Filipçe: The sacrifice of our predecessors was to build the state, not to leave it behind

During an event in Prilep held to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the People’s Uprising and the antifascist struggle, SDSM leader Venko Filipçe said that today’s generation has a historic responsibility to create conditions for young people to remain in Macedonia and build their future in the country.

He warned that the declining number of students enrolling in first grade and the empty desks in schools constitute a strong warning signal for the future of the state. According to Filipçe, the departure of young people must not be accepted as an inevitable reality.

“The most painful image of Macedonia today is the empty desks in schools. This year, there are around 3,000 fewer students in first grade. This is an alarm that we must all heed. A state without young people cannot have a future. We do not accept this, and we will not accept it,” Filipçe declared.

The SDSM leader stressed that emigration must not become the norm and that every young person should have prospects in their homeland. He said they would not accept an entire generation being convinced that there is no place for them in their own country.

Filipçe added that patriotism is measured by how citizens live today and by what they leave their children for tomorrow. According to him, this is also the criterion that demonstrates the success of politics. He said that the great national task ahead of them is to build a shared European future and create European opportunities.