Edi Rama: Take back your city with paint

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Alban Nako Reviewer: Helena Bedalli

In my previous life, I was an artist.

Ne jeten time te meparshme, isha nje artist.

I still paint. I love art.

Akoma pikturoj. E dua artin.

I love the joy that color can give to our lives

Me pelqen gezimi qe i jep ngjyra jeteve tona

and to our communities,

dhe komuniteteve tona,

and I try to bring something of the artist in me

dhe perpiqem qe te jap dicka nga artisti brenda meje

in my politics,

politikes sime,

and I see

dhe tani

part of my job today, the reason for being here,

nje pjese te punes sime sot, arsyeja pse jam sot ketu,

not just to campaign for my party,

jo vetem per te bere fushate per partine time,

but for politics, and the role it can play

por per politiken, dhe rolin qe mund te luaj

for the better in our lives.

per permiresimin e jeteve tona.

For 11 years, I was mayor of Tirana, our capital.

Per 11 vjet, kam qene Kryebashkiaku i kryeqytetit tone Tiranes.

We faced many challenges.

Ne u perballuam me shume sfida.

Art was part of the answer,

Arti ishte pjese e pergjigjes,

and my name, in the very beginning,

dhe emri im, qe prej fillimit,

was linked with two things:

ishte i lidhur me dy gjera:

demolition of illegal constructions

shkaterrimin e ndertimeve pa leje

in order to get public space back,

ne menyre qe te rikthenim hapesirat publike,

and use of colors in order to revive the hope

dhe perdorimin e ngjyrave ne menyre qe te gjalleronim shpresen

that had been lost in my city.

qe kishte humbur ne qytetin tim.

But this use of colors was not just an artistic act.

Por kete here perdorimi i ngjyrave nuk ishte vetem akt artistik.

Rather, it was a form of political action

Ishte nje fome e aksionit politik

in a context when the city budget I had available

ne nje kontekst qe buxheti i bashkise qe kisha ne dispozicion

after being elected amounted to zero comma something.

pasi u zgjodha kishte vleren e zero presje dickaje.

When we painted the first building,

Kur ne lyem ndertesen e pare,

by splashing a radiant orange on the somber gray

duke sperkatur nje portokalli te feksur

of a facade,

mbi nje fasade te zymte gri,

something unimaginable happened.

ndodhi dicka e paimagjinueshme.

There was a traffic jam

Trafiku u bllokua

and a crowd of people gathered

dhe nje turme njerezish u mblodh

as if it were the location of some spectacular accident,

sikur te ishte vendndodhja e ndonje aksidenti spektakolar,

or the sudden sighting of a visiting pop star.

apo sikur papritur te shikonin nje pop-star qe po vizitonte.

The French E.U. official in charge of the funding

Zyrtari francez i B.E i ngarkuar per financimin

rushed to block the painting.

u ngut per te bllokuar lyerjen.

He screeched that he would block the financing.

Ai klithi se do te bllokonte financimet.

"But why?" I asked him.

"Por pse?" e pyeta ate.

"Because the colors you have ordered

"Sepse ngjyrat qe ju keni porositur

do not meet European standards," he replied.

nuk permbushin standartet Europieane," mu pergjigj.

"Well," I told him,

"Mire" i thashe,

"the surroundings do not meet European standards,

rrethinat nuk i permbushin standartet Europiane,

even though this is not what we want,

edhe pse kjo nuk eshte ajo qe duam,

but we will choose the colors ourselves,

por ne do te perzgjedhim ngjyrat tona vete,

because this is exactly what we want.

sepse kjo eshte ekzaktesisht ajo qe ne duam.

And if you do not let us continue with our work,

Dhe nese ti nuk na lejon te vazhdojme me punen tone,

I will hold a press conference here,

une do te mbaj nje konference shtypi ketu,

right now, right in this road,

tani, ketu ne rruge,

and we will tell people that you look to me

dhe do ti themi njerezve qe ti na dukesh tamam

just like the censors of the socialist realism era."

si censura e kohes se realizmit socialist."

