Dielli | The Sun

Albanian American Newspaper Devoted to the Intellectual and Cultural Advancement of the Albanians in America | Since 1909

Top Priorities at 76 UN General Assembly: Global COVID Response and Climate Action

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by Rafaela Prifti

The world “is challenged like never before”, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, at the event marking the start of the 76 General Assembly. He said that the key message to the world leaders is “Wake up, change course, unite, and let’s try to defeat the enormous challenges we are facing today.”

The UN General Assembly is meeting virtually at the New York Headquarters to discuss international cooperation as it highlights the need for a global pandemic response to COVID 19. The data collected from Johns Hopkins University indicates that confirmed cases of the virus have surpassed 30 million and there are nearly 1 million deaths globally, There will be more than 80 virtual meetings covering all aspects of COVID-19, including a high-level session focusing on coordinating a global response, that includes an affordable future vaccine accessible to all. President Biden has vowed to boost the pace of global COVID-19 vaccinations, and the White House has planned a virtual summit on the topic for Wednesday, to coincide with activities held at the U.N.

Climate action is at the center of the agenda of events scheduled throughout Assembly meetings.

Mr. Biden who is addressing the General Assembly for the first time as president, will also be focusing on his two priorities: fighting the COVID pandemic, and addressing climate change. The White House believes that in order to meet these challenges countries need to work together, roping in the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and institutions, a senior administration official told reporters.

The administration has faced criticism for putting together plans to give Americans a third booster shot even as millions of people in the world’s poorest countries are still waiting for an initial dose. The World Health Organization and other groups have urged the United States to hold back on broad preparations for extra shots, arguing that other countries need the vaccines more. The White House has responded by claiming that the U.S. has enough doses even as it donates more doses than any other nation.

In accordance with health protocols, one delegate from each of the 193 member states, plus the European Union, the Holy See and the non-member Observer State of Palestine will be allowed in the hall to watch the video speeches. Hand sanitizer stations are placed in the side aisles. Delegates are required to wear face coverings. In case of positive testing by a delegate attending the session, a U.N. spokesperson says there is a plan for case management and contact tracing.

BORIS BECKER FEEDS NOVAK’S VICTIM COMPLEX

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Open Letter to Boris Becker –  Eurosport 

By Rafaela Prifti 

Boris Becker, former coach of Novak Djokovic, told Eurosport Germany: “It is not acceptable that Novak is always the bad guy and Roger and Rafa are always the good guys – that is unfair. I know Novak privately and professionally, and I can only say that he is a fine guy.”
Last Sunday, US Open delivered an upset in denying the world number one, Novak Djokovic, his dream of 21 major titles and the calendar Grand Slam. After his triumphs at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon earlier in the year, it was Daniil Medvedev who claimed his first title in three straight sets (6-4) in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows. 
Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, known as the Big Three in tennis, each have 20 grand slams. Winning the US Open would have taken the Serb past the tallies of the Grand Slam titles held by his rivals. 
In the final set, Novak was able to get a break that seemed to draw from the supportive energy of the fans in the crowd. Yet, a few minutes later, it was all over. After shaking hands with the winner, an emotional Djokovic sat down and burst out on the tennis court, while waiting for the ceremony to begin. He choked up again during his speech as he thanked the fans for making him feel “respected and loved”. 
With both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in post-surgery recovery, Novak Djokovic had a once in a lifetime opportunity to make tennis history. Known as a competitor who throws temper tantrums on the court, Novak doesn’t get a fair treatment from the media, according to Boris Becker: “It is not acceptable that Novak is always the bad guy and Roger and Rafa are always the good guys – THAT IS UNFAIR.” 
Such statements only feed Novak’s ego and victim complex.
Referencing his speech at the US Open award ceremony, Becker said that he hopes that it (the speech) “ensures that Novak is finally seen in a different light.” To bolster his argument, the German former coach and tennis player mentioned  that the Serb stands up for other players. Interestingly, no word from Becker on Djokovic Tweeter posting about athletes’ mental fortitude with regard to the US gymnast Simone Biles at the Tokyo Olympics. In what could be described as a quick karma reward, the Serb did not win Gold and after smashing his racket walked away from the mixed double match leaving the tennis partner to fend for herself at the Tokyo Games. 
In Becker’s comments, there is a justification for everything Novak does. When he smashes his rackets, Novak is justified in his anger by Becker who says “Who doesn’t” do that? A lot of tennis players don’t allow their anger to be displayed in public!  When Novak walks away from the Olympic games, he is allowed because “he is a proud Serb” and the exhaustion from “the travel, the Olympic village, the opening ceremony” have taken a toll on him. Doesn’t stress affect others who refrain from such misconduct? When Novak loses the US Open finals, it was because “he was tired and should have taken three or four or weeks off as he usually does after Wimbledon”. Excuses, right?
Finally, Boris Becker addresses the issue at the heart of who Novak Djokovic is. “He wanted to make history. He wanted to become the most successful Grand Slam player of all time. He didn’t want to become one of the best – he wanted to become the best, and he would have underlined that with a victory here.” 
There it is! The difference between Djokovic and the two great rivals. In the past years, reporters have asked Rafael Nadal what would it mean for him to have 20 major titles. He answered that he sleeps all right with 19. 
The point is athletes strive to achieve new records and push the ceiling in their respective sports. It is partly why we admire them. Novak Djokovic wants to be the first for the sake of being the best. That’s not the media’s fault. Also complaining about a perceived unfair treatment does not help him. On the contrary, might have a negative impact on Novak Djokovic because it feeds his complex of victimhood. Let him cry it out! 

