- A popular picnic in the hills around the city - Korçë’s people woke up on this first day of May with great joy in their hearts. By now, everyone, young and old, has heard that at the May 1 picnic they will have Comrade Ramiz Alia among them. And on this morning, which dawned clear and warm, groups of people made their way up the beautiful hill above the city along its characteristic lanes. The meadows, with their soft grass and surrounded by acacias and other trees that had turned green, filled with the merriment of thousands of Korçë’s residents. This is where, once upon a time, the boys from the Lyceum, the poor craftsmen, and the members of the Korçë communist group used to come. These meadows would become centers for the patriotic and revolutionary education of Korçë’s youth. Groups of young people strum their guitars; farther on, the singers of the characteristic «Lira» group have launched into old patriotic songs. At one moment, applause and cheers take the place of songs and melodies. Comrade Ramiz Alia arrives among these joyful people. He is accompanied by Vangjel Çerrava, First Secretary of the District Party Committee, and Gjergji Krastafillaku, Chairman of the District People’s Council Executive Committee. Everyone wants to go up to the leader, meet him and wish him a happy Workers’ Day. Comrade Ramiz Alia shakes hands with workers, veterans and young people, and affectionately strokes the little ones, who at such moments cannot be held back. (Photo: ATSH) - Welcome, Comrade Ramiz! Happy May Day! - wishes him Anastasi Beri, director of the knitwear combine. - May you live long! Happy May Day, and many more years of good things and success! - he says with a smile, while the workers of the combine gather around him and invite him to sit with them for a while. He sits down and con— After a while, a relaxed, cheerful conversation begins, like at a celebration in one big family. “We are happy, Comrade Ramiz, that you came first to our collective. But we deserve it too, since there are 3,500 of us women working at the combine. Our women comrades are not only good workers but also excellent homemakers.” Comrade Ramiz Alia raises a toast with the workers, wishes them a happy holiday, and meanwhile everyone joins in singing “The Snow Has Whitened the Mountains.” “I’ve enjoyed being among you so much,” says Comrade Ramiz, “in this beautiful place from which the city can be seen, amid such beautiful Korçë songs.” Time passes quickly, and meanwhile other groups are also waiting impatiently to meet the leader. “Stay with us a little longer, Comrade Ramiz,” the workers’ happy eyes seem to say. It is as if “order” has been disrupted a little now. People leave their places—

Impressions When a friend comes to your home for a holiday or a family celebration, the joy is kindled even more. But when the beloved leader of the Party and the people, Comrade Ramiz Alia, comes as a guest to an entire city—as he did this time to Korçë—to celebrate May 1 together with its people, then joy is kindled in every Korçë home. And this celebration becomes so special that not only the workers, clever and calloused-handed, not only the gray-haired, but also the little girls holding white lilies will surely never forget it. A journalist finds it somewhat difficult to capture all this joy. I envy, for example, the cameraman Rakip Zeneli, who has pointed his camera at some little girls trying to climb a tree and see how, up there on the hill where the «zc-mra» of this great picnic is, Comrade Ramiz is talking knee to knee with the workers. I envy my colleague Zamira, who, in order to give the radio report as much color as possible, goes at this very moment to record the voices of the well-known «Lira» choir, where, to my surprise, I see Jani Ballta, secretary of the District Party Committee, singing too. The song really is beautiful. Koli Kondakçiu and Pirro Suljoti and their friends sing it with great passion. And the song sweeps you away like that painting by Abdurahim sipër ta bëj. The reader can do that for themselves. But I was talking about my colleagues in the press... In the end, I believe that all together we will convey to people the intimacy and beauty of this day shared by the people and Comrade Ramiz. How was the picnic organized? Before answering this question, I would like to take a brief look back. At the meeting he held in Korçë, Comrade Ramiz said, among other things: «Listening to the voice of the masses is also a matter of culture, education, tradition and ideological qualifications.» The organization of this celebration in Korçë brings these factors together in one. It can rightly be said that traditionally the people of Korçë have organized this celebration as they wished, with considerable culture. Even today, the weight of tradition could be felt everywhere... ... You see people in groups, as families or work collectives, in companies, among friends, boys and girls together, sitting on carpets spread over the fresh grass. We learn that only half of Korçë’s residents are here today. The other half, especially the young people, the newly in-love and the young couples—those who, as they say, have the «guinën» to climb, meaning they are physically stronger—have gone up the slopes of Mount Morava. - This is as far as I go, - says Koli Kondakçiu, veteran of the «Lira» group. - The young people climb up there and wave to us from Morava. - You look young too, I tell him, though I take you for 53 or 54. But he turns out to be no more and no less than 70 years old. «Music has kept me this way,» he says. - Come to the sports palace tonight; we have a good concert. He says it with confidence, as if he were a chorister in the choir of the O— [cut off] (Continued on page 2) …in the color of the radio report; at this moment, and about those I am speaking of, [someone] goes I see Jani Balltën, is truly beautiful. Kolë Kondaqiu and Pirro Suljoti sing it with their comrades, Abdurahim Buza’s painting “Azem Galica Breaks Through the Encirclement.” “Happy is the one who loves you / Woe to the one who insults you / The serpent will devour him.” They sing it straight away. Their sweet voices, like a breeze over these hills where the forest has just begun to turn green, seem to me to rise all the way up Mount Morava. I will not take up the commentary on the song’s topicality—

