The Albanian Renaissance

Communist Albania of Hoxha was a fortress state, seeing enemies everywhere. There were regular purges, the death penalty was applied, and there were a large number of political prisoners. There were thousands of executions of political enemies and of enemies of communism. Albanians did not have the right to a passport until May 1990.
Two decades later Albania has undergone a dramatic transformation. And yet, few countries in Europe are less understood than this Adriatic republic. Gratuitous violence, organised crime, human trafficking, blood feuds and grinding poverty are the images that first come to mind when the country is mentioned. This is not all due to the particular ferocity of Enver Hoxha's communism. The first post-communist decade has also produced its fair share of dark images, culminating in the anarchy of 1997. It is this dark and difficult legacy which makes the story of Albania's recent transformation all the more remarkable.

[@guitarfreakirl]

Albania has always had a poor image abroad but I am encouraged by this documentary. It shows that no situation is hopeless if the people are willing to change. It would be great to see Albania become a stable and prosperous country. They have suffered enough. The people in this documentary give me hope that day will come.

[@endcer4531]

This doc was made in 1997...Albania is nothing like this nowdays

[@guitarfreakirl]

ENDCER So are you saying it's better or worse?

[@endcer4531]

Aw lol wayyyy better... back in 2005 albania had 400k tourists in 2016 6 million..Albania is changing and its changing fast.

[@guitarfreakirl]

ENDCER That's great news, I'd like to visit myself someday. :-)

[@emeles7853]

I visited Tirana, Durres, Skodra, Thet, Sarande, Kukes, Butrint in 2013 during a road trip. Such a great country and friendly people. Impressing what became of Albania and the more when you know about its troubled history.

[@ylbershehu9437]

Thanks Mascha. Now Albania it's more better. .. its same other European countries

[@illyrianeagle9901]

You are welcomed whenever you want.

[@KNJpd]

Mascha Scheller Thanks for visiting!

[@almishti]

This is great! So good to see Albania and its people are coming up!

[@georgemathews6651]

Great job Gerald Knaus, i really enjoyed your video....with regards an Albanian in the u.s.a.

[@amyavis2038]

I'm so touched by this documentary to see how much as a country we and our people have suffered. it goes to show that if we all pull together we can over come anything after all we are the land of the eagle and we need to keep fighting for change.
thank you for a grate documentary.

[@lorettawinckowski6734]

I was in Albania last April loved watching this . It brought back fond memories.

[@birseina]

so many things i just learned about my home country i did not know about before....its great to hear that its slowly getting better

[@luanzeneli2561]

This documentary it looks very old maybe 7 years ! Every year am back home , and it looks better and better people are more friendly more happy that is optimistic for us.

[@hamshter]

This is amazing...I visited Albania in 1995 and 1996.....such a massive change....I wonder how the Albanians I knew then are getting on today.

[@erickcastro1553]

Erion Veliaj now is the mayor of Tirana and Edi Rama (ex mayor of Tirana) is now the albanian prime minister!

[@ArazAminnaseri]

The mountainous geography of the country that is dwelt on so frequently in this documentary is the reality of Austria and Switzerland among many other examples. Why is it that they differ so profoundly in their development profile?