FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
“Nature and art have united to produce a flourishing garden.” So wrote the American General George P. Scriven almost 100 years ago, about a piece of the Balkans that he had the good fortune to visit during the Great War. Brigadier General Scriven, a name known to the history of the American Army as commander of the Signal Corps and later as one of the pioneers of aviation, has left his very interesting notes on the trip to Southern Albania. A report for the American Army, as well as two public writings on Albania, list him among the first American travelers to Albanian lands. With a rich career in the army, serving in several countries as a military representative, General Scriven served as an advisor to Italian troops on the Balkan front during the Great War. The general’s perspective on post-war Albania is interesting, as one of the only countries that has benefited from the war, with important public works in its infrastructure.
The general, from his notes, a fragment of which we are publishing today, seems to have had an unforgettable impression from his Albanian trip. He publicly describes himself as a friend of this unknown and very poor, but very beautiful country.
The report for the US Army is a note on the strategic routes that cross Albania and especially the importance of Vlora, as a strategic military point, of great importance. Meanwhile, in an article published in one of the most important American publications, it seems that the American general wants to appeal to Italy, which has openly shown its ambition for "patronage" of post-war Albania.
In addition to General Scriven's interesting notes, his photographic collection is of great interest, leaving us with rare views of the southern regions, including the Bektashi cemetery of Tepelena, as well as a rare image of the village of Nivicë, in the Kurvelesh Highlands, where the houses built like towers are clearly visible, a physiognomy now completely disappeared from this region.
MEMOIRS OF THE GENERAL
"The solitude and isolation of Albania has already passed with the World War, the storm of the Adriatic will soon disperse, at least for a while, Paris will one day act, and from the South, the hand of Greece will be withdrawn from establishing peace or because the North of Epirus is the South of Albania, the harsh back of the Balkan Thorn, which only a reckless hand will dare to grab even if it stands alone. But Albania is no longer alone, the War brought her friends.
And in fact, more than friends, the War exalted him, since whoever has seen it, there is no doubt that the occupation of the Allied armies made it possible for the entire population that was behind the front line from the Adriatic to the Aegean Sea, to be a blessing. The Allied Army was a powerful constructive force, which did good and left behind great works, for which both the Albanian people, as the heterogeneous under the name Macedonians and as the not serious Greeks, will forever recognize them as important works for the Balkans and for humanity.
It is not an exaggeration to say that in Albania the greatest good deeds were brought by the Italians. They were the ones who built the roads, developed the cities, opened the country, gave advice to the inhabitants, opened schools, fed the hungry, it was the Italians who founded the courts, treated the sick, helped the poor. Why should this peaceful work of Italy not continue in peace, as it once did in war? Why should Italy and Albania be torn apart? Few of her friends, among whom I count myself, think that the Albanians still cannot walk alone.
They must know that they need a friend, they need the hand of a guide to direct them in the steps towards progress. A guide and not a master, who can retire at the end of his service. This I believe that Albania will accept and I am not alone in this conviction. But the outstretched hand must not be of steel, hidden in a velvet glove. The Albanian must not accept any master, as he has not had until now. The proof of a disinterested friendship is difficult to establish for any country, with the exception of America, which has passed the test.
Therefore, a visible proof and trust are needed before Albania will take the hand of a country that seeks to help it. …… Albania is truly a land of wonders, but for centuries forgotten, unsung, except in the verses of Byron, unknown like some islands lost in tropical seas, and yet a land where nature and art have united to produce a prosperous garden, where the future will be bright. / Memorie.al
Lini një Përgjigje