Wealth

Mountains near Apollonia albania, Photograph by PC Trainee Abbot

The ride to and from Elbasan to Permet was full of contrasts in terms of land. We went through a valley, and industrial center where it looks like some sort of petroleum production is going on, then through strikingly beautiful canyons and mountains. The open spaces nearing Permet were a mixture of farm land, pastures with sheep and a few houses here and there. I thought to myself that this is probably what the land looked like for a thousand years. In the areas where there was no human touch, it probably has looked the same since the last ice age. Will the lush land that I witnessed be allowed to stay as it is?

The continuous theme I seem to encounter when meeting people from Albania is the conversation steers towards how terrible things are and the desire to leave. I am usually asked if I like Albania, and I honestly answer that I think it is very beautiful. One young woman responded to my observation of the incredible snow capped mountains behind us, that she and her peers are too busy with their own worries over family, lack of jobs and problems to notice the beauty. She told me the beauty doesn't help them pay the bills. Later in the conversation, as she was reflecting on her decision to visit relatives in Canada and the USA to see about relocating, she said she has everything she wants in Permet within walking distance. If she needs to do something, she can always ask her mother on a moments notice to watch her two young children. She has a job as a teacher, that is quite secure. She said if she leaves Albania, she would not have the support of her mother living nearby, and would probably have to work several jobs to exist. All I could think of was how many Americans would give anything to have what she has: an apartment she can afford on her salary, steady job, beautiful nature in front of her, a river and mountains to explore and enjoy, amazing fresh food, bakeries, a regular farmers market full of organic produce and family to support her and care for her children anytime she wanted.

When I was doing my initial research in preparation to come to Albania, the book I was reading said that the majority of Albanians live outside of the country. A recent study by the World Bank showed that the population of Albania has decreased 7% in the last year alone. On my Albanian Peace Corps Twitter account, I have endless suggestions to follow the various “Albania in (fill in the country)” feeds, and it seems they are “everywhere,” Sweden, Australia and so on. One of the popular Sunday night Albanian television shows is a reality contest where three Albanian women marry foreigners in fairytale weddings. The get a stylist, help picking out dresses, and a wedding coordinator from a posh resort in Durres. Each bride recounts how they met their dream husband from another country, they rate each other’s weddings that we have all watched in that segment of the show. The winner gets a resort vacation to share with their husbands. 

What is wealth? Why are natural beauty, friendship and family not enough to sustain us in our modern world? Can development include these factors, or foster these aspects of culture? The Balkans are an interesting opportunity to create development in a few years compared to the US, Canada and western Europe, that does not destroy the meaningful aspects of human culture, but can they do this? Can they learn from our mistakes, use our best practises mixed in with their own innovations, their own style and avoid the pitfalls? 

I was talking to a PC Volunteer on a walk through pristine forest dotted with flowers. When I asked him what he thought was lacking in Albanian primary school education, his immediate response was there were no creative outlets for the children, no art, music, no activities involving imagination. We had an interesting conversation regarding the challenges of children in the states involving Attention Deficit Disorder and Autism. He said that it was an increasing problem in Albania, whose system really does not have the resources to cope with these children. My host sister, who is getting her masters in education, said that the parents of the normal children do not want them exposed to special needs children in school. At my training site, there is one such child, a sweet boy of about 12. He always says hello to me in English, he has the most amazing green eyes. He roams the hallways during school periods, and joins the rest of the children during recess. One day, some of the children were threatening him, a fight almost ensued, but thankfully one of the school boys intervened and stopped the beating before it began. I saw a public service announcement on TV imploring toleration for such mentally challenged youth. I have also been learning that there are some resources for these children, and that the Education Ministry is working on serving them through various initiatives.

Through my practice and simply paying attention for the last 30 years, I have noticed a general trend in American children as the numbers of ADHD and Autistic children increases. As a natural medicine practitioner and acupuncturist, my theory about the increased incidence of these problems is several fold. It seems that in terms of brain development, modern life is in direct conflict with the healthy growth of the brain and nervous system. When children are fed real nutritious food, allowed contact with nature, participate in gardening, get exercise, limit computer and television exposure, have regular schedules with adequate sleep, participate in artistic activities such as music, and receive affection and attention from parents, the brain develops in an effective manner. Such practises also help relax hyper children. Obviously these practises are not the norm in homes where both parents work, dinner is usually a drive through fast food experience and an average of 8 hours of TV and computer time is logged each day. One study showed that prisoners in the US have more outdoor time (one hour per day) than the average US school aged child. Will this happen in Albania?

The trend in modernity is to move away from the land. As we move to cities, become more mechanized in all aspects of our lives, we are slowly killing ourselves and the planet. While population centers swell and we are closer in proximity to one another, it seems our obsession with computers is isolating us from one another. Our children are basically the canaries in the mineshaft in terms of the direction we are going as a species. The antidote is to slow down, be outside, talk to one another face to face, get our hands into some dirt to grow things, participate in artistic activities and eat real food. The modernization that Albania and the rest of the Balkans are experiencing is being reflected in their children. The deeper question is how to modernize without separating from the land. Will the people in Albania learn from their children?

Truth, beauty and goodness are what make life on earth the satisfying transformative journey it is meant to be. Truth, beauty and goodness create the environment for humans to achieve their highest potential. What is sad to me is that these things are seen as irrelevant and non productive, they do not pay the bills I am told from people on the American and European continent. Beauty is being standardized and commodified. A young Albanian woman said that before the fall of communism, women who were on the voluptuous or “meaty” side were considered beautiful. Now, the definition of beauty is thin, blond and smooth, and the levels of eating disorders, hair dye and cosmetics are rising to comply.

I go back to my original reflections on development. Can such a process happen without the fallout and mistakes that have been made in the West? I watch TV and the ads are all about possessions, shopping, fake food and commodified beauty, just like in the states. The Albanians and everyone else wants to go to the location where the lifestyle such commercials proclaim, but such lifestyles really do not exist on one level, and on another, the chocolate dip in plastic cartoon character containers for cookies, pre-packaged meals, fairytale weddings to foreigners and the caffeinated drink enjoyed by a rapper do not embody truth, beauty and goodness. Such things also do not last. I have yet to see the nasty divorce from foreign mate shows on the TV listings here in Albania.

The mountains which have stood for thousands of years, different dictators, wars and climate changes are silent in their majesty and beauty. They are teeming with life; flowers, ferns,  berries, waterfalls from snow packs, birds and animals. They nourish the farmland below and supply the rivers and streams that give life to everything. I wish I could hear what they say. The sight of them brings me deep comfort and joy. I wish everyone could see these vistas as I am seeing them, and feel rich because of it, I know I do. The warmth in my heart will last, I think, beyond this life.