Before we came to Albania, we knew that Americans were held in high esteem by Albanians. The government has shown that by permitting Americans the right to stay one year on their passport alone. (For other countries it is 90 days.) And it shows in our personal interactions. Albanians are truly glad that we are here. I’ll admit, it’s a nice feeling.

While most Americans would be hard pressed to find Albania on a map, the relationship between the two countries extends back to WWI and President Woodrow Wilson.

Albanian Independence

Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. New invaders during WWI wanted to break up Albania. Greece and Italy both wanted pieces of the country. (Technically Greece and Albania are still at war.) In 1919, Woodrow Wilson intervened, stating that Albania should remain independent.

In 1924, Shëngjin, the town in which I live, was renamed Wilson in honor of President Wilson. Its name remained Wilson until 1939 when the Italians invaded during WWII and renamed it San Giovanni di Medua After the war the town reverted to its original name of Shëngjin.

There is a bust of Woodrow Wilson looking out to sea within easy walking distance from our condo. It’s on the boardwalk named for him.

The Kosovo War

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, old feuds which had been put on hold during the decades of Soviet rule reasserted themselves. One was Serbian hate for Albanians. (Albanians are none too fond of Serbs either, but the Albanians were not the instigators.) And you’re probably wondering why I’m talking about Albanians in relation to the Kosovo war. In 1991, when tensions began in earnest, 81% of Kosovars were ethnic Albanian. (Today that number is estimated to be 92%.)

Needless to say there is a lot of history that informs the entire conflict, but the crisis came when the Serbs decided to push ethnic Albanians out of Kosovo by any means at their disposal - terror, murder, rape, arson. Fearing genocide, NATO intervened. Bill Clinton was a big proponent of stopping the Serbian aggression and is recognized as a hero in Kosovo. In the capital, Pristina, a boulevard was named after President Clinton.

George Bush also has a street named after him. He recognized Kosovo as an independent country just one day after Kosovo declared independence.

In both Albania and Kosovo, it’s not unusual to see the American flag flown alongside the Albanian or Kosovo flag.

America

The United States has never been a saint. The list of her transgressions is very long. But occasionally America gets something right. Her defense of Albania and Kosovo are examples. I feel pride when I read about these moments in history.

America has a long history of supporting fledgling democracies. And so my heart is broken that the United States government has turned its back on Ukraine. The change in policy is mystifying, short-sighted, and just plain wrong.