirueshme, ai mundi ti shnderronte ata ne aktivista duke iu dhene atyre mundesine per te patur ne duart e tyre argumentet dhe instrumentat qe gjithesecilit i nevojiteshin per te bere fushate ne emer te tij duke bere fushaten e tij. Une "Tweet" (perdor twitter). Me pelqen shume. Me pelqen sepse me lejon te perhap mesazhin por gjithashtu lejon qe njerezit te me cojne mesazhe mua. Kjo eshte politike, jo prej lart poshte, por nga poshte lart, dhe anasjelltas, te lejosh qe te degjohet zeri i gjithesecilit eshte pikerisht ajo qe na duhet. Politika nuk ka te beje me drejtuesit. Nuk eshte thjesht politike dhe ligje. Eshte sesi mendojne njerezit, se si e shikojne boten perreth tyre, se si e perdorin kohen dhe energjine e tyre. Kur njerezit thone qe te gjithe politikanet jane njesoj, pyet veten nese Obama ishte i njejte me Bush-in, nese Francois Hollande eshte i njejte me Sarkozy-in. Nuk jane. Jane qenie njerezore me pikepamje te ndryshme dhe me vizione te ndryshme per boten. Kur njerezit thone qe asgje nuk mund te ndryshoje, thjesht ndalo dhe mendo sesi ishte bota 10,20,50,100 vjete me pare. Bota jone percaktohet nga ritmi i ndryshimit. Ne te gjithe mund te ndryshojme boten.
I gave you a very small example of how one thing, the use of color, can make change happen. I want to make more change as Prime Minister of my country, but every single one of you can make change happen if you want to.
Une ju jap vec nje shembull te vogel se si nje gje, perdorimi i ngjyrave, mund te beje te mundur ndryshimin. Une dua te bej me shume ndryshime si Kryeminister i vendit tim, por gjithesecili prej jush mund te beje te mundur ndryshimin nese ti do.
President Roosevelt, he said, "Believe you can, and you are halfway there."
Presidenti Roosevelt, tha, "Beso qe mundesh, dhe ke bere gjysmen e rruges."
Efharisto and kalinihta.
Falemnderit dhe naten e mire.
(Applause)
(Duartrokitje)