Why Albania’s vicious cycle of blood feuds persists | Focus on Europe

Albania, once Europe’s poorest country, has seen huge growth. This has led to greater clashes between modernity and tradition, including the ancient principle of blood feuds, which still exists in the north of the country.

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#Albania #BloodFeud #Revenge

Without help, Rome Hosai is a walking dead man. He’s completely innocent, but it’s a hopeless situation. If anyone can help, it’s Bib Vatnikai. Rome’s sons killed a man to restore his family’s honor. Now they’re in prison, but the murdered man’s family has declared a blood feud. Rous hasn’t dared to leave the house in months. Being locked up is a penance, but it’s also self-p protection because if you leave the house, it’s easier for your enemy to kill you. And according to the canon, the other side has the right to kill me until a peace agreement has been reached. The canoe is a code of medieval laws still followed by many people in northern Albania, where it’s placed on a higher pedestal than the laws of the Albanian state. Even feeding the sheep could be fatal for Rome. We’re not allowed to film his family because the death threat applies to all male members and anyone taller than a rifle is considered a man. Bibb is a mediator or a missionary as they’re called here. [Music] We, a group of missionaries from the village were able to negotiate with the victim’s family. We managed to have 12 cousins and their families exempted from the blood feud. Only and his family remain in isolation. Rome is atoning for his son’s crimes. He lives in complete isolation and abject poverty with hardly any furniture in the house, but he does have a modern video surveillance system. It’s life or death. If no one helps you, you’ll die of hunger. Being locked up is like being buried alive. If you don’t work, you have nothing to eat. Without an income, you can’t survive. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. It’s very, very bad. Bibb takes us to Medita. He’s meeting Gin Maru, Albania’s most famous missionary. The missionaries are organized nationwide, and Maru is their chairman. To this very day, the canoon is a counterbalance to poor governance. It meets the people’s need for stability and order in the community. It covers education and good administration like it did in the past. This medieval understanding of law lives on to this day. It’s said that Mitta is the cradle of the canoe. It was first codified here in the 1400s. For centuries, it regulated life in the wild mountains of Albania. The canon has no army, police or prisons. It uses blood feuds which conflict with Albania’s modern legal code. Lawyer Kim Ibra comes from northern Albania himself and is familiar with the canoon as well. If we want to establish the rule of law and become part of the European Union, which has its own standards and norms, then it’s unacceptable for a medieval law like the canoe to still be practiced in a country in the middle of Europe. After 800 years, supporters of the old law say modern law is only about punishment, whereas the canoe also offers reconciliation. And these highly respected missionaries say they are responsible for this process including 92year-old Adam Isui who is a local legend. It’s not just be his family members also belong to a clan that’s been dedicated to peacemaking for generations. A tradition with an ancient history. His family is the best known in the region when it comes to matters of reconciliation and respect for noble Albanian traditions. Bibb took over the position from his brother. Like all missionaries, he works on a voluntary basis. For him, it’s an honor and a duty to help. And it could be Rome’s only chance. The solution is in the missionaries hands. I have left it to them. The state is responsible for punishment but not for solving these problems. Not one representative of the state has been here in the last 6 months to ask if we need anything. Only the missionaries and villagers have helped us with food. The first step is to free people from isolation. But forgiveness in a blood feud is a completely different matter. A lot more work goes into it before the injured party feels ready to forgive the blood that’s been shed. Bib says that can take time. Still, he’s hopeful, even though some blood feuds have dragged on for decades.