Then he was kind of troubled,

Keshtu, ai u gjend keq,

and asked me for a compromise.

dhe me kerkoi nje kompromis.

But I told him no, I'm sorry,

Por i thashe atij jo, me vjen keq,

compromise in colors is gray,

kompromisi ka ngjyre gri,

and we have enough gray to last us a lifetime.

dhe ne kemi mjaft gri sa per te gjithe jeten tone.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

So it's time for change.

Keshtu qe eshte koha per ndryshim.

The rehabilitation of public spaces

Rehabilitimi i hapsirave publike

revived the feeling of belonging

rigjalleroi ndjesine e perkatesise

to a city that people lost.

se nje qyteti qe njerezit humben.

The pride of people about their own place of living,

Krenaria e njerezve per vendin e tyre aty ku ata jetonin,

and there were feelings that had been buried

dhe keto ishin ndjenjat te cilat ishin varrosur

deep for years under the fury of the illegal,

thelle per vite nen furine e paligjshme,

barbaric constructions that sprang up in the public space.

ndertimeve barbare qe mbiu ne hapsiren publike.

And when colors came out everywhere,

Dhe kur ngjyrat dolen gjithandej,

a mood of change started transforming the spirit of people.

nje gjendje ndryshimi filloj te transformoje shpirtrat e njerzeve.

Big noise raised up: "What is this? What is happening?

Filloi nje zhurme e madhe : "Cfare eshte kjo? Cfare po ndodh?

What are colors doing to us?"

Cfare po na bejne ngjyrat?"

And we made a poll,

Dhe ne beme nje sondazh,

the most fascinating poll I've seen in my life.

sondazhin me te mahnitshem qe kam pare ne jeten time.

We asked people, "Do you want this action,

Ne i pyetem njerezit," E doni kete veprim,

and to have buildings painted like that?"

te keni ndertesat e lyera keshtu?"

And then the second question was,

Dhe pyetja e dyte ishte,

"Do you want it to stop or do you want it to continue?"

"Doni qe te ndalojme apo doni qe te vazhdojme?"

To the first question,

Pyetjes se pare,

63 percent of people said yes, we like it.

63% e njerzeve thane po, ne na pelqen.

Thirty-seven said no, we don't like it.

37% tha jo, ne nuk na pelqen.

But to the second question, half of them that didn't like it,

Por ne pyetjen e dyte, gjysma e atyre qe nuk u pelqente

they wanted it to continue. (Laughter)

deshironin qe te vazhdonte.(Te qeshura)

So we noticed change.

Keshtu qe ne vume re ndryshim.

People started to drop less litter in the streets, for example,

Njerzit filluan te hidhnin me pak mbeturina rrugeve, per shembull,

started to pay taxes,

filluan te paguanin taksat,

started to feel something they had forgotten,

filluan te ndjenin dicka qe ata kishin harruar,

and beauty was acting as a guardsman

dhe me e bukura ishte e te vepruarit si roje

where municipal police, or the state itself, were missing.

ate ku policia bashkiare, apo shteti vete, mungonin.

One day I remember walking along a street

Nje dite me kujtohet kur isha duke ecur vetem rruges

that had just been colored,

qe sapo ishte lyer,

and where we were in the process of planting trees,

dhe ku ne ishim ne proces per te mbjelle peme,

when I saw a shopkeeper and his wife

kur pashe nje dyqanxhi me te shoqen

putting a glass facade to their shop.

qe po vendosnin nje fasade xhami per dyqanin e tyre.

They had thrown the old shutter

Kishin hedhur qepenin e vjeter

in the garbage collection place.

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?

"Hajde pra, shoku! Ca policie?

You can see it for yourself. There are colors,

Mund ta shohesh dhe vet. Ka ngjyra,

streetlights, new pavement with no potholes,

drita rruges, trotuare pa gropa,

trees. So it's beautiful; it's safe."

peme. Keshtu qe eshte bukur, eshte e sigurt."

