https://x.com/SerbEagleAI/status/2111097646894989808

Albanians are facing severe violence by the state police, with protesters being beaten without any apparent reason.
This video shows a police officer throwing a young man to the ground. Based on the video, the young man appears to be suffering from a possible stroke or another serious medical emergency.
He is not the only person who has suffered serious injuries. There is still no transparency from the authorities about their condition or where they are being treated.
We are asking for your support and for international attention to what is happening in Albania.

Edit: Thanks to everyone writing from Serbia.

For context: this began in late May over a Kushner-linked resort on a protected flamingo lagoon at Zvërnec and grew into a daily protest against Rama. Since students joined on Tuesday the police response has gotten much harder. On Thursday 40 people were treated at the Trauma hospital in Tirana, 14 of them protesters including four minors, and that night men in plain clothes and unmarked cars took people off the street. On Friday a court sent one detainee to prison and put six under house arrest.

People are talking about it, just not the big outlets. We keep a day by day log with every night's stream, and a chatbot on the site answers questions about the protests: https://www.diaspora-zbarkon.com/en/pulsi

dictatorship

Dobar dan narod moj !!

I’ve just recently landed back home in the Balkans, it’s been a while since I’ve been here. I’ve missed the people the atmosphere the food the vibes the energy, all of it. And it feels good to be back and experience all of this again.

And so I wanted to come on here and spread some love and unity amongst all of us, especially us young folks as we are the future of our nations. Whether you are, Slovenian, Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian, Montenegrin, etc. Let’s all do our best to make this region better for each other, we are practically the same people and we’d all fair better if we worked together.

The Macedonians are hating on this song... what do you think?

Been watching some Balkan cooking channels and trying to make the food myself. Some recipes work fine with what I have. Others just fall apart when they assume you can find ingredients that aren't in any store around here.

Ajvar turned out okay, though roasting the peppers inside made the smoke alarm go off and the neighbors probably think I'm doing something weird. Cevapi is simple enough if you don't expect the meat to turn out exactly the same. Burek is the one I'm still struggling with. The phyllo from the supermarket doesn't behave like the videos show, and I think the real issue is that proper yufka just isn't sold outside the region.

I'm wondering which dishes hold up when you make them abroad and which ones basically don't work without the local stuff. Also curious if some regional versions are more flexible than others. I see Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian takes on what seems like the same dish, but I can't tell which differences actually matter versus which ones are just people being proud of their version. Not chasing authenticity for its own sake, just want it to taste right. What have other people managed to make abroad, and what do they wait to eat when they're actually there?

What do all the peoples of the Balkans have in common, with a particular focus on Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro?

Is there something that younger people largely agree on?

Some idea or common ground that brings everyone together and connects them?

Over the past months I’ve been working on a small social app focused on people with disabilities across the Balkans.

The idea came from noticing how mainstream social platforms often don’t give much thought to accessibility or to how people with disabilities want to present themselves and connect with others.

I ended up building Lidhje Social, an app focused on relationships, friendship, and community, with accessibility and privacy considered from the beginning rather than added later.

It has been an interesting project to build, especially trying to design something that can work across different Balkan countries, languages, and communities.

I mainly wanted to share the project and the idea behind it here since it was built specifically with the Balkan region in mind.

Unacceptable

🇦🇱🚨 ALBANIA DEMANDS REVOLUTION! DAY 135 OF THE CIVIL UPRISING SAW THE MOST BRUTAL AND BLOODY REPRESSIVE VIOLENCE EVER COMMITTED BY THE CRIMINAL POLICE. JOIN THE PROTEST!!!!!
Albanian Protest

To set a couple of things straight here , the post is completely serious and I hope y'all stay on point as well , thanks a lot.

Now the US has lately been pretty cozy with Russia and has an increasing number of christian nationalists like hegseth incharge. They have been pretty overt with their backing of pro russia leaders like Orban ( vance even campaigned for him )

Thus it's quite plausible that a serbian christian nationalist finds support among the American far right , while I don't think serbia has the ability to somehow pull a Azerbaijan and outright expel the albanians living there but they could still cause a lot of problems.

The mere presence of regional tension is enough to keep the region underdeveloped as most outsiders would rather invest their time/money etc elsewhere.

What happens in this scenario ? Does the country stay in a status of weird legal limbo for decades and lose on the potential economic growth ?

After so many years, the Leskovac-Niš railway is back in use.

Here is another bust from my series dedicated to the heroes of the Greek War of Independence.

This time, it's Nikitaras (Nikitas Stamatelopoulos), one of the most renowned Greek revolutionary commanders and a close associate of Theodoros Kolokotronis.

Known as "Turkofagos" ("Turk-Eater") for his extraordinary courage in battle, he played an important role in several major victories, including the Battle of Dervenakia in 1822. He was also remembered for his honesty and refusal to enrich himself through the war.

This is a 200 mm painted bust.

Hope you enjoy my interpretation of him!

I'm honestly just completely exhausted with the complete incompetence, lack of coalition politics, and endless lies and scamming going unpunished at the top of the political organization. I'm tired boss. Any solutions as well would be appreciated, as you guys have gone through this shit more than we have for decades.

I’m from Albania and have lived here my entire life. For years, I’ve generally supported Albania eventually joining the EU. However, after watching this process drag on for so many years, I’ve started questioning whether I even want it anymore.

Albania applied for EU membership back in 2009, and it has now been 17 years. We have spent years hearing about reforms, conditions, negotiations and yet another issue that needs to be addressed before we can move forward. I understand that Albania has serious problems that need to be fixed, including corruption, rule of law and institutional weaknesses. I’m not arguing that Albania should simply be admitted without meeting the necessary standards. What frustrates me is how long the process has taken and how it sometimes feels like there is always another obstacle in the way. After nearly two decades, it becomes difficult not to wonder whether the EU actually wants Albania to become a member or whether the process will simply continue indefinitely.

