I am Albanian. Therefore, for my project I will focus on the small Eastern-European third-world country itself, rather than a specific city. My family moved to America when I was a young boy due to Albania’s economic and governmental state. Albania Today: A Portrait of Post-Communist Turbulence, a book by Clarissa de Waal describes Albania’s history and how its instability still affects life today. To portray how Albania is “moving but not advancing” the author calls the situation “agitated stagnancy.”
The standard of living in Albania is so bad, that people cheer when they have electricity or running water, because this is rarely the case. There are no such things as basic necessities provided to the people by their own government. There is no law or order. Most of the population views the government as useless and powerless because laws are seldom enforced. This leaves the country to be run by political opportunists and mob rule. Bribery is a main form of persuasion in Albania’s weak government that continues to lead the country down a corrupt path. The rich gain power by influencing government officials. Not only does this keep the government from doing their job, but it also stifles the rest of the country’s population by keeping them down. Once the rich control the government officials, they only have their interests in mind, leaving the poor to suffer.
This ineffective form of government is rooted in Albania’s former ties to communism. In the mid 20th century, Albania had a dictator that wanted to make the country communist. After he died, a revolution occurred, resulting in the current government. However, communism had deeply crippled the society and it would take years to catch up to the rest of the world. Along with this, the formation of a new government brought make fights for power. This caused the country to remain stagnant as power periodically changed hands and nothing could get accomplished.
Albania’s corrupt and unstable state has led many people to call for reform, but with little success. Things are not looking good for the future and it seems like they will remain as they are for a long time. This is why families like mine choose to leave and improve their own situations rather than stay and try to make it a better place.
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