Skopje, 9 December 2023 (MIA) — Young members of the European Alliance for Change coalition left toys, teddy bears and clothes in front of the Soravia mall in Skopje on Saturday as part of a peaceful protest they held to illustrate how many families had left the country because of its corruption.

"Today, on International Anti-Corruption Day, we, the young people from the European Alliance for Change, are here in front of the Soravia shopping center, also known as the 'Ali Ahmeti' Shopping Center [...] to show the public that corruption has a personal name," Alternativa party member Behar Emini said.

Protesters said 'Ali Ahmeti Soravia' was "the symbolic name of corruption in North Macedonia" because he and his associates were the ones "whose corruption and embezzling millions of euros of taxpayers' money" were the reason behind so many citizens leaving the country.

"This is why we brought things that used to belong to the families who left the country in the meantime. Every family that fled because of these corrupt politicians has left behind backpacks, textbooks, notebooks and children's toys, looking for a better life for their children," Emini said. 

"We are leaving these things to Soravia's owner, so he can keep them as a memento of all those families he and his associates drove out of their homes," he said.

Emini also said that on May 8, 2024, "we will chart our European path not by running away to Europe, but by bringing Europe to our country." mr/