Dielli | The Sun

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

A MOVING TRIBUTE

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MTA Citywide Memorial in Honor of Workers Lost to COVID-19/

by Rafaela Prifti/

The death toll of COVID-19 pandemic is nearing half a million in the US. The grieving for the loved ones is made harder under ongoing restrictive measures. The outdoor memorials and candlelight vigils help to alleviate the sorrow. In New York, the MTA, the underground transportation system that keeps New Yonkers such as this one moving, opened its own memorial to honor the essential workers who were hard hit by COVID-19. 

Throughout the subway system, portraits of MTA workers lost to the pandemic were on view through the first week of February. Director of the MTA Arts & Design department and a visual artist, Sandra Bloodworth initiated the project in collaboration with Cheryl Hageman and Victoria Statsenko. The data released by the MTA New York City transit confirms that 140 members of their workforce have passed away from COVID-19. The train operators and conductors have been affected at the highest rate. The in-memoriam slideshow consists of portraits of the deceased employees on displays at 107 subway stations in all five boroughs on screens where we are used to see maps and service changes, integrated with a newly commissioned poem, “Travels Far,” by the Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith and a nine-minute video, with audio by composer Christopher Thompson, at three times a day. The MTA officials said that it is important for the 55,000 employees to see the memorial as well — and know that they and their families are appreciated. One of the first employees who died last March, Peter Petrassi was a subway conductor and operations associate. In response to the first lives lost to the pandemic, the MTA launched a new unit to help liaise with their families. The team invited families from all MTA departments to submit portraits of the deceased employees. They are set against backdrops of MTA colors. Mostly New York City Transit workers who make up the majority of the portraits, some Long Island Rail Road and Metro North employees. 

The agency head said that while coworkers and colleagues are still unable to gather in a physical space, they did not want to wait any more to pay respects in a special memorial. In the future, MTA will have a permanent memorial and in-person service. 

The creative way to honor and celebrate the lives lost to COVID-19 serves as a touching reminder of the sacrifices of the essential workers whose work cannot be done from home. The memorial allows us to grieve with a deeper appreciation for the MTA employees who continue to keep the city moving. 

The artwork stays up for a few weeks. Yet the riders carry the memorial in their ever-lasting motion on buses and trains.

Vetevendosje Projected to Win Kosova’s Election

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by Rafaela Prifti/

Despite freezing temperatures and the Covid pandemic, Kosova’s parliamentary election saw citizens go to the polls on Sunday. A series of exit polls predicted Vetevendosje (Self Determination) party to take first place, PDK is projected to finish second and LDK to come in third. NISMA looks set to miss out with polls predicting less than 3 percent of the vote going to the party. Three exit polls released as voting closed in Sunday’s parliamentary election put Vetevendosje in first place with between 42 and 53 percent of the vote. 

Leader of the party Albin Kurti has campaigned on bringing social and legal justice and key issues of reciprocity with Serbia. In terms of foreign policy, he has pledged to dismiss “aspects of the agreements signed by the Hoti government in Washington DC under the auspices of the Trump administration. Vetevendosja’s position is to not commit to all agreements given that Serbia has been violating the terms constantly, as the Serbian officials continually oppose the recognition for Kosovo, despite pledging to halt its de-recognition campaign. “We cannot be overly polite to Serbia, whose aim is to deny the existence of Kosovo statehood,” said Mr. Kurti to the reporters. 

The election was held early pursuant to the Constitutional Court ruling that the last government was formed through an illegitimate vote in parliament. 

An estimate of 1.8 million people were eligible to vote in the election, with an additional 100,000 diaspora Kosovars eligible to vote by mail. Overseas mail ballots are not included in the polls, and the verification process is not expected to start until Monday evening. 

The parliamentary election will determine 120 lawmakers from among more than 1,000 candidates from 28 political groupings. Kosovo’s Serbian minority has 10 seats, and 10 more representatives come from other national minorities.

There have been some reports of irregularities at polling places. The adverse weather conditions made access to the polls difficult for some citizens.

Partial results are expected late Sunday evening.

URIME PER 70 VJETORIN E LINDJES PROFESORESHE MJAFTIME DUSHALLARI

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Sikur të mos ishte kërkesa e djalit tuaj për një  fjalim të  shkurtër sot nuk do t’i kishim mësuar shprehjet pikante të Nënë Behares dhe mencurinë e saj. E pranoj se vitet japin një lloj njësije matëse të moshës, por mendoj se ju keni treguesë të tjerë kohorë. Si studente juaja në Fakultetin Filologjik, unë e konsideroj veten një lloj trashëgimtare të veprës suaj. Dhe nëse mund të numërohen studentët dhe nxënësit e disa brezave të edukuar nga ju, mosha juaj është mijëra vjecare dhe e pamatshme me kritere konvencionale. Titulli Profesor nuk e ka bërë askënd të tillë. Nuk janë titujt akademik por zotësia juaj profesionale dhe dhuntia e natyrshme ligjëruese që janë cilësitë tuaja të rralla.

