🔵 THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE U.S. AMBASADOR - by Kolec Traboini

THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE U.S. AMBASADOR

 By KOLEC TRABOINI

Hello dear Ambassador of my country, in my country. It is understandable why i address you like this so, because fate brought me to have two home­lands. I have followed with the utmost attentione your tireless efforts to bring together those who stay ex­tremely far from each other in the stages and back­stage scenes of Albanian politics. As i have felt good about your good intentions and disposition, however i feel extremely disspointed seeing the extreme poles of albanian politics. Undoubtly you must feel disap­pointed at this duplicty in albanian politics or the fact that some may have benefited from your openness and your love for this country and this people, and perhaps they even might have ended up to be treach­erous.

We Albanians, historically have been known for the dinstinctive and striking feature among other peoples, for that of generosity and “besa”. When someone came the Albanian home in “besa”, even if he had killed from that family’s men, he was received and sent off accord­ing to the tradition of giving “besa”. No one could be killed “on the bread”, otherwise shame owould cover that household . So powerful was this sense of “besa”, always told as legends, but these legends have arisen from a reality of events that are in popular memory alive even today.

The Fascist Italy capitulated in September 1943. Their place was taken by German Nazi troops , who exce­cuted any italian soldiers and officers left in Albania, as they were considered defecters. The executions took place without trials.

The German troops in Shkodra had received a notice about an italian soldier hiding in a Greater Highland village sheltered by the mountain families. Once the german troops surrounded the house, they ordered all its inhabitants to go outside in the yard. The German officer began looking into the family members faces, one by one, but never seemed to distinguish who was the italian soldier, as he was integrated in the lives of locals and was not distinguishable. The German offi­cer sure of the italian soldier presence there, gave or­ders that if they did not disclose who the italian was, all would be shot to deth because they had sheltered an enemy. One of the young men in that house, after exchanging a look with his father eye to eye, then made a step forward and said: "I am." The German officer carefully looked, and despite the doubts that he had, ordered his execution before the entire family. Later in his memories the German officer wrote: "I knew that he was the son of the house, he was an Albanian and not the Italian , but such were the laws of war. That Al­banian familiy under Albanian law of “besa” could not deliver the Italian and sacrificed his own son.”

This is not myth, but a real event. But in fifty years, under communism and twenty years of democratic chaos, many virtues are violently distorted and today we are in a miserable state. I'm not talking about or­dinary people, because ordinary people always main­tains their dignity, but for the political classes as they alternate their leading of this country from a chaos into another.

Albania has a great obligation to America, because there is no other state or nation that has done more for Albanians. Liberation and independence Kosovo Albanians is the crown of glory for ever and ever and we will never forget the Americans and NATO allies. This is why the American ambassador is received with the hands over their hearts at every door he may go, considered a great friend of the Albanians, namely that he is representative of the state of George Washing­ton, the inspiring force of the freedom of peoples. I am pleased to say that my own father it probably was the first Albanian who wrote about the great Washington in an article titled : "Tell the truth always", dated Oc­tober 18, 1907.

How is the U.S. Ambassador’s attention and intentions of positive developments in Albania, in order for this country to approach the community of the peoples of Europe, being perceived by the politicians of Albania?

As far as i understand, Albanian political behavior to­wards his friends' advice at large leaves much to be de­sired.

