[ALBSA-Info] Albanian Society in Macedonia and Montenegro

[Agron Alibali]

1996-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

IV. Albanian Society in Macedonia and Montenegro 
Institute on East Central Europe 
Summer    Albanian Society in Transformation: Renaissance or Rediscovery"



REMARKS BY THE VERY REVEREND ARTHUR E. LIOLIN

Chancellor, Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America

The words "transformation, change, and transition" permeate the themes of nearly all deliberations purporting to determine the course of Albanian society today. This indicates the intention to focus on a social order in ferment. That is to say, it is a process which is no longer static but in a state of flux and affecting most aspects of daily life wherever Albanians live in the Balkans.

To be sure, Albanians are not alone on this roller coaster ride which not only touches their economic well-being, but shapes their political outlook, moral perspective, familial cohesion and even international posture. Furthermore, they share this societal realignment with most of the globe, either as a direct result of being a "culture in reform" or as a vicarious reaction to the impact of that reform. In many ways, too, those outside the maelstrom hold a certain responsibility for having initiated, if not encouraged, the movement away from prior bondage.

What strikes me most about the task of appraising the phenomenon is, however, not the broad sweep of the transitions and the temptation to formulate abstract theories and analyses, or even to project pre-conceived conclusions on them. Neat prescriptions for contemporary Albanian society - as with similar others - have fallen by the wayside. Just seeing the big picture, let alone providing directions, has proven to be somewhat elusive. What stands out to me is a very tangible perception that interested scholars and experts are now looking at concrete realities. There is an attempt to make sense of specific needs and perhaps offer parameters of growth rather than menus: guidelines rather than instructions which would be resisted in any case by the very nature of their inflexibility. Indeed, there is reorientation occurring for which there is no exact precedent and which defies precise formulas.

This is altogether appropriate, the more so because the word "democracy" also appears frequently on the prospectus and because any transformation cannot, I believe, come superimposed from above. Instinctively, if not subconsciously, Albanians know this, having just emerged from a discredited and enforced weltanschauung. To be authentic, lasting and pervasive, whatever must be done should spring from their own experience and invigorating struggle; it must be earned, tilled and nurtured before its fruits can be harvested. To this end, there is a daunting caveat: a hazardous gauntlet must be traversed and there is no time machine that can breathlessly fast-forward the process.

Following the fall of the walls, moreover, the inclination to imitate other economic, political, social, juridical and even religious prototypes was - and often still is - a prevalent seduction for a quick fix. And while it is true that imitation in cultures, as with adolescents, is part of learning, it is only a first part, requiring an indigenous evolution before it is uniformly owned.

It is also increasingly apparent that authentic cultural reformation, which is precisely what is happening in Albanian societies, is not purely a mechanical matter of a change from one economic system to another, or from one political authority to another, or from one set of social values to another, grafted onto an old stump. While the will to adapt is there, and the points of reference are identified, the vision has not yet come into focus. Indeed, it requires a change of heart. We are talking, clearly, about a wholesale rediscovery of what it means to be a human being, living in concert with others. How to go about attaining that ideal is still an imperceptible goal. We are going from a clearly defined, albeit flawed, idea of what the "new socialist man" and his world view were thought to be, with all its pernicious implications, to a trek through the wilderness in search of a new identity with a new compass.

I am not the first to suggest the metaphor of a Sinai Syndrome to describe this trying period of exploration, uncertainty, retrogression and impetus which amply describes the feelings of those undergoing the journey. Multifaceted rites-of-passage for whole civilizations have been a useful image of social maturation for over a century, since Oswald Spengler first analyzed eighteen societies in his study, The Decline of the West.

Embarkation into the unknown perforce requires logistic preparations, supply lines, and organization. These provisions are as much a frame of mind as an attention to details. These are aspects for which many Albanians have, as they put it, an inbred allergy, because it reminds them of the type of planned system that failed them in the recent past. Overcoming this aversion will be a necessary precondition for a successful cultural transformation. This also is a mode which must organically develop from within rather than be articulated from an exterior context.

In the meantime, while today's Albanian searches for a new concept of self and society, he still needs a job, is fearful of his son's attraction to consumer goods which he is sore to provide, wants an education, preferably abroad, for his daughter, and wonders if his wife will make it home through the car-clogged streets in one piece.

He knows well, theoretically at least, what a free market is all about, but "accounts receivable" is still a mystery. He lights candles, prostrates in worship and erects a chapel containing every sacred object imaginable. But he has yet to fathom the question, let alone the answer to "who is God?" and what the deity has to do with him. He generously permits his spouse to seek employment and a career, yet cannot bring himself to wash a dish, let alone discuss even remotely the possibility of abuse. Initially enthralled and then bewildered by the plethora of newspapers, he has gradually grown mistrustful of the printed word. One symptom of this cynicism is that for many, gossip has become the reliable currency of exchange: a kind of oral Albanian samizdat, born of distrust in anything "official." The multiplicity of choice seems to take getting used to. When voting, he knows what he is against, but not yet what he is for.

In the numerous letters I receive, the word "disillusioned" is the most recurring and the most haunting. An insistence on entitlement and expectation run a close second. Rarely to be found is an statement of accountability or responsibility. The latter are certainly among the most necessary ingredients for healthy societal development after the elementary freedoms to attain it have been secured.

Despite the obstacles, there are numerous social indicators pointing to an optimistic transformation in the future. First, there is an evident tone of eagerness in the populace to get on with change, however long it takes. Second, trial and error, in many enterprising ways, reveals an adventurous spirit which is so vital to any form of discovery. Third, the current preoccupation with personal needs, while self-directed and isolating for the moment, is heightening a keen vigilance for and sensitivity to the interrelatedness of components, even in a free society. Finally, cultural experimentation in the arts, in thought and in religion, denotes flexibility and ingenuity in adapting to new conditions as they present themselves. All these are not only signs of metamorphosis and "ferment," but harbingers of a new Albanian reality on the brink of emergence. Discovery, experimentation, adventure: concepts which may characterize Albanian societies today have, in the past, been associated with renaissance in other civilizations. May the same be said for this people in this point in time?

The social dilemmas faced by Albanians in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in Kosova and in Montenegro bring with each of them differing postulates. A fledgling middle-class in Macedonia and vibrant commercial ventures in Montenegro afford a certain exposure to and confidence in western lifestyles. A patriotic, intellectual stratum and oppressed rural component in Kosova offer a specter of fear, but also of courage, and of opportunity. A sizable, awakening, and somewhat stable Albanian presence in Greece and in Turkey add further interesting possibilities. Competing ideologies of regional, religious, national or even personal interests, some sincere, and some self-serving, do, of course, complicate the picture. These factors add to the impulse and the challenge for a unified approach by a people sharing common origins.

In the Republic of Albania itself, the period of misplaced idealism and the expectation of immediate fulfillment is over. Also departing the scene, gratefully, is confusion. One has the sense that a threshold is about to be crossed and that the hard tasks which lie ahead will soon come into view. It remains for us to examine the forms and to encourage directions that this new chapter will take as today's Albanian aspires to enter the promised land.

For once in a long, long time, the Albanian has the freedom of choice and the opportunity to exercise it. That, after all, is what democracy is all about and what makes the voyage so vibrant, so terrifying, so complex, and so full of hope. 


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