Forsaken Albania

By Artan Lame
Durres-Golem Coastline-Autumn 1939. Following the occupation of Albania in April 1939, the Italians launched a very broad program of public works all over the territory of the country. There were two main goals behind this. First, to create a certain level of wellbeing for the people by creating thousands of jobs nation-wide, planned to take some of the bitterness out of the invasion, and secondly there was a stratgic aim, creating a platform for further Italian expansion in the Balkans. However, over and above their own reasons, the fact remains that the greater part of the national routes of the country, were constructed during this period.
In the first photo, you can see the work to prepare the area on the hillside for the construction of the Royal Palace in Durres. Italian style, the entire hill was purchased from the owner of the land, the State, and trees were planted, so that it would serve both as the park of the Vila, but also as the green lungs of the city. Now, these invadors who wanted to give Durres healthy green lungs, were naturally trying to deceive us, but we did not fall into the trap they had laid for us. We tore down and destroyed the entire forest during the nineties. To guarantee the succcess of this act, the entire hill, that had been purchased from the State in gold was returned to the original owners, who of course did not return the gold received to the State.
In the photo below, you can see the zone of Shk쮢i i Kavaj쳬 approximately the spot where the overhead bridge is located today, at the begining of the mian route South, known as “Plepat.” Here, the road has still not been tarsealed, because this process was completed a year later. The regulatory plan of that time envisaged this as a no-building zone, so that “Shk쮢i” i Kavaj쳬 which translated, means, “Rock” of Kavaja, with its majestic scenery, maintained its free sweeping view down to the coastline, from as far inland as possible. The term we use today for many parts of the Coastline, “virgin zones” dates back to that time, and when you see the photos of the period you can see that it was acurate. The problem is, that even today, we are still speaking about a “virgin coastline”, something which makes me think we don’t appear to have a very acurate view about virginity.
The Rock where Caesar battled against Pompeu, and for which the Italians were drafting plans to give it a special appearance from the sea, and which, a few years ago, was also proclaimed a monument of nature, today is at the mercy of the one Commune. This Commune has continues to fill it with the solid plaques of reinforced concrete of the multi-story blocks of appartments.
Thank goodness Mujo Ulqinaku sparked off popular resistence against Italy because there is no telling what other roads and beautiful flower gardens and parks the Italians would have built in our country, naturally to hoodwink us! Did they really think that we would fall for that?!