Albanian politics does not exceed provincial judgmen­tal mediocrity. To understand it you must first under­stand the psychology of small Bey in his manors of the Middle Ages. Also there is tremendous impact even from a great lonely Pasha during the Ottoman Empire, Ali Pasha, whose conflict with the high Gate did not bring anything good to Albanians, instead created the premises for the independence of Greece and the de­struction of Albanian ethnic lands. Ali Pasha's policy consisted in building a personal Paschallek, and not a state of the Albanians, not finding any spirit of coop­eration with other pashas as Bushtallinjtë of Shkodra. Instead he entered in conflict with them and he could not wait to make them disappear, as he did with his son-in-law, the pasha of Berat. This clever and the crafty Pasha, who had made his name across European regions, has had a major impact on the entire Albanian politics. Albanians did not accept for a long time a for­eign prince, Vid, on the contrary in the first case they kicked him out, trying to operate in Albania in Ali Pa­sha style. We have Esat Pasha Toptani, who was ready to give away Albania’s pieces to neighbors as long as he had one piece of territory in central Albania for himself. The story continues with his grandson, Ahmet Zog, who mixed the cruel craftiness of Ali Pasha with a kind of practicality trying to keep his possessions in a balance between Serbia, which had brought him to power and Fascist Italy that helped keep his monar­chy regime on his feet. The arrival of Communists in power did not change much in the mentality of people of Albanian politics. Enver Hoxha was a true Ali Pasha, who ruled with an iron fist and set an absolute power over his people. Nothing could be done without being filtered by his apparattus, the puppets of the Politic bureau. Traits for which the Albanian people was dis­tinguished in history, bravery and loyalty, it was de­formed in the most violent way, hence surpassing all previous rulers.

No more talk about courage was possible, as Alba­nians were cruely oppressed and there was not one single chance of resistance. Who has lived in a dicta­torship know’s that Albanians had become a shadow of themselves. There could be no talk of loyalty, what was considered the top trait of the Albanians for centu­ries, called the people of “besa”. But what “besa” could we talk when people were forced to spy on each oth­er, even within a family? Loss of traditional traits by which Albanians previously had been taking pride and honor in, were a big loss, and that was the sad moral state that Albanians found themselves in at the begin­ning of Democracy, when Communism began to col­lapse as an ideology. Numerous events that occurred in conditions of freedom explain this and the rulers al­ways tried to deform the dignity of Albanian character, his high qualities of courage and “besa”, because that how the ruling could be easily sustained.

Certainly the American ambassador praises the Al­banian qualitative traditions, and is trying to be more forthright with them, with both ordinary people and the whole policy makers or the state hierarchy. But un­like ordinary people, hierarchs not only do not under­stand the sincerity of the U.S. Ambassador to Albania, but misuse it. Hierarchs of the politics are masters of manipulation, even manage to manipulate and deceive the name of the ambassador. For, once escaped from a case of corruption, thanks to corrupt judges, a political person has taken the opportunity to drink a coffee with the ambassador and has sold this as a friendly coffee to wash the soiled personality, to stand in front of the me­dia as a pure man of this country, for which the Ameri­can ambassador has special consideration. And not just this case. The emergence of a “burnt”personality as a candidate for president, who was prime minister in a critical situation when the country was shocked, he fled the country with his tail in his legs, in the neigh­boring state, was followed by meeting with the U.S. ambassador. His people conveyed the message from his campaign headquarters that the presidential can­didate had the support of Americans. This may not be true, but such was sold to the media.

There is an insulting use by the hundred and twenty Albanian political parties phalanges of all the meetings with the ambassadors of foreign countries, that may well be held as private and without the media.

Albanian politicians are cunning enough to use every opportunity given to them, to affirm themselves and therefore this does not exclude any, from the simplest clerk to the head of state. On one hand they have a dis­custing servility and on the other, after they make the best of the moment, they throw it out as a lemon with­out a drop of juice.without hesitation. There are those who glorify the current ambassador and demonize the former ambassadors, because here in our country the politician’s moto is the aphorism - "I passed the river, the heck with your horse."

What happened to the presidential elections which were held as a masked carnival parades where ini­tially they attract the American Ambassador to this dance. An insidious game of the Albanian policymak­ers, which only an Ali Pasha Tepelena could devise so beautifully. They presented a candidate who had not a single issue with his past as he came from the leg­islative rather than political branch and kept him un­der tension until the moment came where he was not needed anymore. Because that non-political figure, as Europe sought and as America had advised, was sup­posed to win the politicians the approval of the U.S. Ambassador and EU diplomats, who could then say that - Yes, Albanian politicians listen to us, they are proposing a non-party candidate, so thing are on track in Tirana.

