The banner headlines streaming across the lower part of the screen on our television set just announced that “The Albanian representative to Italy is going to meet the Pop.” Ah, the interesting things translators inform us of...
This past week the news reported that a contingent of Albanian soldiers, I believe it was 129 soldiers, was leaving for duty in Iraq. That was correct—Albania has more soldiers in Iraq per citizen than any country besides the United States (and perhaps the UK). Albanians are very pro-America and they like Americans. They want to be like us and want to show that they are our friends and allies. You will not find much, if any, criticism of the United States or its policies in this small country, instead you will find respect and support.

Much of this goes back to the pre and post-WWI period. In 1912 a Balkan alliance defeated the Turkish/Ottoman armies and an independent Albania was recognized by the Great Powers (Britain, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Italy). However, that recognition, while creating an independent state, ignored the ethnic realities of the region and left almost half of the ethnic Albanians outside the new state—some in the south, as part of Greece, and even more in the north (Kosova), as part of Serbia. At the end of WWI, Great Britain, France, and Italy wanted to partition Albania among its neighbors, but US President Woodrow Wilson vetoed that plan and Albania was declared an independent and free nation. The United States was the prime mover in this freedom, and the Albanians have not forgotten either our country or that president…

I suspect that another component in this positive attitude towards the United States is American opposition to communism, a form of government that was expressed in the extreme in Albania from 1944 until 1990. After WWII occupation by Italy and Germany was ended, the Albanian Communist Party successfully gained power, and the country became officially the People's Republic of Albania. Enver Hoxha became dictator, and the country became perhaps the most closed nation with the most repressive government on earth. In 1985 Hoxha died and as the communist empire collapsed, so did the grip of Hoxha’s successors weaken. In 1990 independent political parties were legalized, and in 1992 anti-communists won a decisive electoral victory, opening up the country to the rest of the world. Looking back on the hardships of the communist reign, Albanians look forward to the democratic world—and America.
The State Department has a rating system for assignments overseas. The rating is based on the perceived level of hardship the one assigned will endure in a particular country. The highest rating, that is the greatest hardship level, is a 5—and Albania carries that ranking. But with only one week of experience, I do not quite understand that rating. I will write about that more, as I describe what life is like here for Nancy and me. But that is enough for today…

The first picture in today’s entry is of a small waterway that passes through the capital and that we walk by on the way from our apartment to Nancy’s classroom. The other pictures are of the central square of our home for the next four months, the city of Tirana, the capital of Albania. The statue is a depiction of the founding hero of Albania, the military genius Gjergj Kastrioti who lived from 1405-68. Known as Skenderbeg, he rallied the Albanian princes and succeeded in driving the Turkish occupiers out of Albania, and for 25 years, the rest of his life, he frustrated every attempt by the Turks to regain Albania. The large building labeled OPERA houses both the opera and the national library—which has a room sponsored by the US embassy, and appropriately called the American Corner. For years the United States supported libraries designed to inform people about America. They were usually located in or near the US embassy. All these have been closed in the recent past, due to budget cutbacks mandated by congress, but in some places enough funds have been allocated to support something like this one room in a library. It contains books on America and American life, internet access for study about America, and provides a classroom/meeting space for events such as Nancy is involved in these first two weeks—a class on Life in American Today, led by an instructor flown in from the United States for this specific class.
The third photo is of the Opera Building, which also houses the National Library and American Corner. I understand Opera is well done and inexpensive, and plan on being educated on this art form, which is completely foreign to me, while here.
The fourth photo is of one of the government buildings on the main square. If you recognize the architecture as Italian, you are right. Albania, being directly across the Adriatic from Italy, and having been occupied by Italy during WWII, has a strong Italian flavor, and that flavor is reflected in its buildings as well as its pizza.