Written by Dritan Abazovic. Translated by Petrit Latifi.
“Mr. Dritan ABAZOVIĆ: Albanians and Indians have in common that they are indigenous peoples on their own land. I personally believe that the land does not belong to anyone individually, but that its exploitation should primarily be approved by those citizens who live on it. It is the same with Albanians and Indians, the state is trying to sell and privatize everything without caring too much about the consequences and the real demands of the native population, who, what is worst of all, no one even asks anything!
It’s the same with Albanians and Indians, the state is trying to sell and privatize everything without caring too much about the consequences and the real demands of the native population.
Are there any similarities between Albanians in Montenegro and Native Americans in the USA? Not really, although some parallels can be drawn between the two ancient peoples.
Recently, thanks to the American embassy, as part of the International Leadership Program, I visited the “True Americans” (Goshuta) reservation on the border of Utah and Nevada, about a four-hour drive from Salt Lake City.
It was sad to see how an ancient people who “by grace” or “by force” refused to accept the new lifestyle imposed by immigrants from all over the world, now survive in reservations unworthy of human life.
Defending their land and cultural uniqueness, they accepted such a life, but modern Western man, burdened with materialism, has endangered the few natural resources that were given to them for management. Without going into depth, which requires a more extensive analysis, I would like to present you with some of my observations. After talking to the inhabitants of the reservation, asking them about their fate, for a moment I thought I was talking to Albanians from Montenegro.
We are very dissatisfied with how the central, or federal, government treats indigenous peoples. We are not satisfied with how well we are represented in government bodies, although I must admit that we are in a much better position than they are. There is no employment, and there is little room for the development and preservation of our own culture. To make the irony even greater, both countries pride themselves on multiculturalism and social diversity, which in reality often looks cruel, at least in our country.
That’s what happens when you are a “minority”! In America, immigration policy is truly at an enviable level, partly because of the country’s specific history, partly because of realistically high-quality legal solutions and a wide range of freedoms for individuals. In Montenegro, it is somewhat different. We do not have many problems with immigrants, and the inclusion of different groups is solid, especially if they are in favor of an unchanging government.
Albanians and Indians have in common that they are indigenous peoples on their own land. I personally believe that the land does not belong to anyone individually, but that its exploitation should primarily be approved by those citizens who live on it. It is the same with Albanians and Indians, the state is trying to sell and privatize everything without caring too much about the consequences and the real demands of the native population, who, what is worst, no one even asks anything!
Thus, representatives of the Indians convinced me that the state was taking away their land and handing it over to private companies for oil exploitation, and that the sources of drinking water that lead to Las Vegas were being used by everyone except them. On the other hand, private companies were constantly offering them some form of cooperation, promising them “hills and cities” and destroying everything that could realistically be converted into dollars.
They knew little about the Albanians, but I consoled them somewhat that something similar was happening to us. The enormous natural resources of the city of Ulcinj (which of course belong to all citizens of this city), the “promised Dubai on the Mediterranean”, were being sold off by the government to tycoons at bargain prices, justifying it with the story of job creation and investment in infrastructure.
Are there any similarities between Albanians in Montenegro and Native Americans in the USA?
Of course, nothing comes of that, because the partners are suspicious, and few of them think about going into tourism. Due to poverty, culture falls into the background, and the leaders “rub their hands contentedly” because there are fewer and fewer Albanians in Montenegro. They mostly go to the USA, where, in a few decades, if this trend continues, there will be more of them than Indians.
The USA and Montenegro can be compared in few ways, so the officials there talk very openly about the problems of that population. Without hesitation, with a dose of shame, they accept everything that they have done unfairly to that proud people. Also, the institutions of the system are relentless and respond to all legal requests, which are very few due to the uneducated Indian population, in the same way as to any other request. And here Montenegro lags behind, on positive examples and good practice.
It neither admits its mistakes nor corrects them, and the institutions are a special story. It’s a good thing that the Indians don’t know what the border of the Coastal Reserve in Ulcinj is, because I don’t think their laughter would have stopped even a month after my visit. If we were to return to the similarities once again, we could argue that there are some among the members of both nations.
More precisely, when you accept to be part of the “system” then you can live well, so some Indians run casinos all over Nevada, and some Albanian poltroons hold positions throughout the territory with the Albanian population and live well unlike the majority nation they belong to and proudly “represent”!
Nations that have a long tradition have a predominantly tragic history. Official Montenegro is trying to learn a lot from the USA, but it’s all in vain if it doesn’t learn from its own bad practices. I’m not sure about the Indians, but as far as the Albanians in Montenegro are concerned, there’s no need to waste words on loyalty and support for this country. They say that good comes back with good…
The author has a master’s degree in political science. We would like to thank Mr. Abazović for the contribution.“
Reference
Balkan Academia 