Poem….
Albania
Oh, poor Albania, bruised from lashes
Who dared push your face in ashes?
Hailed once as a woman of noble birth,
Mother you were called by men of this Earth.
Rich you were, to tell the truth.
With lovely girls and handsome youth,
With lots of cattle, gardens, farms
With Latin rifles and other arms
With men of courage and women of cheer
In all the world you had no peer.
***
When guns boomed like the crack of thunder
Albania’s men rushed out of yonder,
And always fought well, till the end came,
And never soiled their name with shame.
When men of Albania pledged to fight,
All of Rumelia shivered with fright,
In fierce battles they fought and died,
With honor is their memory inscribed.
***
But now, Albania, you’re a sight of woe
Just like an oak tree brought down low!
All step on you as if you were dead,
And not one kind word to you is said.
Once you dressed well, like a woman high-born,
Today, your fine robes are badly torn,
You’ve lost your name, your faith, too,
And none is to blame for it but you.
***
Albanians, you are slaying one another,
In a hundred groups you’re split with each other,
Some shout for country, some against sin,
One says I’m Turk, another Latin,
Others Greeks or Slavs profess to be,
Fools! You are all brothers can’t you see?
***
Priests and mullahs have made you mute
To keep you split and destitute.
Foreigners sit by your fireplace,
Your wives and sisters they disgrace,
And if money comes knocking on your door
The faith of your fathers you ignore,
You become slaves of alien boors,
Whose race and tongue differ from yours.
***
Weep, oh you rifles and you who care
Albanians, like birds, are caught in a snare,
Weep with us, you warriors all around,
For Mother Albania, lying on the ground;
She has no bread or meat to eat,
Nor fire in the hearth, nor light or heat,
Pale of cheek and unrespected,
She lies broken and neglected!
Gather you women, so pretty and spry,
Who know so well to weep and cry.
Come, for poor Albania let us mourn,
For she’s shorn of honor and forlorn,
She’s like a widow whose man is gone,
She’s like a mother without a son!
***
Who has the heart to let cruel death,
Take this brave women, panting for breath?
Can we allow aliens to smother
And trample on our cherished Mother?
No, no! Such shame no one can bear,
Such vile conduct all men forswear!
Let warriors die carrying the banner
Before Albania is lost in this manner
***
Awake, Albanians, it’s time to rise
And bind yourselves with brotherly ties;
Look not to church or mosque for pietism,
The faith of Albanians is Albanianism!
***
From Tivar all the way to Preveze
The sun sends down its light and rays;
It’s our land, the land of our ancestors,
To the death we’ll defend it from predators
Better to die for it like the men of old,
Than to live in shame before the Lord!
The poem “Albania” was written by Vaso Pasha in Albanian (1878) and is beautifuly translated into English by Professor Peter Prifti, USA!
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The Cultural Heritage of Albanian Americans
by Professor Peter PriftiAlbanian Americans are one of the smaller ethnic groups in America, concentrated mostly in the northeastern quadrant of the country, but they can be found just about anywhere in the United States.
The culture of Albanian Americans is a blending of the heritage of their forefathers in Albania, and that of mainstream American society. Their distinguishing characteristic is their language, which is called Albanian, said to be the oldest language in the Balkans. Albanian is taught in some schools in America, and published in the form of newspapers, magazines and books. Like other ethnic groups, Albanian parents are eager to transmit their language and cultural heritage to the younger generations, so far with considerable success.
Over the past one hundred years, since they began immigrating to America, Albanian Americans have expressed and cultivated their culture in a variety of ways: by organizing clubs and associations, establishing religious institutions, giving concerts of Albanian folk music and dances, staging plays with Albanian themes, especially comedies, which Albanians are particularly fond of. They have done much also to preserve and popularize their distinctive cuisine, especially their hallmark dish, a kind of pie known as lakror or byrek, baked in a large pizza-size pan.
As for their organizations, three prominent ones are the Albanian Orthodox Church of America, founded in Boston in 1908; the Pan-Albanian Federation of America – VATRA (The Hearth), also founded in Boston, 1912; and the Albanian-American National Organization (AANO), founded in New York, 1946. Their oldest newspaper, Dielli (The Sun), organ of VATRA, will be celebrating its Centennial in 2009.
Speaking of their character, the Albanians have a reputation as a brave, loyal, hospitable and independent people. They are proud of their customs, manners and morals, above all their tradition of warm hospitality to guests. The great romantic poet, Lord Byron, among others, praises them for their character. To be even-handed, however, one should point out that they are also known as a temperamental, headstrong and feuding people. They seem to have a certain relish for controversy and factionalism, as if those were necessary for a meaningful and zestful communal life.
Albanians of America take pride, too, in fellow nationals who have realized the “American Dream†in business, film, television, etc. Among these are actors John and Jim Belushi, producer and director Stan Dragoti; the late Anthony Athanas, proprietor of the renowned Pier 4 Restaurant in Boston, and TV celebrities Regis Philbin and Eliza Dushku (both part-Albanian).
In sum, the Albanians of America are the heirs of an age-old culture, which they prize and strive zealously to retain, thereby adding to the rich, multi-faceted cultural tapestry of the United States of America.