Shukri Xhelili, former mayor of Peshkopi in the Dibra region, in the northeast of Albania was dismissed from his position and subsequently arrested a few days ago upon charges of misuse of public office in return for sexual favors. Xhelili was caught on camera preying upon a young girl who was seeking employment in the local administration. The video showed in full force a degraded character man using appalling vocabulary, boasting previous affairs with his staff and acting like a medieval lord in his dominion.
Xhelili, among other things, is filmed while explaining to the girl that he can re-activate a position in a local art gallery- no less!- in the city for her, a position that he says was suppressed because it was seen as unnecessary.
The response of the society was disappointing: the immorality aspect of the scandal was taken much more seriously than the corruption element, which is in fact what damages the public good. It is this social climate of ignorance and hypocrisy that serves as the background upon which such instances are unfortunately more common than they seem.
One is taken aback from the daunting challenge of where to start with this shameful story: the corruption scandal, the immoral pattern of powerful men who step over their family, dignity and duty to fulfill personal desires, the plight of young women sexually harassed and misused in so many occasions!
However it is important to keep in mind this story as just one instance that managed to get caught on tape in a pervasive culture of often criminal behavior of these self-proclaimed local gods.
In fact, mayors, district leaders and other members of the local administration display time and time again a mentality and behavior that resembles a curios cross-production of mafia gangs and feudal arrangements. Concentrating power an amassing wealth though employment appointments, tenders and grants, they control their regions without much worry about accountability. Especially outside of the capital, where poverty is more obvious, employment opportunities come scare and the power of media and civil society thins out, these local leaders are in the best position to rule as medieval lords, to consider everything and everybody their own property.
Shukri Xhelili seems to have been no worse than the rest, his only major sin was that he got caught. As his peers will most likely say, he was an amateur.
