Interview on 10 Minutes – MA Dragi Zmijanac, Founder and President of the First Children’s Embassy

in the World Megjashi

Journalist Iskra Opatceska TV 21

Presenter: Good evening, dear viewers, you are watching "10 Minutes" show on the television 21.

Our guest tonight is the president and founder of the First Children Embassy in the World Megjashi,

Mr. Dragi Zmijanac. Mr. Zmijanac, thank you for accepting our invitation.

Zmijanac: Thank you for the invitation.

Presenter: We have much to discuss, so to start let me talk about the initiative, the Citizens'

Initiative, in fact, that you as a Children’s Embassy support it, and it is a common parenting after

divorce. What is it that the children receive with this initiative?

Zmijanac: The number of callers to our SOS helpline, when children and their families call about the

same quantity of seeing with their children after divorce. So, we have a problem in the country that

spouses should realize that when they divorce as partners, but not as parents, and that the best

interests of the child is they equally and jointly to take care for the proper development of their

child. This includes financial, but also education, care and nurturing. Always the Center for Social

Work does not act in the best interest of the children and concerned parents who cannot realize the

right to an equal quantity time with their children, complain to us that if they fail to agree voluntarily

then they have difficulty exercising this right of parenting after divorce with equal access to taking

care and nurturing of the child. So ....

Presenter: What will the initiative do, what does it propose?

Zmijanac: The initiative proposes to have the same starting position of both parents, but that does

not mean automatically equal parenting, but the quality exercise of parental right. If a quality

parenting is exercised, equal time of seeing, looking after and care, then the child will have the

opportunity to be both with the father and the mother, in order to enable both parents to influence

his/her proper growth and development.

Presenter: How to do that, Mr. Zmijanac, given the fact that these things you talk about are already

regulated by law?

Zmijanac: They are regulated with the partners who have mutually agreed. But there are difficulties

with the partners who cannot agree. Then the Center for social welfare gives an opinion to the court

and the court decides in most of percentage, the child to be handed to the mother, as the child is

younger, and fathers have the right to see their child twice a month and thus they feel concerned

and somewhat even discriminated. For this initiative a round table will be held on 28 January, we

have already contacted with the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, the letter or initiative has been

submitted to the government, the government sent it to the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the

Ministry should make inspection and audit to see if the arguments of a group of parents is true that

the child in most cases is given to the mother and the fathers despite being eligible to be quality and

responsible parents fail to have a starting position. So, the framework to be expanded and this

already goes as initiative in the Council of Europe and Macedonia should follow this process.

Presenter: Megjashi is part of another major project that will be implemented during the elections,

you will be partner with the civic association MOST and the Ombudsman to protect children from

abuse in a political campaign. What is it about, how will you protect the children?

Zmijanac: Namely, we, at every election, whether they are local, presidential and parliamentary,

note that not all political parties respect the code of not abusing the children for partisan and

political purposes despite the fact that Macedonia is a signatory to many conventions, we must

constantly put pressure not to abuse children, so we urge them to advocate ....

Presenter: Who do you encourage, what have to be done?

Zmijanac: All political parties in their platforms, let them have for the wellbeing of children, then let

them even have a competition among themselves, but the children not to be part of their decor, to

put them in their political videos, to include them in the election campaign by sticking posters and

making them to wear uniforms of the political party with their party landmarks. So we together with

the coalition, the first platform which includes: CEA, ADI, ITC, Megjashi who has SOS helpline, the

Ombudsman who has SOS helpline and Most (Bridge) will intervene if the Ombudsman notice that

on the field there is child abuse for political purposes and in that case we will demand responsibility.

Presenter: And how can citizens do the same?

Zmijanac: They can call the number 0800 1 2222 of the Embassy to report. We will consult the

monitors whether there are grounds for the report to react and we will submit a written complaint

to the Ombudsman and to write down in our report which will be forwarded to the platform to the

Ombudsman and to prepare a report on the rights of children to Geneva.

Presenter: Unfortunately, Mr. Zmijanac children are not spared from what befell the world I can say,

and it is the refugee crisis. Do you have data, how many children are migrants, how many are with

parental accompaniment and how many without such care ... Let’s specifically talk about

Macedonia, for these children.

Zmijanac: Do not forget that the Balkans had an exodus, genocide and refugee crisis. First it was in

Bosnia when refugees came from Bosnia, when we extended a helping hand and hosted 60

thousand refugees, then from Kosovo to about 300 thousand refugees, then our conflict in 2001

when we opened a shelter for children of internally displaced persons. We were on the field from

the beginning in Demir Kapija and Tabanovce and helped the institutions of the system to practice

the law for asylum seekers and demand fast transport and safe and reliable transportation of the

asylum seekers transiting through Macedonia, to be guaranteed personal safety, be escorted to their

final destination, to give full and absolute support, and if we need to prioritize, then mothers and

children have obligatory to be released first in the list and the children not to be alone

unaccompanied, to be a legal guardian or parent or appointed guardian by the country.

Presenter: How do you rate the care of the state to these children? Can we be proud?

Zmijanac: I think it is mobile and can do even more. When I initially gave interviews I emphasized

that the International community must be more open to this problem, not only with financial help,

but also to share this burden, however, Macedonia is a small country and I think the key factors are

Turkey and Greece, which are the first places where they enter, particularly Greece, and Germany

together with their partners in the mutual sharing of this crisis, I think they should open their

borders for all refugees, especially those affected by war.

Presenter: Right. Let’s talk about the increasing number of crimes of domestic violence or pedophilia

and incest. 150 million girls, 73 million boys worldwide are sexually abused. What is the situation in

Macedonia, what need to be done to protect them?

Zmijanac: You know, when we say that every fifth boy or third girl was sexually harass, or raped or

abused when he/she was a child, we cannot believe it, but when it happens to some of loved ones,

then we raising the alarm. So we have been talking for years about the problem of incest and thanks

to our strong pressure for advocacy and lobbying, last year the parliament members under

emergency procedure did amend to the Criminal Code, the so-called chemical castration has already

been implemented because recevidist cannot control the urge and libido and we believe this is a

humane measure because it helps recidivist not to repeat the same sentence, that is not to be

sentenced with a life impressment and not to have another child victim.

Presenter: Mr. Zmijanac, thank you for being our guest in the show.