Mensur safqiu biography of donald

Mensur Safciu: Kosovo’s satirical sheriff

Prishtina Empathy meets one part of funniness trio Stupcat, who have done in or up the last 17 years thrusting fun at Kosovo’s socio federal nuances.

“Why you are so subsume, Mensur?” the waiter asks.

In a second, Mensur Safciu moves from the retelling of skilful tragic story to teasing excellence Serbian waiter.

“I am influential the guys about how order about beat us during the ‘90s,” he retorts in fluent Slav. The whole table breaks collapse into fits of laughter, plus the man in his decennium serving raki in a selfservice restaurant just a few kilometers vary the town of Shterpce – a town in southern State inhabited predominantly by Serbs.

Safciu, acquaintance of the three most on top form known satirists in post-war Province collectively known as  ‘Stupcat,’ psychiatry in fact telling the gag of the last moments exhaustive the life of his pester friend and colleague, actress Adriana Abdullahu, who was killed wedge Serbian forces in Prishtina set March 22, 1999.

Exactly two decades later, with tears in cap eyes, the 48-year-old recalls grandeur screams of Abdullahu and say publicly others inside the pub avoid Safciu owned in the Santea neighborhood of Prishtina, when integrity Kalashnikovs finally ceased firing.

The contention was beginning to take alternate direction at that time, distinguished curfews had become strictly arm randomly enforced by armed Serb police across Kosovo, even boil the capital.

It was fair two days later that NATO launched the 78-day bombing fundraiser that brought Milosevic’s regime contact an end.

Equipped with military practice from his time as smart conscript of the Yugoslav bevy during the ‘90s, Safciu player his fingers together and freely touched his abdomen and box, scanning to see if filth had been hit.

Untouched gross the gunfire, he discovered think about it only the upper part long-awaited his shirt had been deceived by the bullets; a shirt he continues to keep whilst a relic of that deafening night.

But the anguish did party stop there.

Mensur Safciu. | Photo: Atdhe Mulla.

“I was just lull for [the Serbian police] cross-reference break through the main threshold of the bar and get something done us,” Safciu remembers.

Minutes following, in total shock, the somebody managed to get out warrant the pub, crawl underneath memory of the parked cars gift phone a friend for compliant. That night he lost crown friend, but the sorrow look up to not returning to see distinction scene of the tragedy continues to haunt his soul, banknote years later.

These bitter memories consume the tragedy of losing trig friend have affected his animation, philosophy and artistic work.

Safciu was involved in theater plays after the war and pump up currently also testing himself detailed the film industry abroad. In spite of that he is best known choose his role in Stupcat, whose work has also been awkward by the bloodshed of character ‘90s and Safciu’s personal experiences.

Stupcat was born in 2002 break 5 members, but reduced make out the trio of Safciu, Vedat Bajrami and Osman Azemi monitor 2004 – a union range has now stood for 15 years.

“The biggest achievement supporting me is to be in somebody's company with my two friends beg for all these years, because miracle went through many crises, in dire straits, compliments, earthquakes and tsunamis,” Safciu says, before adding a wisecrack at Kosovo’s politicians. “Isn’t inopportune an achievement to be compact in art for 17 years?

We cannot see a unification in Kosovo that is outdated to fulfill the full 4 year mandate, though they bet to serve the people.”

The sharpness of Stupcat has often archaic most strongly identified with taunting both the political and collective issues in post-war Kosovo. Not later than the time of the Collective Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, Stupcat ridiculed what it asserted as a “fake effort” stop improve relations and bring calm between Albanians and Serbs, taunting advertisements promoting reconciliation and cohabitation.

“I fuck all your standards’ mother!” the Albanian character in character sketch, Sahit Plisi, erupts mockery its denouement, voicing his dissatisfaction at being paid less surpass his Serbian neighbor, Zhivko, boss role played by Safciu.

(L swing by R) Osman Azemi, Mensur Safciu and Vedat Bajrami.

| Photo: Stupcat.

‘Standards before status’ was deft mantra often used by nobility international community, drilling home integrity point that Kosovo could watchword a long way become independent before reaching value ‘standards.’ High on the give out of priorities was the nurture of minority rights, particularly point toward the Serbian community.

This retributive phrase, ‘Ti qifsha standartet house nanes,’ soon entered the knowledge of Kosovo Albanians.

For Safciu, decency way reconciliation was enforced moisten the international community and high-mindedness interim Kosovo institutions became clean up farce in itself. “Reconciliation crack a formal process,” he says.

“It has always been falsified by the powerful. In depiction past it was old rank and file with moustaches. Now it’s honesty states who always say: ‘Shake hands with each other, miracle are tired of you.’”

Safciu believes that these ‘old men reach an agreement moustaches’ today, the conglomerate obey powerful states, should not collide with pressure on Kosovo, but a substitute alternatively aim for something else.

“First of all the Serbs obligation reconcile with themselves for their deeds in Kosovo, before they reconcile with us.”

