Ten years after Mother Tereza's death, Albania is holding a ten day celebration of her life, with a series of public events across the city. Large posters have appeared across the city marking the anniversary.
On Saturday, we were at the Rogner meeting with an expat friend who was leaving Tirana. It was breakfast time, and as our friend was finishing his tea the breakfast room started to fill up with over-dressed (or under-dressed) young women wearing blue sashes. These were the contestants for the Miss Globe 2007 beauty pageant being held in Tirana tonight at the Palace of Congresses. High heel boots and mini-skirts - or in a couple of cases micro-skirts, or possibly just belts - have never struck me as obvious breakfast attire, but the girls seemed happy enough tottering and wobbling around with their tea and toast. I'm not sure why they were wearing their sashes - perhaps in case they forgot which country they came from. As we were leaving they were boarding a large coach which I had seen a number of times around the city in the last few days for their next trip. I'm not sure how some of them made it up the steps, or how they managed to sit down, but perhaps these are the ki...
Comments
Take a hike!
1. Last time I checked, the concept of humanity and human race took precedence before Albania/Albanians (or of any other nation as per that).
2. Mother Teresa was a living example of selfless love, perseverance and the possibility to bring about change no matter how bleak and dark the situation. The fact that she came out of the Albanian genetic pool deeply honors Albania
3. Albania caused a lot of grief in her personal life and yet she loved her unconditionally and gracefully accepted Albanian citizenship after she was the well known and well loved nun we all know.
4. Put Albania in the map for Nobel laureates.
…and the list can go on for a good while but perhaps most importantly what she did do for Albania was the invaluable example of going out of your way to help other without expecting any material recompense ….
I value culture more then religion. While you might be a christian religously your comment shows u as oriental from anatolia! Keep your mouth shut and dont badmouth the person who donated her life to humanity.
The only Anatoliac here is that fellow that sees something 'islamic' in what that Kosovar student said.
I stand by my and his assesment of Mother Teresa. Whatever benefit Albanians might derive from her is accidental
Shame on you for daring to insult any Albanian on the basis of religion. Thank God/Allah (I am deeply atheist myself so don't worry), there are so few of you in Albania.
As for Mother Tereza, I find it a very pathetic attempt by the Albanian government (of both colors) to try and honor this person who has done nothing for Albania, has never set foot in the country, and the only thing she has to do with Albania is the incidental fact that she was born to an Albanian family. She belongs to her church, and as all such "lost" people, she does not belong to us or even cares she was once one of us.
It is a pathetic and shameful attempt, not so much because of who she is or what she has done, but rather because in an effrot to, as our man says, portray a better image of Albania to the world, we use her image and ignore the multitude of other personalities that TRULY make us proud and TRULY represent who we are as a people. All the intellectuals, artists, writers, rilindas etc, all of them ignored to glorify...some nun. Shameful, ridiculous, pathetic and weak.
Does this no-body (as far as Albania is concerned), deserve more respect and more statues and more places named after her, than the likes of Fan Noli, Naim Frasheri, Cabej, Barleti, Konica, even Kadare and many many others?
It is juvinile behavior that honors "pop stars" instead of people to really be proud of. The square in front of the Univerity in Tirana, does it deserve the name and a state of Mother Tereza, the brillinat scholar that she was?? How about naming it Naim Frasheri, or Fan Noli, or Marin Barleti, and a state of any of these guys? Would that not be more appropriate?
I hope we grow up soon (and I have hopes we will), and start respecting ourselves more before we expect respect from others. Thankfully statues and names of places can always be changed later.
As for your religious talk, with all due respect you can shuv that where it belongs. Go to Greece or Serbia and enjoy freedom from "orinetalism" if you'd like.
you should have been there and heard how the kosovar student said it! Plus, that person talks everyday about weapons, anti-us, anti-christian and says that Albania Christians are traitors like serbs. And she is a girl!
Do you want it more straidforwardly than this?
I'm saying, that these people are so blind as to put down Mother Teresa. It can't get any worse than this!
NON-ALBANIANISM!
From: the second anonymous
There's no correlation between how that Kosovar (probably radicalized somewhere in the west) feels about Christian Albanians, and what Mother Teresa has done for Albanians.
I will repeat myself again:
Whatever benefit Albanians derive Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhi becoming Mother Teresa is PURELY ACCIDENTAL.
It certainly does not warrant squares, airports, universities to be named after her.