FLASH
Shkruar nga Eljan Tanini
Albanian childhood in 1997. Why did Albanian children forget their toys and play with guns in the neighborhoods? From the center to the outskirts of Albania, how did they find the guns and where were their parents?
Albanian children of 1997, in the studio with Arbër Hitaj, journalist, Elendjo Çela, Albano Guma, architect and lecturer at FAU, Trim Radoja, director, postproduction, artist-musician.
Excerpt from the interview:
Eljan Tanini: -Tell me more than usual about the times when your happiness was like in the movies?
Trim Radoja: -I spent my childhood at the Agimi Palaces in 1997, it's a little difficult to talk about that time. The difficult memories remain.
Albano Guma: -I spent my childhood in the village, it was an Albania in transition, it was a time of anarchy, especially in Fier. In 1997 I was 7 years old and in first grade, we didn't go to school and somehow we did our lessons online, that is, from the RTSH screen. I was the only generation that didn't celebrate the Abetare holiday
Trim Radoja: -The opening of the Republican Guard depots happened very quickly, there were many weapons on the streets. Robert, my father Robert Radoja, was terrified when he saw a ten-caliber rifle, then there was also a Poliçan rifle. It was fun in those early days.
Albano Guma: -The shooting was scheduled, curfew, we know very well what a blank bullet was!
Trim Radoja: -It was terrible to see children with guns in their hands, it was collective madness.
Albano Guma: -In our neighborhood, you can also find 12.7!
Eljan Tanini: -Did you eat watermelons in the tank?
Albano Guma: - Without knowing the danger, we would pick watermelons in the village and get into the tank. It was a strange era, even our parents weren't around.
Trim Radoja: -There were many weapons, they were in the open, the ones that were easy to find were forgiving, but you could also find them!
Albano Guma: -The Levan depots were pretty full, I remember my parents walked 8 km, my sister and I collected the cartridges on the way from Farkulla to Levan! My father stopped a van on the way so that the driver could take us to Fier, but the driver could not take responsibility for us on the way. Everyone had guns in their hands, there were even children with gas masks. The rifle I was carrying was bigger than me, and it even had sticky magazines!
Trim Radoja: -Madness didn't start from nothing!
Eljan Tanini: -What is the story of the Kalash barrel that was twisted?
Trim Radoja: -I remember one day we were on the terrace of the palace there at the Agimi Palaces, we were so excited that when I leaned the gun against the wall, I left, came back and found the barrel twisted! It was a Poliçani product! We tend to forget traumas, it's unbelievable for other generations.
Eljan Tanini: -The Hoxha family came to you?
Trim Radoja : -The Chinese often say "jotfsh" in interesting times. Those were dangerous times, it was no joke.
Eljan Tanini: -Albano, did your father run away as an immigrant?
Albano Guma: -Yes, like most men at that time! The Greek police stop them in the emigrants' car, they see a box of bombs there, they tell the uncle to jump out of the car. It's good that they went for the trouble, but they also needed the bombs with them
Eljan Tainin: -How did you hand over the weapons to the neighborhood?
Albano Guma: -Two calls were made, it was time for the Stability Government.
Trim Radoja: -We collected everything, organized their delivery.
Eljan Tanini: -What was happening in Gjirokastra in 1997?
Arbër Hitaj: -Gjirokastra is a magical city. For me, Albania was murdered in 1997. We had 2 murders in 1997, we armed ourselves to defend ourselves. March 8, 1997 , we were at my grandmother's, we gathered there, custom demanded meat.
From a very beautiful childhood life, he returned to life with weapons, Kalashnikovs, grenades, TNT! The warehouses were opened, the armament began, the rule was 4 automatic weapons for one person. My uncle came home, he had taken 6 Kalashnikovs. My cousin took cartridges for these weapons. The next day we started cleaning them, we went to the weapons warehouses, what I didn't see was 12.7, where we took two anti-tank guns. They were very nice toys for us
A friend put the wrong shell in the wrong anti-tank gun, lost his life. I used to shoot with a cannon, I was 12 years old.
Eljan Tanini: -As children, we were often drawn to weapons, we would shoot at a tension pole on the outskirts of Gjirokastra. We were a safe city, Berisha's departure was a big celebration.
Eljan Tanini: So from all the soldier people, all the child soldiers?
Arbër Hitaj: -In our house there were anti-tank guns, Thompsons, 3 Kalashnikovs. All the men were armed at home, only my mother and sister were not! The city never recovered for many years after that time. People had problems and injuries from the mismanagement of gunpowder. We found an anti-aircraft gun that could even catch planes, we dragged it, we took it out and buried it a few meters below. Albanians left a lot in 1997, people just fled. Berisha did not do 1997 alone, he admitted it himself.
Part three, Elendjo Çela, insert
Elendjo Çela: We played with guns more in 1997. We left them all behind, we only played with them. Someone opened a grenade, threw it at his feet, there was a child who was badly killed! Someone in our neighborhood, he filled the facade of the building with bullets because he couldn't find where the person he wanted to kill lived. We had a very bad relationship with the police, we hid the weapons in the bunkers of our neighborhood.
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