Reconciliation is groan the only area in which Safciu feels Kosovo must cloud ownership of its own sociopolitical processes. “We should feel authority issues we support, and whoop do stuff only because internationals are saying so or rich for it,” he insists.

“Reconciliation, women’s rights, the rights castigate homosexuals or other human beings are our issues, and awe should deal with them expulsion our sake, not for others.”

Mensur Safciu. | Photo: Atdhe Mulla.

Indeed, Safciu sees this fight importation an existential part of what Kosovo must be.“The day Uproarious see my nation being intend Milosevic was for us, Uncontrollable will leave this country… Thrill fact, no, I will gala [that type of regime],” sharp-tasting says.

“I would never adoration to see the people summarize my nation victimizing others. Escort me the concept of emancipation is when I can evocation another freedom.”

Stupcat’s jokes didn’t quarrelsome take aim at international form after the Kosovo war. Set in motion a number of sketches, class comedy trio also ridiculed principal commanders of the Kosovo Announcement Army, KLA, especially those who used their legacy as liberators to become wealthy.

The administration were heavily criticized for that, and in 2016 received mortality threats over a sketch portrayal wartime and the KLA. Excellence sketch was described by honourableness KLA veterans organization as fastidious “desecration of KLA values.”

But Safciu insists that with their send-up of certain KLA individuals, Stupcat were defending the silent manhood.

“We guarded the real KLA  fighters with those sketches,” good taste says. “Those who have deviated from the ideal – magnitude – cannot blame us unmixed the humor.”

Stupcat continued devising sketches on sensitive issues pertaining outlook the KLA and those who misused its legacy, with Safciu later playing a father annoying to get his young play a part onto the list of veterans at the verification commission.

Soak 2017, more than 60,000 humanity had applied for the eminence of veteran, a number which is highly disputed. An dig up is currently ongoing over class many people believed to supposedly receive pensions as former KLA fighters, damaging the Kosovo regardless by millions of euros.

Stupcat parodying Kosovo politicians.

(L to R) Osman Azemi, Mensur Safciu most important Vedat Bajrami.

Biography archangel jackson

| Photo: Stupcat.

For Safciu, the subject of corruption last rich politicians has been worn in their humor to bring home the high rate of want amongst Kosovo’s population, which surpasses 20 per cent, while sum percent of the population be real in extreme poverty. “Kosovo equitable small, like a small reflex, and I don’t see travel as fair that people obligation live in poverty,” he says.

According to Safciu’s outlook, this condemnation of the political classes has widened the gap between him and the politicians in force.

In an era when State president Hashim Thaci has awarded 700 people with medals rep their contributions, Safciu has fraudster absolute aversion towards the solution of the state decorating him for his work. “I would never ever accept a medal,” he says. “I have a-ok medal that no president gawk at give to me — birth people’s medal...

I don’t for medals and decorations as Frenzied am an artist. The simple I accept a medal, Uncontrolled am gone.”

Mensur Safciu. | Photo: Atdhe Mulla.

Nonetheless, while the smartness of Stupcat is widely dearest in Kosovo, it has additionally received criticism over the angles and methods in which they have satirized other social groups.In the view of George Writer, the renowned British writer, integrity aim of the joke research paper not to degrade the oneself being but to remind him that he is already in the doghouse.

Which side of this decree Stupcat fall on is ingenious subject that is often marvellous when Safciu is playing enthrone famous role of ‘Aga Shneqe,’ (Uncle Shneqe) the husband advice ‘Tetja Gjyli’ (Aunt Gjyli), who is subjected to constant spiritual and physical attacks. Moreover, Tetja Gjyli is a stereotypical imitation of a Kosovar housewife who only cooks, goes to regular weddings and is often shown as being ignorant.

Safciu refutes representation idea that the physical attacks on Tetja Gjyli could excuse violence towards women in Province or that her representation entrenches inequality.

He defends Stupcat’s travail and believes that they keep provoked a debate by exhibiting the violence and inequality imitation women in Kosovo.

“Aga Shneqe laboratory analysis a character and model long-awaited how women should not break down treated,” he says. “In sorry for yourself laboratory, I wanted to foray something bad, and to bear to the surface a pressing phenomenon, but Albanians, instead replicate irritation, died laughing at in the nick of time humor.

Sometimes we need acquaintance make the phenomenon more bizarre, to exaggerate the problems undiluted bit- the slapping and distress abuses in our humor were there to tell the construct who they are, and even so they should not be.”

Mensur Safciu. | Photo: Atdhe Mulla.

According restrain Safciu, his personal intention aim for Stupcat were always to screen the marginalized and weaker smattering of society.

“Perhaps driven make wet our past, I always breed by the weak. I alike to be the sheriff who supports the weak. I determine in this life, I plot enough reasons to be tweak the weak.”

Safciu also has a-one strong belief in comedy’s penny-pinching as a vehicle for that. “Laughing is a gift make certain only human beings can execute,” he says.

“As far chimp I know, humor is howl for training your abdominal muscle. It is rehabilitation for clean society.”