Dielli | The Sun

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

Labor Day – Its Economic and Civic Significance

by

Let’s celebrate and honor the labor movement on the holiday of Labor Day with work helmet, hammer, screw driver, screw and nut fastener

Rafaela Prifti/

Labor Day is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. It marks the unofficial end of summer. The holiday is rooted in late nineteenth century, at the time when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the contributions of the working class towards America’s economic strength, prosperity, and well-being.

The US Department of Labor says that the day was commemorated by labor activists and in individual states. After municipal ordinances were passed in 1885 and 1886, a movement developed to secure state legislation.

New York was the first state to introduce a bill. “The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.”

After two dozen more states adopted the holiday, on June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday. President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday.

All across America communities from all backgrounds celebrate Labor Day with parties, gatherings and festivities very similar to those outlined by the first proposal for a holiday, which suggested that the day should be observed with – a street parade to exhibit “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. “This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day,” states the US Department of Labor.

American labor is a major factor in raising the nation’s standard of living for the country and the biggest contributor to world economy. The official statement says that on Labor Day “the nation pays tribute to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership – the American worker.”

As all communities, Albanian Americans, who have long been part of the American labor, honor today in the traditional festivities of Labor Day.

The Oldest European Lakeside Village Uncovered in Lake Ohrid, Albania

by

Rafaela Prifti/

A team of Swiss and Albanian archaeologists believe the Albanian shore of Lake Ohrid was the location of a stilt house settlement estimated to have been built between 6,000 and 5,800 BC. The discovery from the underwater excavation was first reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP). The Lake Ohrid site represents the oldest lakeside village ever discovered in Europe, based on the preliminary findings.

The renowned archaeologist from Switzerland’s University of Bern, Professor Albert Hafner, told the agency that his team spent the past four years excavating at Lin, on the Albanian side of Lake Ohrid, situated between Albania and Macedonia. He said the village is “several hundred years older than previously known lake-dwelling sites in the Mediterranean and Alpine regions,” which suggests that the site is “the oldest” of its type in Europe.

The stilted village, discovered by a team of underwater excavators, was protected by 100,000 defensive wooden spikes. It is estimated that between 200 to 500 people inhabited the settlement.

The discovery in Lake Ohrid holds an invaluable archaeological significance spanning over 8 millennia. Previous discoveries of stilted settlements in Scotland, Austria and elsewhere have provided insights into early agrarian societies’ ways of life, architecture, and resource utilization, writes Ancient Civilizations Magazine. There is a lot that can be revealed in one of “Europe’s earliest sedentary communities”.

According to Albanian archaeologist Ilir Gjepali, the team found “seeds, plants, and bones of both wild and domesticated animals.” Such findings coupled with a complex architectural and defense system give new insights into the villagers motivations for building stilted settlements.

One of the oldest known stilted villages in Europe, and the world, was the “The Stilt House Settlement on the Lake of Zurich” in Switzerland. The prehistoric village was built around 1100-800 BC during the Late Bronze Age.

Until this recent discovery on Lake Ohrid, the oldest stilted settlement known to archaeologists was the “Sankt Peter am Wallersee” site in Austria. Dating back to around 3943-3668 BC, during the Neolithic period. The houses in this ancient village were all built on wooden stilts over the water.

Professor Hafner called the heavily defended submerged settlement of Lake Ohrid “a real treasure trove for research.”

PERSE KA RENDESI PER MEDIAT RASTI I BASTISJES SE GAZETES NE KANZAS?

by

Rafaela Prifti/

Autoritetet në Kanzas duhet t’i kthejnë pajisjet, kompjurat e redaksisë dhe celularët e gazetarëve, të konfiskuara gjatë bastisjes nga forcat e rendit javën e kaluar. Ndërsa hetimet e çështjes vazhdojnë, shumë shoqata civile dhe gazetarë në mbarë botën shikojnë këtu ngjashmëri dhe jehonë me atë që po ndodh me mediat në vende të tjera.

Një gazetë lokale dhe rajoni i policisë së një qyteze të vogël në Kanzas janë në mesin e debatit për çështjen e lirisë së fjalës. Bastisja e gazetës amerikane The Marion County Record (Fletorja e Qarkut Marion) në Kanzas u dënua me forcë nga mbrojtësit e shprehjes së lirë. Dy ditë pas veprimeve policore në Kanzas, shoqatat e të drejtave civile si edhe agjencitë më të mëdha të lajmeve përfshirë Associated Press, CNN, New York Times e shumë të tjera po ndjekin zhvillimet e këtij incidenti të vetëdijshëm për domethënien e tij për gazetarët, mediat dhe shoqërinë në përgjithësi. 