FDA endorses Pfizer booster shots for 65+ and high risk

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Rafaela Prifti 

An FDA advisory panel has rejected a plan to offer Pfizer booster shots against COVID-19 to most Americans. 
It recommended booster shots only for those who are 65 or older or run a risk of developing severe desease. The decision was made by a committee of outside experts who advise the Food and Drug Administration. The rejection presents an issue for the Biden administration in its effort to shore up vaccinations as the highly contagious delta variant ravages the population across the country.
The White House plan proposed by administration a month ago was to offer booster shots of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to nearly all Americans eight months after they get their second dose.
Panel members complained about insufficient data provided by Pfizer on efficacy, booster shots and side effects.
Research shows immunity levels among the vaccinated wane over time, yet the Pfizer vaccine is highly protective against severe illness and death, even amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. 
CDC advisory committee that sets policy for U.S. vaccinations campaigns is set to meet on Wednesday to debate who gets boosters and how many months after the second dose. The CDC has said it is considering boosters for older people, nursing home residents and front-line health care workers, rather than all adults.
FDA and CDC will take separate decisions on booster shots for people who received the Moderna or J&J vaccine.
World Health Organization has  objected to rich nations giving a third round of shots while poor countries are dealing with limited first doses.

Citizens, not the state, will enforce the Texas Anti-Abortion Law

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Despite not having a high profile in the anti-abortion movement, Jonathan Mitchell developed and promoted the legal approach of the Texas abortion law. A few years earlier he helped write major portions of the Texas abortion bill that was rejected by the Supreme Court in 2016. Mitchell who was the Texas state government’s top appeals court lawyer was called out then for his attempt to structure the law in a way that would prevent judicial action to block it. Last month a new Texas legislation that practically bans abortion in the state was allowed to go into effect by the Supreme Court’s majority. Notable the Court’s decision did not address the law’s constitutionality.

The legislative structure that Mr. Mitchell has conceived here is built around deputizing ordinary citizens to enforce it rather than the state. Critics say that Mr. Mitchell is gaming the judicial system through a legislative procedure since the law is deliberately devised to make it much more difficult for the courts to stop it by evading judicial review. The new Texas law represents a new iteration of the anti-abortion campaign, one that’s not based on principles, according to reports.

Mr. Mitchell briefly addressed his work in a statement. “The political branches have been too willing to cede control of constitutional interpretation to the federal judiciary, but there are ways to counter the judiciary’s constitutional pronouncements, and Texas has shown that the states need not adopt a posture of learned helplessness in response to questionable or unconstitutional court rulings.” Mitchell has written a law review article pointing at the legal vulnerabilities at the state level resulting in challenges in the court. This article set out the approach that he would go on to use in the municipal ordinances across Texas and then in the 2021 state law: helping states protect themselves from judicial review by delegating enforcement authority to private citizens. In a largely procedural ruling last month, the Supreme Court declined to block the Texas law, emphasizing that it was not ruling on its constitutionality.