They exploited not only the man named Xhezair Za­ganjori, but also all the diplomats who were engaged probably more than needed in this case of the president, who mostly settled for being a marionette of the poli­tics. The engagement of the American ambassador has been open, frank and constructive, but unfortunately gave no result as the great grandchildren of Ali Pasha in Albanian politics want full command of their vilayet and at the speed of light, picked up a choice of their political avant-garde, so they can expand the power in all instances/institutions and eventually legalizing the impossiblity of punishing the corrupt statesmen.

With this choice the power is consolidated and the affairs are closed. Who dares any more, in this state, to acuse a corrupt minister? No one. After this elec­tion will undoubtedly have a dumbfounded people, because already “Maliqi “ will make the llaw and will put on and lay off across all levels of government who ever he wishes.... "L'état, c'est moi" - I'm the state - said Louis XIV.

No doubt an ambassador of a great country like Amer­ica, can not be quiet before this mascarade. A reaction was expected, but diplomacy requires that feedback be soft and more implicit. He failed to appear in parlia­ment and sent a secretary. But Ali Pashas of Albanian politics feigning not to understand, overlook the fact that the American ambassador, who took part in sev­eral events associations, could not to attend the as­sembly session where President of Albania was being elected. An act of disharmony.

People actually understood his message, the media ac­cepted with half voice, but those for whom his absence was intended, pretended as it had not happened.

The second action was the ambassador’s appeal, ad­vice or suggestion: "Act now!" Which was really a nice move, but unfortunately late. In some media someone tried to deviate this cardinal call, diverting it to the extent that it was a call to Albanian society that girls must continue their secondary education and parents should not prevent them. A banal misuse of a great idea into a problem that had no connection with the call in question. But someone was interested in politi­cal circles to minimize the echo of its effect.

However, this call is a long overdue because people are tired and exhausted. There is no more will to opposse, because people are seeing all these polictical moves which include even the names the ambassadors, say­ing that all works are solved up there, they also have support from outside, drink coffee with ambassadors .... and who asks for us. And the result, the major and meaningful appeal of the American ambassador "Act Now!", as it is time that citizens of this country, civil society to say stop to the politics spirited in confron­tation, politics that damage Albania’s entrance to the EU, that Constructivism is more benefiting than than typical Albanian politicsdeconstructivism, so these ideas, though useful are not doing their effect.

One must understand that this non-reaction, that people know their politicians and know that in every politician, statesman or Albanian parliament member sleeps a little Ali Pasha, who for their own narrow in­terests are ready to sell Albania and Albanians to the Devil.

They unfortunately did not preserve any feature of the Albanian good traditions of goodness and “besa”. They do not truly represent the people, even though they buy the parliamentary elections by lying and steal­ing their votes. People know that it is just to give the vote and that’s it. After that people are never asked. It never happens that if there is a problem, where either central or local area residents are asked how to deal with it. But certainly the rulers do violently interfere and often do as they please. In America you can not operate a local cafe on a street without a debate be­ tween residents of the area who are able to close its op­eration if necessary, because the people’s word carried weight. While in Albania it may just be brought every garbage of the world, even radiocative ones, without asking anyone! Even a popular referendum initiative is bound to be found with a hundred obstacles precisely to prevent that person that enjoys the consent of the government to the CEC(The Central Election Commis­sion), known internationally that made the mess even with the municipal elections in Tirana.

Therefore, the title "Act now!", sounds delayed and without even more that after 21 January 2011 until to­day people publicly saw four murders and those re­sponsible are not punished. People, seeing being taxed more than anywhere in other vountries with higher welfare, seeing that no government or ruler caught red handed is not condemned, seeing that parliamentary immunity is a good tool to stimulate the galloping cor­ruption, seeing that each and every day they become poorer and rich become richer, seeing that the most unscrupulous are the masters of this country, see­ing that the parliament has the most members with bought degrees and are people with no personality, seeing that twenty years is not changing anything in this country, seeing all these, the people prefer to fall in a lethargic sleep.

No calls any longer awakens this people ....perhaps will probably wake up when this country is rrocked by the flaming fire, but that would be a horrible awakening and not without consequences for the popular psyche.

Nga Libri me esé  “Zhgënjimi i ambasadorit amerikan”  Kolec Traboini, Pantheon Books  Tiranë 2012, faqe 9- 27