Why I withdrew my candidacy
ON THE EVE OF 31 MARCH
As a Himariot, as an ordinary cadre and creator, as a modest student of the history of my birthplace—Himara—I have observed that, from the depths of the centuries right up to our days, it has held fidelity as the foremost of its virtues. Therefore, as I write these lines with openness and sincerity, I am frightened and tremble to the depths of my soul lest someone accuse me of betraying my word for the action I am taking, by which I am compelled to withdraw my candidacy for deputy of the Front in the region of Himara.
That beginning of January, bitter beyond words for the people of Himara, with the region bloodied by the mass departures of its beloved and cherished sons, was the day my candidacy was announced there in the empty hall—the hall I have directed for years. [The source repeats the phrase hall.”]
For my part, I do not understand a people’s deputy to mean taking an armchair from one hand and giving it to another...
But as soon as I left the hall, I felt on my shoulders the kindly hands of some Himariots, sensible and cultured people who know how to keep pace with the times. They congratulated me warmly. Yet within their warmth they also offered me a small dose of humor: “Congratulations, long live the transmission!”... “Good luck, you lever of the Party!”
For the record, I do not belong to any political party. But I supported and backed our cause with all my strength as an organization, since the overwhelming majority of its members had left it.
Secondly: In the interests of truth, it must be admitted that party monism made the work of the Front rigid in the Himara region as well.
In the Front’s activities, in its name, meetings and assemblies were held, tasks were assigned and decisions made, documents were signed, and character references were sent back and forth which, instead of repairing things, damaged the traditional unity and the noble, strong and manly bonds among Himariots. The gulf of class struggle was needlessly opened and deepened.
But now, at a time when the Coast is bowed down by unprecedented problems, worries and difficulties, the Front is nowhere to be heard. It is silent and makes no sound.
Where was the Front when, in broad daylight, buses and cars—vardhar—headed toward the border, carrying off our boys, the flower of the Coast, to a foreign land?! Why did the Front turn a blind eye, that same Front that pelted people with “karro” character references and did not put a “dart” on paper to complain about the troubles the region faces today?! This “all-people’s” organization, which called meetings ten times a day over one of its members “engaging in gossip,” when someone exposed the dirty dealings of a bureaucratic and degenerate cadre, why did it not meet at all in these troubled times, full of wounds and unrest?!
And the comrades from the district, where did they go—
Why I accepted the opposition’s candidacy
To be honest with the reader, I admit that it was very difficult for me to say “yes” to the proposal of the Lushnjë branch of the Republican Party when it offered me a candidacy for deputy in the forthcoming pluralist assembly. There are several reasons. But I will mention the one-party fanaticism (although I was never a member of the Party of Labour), the lack of a pluralist culture, and the fear that one of my fellow villagers might take me for an ingrate and consider the respect and image they have of their local son to have been betrayed.
In the end, the pluralist spirit prevailed. But why did my convictions begin to evolve gradually? Pluralism is entering every cell of the spirit. National feeling above all. In my mind, pluralism has taken on the dimensions of free thought. I am utterly fed up with the advice: write this way, write that way! As a journalist, I no longer want to know about threats from arrogant government officials: “Don’t write like that again, or I’ll break the point of your pencil!”
Sometimes I think that these threats truly will not be repeated, but at other times I tell myself: “Don’t be hasty; pluralism may have temporarily cowed some people!...” Why do I make this statement? Not without reason, not for fashion, nor to whistle against the people’s government; the truth needs no oaths. Socialism marched monopolized across the plains and walked on foot up the hills. Go today to the centers of the hill cooperatives. In 50 villages there are no roads for motor vehicles—I mean roads paved with stones. Comfortable clubs have been built in the villages of the chairmen and secretaries. I say to myself: “Fine, the privileges these chairmen enjoy—even though during these pluralist months the committee chairman has removed some luxuries from his office, such as a colour television and [unclear]—but the remodeling operations in the committee have not changed. Indeed, he even built secret stairs leading from his office to the floors below. Funda proved clever, so that they would not raise slogans saying ‘Down with the chairman!’? Here I give credit to the evolution of the chairman’s democratic spirit.