The Texas abortion law, known as Senate Bill 8, amounts to a nearly complete ban on abortion in the state. It prohibits most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy and makes no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from incest or rape. Citizens, not the state, will enforce the law. The law effectively deputizes ordinary citizens — including those from outside Texas — allowing them to sue clinics, health providers, doctors, staff and even a patient’s driver to become potential defendants for violating the law. It awards them at least $10,000 per illegal abortion if they are successful.
The persistence of the anti-abortion movement has shifted from focusing on stacking the courts with anti-abortion judges to a willingness to embrace unconventional approaches to further erode the right to abortion. The novel approach conceptualized by Mitchell hinges on civil enforcement while the state itself is being prohibited from enforcing it purposely structured to largely evade liability which was the intention from the start of the legislation’s adoptions in municipalities across Texas.

Mr. Mitchell runs a one-person law firm since 2018 after efforts by the Trump administration to bring him onboard proved unsuccessful.

News Report Summary by Rafaela Prifti

The Rewarding Work of Aleksander Nilaj’s Open Hand Association

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Interviewed by Rafaela Prifti

Albanian American Open Hand Association (AAOHA) is a Bronx based not for profit organization that has stepped up its work, during the pandemic, to help meet the increased needs of the community for food, clothing, school supplies and more. Dielli talked to Aleksander Nilaj, Founder and President of AAOHA about its operations and mission at its food pantry in the Pelham Parkway section. It is a converted apartment on the ground floor of a building on Holland Avenue. Before COVID-19, AAOHA helped feed hundreds of people through weekly food-pantry offerings.
Months into the pandemic, Open Hand was providing food at double and sometimes triple those amounts. Nilaj and his team have reached out beyond the borough’s borders to meet the needs of paraplegic and tetraplegic communities in Albania, flood victims, and so on. He believes that “all of us collectively can be more successful rather than each one individually.”      

-Food insecurity has been a problem in the Bronx. ICNA Relief USA opened this facility in July 2019. Since then, you say that AAOHA hosted clothing drives and food giveaways in other boroughs. How did you start and how did AAOHA get here?

AAOHA was founded in 2012. My initial idea was supported by a group of founding members. The association received its registration as a not-for-profit organization in 2014. 

All along I have been fortunate to have friends who believe in our mission and are willing to give their time and money to support it. In the beginning, the work and the size of our operation were much different. We would prepare 50 food packages as food giveaways per household per week. I contacted several community organizations that operate in different areas in the Bronx. I was an immigrant myself and did not have many contacts. So I approached local organizations that helped out the needy, such as the Bronx Park East, Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association, Morris Park, and the Bronx House. I said that I can provide food for 5 families per week to each organization to distribute to them. Our role was more a facilitator in the community. The limit was 50 to 60 families per week, for over a year. After a year, the families started to come directly to us. At that point the food giveaways reached to 180 up to 220 families per month. At that time AAOHA had no facilities. In order to notify the community of the time and drop off place, we relied on fliers and social media. We also rely on our partnerships with different community organizations and appreciate the help and support of local representatives, elected officials including the Albanian-American City Councilman Mark Gjonaj.

-What was your inspiration to lead this initiative? What prompted you to lead the AAOHA?

I came to the US in 2006. The Nilaj family is known in Vukel of the Kelmend region in Albania. It has been persecuted by the communist system. I am proud of my family and the heroic history of the people of Kelmend. One way to honor the legacy of our brave ancestors is to extend a helping hand to one another.  I was involved with a number of humanitarian efforts of organizations that operate here, both Albanian and American. They are very valuable to our communities. I realized that their work did not meet my vision. 

-What did you feel was missing?

Their work was oriented to meet or to address one specific area. I saw such efforts as a multi-directional work. I founded the Open Hand organization with that vision in mind. Luckily the Bronx is such a diverse community in terms of ethnicities that it feels like an international family. The families who come to us have appreciated us. As far as volunteers, more than half of them are Albanians. I am so proud of each and every one of them. 

– In August, in your conversion with Sokol Paja, the editor of Dielli, you said that the Open Hand is wherever people need it, so they don’t miss anything, and no one feels lonely. How do you define your role?

Many people are in desperate need. During the time of the pandemic the divisions and gaps grew for various reasons. Our mission is to bring help to everyone who needs it, with no distinction.  Two years ago we got the facility in Pelham Parkway as well as another larger storage for clothing items and materials. In the year of the pandemic, while a number of community outreach organizations were conducting their operations under lockdown conditions, a newly founded nationwide American organization started placing orders through us directly. We did drop offs to destinations assigned by them such as churches, places of worship, shelters. The families would arrange the pick up. At that point, we came to understand the large size of established associations that were serving the community for years and years. We connected with a quite a number of them and continue to coordinate with a few ones to this day.       