Me mirënjohje të pafund, uroj të gëzoni shumë e shumë përvjetorë të tjerë!

Rafaela Prifti

Mund te lexoni: Gazeta Dielli Dalip Greca Seminari Shkencor Arsimor mbajtur ne Vater maj 2018

VATRA PRITI MESUESIT E SHKOLLAVE SHQIPE

Senate Votes that Trump’s Impeachment Case is Constitutional

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by Rafaela Prifti/

The second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump began on Tuesday, as House Democrats prosecute their case for “incitement of insurrection.” Last month nine impeachment managers of the Democratic Party brought the article of impeachment to the Senate citing the responsibility of then President Trump in inciting his supporters who broke into the US Capitol and interrupted the certification of the Electoral College Votes on January 6.

The defense for Mr. Trump has argued that the trial is unconstitutional as he is no longer a sitting president. The lawyers claim that Mr. Trump was exercising freedom of speech when he told his supporters to “fight like hell” to overturn his defeat.

Tuesday’s proceedings began with a debate to dismiss the trial on the basis of Trump’s lawyers claim that it is moot now that Trump is out of office, and 45 Senate Republicans have already voted to dismiss the trial on those grounds. Five Republican senators voted with Democrats two weeks ago not to dismiss the trial on constitutional grounds.

The Senate debated on the issue of constitutionality followed by a vote on whether to dismiss the trial on that basis.  Many legal scholars say the trial is valid under the Constitution. The democrats point to an 1876 impeachment trial of a secretary of war who had resigned. They note that Trump was impeached while still serving in office. Trump’s lawyers dismiss that precedent claiming the Constitution is on their side.

In a 56-44 vote the Senate voted that the impeachment of trial of former President Trump is constitutional. Tomorrow the trial will proceed as planned. The House managers will present their arguments Each side will have up to 16 hours, running no more than eight hours per day for two days. Senators will be allowed to question both teams before holding a debate and a vote on calling witnesses.

Election officials across the country, and then-Attorney General William Barr, contradicted Trump’s claims of massive voter fraud, as dozens of legal challenges to the election put forth by Trump lawyers, his campaign and his allies were dismissed.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day – A Day of Reflection

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by Rafaela Prifti/

To honor the memory and reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. is to appreciate the meaning of service.

On this National Service Day, I like to shine a light on a family friend, a supporter of the Albanian people as well as a self-described student of Albanian language, Barry Farber. The popular talk radio host with nearly a six decade career in broadcasting passed away last year shortly after his 90th birthday. His youngest daughter Bibi posted a commentary today to say that the first person Barry interviewed on the radio on WINS in 1960 was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.!

“Mr. Farber inaugurated his first solo radio program in 1960 after arriving in New York from North Carolina with journalistic ambitions and remarkable multilingual talents. He went on to interview guests for longer than any other living, continually broadcasting radio host,” the New York Times wrote. “His Southern gentlemanly demeanor on the air also stood in contrast to the bellicosity Mr. Farber, a fervent anti-Communist, later demonstrated when he twice campaigned for office”, in 1970 for a Republican Cogresssional seat and in 1977 race for New York City mayor. Since 2008, he had been broadcasting, on Talk Radio Network and then on CRN Digital Talk Radio, from his Upper West Side apartment while contributing weekly to the World Net Daily website.

Barry Farber was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2014. “He had arrived in New York in 1957 looking for work in journalism when by chance he struck up a conversation with William Safire”. At the time, Mr. Safire was working for a radio show in town hosted by the husband-wife team of Tex McCrary and Jinx Falkenburg. He was impressed by “a former campus newspaper editor, college wrestling champ and Army translator who had done some world traveling and, perhaps most impressively, could speak nearly two dozen languages.” His first on-air interview was with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1959.

To paraphrase the title of Barry Farber’s first memoir, he could turn every conversation Into a magic moment. As Bibi writes, Barry Farber’s interview with Dr. King did not end there: “Barry had been active and outspoken in the civil rights movement since his youth.” For his support of Congress of Racial Equality, Barry was awarded a patron of membership in 1989.
Honoring the memory of Dr. King and his legacy is tied to appreciating the meaning of serving the community and the country.