From Enkel Demi
I read with great attention a petition of some academics, intellectuals, students who demand the prevention of the appearance on television of some “charlatans” who deal with the popular tracing of etymology, declaring the Albanian language as the most ancient in this land.
At the very beginning I want to express my great admiration for the vast majority of that list of signatories, even though few are much more “painted” as “charlatans” in their fields of life activity, but obviously this does not detract from the importance of debate and the very serious invitation to reflection.
The popular sport of etymological or historical research to derive a nation’s antiquity is characteristic of our region, even at the academic level. Neighboring countries have used Moroccan theses of infantile manipulation of language, history, antiquity, so that Albanians are descendants at best or with tails at worst. It is enough to recall here the infamous Encyclopedia published a few years ago by the Academy of Sciences of North Macedonia.
How nice it would be to have such a strong reaction in that world.
For years, journalists, “researchers” or “historians” have appeared on Albanian television without a license, even lecturers in Albanian university life who claim that Himara is historically Greek since ancient times. On the basis of these theses, the Greek authorities have raised a genuine territorial claim, creating an unusual political, diplomatic and obstructive tollovi in the process of European integration. Albanian opinion personalities have never been asked by the AMA to stop these fraudsters from appearing on television or radio. In this case, we are dealing with manipulation with serious consequences for the future of Albania and violation of territorial integrity.
Serbs with an “academic opinion” developed over the centuries claim that Albanians are descendants of Dardani for not wanting to use the Slavic term Kosovo.
Wouldn’t it be good to start the approach to the national question with the name change, with the request to finance archaeology, genuine historical, ethnographic studies and so on to counter the endless manipulation done by the so-called historians, writers or Slavic academics?
Shouldn’t we approach the historical manipulation of Chameria with the same energy and pathos, starting even from modern history, where Albanians are described as collaborators of Nazism, while the Janina trial that declared the children collaborators is still taken for granted, as is the case of the deceased Nexhat Mërgjushi at the age of 7 years.
But let’s go back to our “charlatans” who appear in the media. This popular sport is very popular in Greece. Remember the wonderful comedy “My big fat Greek wedding” which in Albanian is known as “Martesa ime Greke”. Perhaps this phenomenon should be taken with this spirit of humor.
Some of our popular trackers are convinced that they will have read something from the work of Petro Zheji, which finds the explanation in the Albanian language of some Sanskrit words.
I do not believe that it will work to throw Petro Zheji’s work in the trash, although it may call into question the official academic position.
Another impetus are the essays of our writer Ismail Kadare. In any of them, Kadare intends to explain the name of Zeus through the Albanian word “voice”. We are talking about a writer whose art inspires millions of Albanians, but who is not a real researcher. In this context, shouldn’t we demand that Ismail Kadare not be studied in schools, such as the essay “Autobiography of my people in verse” or “Aeschylus, this great loser”?
Lawyer Ngjela, in a recent interview for journalist Rudina Xhunga in Dritare, the lawyer said that the Albanian language is what explains Greek and not the other way around. So he adds that the translator of the Iliad, Gjon Shllaku, told him that the Iliad was translated from Albanian to Albanian, but this truth was kept secret. The lawyer testifies that Gjon Shllaku later claimed that the old Greek is a likely archaic form of Gegnish. How are we going to do in this case, who are we going to put in the “charlatan” definition, the lawyer or Gjon Shllak?
As a journalist of 30 years, a media executive and a media connoisseur as a university lecturer, I think this petition makes the debate about the media healthy, if not categorically, censorious. And in fact, I do not find his points prohibitive or restraining, but ethically warning for the Audiovisual Authority and the media itself.
In my opinion, there are only two ways to interview these people: either do the opposite of the guest, when we take it seriously, or treat it like in the movie “My Greek Wedding”.
The denigration of albanologists or scientists of the Albanian language should never be allowed in these conversations, as is the case of Eqerem Çabej.
However, these resourceful people in my opinion do not cause harm, on the contrary, they create a catchy national consciousness similar to the growth of tallava that none of our thinkers have fought very seriously.
The biggest damage that these researchers do is that an Albanian emigrant comes to believe that he is more ancient than the afendikoi who gives him a living or causes Ballist Morin to want to put in stadium patrol: “God is Albanian”.
In my opinion, there are other things that are much more disturbing and dangerous for human life that do not cause any reaction from the high level of thought in Albania.
The word comes from “folk doctors” who, with magic, paranormal energy or medicines invented by crazy ideas, appear on television and distract the unsuspecting from real medical cures and kill people. Journalists who invite them also participate in this crime. People who remember that cancer is cured with kerosene are being attacked.
For years I have been the only one, or rather among the few, who speak about the educational model of the escort that we are giving to young people through some very popular shows on television. It has become a way for little girls to see selling their body as the only chance of success in life, and this is called modern, beautiful, acceptable for the day in the sun. In these cases, energetic intervention is needed, which does not happen due to the disproportionate power that the media as a business has over the controlling and law enforcement authorities. And here I am mostly talking about the justice bodies.
I hope that I have not offended you any of the signers of the petition, except for the few that I mentioned above at the top of this reflection.
I just know that in this case, stopping these people would have a boomerang effect. Their theses, often infantile to comical, if banned will be taken much more seriously. Their often scattered books will be considered banned, and in this case I fear they will be read more than the ban.
I say that the spirit of humor of the Greek film is the best herb of this national “pork”.
