by Rafaela Prifti/
If you ever wondered about the impact of a song, you will find that Cezar Ndreu’s recent posting is inspired by lyrics written over 100 years ago that have reemerged into a song.
There are variations in its English translations but here is mine:
O River Drin of a span so wide
You – the Highland’s Ol’ Man
Will you let Dibra fall to Serbia?
Performed as a song, it premiered on social media under the title Anthem of Dibra Youth.
Cezar Ndreu shares his memories of listening to his elders recite the verses that filled him with pride as a child. Geographically, Drin is Albania’s longest river. Its historical importance in terms of Albanian history, national identity and pride cannot be overstated. There is an abundance of poems, songs, books written about Drin river in Albanian folklore and literature inspired by real events.
The poem evokes more than memories. “My son is eponymous and carries the river’s name with dignity and honor,” writes Cezar Ndreu in his post. He summarizes the historical circumstances that inspired Haki Sharofi, a Dibra intellectual, to write the poem at the end of 1920. It recounts the ruthless legacy of the Great Powers in the wake of two Balkan Wars, as the Ottoman Empire lost the bulk of its territory in Europe, Austria-Hungary was making its own calculations and a much enlarged Serbia pushed for territories by occupying Albanian lands.
The song describes the monthslong Albanian revolt led by valiant men and fearless women of Dibra in the fall of 1920. Cezar Ndreu cites Edith Durham, the British anthropologist, from the 19th century who was crowned as Albania’s mountain queen. She wrote the following description from in her book The Burden of the Balkans: ” The Dibra tigers, as their fellow-countrymen even call them, are all for independence.”
A descendant of a much respected Dibra family and a valued member of the community, Cezar Ndreu invokes the glory of a-century-old battle and the honor of the elderly to shame Albania’s authorities who served Serbia’s interest for decades.
Below please read his post in full:
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“Drin o lum i gjane
Plaku i malsis’
A ke me ja lane Dibren Serbise…!
Ishin keto qe per te paren here femije i degjoja nga gjysherit ku jetonim kilometra large saj Dibres. U rritem me keto vargje burrerore
Ishin pikerisht keto vargje dhe historia burrerore e Drinit qe sot im bir mban kete emer te lashte dhe krenar!
Pak histori se si u shkruajten keto vargje me 1920 nga dibrani intelektual Haki Sharofi!
Serbia kishte pushtuar pothuajse te gjithe veriun dhe kishte dal ne Shqioeri te mes te viteve te Luftes ballkanike
Ne gusht te 1918, Serbia perfundimidht kishte dal ne Adriatik, ne Durres
Po do te duhej nje ultimatum i Austro-Hungarise qe Serbia te linte per 8 dite Durresin
Serbia terhiqet dhe mban te pushtuar Dibren
Ishin vitet 1919-1920 ku shqiptaret po luftonin diplomatikidhte ne Konferencen e Paqes ne Paris.Dibra ishte nen pushtim!
Atehere udheheqesit popullor dibran u mblodhen dhe vendosen lufte totale brenda Dibres per clirimin e saj.
U mblodhen ne Luren e bukur dhe piktoreske.
Lufta me perballjen me okupatorin filloi pikerishte ne kete vend te bekuar nga Zoti per bukuri dhe trimeri. Filloje ne vjeshten e 1920 fund shtatori fillim tetori. Dibranet ishin jo shume te armatosor, ishte dimer i ashper por deshira dhe vullneti i dibraneve ishte aq i lart sa pati mobilizim te papare. Burrat luftonin me serbin dhe grate gatuanin ne front. Eshte nje tradite e vjeter kjo e te luftuarit e cila ka mbet nder malesor nga lashtesia. Kujtojme se vete Spartanet e lashte e kishin kete vyrtyt!
Per 4 muaj rresht vazhduan luftimet e pergjakshme. Dibranet pa ndihmen e askujt, apo ndihme fare e vogel nga qeveria vendore munden qe me 10 Dhjetor 1920 ta clirojne Dibren , jo vetem dibren por Tigrat dibran sic i pershkruante Edith Durham, shkuan me larg cliruan Dibren e Madhe, Tetoven Gostivarin dhe zbriten deri afer Struges.
Per tu theksuar se ne keto luftime te pergjakshme kunder serbve, kishte edhe dibran ne krahun serb, sic ishte Halit Lleshi i ati i Haxhiut ish Presidentit komunist per 40 vjet
Ne kete lufte u shquan per trimeri te gjithe kreret dibran dhe populli mbare, sipas kujtimeve te Ismail Strazimirit , ku shkruan se nder te gjithe shkelqeu Elez Isufi per menyren organizative dhe trimerore.
Atehere djelmenia dibrane shkruajti keto vargje lapidare:
Drin o lum i gjan
Plaku i malsise nga intelektuali Haki Sharofi
Vargje te cilat filluan te marrin jete ne gojen e cdo dibrani duke u ndesh me hasmin shekullor.
Sot pas 100 vjetesh keto vargje behen himni i djelmise dibrane, e cila na ka bere krenar ne si dibran ne rrjedhat e luftes per liri kombetare
Ishin po keta dibran te ndershem qe vendin e tyre nuk e lane nen mbreterine serbo malazeze.
Emrat e tyre jane te shumte por fatkeqsishte pluri i harreses ka bere te tijin , por edhe dashakeqja e atyre qe dikur ishin sejmen te Serbise dhe paten pushtet ne shtetin shqiptar per dekada
Lavdi dibraneve te cilet nuk kursyen asgje dhe trungut kombetar nuk e lane te pergjysmohet pa Diber
Lavdi Diber !🇦🇱
