Canon and blood feud

O people!
Choose the path of life, choose the path of human love, of hope.
Choose the path of faith in tomorrow, choose the path of goodness.
It's up to you and only you to choose - Leo Bascagli

From: Fran Gjoka

Bloodshed is a phenomenon that is quite widespread as well as talked about, especially in the northern area. Many studies have been carried out regarding this negative phenomenon, many analyzes have been made and many statistics have been drawn up, however alternatives have not yet been offered to give a final solution to this long-standing scourge of our society.

Blood feud is a typical phenomenon of human societies where the law has no force or the state does not consider it its responsibility to extinguish such conflicts. The longevity of this phenomenon has not only been affected by the passivity of the state bodies, but also the lack of awareness of the Albanian society, above all in the northern areas where the Canon is usually applied, but these old canon laws are only invalid remnants of a centuries-old mentality. The canon is the one that gave life to and fed the blood feud over the years. This is a slogan that people don't want to dwell too much on, and most basically don't know and don't practice it, but speak and act according to canon laws. At first sight, the Canon, so talkative, so wild, and at present so depreciated in its age-old charm, has begun to function as the merit of an ancient ingenuity. The canon, unfortunately, instead of being appreciated as cultural heritage, is hated and applied according to personal interests. Instead of being preserved as an asset of the Albanian nation, which had a specific and important role in the functioning of the societies of several centuries ago, it is still used today in the XXI century. While hundreds of trapped people await the day of payback and the day of execution, neither the state nor society has found a way out to overcome this drama that is holding thousands of our country's residents hostage. Hundreds of children not only do not have the opportunity to attend school, but risk being left with serious psychological consequences for life.

Today's Albanian blood feud not only destroys currently thousands of lives, but psychologically it has destroyed the landscape of tradition, creating in the minds of people many traditional and cultural abysses. Like everyone else I have heard about this phenomenon in general and my sensitivity was not as strong as it is and continues to be now. I have constantly heard talk of trapped children, parents deprived of basic human rights, of the right to be free, and yet I have not been able to really understand the very powerful impact of this very tangible problem in our country . Only after I have been an active part of many projects in favor of trapped families, only after I have been a direct acquaintance of individuals who are part of this disaster, only after I have seen the pain of being denied the right to live, I managed to understand how deeply the problem of this phenomenon lies in our lives. The canon is not a movie, but a wild and depressing reality.

I have seen how trapped families live, I have heard their honest, desperate stories, stories from parents, stories from children, who with tears in their eyes, with their innocence and with the hope that one day everything will be otherwise, by trusting the state and society, they can enjoy the same rights as their peers. Hearing talk about blood feuds and being an active observer, a direct intervention in this social scourge, are two completely different things. The fact that I have participated in many round tables, meetings, discussions and various trainings, in national and international conferences, I have participated in projects designed with their help, has made me much more sensitive to this phenomenon. Much has been abused with the term and the spread of the phenomenon of blood feud, so much so that people are probably tired of hearing it, but I think that it is never too much to treat and analyze this problem, and it is also never too late to take concrete steps to solve it. of this disturbing phenomenon.

Referring to the negative consequences of this phenomenon, above all the psychological ones, we must emphasize the important role that the social worker has in moral and psychological support to them. I am of the opinion that the more this problem is talked about, examined and discussed in the written and visual media, in meetings and conferences, the more society will be aware and will become more sensitive to this serious wound of society and will be more motivated to take concrete steps.

Blood revenge, in the narrow concept, is treated as a "blood for blood" revenge between two families, or two people, where the victim's relatives try to take revenge for his murder, by killing the perpetrator or someone from his family. An entire family bears responsibility for the actions of each of its members. Even the well-known researcher Edith Durham, while traveling through Northern Albania, has noticed this terrible anti-human phenomenon, but which was implemented under the pressure of some iron canon laws, often provincial ones. She had even met two bloodsuckers who had just taken the blood. Here is how he writes about one of them: … It was a tall, dark-haired boy who still looked like a child. Silent and shocked, it seemed as if fate had put him down... Well, his fate was already known. However, it should be known that in the period when the well-known researcher writes, there were indeed revenges, but all actions were based on the Canon, nothing outside the customary codes. For this, it is enough to quote moments from her memories: ... in the Canon of Lekë Dukagjini there are rules that must be obeyed. According to him, even the man, who owes blood, in certain circumstances, could not be killed.

