I Fear For My Life
Alfred Kola Check the version in Albanian here
This is not just a statement; it’s a SOS signal sent by one of the three million Albanians, unprotected by any law enforcement agency, and left without any means to survive in the wild jungle of the Albanian society.
The dramatic raise of crime rate in the country and the recent events of political assassinations, but first and foremost, the fact that none of them has been solved make people live in complete terror, always with the fear that something bad could happen to them or their family members. These events, and others in the last years, have clearly brought to light the perfect mafia-like and murderous organization of the criminal world and how much it has managed to blend with the government institutions as well as how worthless the lives of the ordinary people like me have become. The devaluation of life, property and the dazzling and rapid accumulation of wealth by people tied to crime, make Albania an unsafe country where people live under extreme stress and psychological strains, controlled in every aspect of daily life by criminal structures. The latter are found everywhere, in every post or office, in every instance of justice system and all levels of local and central government. And in all this wide range of human activity, I, like millions of other poor and neglected Albanians, would be forced to come into contact with individuals of that world, whom we have to suck up to and fatten the pockets with the money of our family food, just to gain some basic rights or favors, unless they kick us out, spit on us and beat us up.
Where should I turn for help, I, the unknown, the worthless, the inexistent? I have no face, no position, not even a name. My name is simply people, the one that must serve the new lords of our post-communist botchery, to bow before them up to the ground and kiss their feet, even though one possesses the European values and culture, graduated from college with flying colors and speak several foreign languages, whereas these all-powerful lords can barely write their names, which they raised to prominence through bloodshed and terror, and have hung on the walls of their lavish offices framed worthless diplomas from ghost universities that they bought with the money of that blood and terror.
I fear for my life and I have to! When the murderous hand strikes upon people’s representatives, upon member of justice system in broad daylight in the center of the city, upon innocent citizens in the eyes of the entire world on the main avenue, and always gets away with it, what trouble would this hand have to get rid of me on the dimly lit alleys of Tirana, Fier, Elbasan or Vlora, just for kicks? I am worthless, I am nobody, I am just statistics, a breathing dead. And in these circumstances, I have come to believe that very soon our contingent of nobodies will become a human prey to appease the thirst for blood and new experiences of rich perverse people from around the world, who would be willing to pay large amounts of money to the ruling lords of Albania, just to experience the feeling of taking someone’s life. Whoever has seen the movie Hard Target with the actor Van Damme will understand what I mean.
I fear for my life and it's only human! Even if I did my best to avoid any social contacts with these people, who can guarantee me that I do not bump into one of them on the street and he unhesitatingly whips out his gun and shoots me? He can do it, because I, being nobody, shouldn’t stay in his way. How many lives have been lost merely “’cause he was looking at me!”, because in the veins of such individuals flows the blood of evil that makes them ruthless and unappreciative of the human life, the unique miracle in, most likely, the entire universe.
I am not afraid of them! They can’t scare me, for they are not stronger than me, because I am the people of more than three millions and I am ready to fight them tooth and nail, fire with fire, with all the means they possess until I put them down. And I will win, because I have with me the right to live quietly and happily the life that God or nature gave me and only He or she has the right to take it away. But I can’t do that, for in every cell of my being the greatest fear of all has put down roots, not from them, but from the government who is supposed to protect me. If I rise and fight them tit for tat and give them what they really deserve, the state will charge at me with all its wild and resourceful machinery and those judges who are now screaming for protection of their lives will crucify me as a bandit and criminal who fights against the symbol of Albanian purity and honesty. That’s the notion of the government that I elect and pay for, and these individuals will not live an hour without the support of the government that I choose with my vote. And there’s the rub: I get killed by my own vote! How much more time do I need to realize that my life depends on that vote, which must be defended at all costs, for even of one gets killed, at least he will guarantee the life of his children and successors and the happiness that follows it. And for as long as I sell my vote for a penny, without being aware that I am selling my life, I will always live with the fear that one day I will be found in a ditch, rotten and unidentified, thrown there by the people who take life from my vote.
Only if we, in face of this fear and insecurity for our lives, could throw away the indifference and take courage to start a massive popular movement with only fliers and T-shirts that have on them inscriptions like:
• I fear for my life
• I am a victim of crime
• I am the next target… etc
aiming at sensitizing the European and American public opinion, for it seems that their governments have agreed to the invasion of Albania by the organized crime!
Let us show that we are real Europeans and will never yield to the fear, but stay together arm in arm to demonstrate that the future belongs to us. Throw away your indifference, because before the law we might not be, but before the crime we are all equal.
Comments
I am starting my comment from
<p>I am starting my comment from the last sentence of this article.</p><p>"Throw away your indifference, because before the law we might not be, but before the crime we are all equal. "</p><p>I think that for the society to defeat crime and to prosper it must be the other way around. We should stop thinking and, most importantly, acting, or pretending that we are not equal in front of the law. If we allow this kind of mentality then we will never combact crime but will make it easier for it to linger in our society for a long time.</p><p> </p>
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