My Ballagati does not even have a decent bakery to bake bread, nor water to drink. The dream remains a dream. Since the plain has been supplied in its entirety, I say that the hills will have their turn too, even though thirst—and we—should have been relieved long ago.
I am speaking of people’s thirst, not that of plants, for that is out of the question.
The entire hilly area does not even have a high school; what is more, the agricultural schools were moved up with
...arëve përërisë, në për disa. patarë- are si shqip- em të dhe plo- shqip- mo- ovini- Ma- i, kur ekono- Mbroj- nimit vizës rëzore
...my judges, but only state investigators, nevertheless, having them, they also threw in a thin dose of humor: “Congratulations, the transmission!... Success, O Party levi!”...
For your information, I do not belong to any political party. I support and stand behind pluralist ideas with all my strength.
And, in view of my commitments, deeply experiencing the circumstances our country is currently going through, seeing that today several parties have emerged on the Albanian political scene and have extended their activity, with members and sympathizers, as far as Himarë, and also taking into account its recent hardships and concerns, I believe that I am superfluous among the candidates for deputy in the People’s Assembly as a representative of the Front. Why?
First: The Democratic Front, as an alliance of political forces, no longer exists in Himarë, since, first of all, it does not function-
They congratulated me warmly. Yet, amid the warmth, one of its members said that I “was engaged in gossip” when I exposed the dirty dealings of some bureaucratic and degenerate official; why did it not meet at all during these turbulent times, full of wounds and unrest?!
But where have the district comrades gone, that we no longer see them?! Before, all it took was for a lamp to be put in the village square, and then people would come down from above, young and old alike, so that those watching secretly would smile bitterly: “Spile’s square has become a parking lot for cars and ‘Aro’ vehicles, while we poor souls don’t even have a single bus to get as far as Vlora!”
But today?! No one thinks to cross the threshold of the office! And even if someone does remember and comes, whom will they meet?! Who is left to be part of the Democratic Front?! In the Himarë region, both in the town itself and in the neighborhoods of the vill-
...a “people’s” [organization] that meets and ... several times a day, and degenerate official; why does
(continued from page 2) in the neighborhoods of the vill-
...the tip of the pencil!...
Sometimes I think that these demands some people!...” Why do I make this claim? Not without reason, not for fashion, and not to set off fireworks against the authorities.
In the local newspaper on February 26, I published a satirical piece defending my fellow villagers, who had not been provided with bread for three weeks. On February 27, the chairman of the District Executive Committee of the Party of Labour, Dhimitër Çili, “smiling” at me, paid me the compliment: “You’ve been writing so much about your fellow villagers and the village lately.” We are to blame for bringing you to the newspaper. This was no place for polemics, although when I came to the newspaper, the chairman was director of the SMT. I’m surprised he was the one who brought me to the newspaper! It is difficult for an incapable person to stay at a newspaper, but in the committee, yes, because they want to keep the work going. And so, this truth from the chairman may perhaps have influenced the acceptance of my candidacy.
Another thing. My fellow villagers, and with them the whole area, have never managed to win the hearts of the district’s government and party leaders, who have always come from the plain. I expected the harshest punishment; if I intend to smear all the people, I say that the hills’ turn will come too, even though the thirst should have been quenched of plants, because that is not in question.
The entire hilly area does not have even one [unclear], and even the agricultural schools were established late. The hills have no comfortable cultural center, and even the commercial service units look like barns. Let us not forget that around 20,000 people live in these hills. Of all the reforms, the hills have benefited only from electrification.
I have never understood the district’s indifference toward the hilly area. Perhaps these contrasts between hill and plain were also why I accepted the candidacy for deputy, so that I could help my fellow villagers as much as possible.
But what else prompted me to say “yes” to the Republican Party’s proposal? Its enlightened program, its honest struggle for democracy, its distancing itself from violent acts, its balance, and its sincere contribution to reducing tensions (remember its repeated proposals for a referendum on the figure of Enver Hoxha and the creation of a Presidential Council).
I also explain my acceptance of the candidacy by the vision I now have of the pluralist assembly.
(continued on page 2)