Albania Essay, Research Paper
Past and present, ancient and modern, young and old, Muslim and Christian, rich and
poor, north and south, urban and rural, monarchist and socialist: the extremes of Albanian
society are vivid, it s tensions palpable. But Albania is not another Yugoslavia: it is
more like a tensegrity framework, a stable structure of rigid poles positioned in space
and linked together by flexible cables. The cables are stressed but, barring catastrophe,
they will not snap. Albania, this land that is very beautiful, but only some Americans can
tell Albania from Albany or Alabama, and fewer still would be able to find the country on
the map. Despite it s spectacular and varied beauty, it s rich natural resources, and it s
extraordinary tradition of hospitality, Albania has always been the most isolated country in
Europe, and from World War II until very recently, one of the most isolated countries on
earth.
Since 1991, Albania has welcomed foreign visitors but, as the poorest country in
Europe, it has attracted relatively few of them. Yet there are many reasons why the
outside world should be interested in Albania and concerned for it s future. Albania is a
Balkan country and thus a crossroads of East and West, North and South; it is as rich in
history as it is in resources. When Albania achieved independence, nearly half its
population found itself outside its newly drawn borders, in what is now called the former
Yugoslavia. But Albanians are not Slavs, and the Albanian language is not Slavic. Much
has been written about historic transition from communism, but Albania s transition is
ignored in most of these accounts. This is probably because Albania s brand of
communism was different from the others, and its society is more difficult for a Westerner
to understand, or maybe because people didn t pay much attention to what happenes in a
tinny little country in Eastern Europe (Long life to your Children 118).
The legacy of fifty years of Europe s most draconian communism is the darkest
shadow of the past , that ended only in 1991. (16) Writing recent history is always
problematic; an objective account of the past fifty years in Albania, where extremes and
excesses of the communist regime are recent memory, is probably impossible. But
everyone agrees in one thing: Albanian communism was not like the others. It brought this
country overwhelming disasters and poverty. Albania’s economy changed drastically in the
early 1990s, as the government moved from a Communist system to a more democratic
organization. Albania emerged from the Communist era as the poorest country in Europe.
For the first time Albanians were granted the right to foreign travel. The country still
relied on tens of thousands of Albanians who work in Greece, Italy, and Germany and
send money home to support their families. (Jacques 294) Throughout 1990 thousands of
Albanian citizens tried to flee the country through Western embassies. A multinational
relief operation arranged for safe evacuation of more than 5000 Albanians, and 20,000
more sailed illegally to Italy in vessels seized at civilian ports. ( Albania a country study
227)
From 1944 to 1991 Albania’s government was under the complete control of the
Communist Party. Power was consolidated in one man, Enver Hoxha, who ruled Albania
with an iron fist and stifled any dissent. After Hoxha’s death in 1985, Albania began to
emerge from its isolation. As Communist rule in Eastern Europe collapsed in 1989, some
Albanians demanded extensive reforms. In 1990 the government endorsed the creation of
independent political parties. (191)
Albanian citizens had few of the guarantees of human rights and fundamental
freedoms that have become standard in Western democracies. According to Amnesty
International, political prisoners were tortured and beaten by the Sigurimi during
investigations, and political detainees lacked adequate legal safeguards during pretrial
investigations. Most investigations into political offenses lasted for several months. Alia’s
regime took an important step toward democracy in early May 1990, when it announced
its desire to join the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, while at the same
time introducing positive changes in its legal system. A prerequisite for membership in the
CSCE is the protection of human rights. The United Nations Human Rights Committee
had severely criticized Albania for its human rights abuses in 1989, and in May 1990 the
secretary general of the United Nations visited Albania and discussed the issue of human
rights. The results of these efforts were mixed, but in general the leadership became more
tolerant of political dissent. The communist regime faced perhaps its most severe test in
early July 1990, when a demonstration by a group of young people in Tiran , the nation’s
capital, led about 5,000 to seek refuge in foreign embassies. (Jacques 365)
I remember for the first time when the people broke the gates of the foreign
countries embassies in Albania. That was the first step for the people to get out of there,
but the government told us that all those people who broke those gates will be punished. I
still remember the crying of the relatives of those people, they thought that their sons or
daughters would be killed, but what they didn t know was that their sons and daughters
were the first ones to brake free from a fifty year old communism, and that a very good
future was awaiting them (Marku).
To defuse the crisis in July 1990, the Central Committee held a plenum, which
resulted in significant changes in the leadership of party and state. The conservatives in the
leadership were pushed out, and Alia’s position was strengthened. Alia had already called
for privatizing retail trade, and many businesses had begun to operate privately. In a
September 1990 speech to representatives of Albania’s major social and political
organizations, Alia discussed the July crisis and called for electoral reform. He noted that a
proposed electoral law would allow all voting to take place by secret ballot and that every
precinct would have at least two candidates. The electors themselves would have the right
to propose candidates and anyone could nominate candidates for the assembly. Alia also
criticized the bureaucratic “routine and tranquility” of managers and state organizations
that were standing in the way of reform. (Jacques 230)
Despite Alia’s efforts to proceed with change on a limited, cautious basis, reform
from above threatened to turn into reform from below, largely because of the increasingly
vocal demands of Albania’s youth. On December 9, 1990, student demonstrators marched
from the Enver Hoxha University at Tiran though the streets of the capital shouting
slogans and demanding an end to dictatorship. By December 11, the number of
participants had reached almost 3,000. In an effort to quell the student unrest, which had
led to clashes with riot police, Alia met with the students and agreed to take further steps
toward democratization. The students informed Alia that they wanted to create an
independent political organization of students and youth. Alia’s response
organization had to be registered with the Ministry of Justice. The student unrest was a
direct consequence of the radical transformations that were taking place in Eastern Europe
and of Alia’s own democratic reforms, which spurred the students on to make more
politicized demands. Their protests triggered the announcement on December 11, 1990.