He who has blood and he who is forced to pay blood make a truce, they can swear peace until the crops are gathered or in case of war. So, in certain circumstances the assembly is obliged. Here is another fact from the same author: ... One night I spent in the house of someone who was in blood. The brothers, who welcomed us, came out and shouted on all four sides: We have friends! ... after that they returned to celebrate in safety a quiet evening. Although many aspects of revenge resemble the concept of justice, revenge has a more unjust and punitive focus in comparison. While justice in general means the actions undertaken and supported by a system of ethics, or in the name of the ethics of the majority. Revenge generally means actions taken by an individual or a narrow group of persons, outside the bounds of judicial or ethical human behavior. The phenomenon of "trapped" minors, or in other words in the literary language "closed at home", is wide and different and, above all, cannot be analyzed alone, because it is part of an old social system that still survives today in Albania. It is not enough to enter the reality of hundreds of children locked within four walls without feeling your conscience rebel, as often happens with us Albanians. You have to go inside the problem, experience it with all the complexity it presents and become aware, we have to start from the canon to orientate our reflection, not with a legal-type breakdown, but trying to understand, before above all, what is it that makes this centuries-old "code", something so important, which Albanians cannot give up.

If you take the humane initiative to visit a stranded family, you will find that they live in conditions that are unaffordable for life, facing many economic, health, educational, etc. shortages. The most affected in this case are undoubtedly women and children, as the most vulnerable part of our society. Women in families trapped by blood feud are its real victims. Although they are "free", since custom and canon do not allow killing them for blood feud, they are the most persecuted and abused part of the family. They have to do all the housework in the absence of the men, who are forced to stay indoors. Likewise, children, especially males, are another painful victim of blood feud. They have to live in complete isolation in kennels, which means they don't go to school, they don't play with their peers, they don't have fun. They grow up with the psychosis that they have to protect the family, they have to protect their honor, they have to kill others for blood feud and they have to kill themselves. In these conditions, children grow up poor, uneducated, wild and vindictive.

An 11-year-old boy named Nikolin, interviewed by the BBC, whose family has been at loggerheads with one another for the past 30 years, says he dreams of going to school one day. I imagine it's a beautiful place, with books, chairs, and a blackboard. I imagine the school filled with other children my age learning, playing and singing... And, after these meditations from within everyone's being calls out protest? What about women and children, what is their fault? What about this society of ours that is traumatized and terrorized by the news on the front pages of newspapers and television news, what is the fault?

The spectrum of social problems disturbing the Albanian society today is quite wide, but what has become a serious wound, not only for the north of Albania and is taking the lives of innocent people, is the blood feud and testing of children from its crime. Bloodshed, this phenomenon violently prohibited by the communist regime, but which managed to re-emerge openly in the transition period, mainly as a result of the explosion of weapons depots during the 1997 riots, the arming of the population and deficiencies in Albanian legislation, brought about consequences and the resolution of conflicts in self-judgment. So, everyone should find themselves in the articles of this social code in the absence of all governmental and state structures. The Albanians, bent for years under the hooves of the dictatorial system, proved that they had lost the notions of "faith", "religion" and "custom". Otherwise, there is no way that in a newspaper at the end of 1998 it was written in capital letters: ... In the north, 764 families are in blood and over 1120 are trapped in the towers. This is a weakness of state structures, because where the law does not work, the Canon must work, and where neither the Canon nor the law works, anarchy works. Until when?

Such phenomena also occurred in Lezha district and beyond. There were murders, old and new revenges, quarrels, occupation and confusion. Their character was different. Many murders were committed for revenge, but there were also cases of property, honor and occupation or, as it is said today, "weak motives". Thus, many individuals did not take into account even the most elementary rules of the Canon. Most of those who kill consider the Kanun as a complex of rules, where it is said that "if you kill, they will kill you", without taking into account the other consequences that follow, such as the burning of the house, expulsion from the village, various fines and depending on for the committed act you can even... forgive. But, in truth, during this period the Canon was wrongly used as an inciting background to draw blood.