– What is the day to day logistics and planning for you? By the way, I saw the AAOHA van parked outside the food pantry.

The van was donated to us by a fellow Albanian from Kosova last year. He has been helping us for years. From February through December of 2020 we got 500,000 meals from a catering in the South Bronx and delivered them to families. It was Representative Nathalia Fernandez who referred them to us since Open Hand was the only place that stayed open in the time of the pandemic to serve those in need. 

– The work is done by hundreds of people who give their time, support and funds for the betterment of our communities. As you say, the list of supporters and volunteers is too long to cover. I talked briefly with two of them, who were at the pantry today. Hysni Lika and Viktor Popaj. They said to me they have been involved with humanitarian efforts and organizations in Albania before joining AAOHA. You said that more than half of the volunteers are Albanians but there are other nationalities as well. What do they all have in common?

This is a calling to help people who are in desperate need. During the time of the pandemic the divisions and gaps grew for various reasons. Our mission is to bring help to everyone without distinction.  The purpose is to help everyone who is in need that we are able to reach. That’s what brings all of our volunteer together. And they are so many of them who offer their time and services. I never have to look for volunteers. They find us. Other than food we provide equipment supplies for people with physical challenges. One example would be a wheelchair. If someone in need contacts us for a certain item, we try to get to the right place to provide that need for someone. 

– Open Hand started as a nonprofit organization almost a decade ago. It has hosted food and school supply giveaways, as well as clothing drives and care packages for the disabled. Since then, its work has well exceeded the local borders and stretched across the ocean. To give one example, “Albanian American Open Hand Association delivered 2,600 aid packages to Bosnia that was impacted by flooding in 2014. In 2015, AAOHA partnered with other associations to organize a clothing drive for Albania’s flood victims. It has raised funds and shipped home care materials to Albania and Kosovo. How do you work internationally? Is this part of your vision?

We have a coordinator in Albania, Luigj Gegaj, who is in charge for all the region. Rexhep Myftari from Dardamedia and Kanto Sokaj have been tireless in their roles to the association. We also coordinate with churches and various centers there. Once the shipment is ready from here, it goes to these points and they do the distribution themselves. Due to the high costs of international transport and customs, we don’t ship out food to Albania. Another restriction with regard to food is the requirement for sanitation certificates, expiration dates etc. 

– You take pride in the fact that Open Hand is an Albanian American Association.

I do. To be able to help the fellow countrymen is very rewarding. We are aware of the needs they have. Although AAOHA is limited in its capacities, our mission is to give as much as we can. There are good people who want to help here and there. With our coordinated efforts we can reach out to more families in need.  It is also a matter of giving hope to so many who despair and feel hopeless. A package once in six months will not last long but letting someone know that people care makes the whole difference in the world.

– What stands out about the Open Hand Association?

This is an Albanian American organization. Its name is meant to convey the idea of open arms and an open heart. One more point is that just like the founding members, donors and our volunteers are as diverse as the community we serve. In terms of our operations, we distribute in all boroughs of New York. The food pantry is open twice a week. The hours go on from Monday to Saturday. The number of people who come here reaches 200 to 250 on Saturday. Up until May, we distributed to 1,000 people. Our contract is good for two more years. We will keep on going. 

-You hosted an event in early September to honor donors and volunteers. You said that you also intended for it to be an annual event. 

This Labor Day event coincided with the fifth anniversary of Mother Teresa’s Sainthood and International Day of Charity. The best way for our organization to honor her figure as an Albanian and appreciate her legacy of giving and being the champion of the needy is to start a tradition that marks the day annually. 

– I noticed that you make a point to thank sponsors, volunteers and always the media. Local and city papers and online media like Bronx Times, NYCity News Service, News 12 Bronx have covered AAOHA’s help to feed families during holidays, the clothing drive and other events. With respect to Vatra and Dielli, you have been a supporter over the years. As recently as this month, you participated at a book promotion hosted by Vatra’s offices where you donated Back to School giveaways to ‘Children of the Eagle’. How do you see the role of the media?

The physical work in on us. The sponsors are very valuable to us. Our volunteers are priceless. The media brings and connects us to the people who might need us. That is how I see the role of the media. And all of us together and collectively are able to be more successful rather than each one individually.      

– Thank you for the interview! Much success in the future!