The day after the announcement, the country’s first opposition party, the Albanian
Democratic Party was formed.. Five of the eleven full members of the Politburo and two
alternate members were replaced. The student unrest that began in Tiran gave rise to
widespread riots in four of the largest cities in northern Albania. Violent clashes between
demonstrators and security forces took place, resulting in extensive property damage but,
surprisingly, no fatalities. On December 17, the Democratic Front’s daily newspaper,
Bashkimi, described what had occurred and then warned that such violence could lead to a
conservative backlash, suggesting that conservative forces posed a real threat to the
process of democratization in the country. (289)
In his traditional New Year’s message to the Albanian people, Alia welcomed the
changes that had been occurring in the country and claimed that 1991 would be a turning
point in terms of the economy. A constitution created a multiparty parliamentary
democracy and guaranteed freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and
organization. But despite positive signs of change, many Albanians were still trying to
leave their country. At the end of 1990, as many as 5,000 Albanians crossed over the
mountainous border into Greece. Young people motivated by economic dissatisfaction
made up the bulk of the refugees. (623)
Foreign journalists who visited Albania in spring 1990 reported that Alia enjoyed
considerable popular support as he toned down the APL s harsh rhetoric on ideological
issues and raised widespread hopes that finally Albania was on the way to rejoining
Europe (Binder). In March 1991 elections to the People’s Assembly took place. The
Communist Party and its allies dominated, but the newly formed Democratic Party won a
substantial minority of seats. In April 1991 an interim constitution was passed. Parliament
elected Alia to the new post of Albanian president. (Albania a country study 248)
Following a general strike by thousands of workers, the government resigned and a
coalition government was created in June 1991. It included Communists, Democrats,
Republicans, and Social Democrats. In December 1991 the coalition government
collapsed and an interim administration was appointed. Elections were held in March
1992, and the Democrats took control of the People’s Assembly. The assembly elected the
leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, as president. Opposition parties boycotted
the parliament, which in early 1997 elected Berisha to another five-year term. (Biberaj
203)
Also in early 1997, several fraudulent investment schemes failed, costing thousands
of Albanians their savings. A lot of people lost everything they had: their homes, land,
money and everything else. The economic disruption and political scandal prompted
Albanians in several cities to protest and riot. A sporadic rebellion broke out, and several
parts of the country were virtually ungoverned. To prevent the outbreak of an all-out civil
war, President Berisha appointed a Socialist, Bashkim Fano, to lead a government of
national reconciliation. He also promised new legislative elections in June 1997. The
Socialist Party won control of the assembly in those elections and chose Rexhep Mejdani
as the new president. ( Albania a country study 213)
Traditional clothing consists of colorfully embroidered shirts and dresses.
Traditional clothing was discouraged under the Communists in favor of inexpensive,
modern clothing made by the state. Traditional costumes are still worn in many rural and
upland areas, especially among women. Urban homes were owned by the state, consisting
chiefly of apartment blocks with attached cultural and recreational facilities and
state-owned stores. In the countryside dwellings were usually one- or two-story family
houses, mostly for peasants living on collective farms, and small apartment blocks for
workers on state farms. People who lived in larger dwellings could buy them from the
state for small fees. Over the next few years, many state properties became private and a
market for private homes developed. Still, housing construction in the mid-1990s did not
keep pace with the country s high rates of birth and migration to cities. As a result, some
cities were overcrowded and the number of shanty dwellings grew. (220)
The Communists ended much of the traditional, male-dominated clan system and
guaranteed equal rights to women. Aspects of the clan system survived, especially in the
highlands, and people followed the Kanun of Leke Dukagjini For all their habits, laws,
and customs, the people, as a rule, have but one explanation: It is in the Canon of Lek
the law that is said to have been laid down by chieftain Leke Dukaghin As for the laws
and customs ascribed to him, the greater part obviously far earlier than the fifteenth
century, when he is said to have lived. ( Durham 63) The legal age for marriage was 18
years old for both sexes and access to divorce was equalized between spouses. However,
virtually no birth control was available to women because the state wanted them to bear
children. Since the democratic reforms, women have become more organized and
established their own associations. Nonetheless, women s participation in the country s
political life remains limited. (Binder)
Living standards have improved in Albania since the collapse of the Communist
system, but the gap between rich and poor continues to grow. The newly rich are mostly
entrepreneurs who have taken advantage of growth opportunities, while the newly poor
are those who depended on the state welfare system and, in the absence of that system,
suffer. Homelessness and hunger are higher now than under the Communists
Communications. Meanwhile, protests in Albania continued, leading to the removal of
several hard-line Communists from the government and party Politburo. (Long life to your
Children)
Although isolated for decades and ruled by a repressive regime that denied them
their most elementary rights, the Albanians have undergone significant cultural, social, and
economic transformations; they are no longer a largely uneducated peasant education,
characterized by a clan mentality, as often portrayed by the Western media. The majority
of the Albanians evidently recognize that national reconciliation, a major aspect of the
program of the Democratic Party, is the best way for the successful revival of their
poverty-stricken country. Albania is endowed with considerable mineral resources and has
a young, dynamic population, eager to join the rest of the world. Now as it enters the
post dictatorship phase, it desperately needs the assistance and friendship of the outside
world. Without that assistance, Albania s fledgling democracy may be doomed. ( Biberaj
190)