E drejta e shprehjes dhe liria e fjalës janë të garantuara në Kushtetutën amerikane. Kur vjen fjala në raste të caktuara detajet krijojnë tablo ku shfaqen shumë nuanca me rëndësi. Kontrollet dhe konfiskimet e forcave të rendit në redaksitë e lajmeve janë akte shumë të rralla në Shtetet e Bashkuara. Bastisja e zyrave të redaksisë, shtëpisë së pronarit, dhe redaktorit përgjegjës së The Marion County Record javën e kaluar në Kanzas janë dënuar me forcë nga shoqatat e mbrojtjes së fjalës së lirë. Autoritet njoftuan se konfiskimi ishte pjesë e hetimeve lidhur me metodën sesi gazeta arriti ta merrte dhe si do e përdorte një dokument me të dhëna personale për pronaren e një restoranti vendor dhe nëse këtu janë shkelur të drejtat e saj si person privat. 

Sipas deklaratës së avokatit Joel Ensey që përfaqëson gazetën, policia nuk kishte të dhëna të mjaftueshme për të arsyetuar bastisjen e zyrave të gazetës dhe konfiskimin e pajisjeve elektronike nga autoritetet e rendit. “Si rrjedhojë, i kam paraqitur një kërkesë gjykatës për kthimin e evidencave materiale të mbledhura prej tyre. Po ashtu kam kërkuar nga forcat e rendit t’i kthejnë të gjitha pajisjet te pronarët përkatës,” njoftoi avokati.

Policia në bashkëpunim me zëvendës-shefin e ruajtjes së rendit për qarkun bastisën zyrat e redaksisë, shtëpinë e pronarit dhe redaktorit përgjegjës si edhe banesën e anëtares së Këshillit Bashkiak duke marrë në posedim kompjuterët, telefonat celularë dhe pajisje të tjera. Ndërkohë zyra e hetimeve në Kanzas që bashkëpunon me njësitë e ruajtjes së rendit në nivel shtetëror ka njoftuar se hetimet vazhdojnë. Ekspertët për legjislacionin dhe Amendamentin e parë të Kushtetutës e quajtën kthimin e kompjuterave dhe celularëve të gazetarëve “një hap premtues” që megjithatë “nuk mund të kompensojë shkeljen e lirisë së garantuar të fjalës.”   

Incidenti i ka sikletosur qeveritarët që nga njëra anë deklarojne se respektimi i lirisë së fjalës është një nga shtyllat e shoqërisë dhe nga ana tjetër thonë se mbështesin veprimet e forcave të rendit. Fletorja ka publikuar shkrime që kanë pasur në qendër të vëmendjes zyrtarë  dhe pronarë biznesi duke zbuluar fakte nga jeta private që kanë çuar në falimentime të bizneseve prandaj banorët mbajnë qëndrim jo fort përkrahës ndaj gazetës.

Mllefi ndaj medias në Shtetet e Bashkuara, shpesh i ushqyer nga politikanët, ka shkuar në rritje deri në mundësinë e ndërprerjes së kronikave apo mbulimit të ngjarjeve. Në muajin prill, shefi i policisë në Oklahoma u inçizua gjatë një diskutimi me zyrtarët e qarkut në lidhje me vrasjen e gazetarëve. Në qershor dy gazetarë të Karolinës Veriore u dënuan për shkelje dhe sipas Fondacionit për Lirinë e Shtypit kjo ndodhi ngaqë ata kishin raportuar për spastrimet policore në një kamp të të pastrehëve ku u arrestuan për shkak se kishin qenë aty pas orës 10 kur parku mbyllet.

“Na takon ta ngremë zërin për gazetën në Kanzas duke qenë të vetëdijshëm për bjerrjen e demokracisë në shumë vende anë e mbanë botës,” tha Kathy Kiely, Drejtuese e Studimeve për Shtypin e Lirë në Shkollën e Gazetarisë së Universitetit të Mizurit.

