When the regime of Enver Hoxha came to power in 1944 with the help of the British Empire, he had a clear political vision, which was, to change everything: history, culture, language, and to change Albanians above all. He intended to raise the New Socialist Man, and he did so. He gave rise to a generation of people, who were modified and behaviorally conditioned as if they were manufactured by a massive laboratory.
Because religion was banned and removed from the hearts of people, uniquely in the whole world, the communist regime of Enver Hoxha exploited the spiritual void of children and students and filled it with a veneration for symbols, heroes, and false gods. This is exactly the British model applied widely in the world in order to steal people’s natural resources.
This is just an introduction to my explanation of a typical Albanian phenomenon, that is, a special reverence for symbols and heroes, irrationally and inconsistently though. Based on my personal interaction with my fellow Albanians, I notice a disbalanced respect for symbols, for the national hero, for the flag and language, regardless of the fact that much of these could be a product of mythology and propaganda, mainly during the unique regime of Enver Hoxha.
I am not arguing that it is wrong to respect the national symbols and heroes, especially the official ones. What baffles me, however, is that the same Albanians do not react with the same enthusiasm, or they don’t react at all, for things which matter more. They don’t react about our natural resources which are being stolen, about bad laws, about taxes, the economy, the property laws, or lack of investments.
For example, in 2017, a Turkish company built the hydropower plant of Qafe Molla in Albania. Unusually, it painted the Turkish flag on the newly built dam. Surprisingly, the residents of that region, who are predominantly Catholic, were furious about this fact, and even felt insulted to see the flag of “the enemies,” as they would say. Their reaction and protest grabbed the headlines in Albania.
All too foolishly, none of them was focused on the HPP seriously. None of them asked about its real capacity and production, the profit coming from energy production, and the shared benefits with the residents, while they rightfully raised the issue of the land covered by water, but they were distracted.
It goes without saying that the purpose of painting that flag was exactly to distract them from raising the right questions. The flag was painted by the Government of Albania, no doubt. The strategy worked.
This shows a fundamental problem with such ignorant and brainwashed people, who make up the majority in Albania. They’ve forgotten the real ‘national hero,’ which is their land, rights, property, economy, hydropower and natural resources in general. Instead, they foolishly run after symbols – a typical British strategy.
Our hero is Albania with its resources.
Sabri Lushi
