Justice Demands More Than Words: Belgin Jashari Is Our Test

Silence in the face of racism is complicity. Kosovo must choose: uphold justice for all, or betray the very struggle that birthed its freedom.

There are moments when the moral temperature of a nation rises suddenly, demanding not only reflection but action. The events surrounding the violent assault on fifteen-year-old Belgin Jashari, a young footballer and member of the Ashkali community, mark such a moment for Kosovo. They represent not merely the failure of one individual’s restraint, but the unravelling of the fragile threads of a society still grappling with its own promises of justice and equality.

As we reckon with this episode, it becomes necessary not only to condemn, but to understand the deeper implications of both the act and the responses it has elicited. The initial silence that greeted Belgin’s ordeal was chilling. A child was attacked, not by a peer, but by an adult, a figure whose age and position should symbolise protection, not harm. That this happened on a football field, a supposed sanctuary for youth and community, only deepens the sense of collective failure. Yet perhaps more telling than the assault it…