And indeed, it was beauty that was giving people

Dhe me te vertete, ishte bukuria ajo qe po u jepte njerzeve

this feeling of being protected.

kete ndjesine e te qenurit te mbrojtur.

And this was not a misplaced feeling.

Dhe kjo nuk ishte nje ndjesi e keqkuptuar.

Crime did fall.

Kriminaliteti ra.

The freedom that was won in 1990

Liria qe u fitua ne 1990

brought about a state of anarchy in the city,

solli nje gjendje anarkie ne qytet,

while the barbarism of the '90s

ndersa barbarizmi i viteve '90

brought about a loss of hope for the city.

solli nje humbje te shpreses per qytetin.

The paint on the walls did not feed children,

Boja ne mure nuk ushqente femijet,

nor did it tend the sick or educate the ignorant,

as nuk kuronte te semuret, apo mesonte injorantet,

but it gave hope and light,

por dha shprese dhe drite,

and helped to make people see

dhe ndihmoi qe te bente njerzit te shikonin

there could be a different way of doing things,

qe mund te kishte nje menyre tjeter per te bere gjerat,

a different spirit, a different feel to our lives,

nje shpirt ndryshe, nje ndjesi ndryshe per jetet tona

and that if we brought the same energy and hope

dhe nese ne na solli te njejten energji dhe shprese

to our politics, we could build a better life

ne politiken tone, qe mundemi te ndertojme nje jete me te mire

for each other and for our country.

per gjithesecilin dhe per vendin tone.

We removed 123,000 tons of concrete

Ne hoqem 123,000 ton beton

only from the riverbanks.

vetem prej brigjeve te lumit.

We demolished more than 5,000 illegal buildings

Ne shembem me shume se 5,000 ndertesa te paligjshme

all over the city,

ne te gjithe qytetin,

up to eight stories high, the tallest of them.

deri ne tete kate, me e larta prej tyre.

We planted 55,000 trees and bushes in the streets.

Ne mbollem 55.000 peme dhe kacube ne te gjithe qytetin.

We established a green tax,

Ne vendosem nje takse te gjelbert,

and then everybody accepted it

dhe cdokush e pranoi ate

and all businessmen paid it regularly.

dhe te gjitha bisneset e paguan rregullisht.

By means of open competitions,

Duke perdorur konkurrencen e hapur

we managed to recruit in our administration

ne menaxhuam te rekrutonim ne administraten tone

many young people,

shume te rinj,

and we thus managed to build

dhe me ta ne u perpoqem te ndertonim

a de-politicized public institution

nje institucion publik i depolitizuar

where men and women were equally represented.

ku grate dhe burrat ishin te perfaqesuar ne menyre te barabarte.

International organizations

Organizata nderkombetare

have invested a lot in Albania during these 20 years,

kane investuar shume ne Shqiperi gjate ketyre 20 vjeteve,

not all of it well spent.

jo te gjitha te shpenzuara mire.

When I told the World Bank directors

Kur i thashe drejtuesve te Bankes Boterore

that I wanted them to finance a project to build

qe doja qe ata te financonin nje projekt per te ndertuar

a model reception hall for citizens

nje salle model per pritjen e qytetareve

precisely in order to fight endemic daily corruption,

pikerisht per te luftuar korrupsionin e perditshem endemik,

they did not understand me.

ata nuk me kuptuan.

But people were waiting in long queues

Por njerezit ishin duke pritur ne radhe te gjata

under sun and under rain

ne diell dhe ne shi

in order to get a certificate or just a simple answer

per te marre nje certifikate ose vetem nje pergjigje te thjeshte

from two tiny windows of two metal kiosks.

nga dy dritare te vogla te dy kioskave metalike.

They were paying in order to skip the queue,

Ata pagonin per te anashkaluar radhen,

the long queue.

radhen e gjate.

The reply to their requests was met

Pergjigjet e kerkesave te tyre vinin

by a voice coming from this dark hole,

nga nje ze qe dilte nje vrime e zeze,

and, on the other hand,

dhe, nga ana tjeter,

a mysterious hand coming out to take their documents

nje dore misterioze qe dilte per te marre dokumentet e tyre

while searching through old documents for the bribe.

ndersa ishte duke kerkuar neper dokumentat e vjetra per ryshfetin.

