Ask me how much I knew about Albania before coming here and my list would be a short one: Enver Hoxha, bunkers and Sir Norman Wisdom. I have no idea when or how I acquired this extensive body of knowledge, but the association of Norman Wisdom with Albania was by far the most interesting part of it. I remember watching Norman Wisdom's old films on British television. My parents were fans of his wholesome, slapstick comedy, but apparently missed the ideological significance of Pitkin's relationship with Mr Grimsdale. Pitkin, the downtrodden and oppressed representative of the workers, triumphed every time over his capitalist oppressor, Mr Grimsdale - and he got the girl. It took a theorist of Hoxha's insight and profundity to discern this deeper political message. It always seemed tremendously unlikely, yet the story of Sir Norman's fame in Albania has been reported in worthy sources like the BBC , the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph . According to the Guardian, when Wi...
Comments
In any case, despite accusations of Albania being a source as well as a destination of THB, the report did not provide any hard evidence as to the extent of the problem in Albania. Rumours abound that there are as many as 30,000 sexworkers from Albania servicing the trade in the streets of Europe. However, I find these rumors to be greatly exaggerated.
So, the evidence is very hard to be backed. But then again we are talking about a shady business such as that of human trafficking, so real numbers would be hard to come by anyways.