The Big Red Apple: Albanians Celebrate Independence in New York

New York ؔimes Square was awash in red and black on Sunday, February 17th, as hundreds of Albanian-Americans from the tri-state area poured in to celebrate Kosovo’s independence.
Crowds marched along Broadway and Seventh Avenue from 11 AM to 4 PM chanting, singing, hugging, dancing and ecstatically waving both the Albanian and American flag.
The euphoria heightened later in the day as a procession of vehicles joined the revelry with passengers leaning out and waving Albanian flags, while drivers honked furiously in a gesture of solidarity.
Joining the fanfare were also New Yorkers and tourists who would shout “Free Kosovo” and “Albania” in between inquiries of where the two nations are located.
Edgar Hyseni, a foreign-exchange student expressed his joy at having “Hugged people I’ve never met in my life.” “This was the best day of my life” he added.
Ilir Cukaj of Staten Island marveled at the ability of a boy who held court throughout the day with his rendering of traditional “Daulle” music (loud, heavy percussion).
“He started dances throughout the day” said Ilir.
Young women locked hands as they danced to Ilir Shaqiri’s “Erdhi Dita e Pavaresise” (Independence Day is Here) while a group of young men sang “Xhamadani vija vija.”
New York City is home to the largest concentration of Albanians in the USA and as such it is the Mecca of Albanian-American organizations that promote awareness of Albanian culture and society and host various socio-cultural events throughout the year.
Albanians from Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia, young and old, carried banners and posters that expressed gratitude toward the US, and honored their national heroes.
One poster read “Thank you USA” in reference to the unwavering American support of Kosovo since the war in 1999.
National hero Adem Jashari’s image marched along with the crowd.
Among the celebrants were also famous personalities such as champion martial-artist Enver Idrizi, pop-singer Remi and a few former KLA soldiers.
A local New Yorker offered his opinion on the situation: “Now that you got independence, make money.”