During the presentation of his electoral program and the Socialist Party candidates for the Municipal Council of Tirana, Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj has compared the extra-parliamentary opposition as a “dark force” that makes you “kill yourself.”
Taking the metaphor from the Netflix film Bird Box, Veliaj described his own struggle against the “invisible” opposition, comparing himself to the girl from the film:
There was a dark force in a city, just like this dark force that goes around in our city. That force was without face, like the force that goes around in Tirana without a face. If you would have physical contact with this force it would make you kill yourself. So what happened is that this girl established a routine and said “I will do these things and not deal at all, I won’t see this dark force.”
The extra-parliamentary opposition has been staging several mass protests in Tirana against the corruption of the Rama government, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Rama, new elections, and a proper investigation into the vote-buying practices alleged during the 2017 elections.
Mental health remains a sorely understood social issue in Albania. Little is invested in the way of providing therapy or counselling for citizens, particularly in the state health system and there is still a big stigma around mental health issues. Whilst suicide rates are low officially, it is not known how many are going unreported and there is little data on suicide attempts in the country. Globally however someone dies from suicide every 40 seconds. In terms of general mental health issues, the World Health Organisation estimates that as many as 1 in 4 people will suffer from a mental health issue during their lives.
Whether in reference to a film or not, it is grossly negligent of a civil servant to make light of serious mental health issues and suicide for political gain. Not only does this perpetuate the existing stigma but it shames and delegitimises those who may be suffering.