Largpamësia e albanologut Peter R. Prifti për Kishën Ortodokse në Shqipëri 

by

Rafaela Prifti/

Në përkujtim të përvjetorit të vdekjes së Peter R. Priftit (17 gusht 2010) vlen të sjellim në mend përkushtimin e tij ndaj studimeve albanologjike si model i një intelektuali të përsosur si edhe një atdhetari të rrallë. Studimet e tij, të cilat përfshijnë një gamë të gjerë të shkencave politike e sociale, janë botuar në gjashtë vëllime pa llogaritur punimet shkencore si bashkëautor veç shumë shkrimeve të tij në revista profesionale e gazeta të njohura në Amerikë. Përsa i takon kohës në Vatër, ai, në vitin 1958, u emërua bashkëeditor i gazetës Dielli dhe më pas kreu vetëm për një vit (1959-1960) detyrën e Sekretarit të Federatës PanShqiptare të Amerikës Vatra në Boston nën Kryesinë e të përndriturit Fan Noli. 

Peter Prifti është anëtar nderi i Departamentit të Gjuhësisë të Universitetit të Kalifornisë në San Diego. Ai është autor i disa vëllimeve në shqip dhe anglisht si: Confrontation in Kosovo: The Albanian-Serb Struggle, 1969-1988, Remote Albania – The politics of isolation, Land of Albanians – A Crossroads of Pride and Pain, Unfinished Portrait of a Country, Mozaik Shqiptar e të tjera.

Në ditën e përvjetorit të vdekjes, është me rëndësi të lexohet letra e tij drejtuar Presidentit të atëhershëm të Shqipërisë z. Sali Berisha. Në të autori ngre zërin dhe argumenton qëndrimin e tij kundra emërimit të dhespotit grek Janullatos si kryepeshkop i Kishës Ortodokse të Shqipërisë dhe “shenjtërimin” e tij aty. E shkruar në Korrik të vitit 1992, letra ilustron mprehtësinë analitike, largpamësinë mendore përballë llogaritjeve politike dhe shpalos atdhedashurinë e një mërgimtari që ndonëse jetonte në Amerikë ishte thellësisht dhe deri në fund i përkushtuar ndaj vendit të tij të lindjes. 

Figura e Peter Priftit mbetet nga më të shquarat e diasporës shqiptare në Amerikë.

Shënim: Letra i takon arkivit të familjes Prifti. Ribotimi i plotë apo i pjesshëm pa miratimin e familjarëve është i ndaluar dhe i ndëshkueshëm me ligj.

NY Rally by Humanity for Peace – Plato, Putin, NATO. Oh My!

by

Rafaela Prifti/

While putting an end to the war in Ukraine might seem like a message we can all support, the steps towards reaching it as put forth by Humanity for Peace in today’s rally in midtown New York require that you put your faith in the aggressor, Russia’s Putin, and lay the blame on the West, mostly the US and UK administrations’ foreign policy. In this scenario, Ukraine is colluding with the West to bring destruction upon itself. No doubt all of this is fine with Putin given that these are views he has long expressed and has asked his supporters to embrace as he justifies a-year-and-a-half-long war that Russia is not winning. In support of the argument to abandon Ukraine’s defending of its borders and people, the activists at the gathering point at a combination of factors including the looming nuclear race, NATO and Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher. Why Plato? Perhaps any movement needs a cover or appearance of a political philosophy that provides the basis for being righteous. Plato witnessed some of the tragic events caused by the Peloponnesian War and he dedicated its philosophical work to the relation between politics and conflict. The organizers believe that Plato’s political philosophy comes handy in support of their argument for “a new order”. Or at the very least, his name might intimidate the non-scholars among us. “Are you familiar with Plato?” – the activist at the Plaza asked me. I said that I am more familiar with dictators like Putin and autocratic regimes. I strongly feel that there is no amount of philosophy that can sway me into considering theories that favor a strongman like Putin, his cohorts and wannabes across Europe from Hungary to Albania and around the world.