We could change the invisible clerks within the kiosks,

Ne mund te ndryshonim punonjesit e padukshem te kioskave,

every week, but we could not change this corrupt practice.

cdo jave, por ne nuk mund te ndryshonim kete praktike korrupsioni.

"I'm convinced," I told a German official

"Jam i bindur", i thashe nje zyrtari Gjerman

with the World Bank,

ne Banken Boterore,

"that it would be impossible for them to be bribed

"do te ishte e pamundur per ta te korruptoheshin

if they worked in Germany,

nese ata punonin ne Gjermani,

in a German administration,

ne administraten gjermane,

just as I am convinced that if you put German officials

sic jam i bindur qe nese vendos zyrtar gjerman

from the German administration in those holes,

nga administrata gjermane ne ato vrima,

they would be bribed just the same."

ata do te korruptoheshin ne te njejten menyre."

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

It's not about genes.

Nuk ka te beje me genet.

It's not about some being with a high conscience

Nuk ka te beje me disa qe kane ndergjegje te larte

and some others having not a conscience.

dhe disa te tjere pa ndergjegje fare.

It's about system, it's about organization.

Eshte per shkak te sistemit. Eshte per shkak te organizimit.

It's also about environment and respect.

Eshte gjithashtu per shkak te mjedisit dhe respektit.

We removed the kiosks.

Ne i hoqem ato kioska.

We built the bright new reception hall

Ne ndertuam sallen e re te ndritshme te pritjes

that made people, Tirana citizens,

qe i beri njerzit, qytetaret e Tiranes,

think they had traveled abroad when they entered

te mendonin qe kishin udhetuar jashte kur ata futeshin

to make their requests.

per te bere kerkesat e tyre.

We created an online system of control

Ne krijuam nje sistem online kontrolli

and so speeded up all the processes.

dhe shpejtuam te gjitha proceset.

We put the citizen first, and not the clerks.

Ne vendosem te parin qytetarin, dhe jo nepunesin.

The corruption in the state administration

Korrupsioni ne administraten shteterore

of countries like Albania --

ne vende si Shqiperia

it's not up to me to say also like Greece --

dhe nuk me takon mua te them per vende si Greqia

can be fought only by modernization.

mund te luftohen vetem me modernizim.

Reinventing the government by reinventing politics itself

Te rishpikim qeverine duke rishpikur vete politiken

is the answer, and not reinventing people

kjo eshte pergjigjja, dhe jo te rishpikim njerezit

based on a ready-made formula

bazuar ne nje formule te gatshme

that the developed world often tries in vain to impose

qe bota e zhvilluar shpesh perpiqet me kot tu imponoje

to people like us.

njerezve si ne.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

Things have come to this point

Gjerat kane arritur ne kete pike

because politicians in general,

sepse politikanet ne pergjithesi,

but especially in our countries, let's face it,

por vecanerisht ne vendet tona, duhet ta pranojme,

think people are stupid.

mendojne qe njerezit jane budallenj.

They take it for granted that, come what may,

E marrin per te mireqene qe, le te jete cte jete,

people have to follow them,

njerezit kane per ti ndjekur ata,

while politics, more and more, fails to offer answers

nderkohe qe politikat, gjithnje e me shpesh, deshtojne te ofrojne pergjigje

for their public concerns

ceshtjeve te tyre publike

or the exigencies of the common people.

apo nevojave te njerzeve te zakonshem.

Politics has come to resemble

Politika ka filluar ti perngjaje

a cynical team game played by politicians,

nje loje te nje skuadre cinike te luajtur nga politikanet,

while the public has been pushed aside

ndersa publiku eshte anashkaluar

as if sitting on the seats of a stadium

sikur te ishte ulur ne stolat e nje stadiumi

in which passion for politics

ne te cilin pasionit per politiken

is gradually making room for blindness and desperation.

gradualisht po i ze vendin verberia dhe deshperimi.

