DREAM / The Prime Minister resigns and wakes up under the Parisian bridge!

 Kliko këtu për të tjera
Voxpress:

My German Krushqi and Tirana and Erion Veliajt

2023-04-20 09:46:55Pikëpamje SHKRUAR NGA BEDRI ISLAMI
My German Krushqi and Tirana and Erion Veliajt
Bedri Islam

For the Bavarians Andreas and Margerite Kreis, it was the second time they came to Albania. Their first journey had been many years ago, and in their thoughts still lingered the ugly kiosks along an unseen river, the buildings in total disarray, the dilapidated streets and the gloom of the old palaces.

Although constant travelers, photographers passionate about unknown places, they could not understand at the time what was happening in this country that had just come out of lockdown, and even more so in its capital.

The current arrival had another reason, they would witness the marriage of their only daughter, who, at the University of Stuttgart, had met, fallen in love and now became the bride of a boy from Shkodra.

Besides, this was my son.

Andreas and Margerite clearly had the shyness of what they had experienced a few years ago stamped on their faces. The night, which had already fallen on the fresh Tirana, was powerless to hide their concern.

We passed the square called Zogu i Black, then on Durrës street, turning to the right, the big square, open in its strange shape, like the beginning of a pyramid, and, finally, Lana, the shallow river of Tirana, which, on their first journey, they had not even been able to see.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye how the gloom was leaving their faces, they looked carefully at everything around them and, at one point, Andreas, with whom we were already friends, asked me: "Are you sure we are in Tirana?". He pulled out some old photos from his small travel bag and added with a smile, "Where are these?"

The following days they stayed in Tirana are a story in themselves. But since then, they have come more and more often, mostly alone, as a couple of passionate travelers, so often that I don't believe there is anything left that they haven't already seen.

The Tirana of many years ago no longer exists. A new city has been built, perhaps the fastest in the entire region, in terms of development rates; what looked like the outskirts of the city 20 years ago is now a center.

It has collapsed a lot since yesterday and the breathing has started differently. The Tirana that sees today a foreigner who comes for the first time, or even more simply than that, an emigrant Albanian, who, from time to time returns to his homeland, is not the Tirana that seeks to stick us like a rusty nail in the head of politics of yesterday.

Not the past yesterday of three decades ago, but the yesterday of anarchy that ruled the city, the yesterday of breaking the law like breaking a cane, of chaos and lack of thought and citizenship. This yesterday demands its tribute. Although she lives in the most beautiful and expensive part of the capital, she spits on everything and longs to serve others the peace of Tirana.

The first pluralistic years showed how the name of a city, its culture, its tradition can be destroyed. How the future can be breathed in and have constant asphyxiation, to the point of being called ordinary.

He who has not been to Tirana in the last 20 years, today he no longer recognizes it. If the beginning has the name of Edi Rama, which the capital had its radical leader in the overthrow of the old one, the continuation has the name of Erion Veliaj. Modern, precise and transformative, Veliaj chose a quieter path, that of unstoppable daily change.

After the lethargic sleep of Lulëzim Basha, who started the government by stealing votes and followed it with sacrifices of rams at the gates of the municipality, the government of Veliaj brought the great movement, the change of life in every corner of the city.

Personally, I would single out the schools. Today, Tirana has a new network of schools, on a level with the most modern European schools. The last time I walked in Tirana, I happened to be near the new school "Sami Frashëri". I remembered the many words of the opposition about what was happening in the moments of the collapse of the old building and the calmness displayed by the mayor, Veliaj.

I thought, how nice it would be if on two of its pages there were large murals of yesterday's school and today's.

Veliaj made the unusual, ordinary. I'm not just talking about building buildings. I'm talking about mindset, spirit, energy, work.

For an expatriate, who does not come to Albania often, staying in Tirana is now necessary. I would say, vital. You feel that in this world, you finally have a place of your own that you can be proud of, regardless of whether you were born in Saranda or Tropoja. Even further, to have been born in Drenica or Gostivar.

Tirana e Veliajt is evocative, not only because of the fact that residents from all over Albania live there, wherever Albanian is spoken, not only because it is a place coveted by foreigners who are slowly creating a community, not only because of its high-quality restaurants high, not only that the new centers that are being created and that have become as attractive as the well-known neighborhoods. See the former Sa Block for an example. It is coveted, but not the most coveted. It will slowly become commonplace, because the suburbs, the greenery, the tranquility, the edge in the world of a different life, is already a tangible reality in many other parts of Tirana.

Many areas that used to be suburbs or just sleepy, are now real neighborhoods full of life. It's not a little. It's different.

It is already difficult to find a hotel in Tirana. It should be foreseen from the departure to Albania. I stayed at "Art Hotel", on Kavaja street. Small in its kind, I think it has only 15 rooms, but wonderful oasis of relaxation. A miracle of alignment. Tirana has dozens and dozens of other hotels.

You no longer feel like you are in the provinces of Europe. It is a European city, with its flaws and quirks, with its mistakes and unusual growth, with proper visions and collisions of ideas, with jobs that are done on the ground and in flight.

I will close again with the Bavarian family, Andreas and Margerite Kreis. These days in Tirana, I met an old friend, Petrit Mancak, manager of a real estate agency, probably the best I know. We are harassed sometimes, as oppositionists, and we talk about Tirana.

I told him that my son's in-laws are looking to buy a small apartment in Tirana, one plus one. Now they love the city and feel like in their own city.

"Don't rush to buy now, my old friend told me. Prices have gone up a lot. Exceptionally".

I thought, if an ordinary citizen, a few years ago, say, eight years ago, bought an ordinary apartment and its value has now doubled, this shows that the city has life, that the city itself has increased its value . And, a city that is increasing its value, does not need to turn back.

The two mandates of Veliaj have been vigorous, epoch-making. The outage would be asphyxiating for the city. I am confident that there will be no interruptions.


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

Video

SHIKO KANALIN NE YOUTUBE
×