The same applies to the broader Balkans. Many of us have grown up hearing about European integration and the prospect of eventually becoming part of the EU. At some point, you start wondering how many more years we are expected to wait.

The proposed idea of a multi tier Europe also makes me skeptical. I understand the argument for different levels of integration, but from the perspective of someone in the Balkans, it can feel like we are being offered a place in Europe without actually being treated as equal members.
So I’m curious about other people from the Balkans:
Has your opinion of the EU become more negative or skeptical because of how long this process has taken?
Do you still believe full EU membership is worth pursuing, or after waiting for so many years have you started to lose interest?

I would like to visit this village any information on the residents and the history of this place?

The reliquary is one of the 48 relics and artefacts given to Greece in exchange for the remains of Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria. The reliquary used to be a possession of the Archdiocese of Ohrid from the city of Ohrid.

Finally locked in a window for next spring and trying to plan a 10-day loop without repeating my usual mistake of covering too much ground and remembering none of it. The budget side is mostly sorted thanks to some aggressive saving and a decent flight deal into Dubrovnik, but the itinerary itself is where I keep going back and forth.

What I want is a mix of coastline, at least one proper old town where you can actually wander without dodging cruise ship groups, and maybe a day or two inland where things feel different. Montenegro keeps coming up as the obvious add-on from Dubrovnik, but I am torn between doing the Bay of Kotor properly versus pushing further to something like Albania or North Macedonia just to see more variety. The catch is I have done the fast travel thing before and it mostly just leaves you tired with better photos.

For people who have done a similar stretch, does Montenegro plus a slice of Croatia already fill 10 days at a human pace, or is that selling the time short? Albania appeals because it sounds less smoothed over for visitors, but I have no sense of whether the transport links make that a headache in practice. fwiw I am fine with buses that run on their own schedule, just not ones that might not exist on the day I need them. ymmv on what counts as rushed versus right.

Advice to anyone travelling to the undertouristed former Yugoslavia, what to prepare before you go, specifically advice on driving, crossing the many borders as foreigners and obtaining local currency. We are an Irish couple, early 30s who travelled to Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Lake Ohrid (FYROM) and we flew in and out via Zagreb and Dubrovnik respectively.

🚗Car rental (we used Europcar, very reliable)

Rent from within the same country, even if you plan to drive to other countries. This may dictate your flight options in and out and your travel route, like maybe a loop back to where you started.

Dropping a car off in a different country will cost at least an additional €500. Leaving it in a different city from where you collected it, but within the same country, will be a fraction of the cost.

Always better to book ahead/reserve, as options may be limited if you just show up to the desk on the day. Best options are from the airports but even they dont have an endless supply of cars.

Downtown pick ups/offices do not exist. You can arrange a downtown drop off as that process is simpler than picking up. Downtown pick ups could be arranged, possibly through a hotel, but look into this well in advance.

Public transport is almost completely non-existent and taxi's/uber are unreliable and unpredictable, so hiring a car means you can travel at your own pace, at whatever time of day you like, without the risk of cancellations, rip offs or uncomfortable conditions. The car can also act as luggage storage as that too is rare.

An EU issued licence is fine, you dont need an international driving permit. We were never asked for one. I cannot validate if only a non-EU licence will be sufficient so read up about your country.

🛃Border crossings

Easier than anticipated. Border guards ask for your passport and car documents and check the Green Card for your car (the rental agency will provide it).

They may ask if you have anything to declare. They may ask to look in the boot/trunk. They may not ask for documents at all and do not always stamp your passport.

Crossing in a car may be faster than crossing via bus depending on queues and bus size.

Crossing the border in a rental car is not a big deal. Even local rental agencies in former Yugoslav countries are agreeable about where you can cross into, except Albania (need to buy extra insurance) and Kosovo (generally just not allowed).

🚧Road conditions

The Balkans is mountainous, and roads are often steep, narrow or just a dirt track full of potholes. Choose a car suitable for your activites. Prioritise power and comfort over economic and compact if possible.

Going to some old towns; a small car will be easier to navigate and park, but you still need a good engine to get up the hill. Looking to see some nature; choose an SUV/4x4 to manage the steep hills and challenging rural road conditions.

Over-taking is tricky in the Balkans. Locals over-take cars in the tightest of windows and expect you to do the same. Choosing a car with a good engine to pass out cars on winding single lane roads is important.

Motorways are generally in excellent condition, even in Albania. Local and rural roads can have unpredictable surface and spontaneous unfinished road works.

💶Money

Local Balkan non-euro currencies are difficult/impossible to obtain outside the region. Some are 'closed currencies'.

Currency exchanges are just that, an exchange; you hand over cash and they change it to whatever currency you want. You cannot buy money from them using card. Bring a good amount of your home currency to exchange.

Exchanges are good for smaller amounts (daily spending) as they dont charge fees but the rate isnt always the best.

ATMs are good for larger amounts (enough for a few days/weeks), as long as they dont charge a conversion rate from your home currency and a withdrawal fee. Low fee/free withdrawal ATMs are abundant in major cities. There are apps to help find them.

Euro is widely accepted in the region. Smaller notes are preferable. Coins are good for small purchases like parking, kiosks, entry fees, toilets etc. Border towns may accept numerous different currencies in certain instances.

Card payments are popular, even in smaller towns and villages. Pay with it when you can, even for taxis, and save your cash for when you really need it. Cash-only businesses exist even in major cities.

TLDR : Rent a car and reserve it in advance, crossing borders is easy in a car, bring lots of cash