Forsaken Albania

By Artan Lame
Mountains of Albania, 1940, 1960. The Empires of the 20 Centuries, irrespective of the fact that they relied on brutal force, did, however, succumb to the enticement of the media. They tried their utmost to create an image of the exportation of civilization, through contact with countries, over which their shadwos fell. Irrespective of the ideologies they represented, in the majority of cases, the means they used were the same to the point of being grotesque.
In the photographs, you can see a peasant, whose attire indicates that he comes from the mountainous area of Kruja. He is wearing the traditional jacket of this area and white leggings and of course on his head is the always-present white,woolen skull cap. In front of him there is an Italian officer belonging to the Alpine troops, who appears to be listening attentively to him, naturally not understanding a word.
In the photos below, the composition of the photo is the same, to the degree that, although it was taken 20 years later, it seems as though the same camera took this photo too. The peasant is more or less the same, but from a zone a little further to the north. In front of him now, stands an officer of the Soviet Navy. Once again the problem is still there, that irrespective of the fact that they are earnestly discussing something, it is anyone’s guess how they are understanding each other.
I didn’t really want to include a third photo here of the year 2000, in which the same peasant can be seen, wearing his white skull cap and facing him this time is a soldier of NATO in uniform and camoflague helmet.
Empires come amd go. Uniforms change, the shoulder straps differ, the distinctions, ideologies, civilizations. The only thing that never changed is that eagle-the highlander. Perhaps it is true that he really did not change, but who can tell whether or not we have benefitted from this.