- FROM CONVERSATIONS WITH THE WORKERS TAKING PART IN THE CELEBRATION - - I had not intended to make a speech before you, since we have not gathered here for work, but to celebrate and enjoy ourselves, - Comrade Ramiz told the workers of the knitwear combine, wishing them a happy May Day when he went to meet them where they had gathered to spend this special day together. - But, - he added, - your enthusiasm for the Party, this inspiring atmosphere before us, and the thoughts you have expressed prompt me to say a few words too. If we have disturbed anyone’s peace with this gathering, please forgive us. - We are right here in front, - someone says loudly. - We want to make you happy. - I too came to Korçë with great pleasure for the May 1 celebration, - Comrade Ramiz continued. - This year marks 100 years since this day was first celebrated. Korçë is one of those cities where May Day has been celebrated since the beginning of the century. It is a fine thing that this celebration has its own characteristics in every district of the country. You, the people of Korçë, organize it particularly well and with culture. The Party works so that the people can enjoy as much as possible. Socialism is the work of the masses, and it is precisely the masses who should enjoy it, as our people do. The Party, - Comrade Ramiz went on, - has committed all its forces to ensuring that the Homeland progresses, that socialism develops further, and that people’s lives become richer. At its 10th Plenum, it decided what the people wanted. - We’ve grown wings, - says a woman worker. - Your enthusiastic words fit in here too and show that, - Comrade Ramiz replies. - That is why we are optimistic that these decisions will be put into effect. This is a day more difficult than the day the decisions are made. - We must move forward and build for the future, - another worker continues the conversation, - I see that first of all we need goods. - Quite right! You have understood the decisions of the Plenum, - Comrade Ramiz tells him, congratulating him. - You workers have grasped them even faster and better than some who want to show how clever they are. Socialism is a system in which the whole people hold power, - Comrade Ramiz then said. - Their involvement in keeping it on the right path is the guarantee of socialism. Our people value the Party’s work and deeds because their lives are bound up with it. The 10th Plenum responded to the demands of the times and to the country’s level of development. Its essence is that everywhere workers, peasants and intellectuals should feel that they are masters of the country. The people have made Albania what it is. The power that emerged from the war was not imposed against the will of the masses; it was precisely their will. Therefore, the decisions adopted at the latest Plenum continue this tradition. We must be aware that the tasks ahead of us are difficult. But in 45 years of socialism, we have never found it easy. The road we have travelled is filled with struggles and victories. Today’s youth enjoy benefits created through the effort and sweat of many generations. It is not easy for them to imagine what the past was like, because they did not live through it. Only the Party, only the people’s power, only socialism, only the line and policy we have followed have made Albania’s radical transformation possible. We must continue along the road opened by generations through blood, work and self-sacrifice, because it serves the good of the people and the good of the Homeland. The enemies, - Comrade Ramiz emphasized, - have made and continue to make efforts to divert us from this road. They want to turn the wheel of history backwards. Others know their own business, but we Albanians are determined not to return to the past. Such a thing would mean leaving the people without power, without factories and industrial plants, trampling on freedom and national independence, and returning to the time of malaria, swamps, poverty and ignorance. Our people, who built from scratch the Albania we enjoy today, will move only forward. At the end, Comrade Ramiz again wished those attending the celebration an enjoyable May 1 and new successes at work.

So many people, so much joy Yesterday will be remembered by tens of thousands of Tirana residents. It was a beautiful, pleasant day, full of joy. In the early hours of the morning, people of different ages, in groups according to their work collectives or associations and plans made days earlier, took their places on the beautiful green carpet of the magnificent park. One is exhilarated at the sight of thousands of joyful people. And it is impossible, in an article like this, to describe the activities of these tens of thousands of people. It is impossible because each person’s activities far exceed the plans made days earlier. Everyone had thought about how they would spend this day. People have different interests and wishes, but up on the hills near Tirana’s Artificial Lake, everyone would take part in the activities not merely as a spectator, as a consumer, but as a creator too. Here, someone was playing chess; there, an exhibition by young painters was opening; there was the painting marathon, the philatelists’ exhibition; folk games by groups from Vaqarr were getting under way in one place, while elsewhere students from the «Naim Frashëri» schools and the choreographic school performed artistic gymnastics, but a— [continues on page 3]

- SKETCH - Until late at night in the «Ve(h)di Dibra» neighborhood of Peshkopi, it seemed that a wedding was taking place in one of the new apartment blocks. There is joy in the home of Ismet Abdullat. The family is celebrating the return of Etleva, their daughter, a student in Shkodër. Her friend, a teacher from Puka, has come to Peshkopi with his parents. Then there are the girl’s other relatives, Nur(i)u, a lecturer in Shkodër, and Fehmiu, who lives in Tirana, brothers and sisters, friends and well-wishers. They include Majlindë Lusha, Lili(a)ne Shehu, Valbona and their fellow radio amateurs. Their families welcome them joyfully; the girls’ success is twofold. They competed in Enver’s Pioneers’ Championship, because they are all that age, and won the «champion» title. They also entered the adults’ radio-amateur championship. The same story again. These days they returned to Peshkopi once more with an honorary title, as adult champions. Thus the celebration begins in the family, continues at their schools, and now finds them gathered together in the bosom of nature on May 1, in the beautiful Valbonë valley outside the city. Among the many fellow townspeople filling the valley, they too celebrate their success.

- BERAT - Joy brings people together—and it is not the only thing that does. Seeing them so happy, you would never think that these are the workers who, by implementing the decisions of the 10th Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee and Comrade Ramiz Alia’s instruction, are fulfilling and surpassing their targets in exports, freight transport, municipal services for the people, and so on. Milike Kalandrara, Heroine of Socialist Labour and a worker at the textile combine, is among her family in the beautiful, festive setting of the Castle. “May Day in the countryside,” says Mili— [continued on page 2]

(Photo: ATSH)

The thoughts and works of everyone must be connected with the tasks set by the Party today; each person’s creativity must merge with the popular masses’ movement to expand socialist democracy, which the Party leads.