Who are the organizers of the rally and who are their sponsors? The rally held at Doug Hammarskojd Plaza across the street from the United Nations complex was announced as “an international demonstration” by the organizers on the website of the Schiller Institute – a think tank named after the 18th century German physician, playwright, poet, philosopher and devout protestant. It was founded in 1984 by Lyndon LaRouche Jr., the late American political activist and his spouse Helga Zepp-LaRouche. At a glimpse, the protesters some of whom wore T-shirts and held signs with slogans seemingly pro-Peace came from different groups, backgrounds and organizations. The sponsors of the campaign, listed on a huge banner propped up at the southwest corner of the Plaza, and also on the Institute’s website seem to be in the far right spectrum. With regard to nuclear race and the Russia Ukraine war, they seem unified around the position that what stands in the way of international peace is the military alliance and the Western governments. Blatantly, the representative of Schiller Institute who collected signatures of the attendees told me at the plaza “Putin is not the enemy.” The middle age lady who spoke softly and projected professionalism was the one who quizzed me on Plato just when a participant with a sign that he wore on his front and back showing Plato’s name walked past us. One sign that read “Who is behind Zelensky?”, some printed posters and other hand-held props serve to visually reinforce the speakers’ remarks. They made the case for asking the question: Is Humanity for Peace in Putin’s pocket? I do not know the answer. What is known is that the movement operates under the Schiller Institute flushed with funds from sponsors with anti-government and libertarian agendas of unlimited freedoms. In order to reach its goal, Humanity For Peace needs “to build a unified coalition, above ideologies, to stop this unfolding escalation towards nuclear war,” according to its mission statement. In the context of the current war, they are calling for peace but they are not necessarily anti-war, as one of the speakers said at the rally. Therefore, fighting NATO is not beyond the realm because to them, the alliance stands in the way of peace.

“Do not provide weapons to Ukraine ! Disband NATO!”. Signs like these were strewn on the ground by the entrance to the rally. One could grab any of them and move to join the crowd of about three dozen participants listening to a long queue of speakers who went in front of the microphone. In their view, the stopping of the people dying or suffering is unrelated to the price of the Peace talks that outwardly Humanity for Peace supports through activism that was on display on the plaza. The activist was not able to rebuke that such peace would be at the cost of Ukraine. It feels like an admission that at least for now Ukraine would be the sacrifice for stopping a possible nuclear race between the West and Putin’s camp. I cannot help but wonder which country is the Humanity for Peace willing to sacrifice after Ukraine. If Putin eyes Georgia next, would the Schiller activists justify it. After all it potentially would weaken the West which serves both Putin and the anti-government agenda of the think tank.

I asked her if Humanity for Peace tries to work with anti-war factions within Russia. They don’t. Why? “Because we are Americans,” she said. So, they are anti-war in the US where it is safe and convenient to criticize Biden while Putin jails Russia’s citizens for holding a blank piece of paper in public, I said. How perverted! I get a sense that these activists have embraced a selective fight for Peace. It is conditioned upon being physically in a Western country where they themselves have the luxury of demonstrating and condemning at will the Biden administration because they enjoy the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly which they would not have in Putin’s Russia. On the other hand, the Humanity for Peace would be able to hold a pro-Putin rally like this one in Moscow because he would allow it. The organizers are silent on the issue of anti war-efforts in Russia and Putin’s elimination of political opponents along with any semblance of democracy in Russia. During 23 years of Putin’s regime he has fashioned himself as the country’s absolute ruler. However Humanity for Peace makes no mention of Russian journalists and the media that at great personal risks expose Putin’s self-serving unrelenting propaganda within Russia’s border and beyond. The pro-Putin rally was held in midtown New York because Humanity for Peace knows and appreciates the difference even the contrast between democracy and a dictatorship. The freedoms of speech and assembly are some of the liberties they would not have under Putin. As long as Russia’s strongman labels the unjust war against Ukraine as a fight against the West and the Western alliance, the Schiller Institute will fund and organize such perverted demonstrations for Peace. The perversion and distortion stem from its “one way’ criticism and condemnation. The guest speakers did not call on Putin to put an end to the war. They called upon the UN, the US and its allies. So the organizers support freedom to blame the West not Putin. Currently it serves Putin very well to divert attention from his war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The question is: Does a distorted message of Peace serve humanity or cause further harm to its stability and security? Looking at Southeast Europe and more specifically the Balkan region, there have been escalations of tensions in Kosova, democratic backsliding in Albania’s elections and security issues all around the region. As recently as July 18, a congressional hearing was convened by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Subcommittee on Europe https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/…/subcommittee…/ and as reported by Dielli, Vatra’s leadership was in the meeting. In the year since Putin decided to invade its neighbor and start a war, many indicators point at the erosion of stability and security specifically in Kosova and also the region. It is important to understand what is at stake when a well-funded movement like Humanity for Peace seeks to organize rallies such as the one in midtown to advocate for the end of war by walking away from confronting Putin. The answers are coming into view and may still not be wholly available. Yet it is certain that relenting and backing down to dictators is their playbook and pushing for such a move certainly plays into Putin’s hand.