It felt like my feet were walking on their own. My inner map brought me here.
The map of my heart. Tears rolling down my face in front of the door of Scuola degli Albanesi of Venice established in 1442 …
Fatos Arapi’s “Homeland”
“Homeland” by Fatos Arapi (1930–2018), Albanian poet
Homeland is hurt, is hurt,
Like April with a saddened soul,
Homeland is the cross, the cross,
You hold it – and it holds you whole.
Homeland is the promised place,
You tread …
Albania in old Encyclopædia Britannica
9th Edition
— Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, Volume I, “Albania (1.)” —
ALBANIA, a country of considerable extent, which though frequently ruled by turbulent and nearly independ ent chiefs, ranks as one of the provinces of the Turkish empire. …
Albanian Teachers’ Day
March 7, 1887: Korça, Albania — Albanian patriots opened the first desegregated, secular school in what was then the Ottoman Empire, a country that spanned across three continents. 35 students of different religions and social backgrounds attended classes in their …
Trust in the game: How sports can improve Serb–Albanian relations
…Serbia came to Albania, played football, won the game, and earned the applause of Albanians, the victims of Serbian racism and violence in the wars of last century and the Belgrade stadium last year. The indigenous people showed the virtues
Queen Teuta and sexist historians
Here’s an account of gender equality, small government, and international law at their “finest.”
That Queen Teuta had one of the ambassadors killed may be an invention of ancient historians who wrote from a sexist and pro-Greek point of view. …
Say Yes to Racism
I updated my profile picture on Facebook this Friday. But this time I had nothing colorful to share. It was simply a black-and-white image—not of me, or any living thing. I merely posted a graphic file containing a monochrome logo …
Balkan craze: Macedonia vs. Albania
A friend shared a video about the Balkans. A Macedonian Slav on the one side and an ethnic Albanian across the road own restaurants where they serve their native cuisines. The differences are inexistent. But intolerance keeps the Balkan competitors …
What’s More Serious?
What is more serious? To put the Serbia–Albania soccer incident in an American context, let’s ask: is it a KKK crowd chanting “kill all the n****s,” or a banner with MLK’s picture flying into a stadium reserved for Whites only? …
April 7, 1939: The fascist invasion of Albania
On April 7, 1939, Fascist Italy invaded Albania. Resistance in the tiny European country was brief. King Zog I, Queen Geraldine, and their newborn son were forced into exile.
“The b*** has escaped,” said the Italian foreign minister, Count Ciano, …