Statement on the cancellation of Mashkari Amende (Among Us) concert

Skopje / Berlin, 26 September 2026

The European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) extends its deepest condolences to the family of the young boy whose death has brought Šuto Orizari into mourning. His loss is felt across the whole community, and ERIAC shares in its grief.

Tomorrow, the day the festival was to take place, he will be laid to rest. At the request of the Mayor of Šuto Orizari, Kurto Duduš , and with ERIAC’s full agreement, Mashkari Amende has been cancelled. There will be no celebration beside a family burying its child.

Mashkari Amende marks thirty years of Šuto Orizari as a municipality, the institution through which a Roma community governs its own public life. That anniversary belongs to the community, and it will be marked when the community is ready. When fire struck the neighbourhood earlier this month, ERIAC placed the community first. It does so again. 

Mashkari Amende will return to the Municipality Square.

“A festival can wait. A family’s grief cannot. There are days when an institution must lead, and days when it must know how to stand beside its people in silence. Tomorrow is such a day. Šutka has held together through thirty years of governing its own public life . When Šutka calls us back, we will return, together.”

– Mensur Haliti, Chair of the Board, ERIAC

ERIAC thanks the people of Šuto Orizari for the care with which they have stood by one of their own families, Mayor Kurto Duduš and the Municipality for their partnership, and its artists, partners and guests for their understanding and patience. When the festival comes, it will be as its name promises: among us.