Seen from those stairs, all politicians today

Te pare prej atyre shkalleve, te gjithe politikanet

seem the same,

duken te njejte,

and politics has come to resemble

dhe politika ka filluar t'i perngjaje

a sport that inspires more aggressiveness

nje sporti qe frymezon me shume agresivitet

and pessimism than social cohesion

dhe pesimizem sesa kohezion social

and the desire for civic protaganism.

dhe deshire per pragmatizem qytetar.

Barack Obama won

Barack Obama fitoi

— (Applause) —

(Duartrokitje)

because he mobilized people as never before

sepse ai mobilizoi njerezit si kurre me pare

through the use of social networks.

nepermjet perdorimit te rrjeteve sociale.

He did not know each and every one of them,

Ai nuk i njihte gjithsecilin prej tyre,

but with an admirable ingenuity,

por me nje zgjuarsi te admirueshme,

he managed to transform them into activists

ai mundi ti shnderronte ata ne aktivista

by giving them all the possibility to hold in their hands

duke iu dhene atyre mundesine per te patur ne duart e tyre

the arguments and the instruments that each would need

argumentet dhe instrumentat qe gjithesecilit i nevojiteshin

to campaign in his name by making his own campaign.

per te bere fushate ne emer te tij duke bere fushaten e tij.

I tweet. I love it.

Une "Tweet" (perdor twitter). Me pelqen shume.

I love it because it lets me get the message out,

Me pelqen sepse me lejon te perhap mesazhin

but it also lets people get their messages to me.

por gjithashtu lejon qe njerezit te me cojne mesazhe mua.

This is politics, not from top down,

Kjo eshte politike, jo prej lart poshte,

but from the bottom up, and sideways,

por nga poshte lart, dhe anasjelltas,

and allowing everybody's voice to be heard

te lejosh qe te degjohet zeri i gjithesecilit

is exactly what we need.

eshte pikerisht ajo qe na duhet.

Politics is not just about leaders.

Politika nuk ka te beje me drejtuesit.

It's not just about politicians and laws.

Nuk eshte thjesht politike dhe ligje.

It is about how people think,

Eshte sesi mendojne njerezit,

how they view the world around them,

se si e shikojne boten perreth tyre,

how they use their time and their energy.

se si e perdorin kohen dhe energjine e tyre.

When people say all politicians are the same,

Kur njerezit thone qe te gjithe politikanet jane njesoj,

ask yourself if Obama was the same as Bush,

pyet veten nese Obama ishte i njejte me Bush-in,

if François Hollande is the same as Sarkozy.

nese Francois Hollande eshte i njejte me Sarkozy-in.

They are not. They are human beings with different views

Nuk jane. Jane qenie njerezore me pikepamje te ndryshme

and different visions for the world.

dhe me vizione te ndryshme per boten.

When people say nothing can change,

Kur njerezit thone qe asgje nuk mund te ndryshoje,

just stop and think what the world was like

thjesht ndalo dhe mendo sesi ishte bota

10, 20, 50, 100 years ago.

10,20,50,100 vjete me pare.

Our world is defined by the pace of change.

Bota jone percaktohet nga ritmi i ndryshimit.

We can all change the world.

Ne te gjithe mund te ndryshojme boten.

I gave you a very small example

Une ju jap vec nje shembull te vogel

of how one thing, the use of color,

se si nje gje, perdorimi i ngjyrave,

can make change happen.

mund te beje te mundur ndryshimin.

I want to make more change

Une dua te bej me shume ndryshime

as Prime Minister of my country,

si Kryeminister i vendit tim,

but every single one of you can make change happen

por gjithesecili prej jush mund te beje te mundur ndryshimin

if you want to.

nese ti do.

President Roosevelt, he said,

Presidenti Roosevelt, tha,

"Believe you can, and you are halfway there."

"Beso qe mundesh, dhe ke bere gjysmen e rruges."

Efharisto and kalinihta.

Falemnderit dhe naten e mire.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)