Among the pensioners who appeared on Wednesday for the fifth time in front of the Prime Minister's Office, there were also dozens of young people, who protested for "a future with dignified pensions".
Among the gathered crowd, in addition to the young activists of the Joint Movement, who have long been involved in the organization of the protest, I noticed other young people who were protesting.
I first approach a group of 4 young people to find out what prompted them to join the pensioners' protest. Among them, a 22-year-old boy was the first to express his order even though he avoided being introduced by name. He said he felt a moral duty to join the protest.
"First of all, parents and grandparents cannot", he said, explaining that he was out for them, secondly "don't just think about today, tomorrow one day we will all be pensioners".
"I see pensioners as the most abused class, over the years, and I think that the reaction should come from everyone, not only pensioners, that's why I joined as a young personr ", the 22-year-old said further.
Next, next to an elderly lady, was Sara Koçiaj, a 24-year-old girl, who has been going out every Wednesday for the past 5 weeks in the pensioners' protest.
Sara said that she protests because "it affects me because I also have grandparents, and I think that pensioners are one of the most vulnerable groups in society, they have worked a lifetime and deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labor".
Besi Maçi is one of the two young people holding the banner with the signature "Pensioners in Protest". Besi is 21 years old, and has been an activist of the Joint Movement for several years. I ask Besi to share why he sees the participation of young people in this protest as necessary.
"This solidarity is related to all categories and not only pensioners, so if the government treats pensioners in this way, it also treats students and workerst", Besi tells me back.
Similarly, Gabriel Rakaj, a young man from Shkodra told me that he joined the protest as a form of solidarity.
"A society that treats pensioners without dignity is not a fair society, I believe that anyone who fights injustice should be here today", Gabrieli expressed as he added that his grandparents cannot join the protest, and in a way he has come to represent them.
Esi Zaimi, a 26-year-old girl told me that her father will retire in 2 years and that "with his pension, he will not be able to pay the loan and take care of his sister who is disabled, who receives less than 20 thousand lek".
For Es, the protest is a necessity. She says that when injustice affects the home, the livelihood "protesting is only the first stepe".
With megaphone always in hand, calling out the verses: "Latin Albania, crime and corruption, youth in rafts, old people in depression", one of the activists of the Together Movement, Anxela Nasto, is found.
For 4 weeks, Anxhela together with other activists have been going out in the neighborhoods of Tirana to spread the news that "Pensioners are protesting".
"When they see that we are young, there are those who say what do you do with pensioners, but most of them are positive comments, who tell us that youth is the future, this motivates us", Angela said to me as she separated pieces from the field work.
Angela told me that every time she has been given the opportunity for an interview during these protest weeks, her call has been precisely to the young people.
"I think that it is up to us young people, because of our energy, age and because they are our grandparents, our parents, to come out here even for those who cannot", said Angela, who thinks that if young people do not react today, after many years they may be in the same situation as pensioners today.
After finishing the conversation with Angela, I looked for one of the other activists, Emiljando Kita, who is always engaged in conversations with the protesters.
Emilajndo, one of the activists who helped organize the "Together Pensioners" group, indicated that the group of pensioners was initially small, mainly with those who had been miners, with whom Emiljando had been in contact for some time.
After the government's decision to consider as an increase, the indexation of pensions by only 40 lek per day, the idea of protest arose among this group.
"It is a very large number of pensioners who are being treated unfairly, who receive a pension below the vital minimum", said Emiljando as he listed some of the reasons for which they are protesting.
"The demands are clear", he pointed out, "a dignified pension, minimum living wage and a large category, the approval of the miner's status are required".
He completed master's studies in Investigative Journalism at the Department of Journalism at the University of Tirana. She has been working as a journalist for five years, where she previously covered issues of politics and parliamentary activity, in print and online media. She is currently a journalist at Citizens.al, where she covers various social issues related to the transparency of institutions. At Citizens.al, she leads the podcast "The Unheard" and is engaged as a manager of projects related to the support of investigative journalism.
