I am not sure why I am wasting time adressing a bully with a bizarre obsession, but I felt a little clarification was due.
Over a year ago, I interviewed Erion Veliaj. I had heard of him through a Mjaft documentary prior to coming here so when the opportunity to interview him came up, I was keen. I wanted to find out first and foremost how he made the switch from activisit, to being a part of the party he opposed. I had been here for three months, had not started writing about politics here, and had little interest or knowledge of the backstory. I interviewed him, he seemed nice, I even liked him- despite him being a typical politician that dodged my questions. I wrote my interview on face value- good and bad and published it. I was then accused of being paid by BOTH political parties, and even Soros (LOL) because I had not subscribed to either sides way of thinking.
Over the following months I began to find out more- the stray dogs in Tirana, Ardit Gjioka, the irregularities around planning, trees, contracts, the Old Theatre, and then Astir happened. By this time, I had started to become more active in civil society and my writing had become more political, as I began to understand and discover more. I then began to actively investigate him- fake profiles and social media trolls, bullshit about trees, blocking people on social media (including news portals), his sexist and xenophobic comments, the agressive way he speaks in Albanian when compared with his polished English-speaking persona, his slanderous comments against members of the public- the list goes on. This happened day by day, week by week, month by month, to the point where I now actively write against him because of the things I have seen and discovered for myself.
Do I regret writing that article over a year ago? Not at all. To me it serves as an example of how poweful the persona he created is, and how only knowledge and critical thinking can change that.
To say that a person cannot change their minds is just absurd- over my life I have changed my mind on Tony Blair, David Cameron. Joseph Muscat, Lady Gaga, raki, tomatoes, socialism, the colour pink, reproductive rights, whether I want to be a mother, even my view on gender fluidity.
These changes came through experience, education, reading, researching, debating, listening, challenging, admiting I was wrong/right, thinking, and developing as a person and now as a journalist. The very concept that one should always stick by their initial thoughts is so incredibly flawed and I cannot for one moment think that there is anyone anywhere who has the exact same set of views about politics, society, religion, food, people, places, life or anything else, that they did 1/10/30/50 years ago.
Being a writer or journalist is no exception to this-it is our job to research, challenge and persuade and often our discoveries will change the way we perceive things as well- anyone with any real experience knows this.
Furthermore, to deny someone their right to an opinion based on their nationality is inherently wrong and displays a disturbing anti-foreigner sentiment. Everyone has a right to an opinion and to express it in the way that they see fit, be it on social media, in a blog, in a newspaper or verbally amongst friends- nationality has no bearing on this right and the two are not mutually exclusive.
This rhetoric became even more disturbing when I was accused of “cultural appropriation” and criticised for bringing light to the matter of the poisoned dogs in Durres, the fact that the writing of a female Albanian author is now out of print in Albanian and English, and that I had organised volunteer-led clean ups around the country.
Apparently, as a foreigner it is not my place to draw attention to these things. I love animals, I donate to animal charities and I currently have a traumatise foster kitty recovering in my spare room- I was contacted by concerned residents in Durres, travelled to interview them, contacted the Mayor myself, and was deeply upset by what was happening.
Following a conversation with another British journalist who had just visited Tirana in April, she asked why the writing of Musine Kokolari was out of print- this opened a big discussion between myself, her, some Albanians and a Dutch journalist about patriarchy, or whether it was something more sinister and political. I desperately wanted to read her work and I drafted an article questioning why she was not being promoted. Upon seeing her neice had been elected to EU parliament it reminded me, i finished the article and posted it. After hearing about her and then wanting to be able to read her work, but not being able to- I am not sure there is anything wrong with writing about her and asking for her work to be made more available.
In terms of my clean ups- I took part in them in Malta and it was my dear friend Christy who started them here, first in Durres. I loved what she was doing and we teamed up with lots of volunteers (foreign and Albanian) to keep doing them. We had a lot of fun, raised awareness and collected arond 1.5 tonnes of trash! As soon as my daughter is born and I am back on my feet we intend to continue doing them- and why not? It is nothing to do with thinking we are better than anyone, it is due to genuinely wanting a better environment and hoping to slowly slowly help people realise that it is all of our responsibility to clean, wherever we are!
I have chosen to live here and as a writer and someone that has been active in civil society since America invaded Iraq and I organised a protest in my secondary school (lol) I am certainly not going to stop just because I am foreigner. There is no ulterior motive behind it other than the fact that I genuinely believe in not poisoning dogs, in promoting female literature, and not trashing the countryside. If
I cannot think of any self-respecting person I know who would deny someone else their right to think, write, form an opinon, be civilly active, or even work based on their nationality. I would however dismiss the opinion of someone who lies, repeats the words of Mero Baze, and resorts to attacking someones nationality and family to bolster their view.
I don’t profit from Albania, nor do I profit from my views or the activities I organise. I do what I do because I like it, because it is fun, because I want to, and because I love Albania and living here. What I say and think have no bearing on my social or financial status and I know that is a threat to many.
If you have a problem with a foreigner coming here, working for free, writing good and bad, trying to help, and GOD FORBID, forming an opinion, then that says more about your ethics and morality than mine.
Of course, if there is some official handbook for how a foreigner should behave and write in Albania and I have just somehow not got a copy, please do let me know.
Follow The Balkanista!