This ugly crime has already affected the district or prefecture of Shkodra, the northern area of ​​the country, and there is no measure of judgment when it reaches children or women, seriously violating the basic principles of the Canon. What are these medieval docks and customs that are governing the Albanian society today, especially in the north, in a barbaric way, where their heavy medieval anti-social yoke is felt. They are hindering and seriously damaging our society to walk the path of democracy, therefore the work to prevent crime is a sharp and current task of civil society, the law and the state. Families, when faced with the problem of identity theft, tend to hide and not appear before state authorities or representatives of various humanitarian associations. They often change their residences and do not show their new location, do not register their children in schools, etc. This fact makes their identification more complicated and it is often impossible to extract accurate data. Data and figures released by state bodies or organizations interested in this problem can often be inflated or reduced for different purposes.

The resolution of conflicts requires a critical examination of different and possible alternatives as well as a commitment with concrete actions of people, society or the state. If the efforts and dedication of those people who deal with reconciliation and conflict resolution are based on knowledge and values, then we can say that they are involved in a desirable social action and the results can be expected. In this way, all this marks a successful path towards increasing the positive personality values ​​of these people, which will then be used for reconciliation and mediation. How much do we need Anton Cetta? We really need that man with a great and humane spirit today. This people needs a lot of Anton Çetta. We need them at home, in the tribe, on the street, in the village, in the neighborhood, in the city, in the province...

The current social situation in the north and south of Albania is worrying today and it still doesn't seem like an efficient solution is being found, or rather it still doesn't seem like serious and concrete efforts are being made. The candidates for mayor ran all over Albania and their program did not include the fight against blood feud. All this situation comes as a result of the still powerful power of the Kanun, which inexplicably continues to be misinterpreted, giving life to blood feuds. The value and power of the canon have been increased and kept alive by several different factors, especially the indifferent role of the Albanian state itself. The lack of the power of law has been one of the main reasons that allowed the return of the old canonical rules. The re-arrived canon in these areas has a negative effect rather than regulating social relations.

Various associations have tried to convince Albanians through awareness-raising activities that conflicts are resolved by the state and that it is not only their issue, so they should believe in the power of the state's law and should accept its forms of resolution, believe in his justice. Since the state has failed in most cases in the implementation of the penal code and Albanians find it difficult to allow injustice and revenge, they see the most efficient solution as the implementation of customary norms. Despite the large number of reconciliations from the reconciliation missions operating in some areas, the number of immersions is always increasing and still nothing concrete is seen. The consequences of the test are not only economic, but also psychological, and the Albanian people will probably suffer its wounds for a long time.

How many children remain illiterate, how many lives are cut short and how many people act as if nothing happens? The phenomenon of being "stuck" is one of the key problems of Albania, but surprisingly our country is turning a deaf ear and everything remains in the hands of humanitarian associations and non-governmental organizations. The question arises: Are their contributions sufficient? Knowing the current situation of the murders that have occurred, of trapped families, their psychosocial or economic problems makes the role of the social worker more useful and irreplaceable. However, the social worker cannot work alone, therefore the intervention of the Albanian state is needed first of all in solving this issue. Associations and organizations continue to make their efforts, but it is not enough.

Statistics show that the number of trapped families, the number of murders committed in the name of blood feud, the number of children who do not attend school is constantly increasing. This is frightening, but at the same time a warning for immediate measures to be taken in the future. The Albanian people must mobilize all their physical, mental and intellectual potential to stop the bloodshed, this epidemic that comes from the depths of the centuries to challenge our culture and civilization today as a European state. Parties, organizations and associations must be guided by national interests and the foundation of these interests is undoubtedly the strengthening of national unity. Can there be unity and union, when we Albanians are not tolerant and therefore kill each other? The Albanian youth, the most vital part of our nation, whose blood is very precious, must be taught to keep their weapons to protect the lands of the ancestors and not to sow revenge. Look for love and you will find it. The most powerful weapon in our society today is love.

We Albanians have not been and are not barbarians. The world recognized our ancestors as men of faith and generosity. We must be their worthy heirs. However, the governors, parliamentarians, institutions and people of the law "should not wash their hands like Pilate". Because, it seems that they are thinking more about their soldiers, than about the Albanians who are being killed in the streets and squares of Albania or who are taking the road to escape.