Lionism is truly a worldwide phenomenon.  My wife and I joined a 36-member Lions In Sight team – composed of 13 doctors and 23 others from all over the US and Canada – that worked at various vision clinics Albania seeing over 7,000 patients during the first week of November 2018.

This is from an article written for a monthly newsmagazine for the Oregon Lions Clubs in December 2018. Most of the photographs are new to this posting. The article is enlarged with newer sections written thus.

ALL IS NOT PYRRHIC IN ALBANIA

Albania is a country not as well known as many others.  The country has a long history going back to ancient times. In ancient times, the country was Illyria. Pyrrhus, a better known ancient from the area, is remembered for the word “pyrrhic”. The word deals with the king’s war with Macedonia where he won the battles but lost the war.

In more recent times, Albania became an independent country only in 1912. The country peeled away from the crumbling Ottoman Empire just before World War I began.  Annexed to Italy by Mussolini in 1939, the country regained its independence in 1944 thanks to the efforts of communist partisans led by Enver Hoxha. Hoxha ruled Albania with an iron fist until his death in 1985.  During those years, Albania was one of the more isolated countries of the world much like North Korea today.  People could not to drive cars (that changed only in 1999) let alone establish Lions clubs.

ENVER TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

Enver and his communist regime have vanished. Albania is today a democracy. The country is a member of NATO since 2009.  Lionism has extended into the country, as well.  The country struggles, as does many of its neighbors in the Balkans, in the post-Communist move to capitalism. The unemployment rate is around 13%, an improvement of 3-4% over the last two years. 13% is a lot better than 22% back in 1993 following the country’s move away from a state-run economy.

CONCRETE MUSHROOMS

One holdover feature from Hoxha’s regime are the over 173,000 concrete bunkers festooning the countryside.  Small 1-2-person concrete mushrooms that appear all over the country, forlorn memories of a man not quite in touch with reality.  With so many of the little bunkers built, the costs were a major drain on the infrastructure of the country.

CLINIC SITES

Local Lions Clubs chose clinic sites throughout the Tirana and Durres areas. Tirana is the capital and Durres (20 miles to the west) is the major port.  The largest site for our Lions Vision Clinics inAlbania was the village of the Iranian Mujahedeen-e Khalq – MEK – refugees. They moved from Iraq to Albania in 2013 at the bequest of the UN and the US.  Two of our three teams worked here most of the week. Local Albanians were the people receiving vision care, it should be noted. The refugees are well cared for.  My team spent one day at a high school in Durres. Weworked another day high in the mountains above Tirana – Zall-Bastar. Zall-Bastar is at the end of a very rough steep road, more suited for the horse carts you still pass by.

A 360 view of the clinic site at Ashraf 3 before the start of the clinic.

A quick aside. Shortly after this picture, my second cheap selfie stick used for my 360 camera broke. This results in 360 pictures like this:

and this:

Refer to my 360 post regarding the importance for a sturdy selfie stick!

MUJAHDEEN E KHALQ

Let’s do an edit. My wife and I met two ladies who said they were Mujahedeen at the Tirana airport. We thought we were doing a Lions clinic so we were a bit surprised. And mujahedeen? Are they terrorists involved with jihad? Well, it turns out mujaheeen is a phrase with a bit of a wider scope. Our group had come from Iran, originally. They were one of the groups, along with the ayatollahs, that had campaigned successfully against the Shah, overthrowing him. Our group, MEK, worked hard against the Shah, killing and being killed. Following the Shah’s overthrow, the group is thought to have also played at least a supportive role in the taking of hostages from the American Embassy and supporting not giving them up in 1979.

The MEK espoused a mix of ideas – feminism, Marxism, Islamism – which put the group at odds with the ayatollahs. The fallout brought violent repression. Thousands were arrested and executed. The MEK assassinated both the president and the prime minister of Iran in 1981, in response. MEK leadership fled to Paris and after expulsion from France in 1986, they settled in Iraq – Ashram 2. The EU listed the MEK as a terrorist organization in 1991 (though delisted in 2009). Iran claims over 12,000 people have died in Iran due to the MEK. Working in concert with Sadaam Hussein lost a lot of credibility for the MEK within Iran.

After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the MEK camp – Ashraf – moved to near the Baghdad airport – Camp Liberty/Ashraf 2. The post-Sadaam Iraqi government did little to protect the MEK from pro-Tehran attacks. The camp with its approximately 3,000 people removed to Albania in 2016.

To further study the MEK and its involvement in Albania, click on the links.

LIONS IN SIGHT COME TO ALBANIA

Glasses were all brought in from the Lions warehouse in Vallejo, California.  For the more difficult prescriptions(ie high astigmatism) the prescription was determined as best as we could. Then, glasses were ordered to be made in the US, being sent to Albania later.  Patients needing ophthalmologic care (ie cataract removal) were put on a list additional funding will take care of later on..

Zall-Bastar

Our second Lions Vision Clinics days in Albania was in the little mountain town of Zall-Bastar. The clinic choice was above my pay grade. I was able to finagle our team to go here so I could see more of Albania.

Mountains to the northeast from the pass from Zall-Bastar out of the Tërkuzë River drainage into the Tiranë River drainage to the south. Zall-Bastar is on the extreme left.

Zall-Bastar is split in half by the Terkuse River. The rivers coming out of the mountains east of Tirana cause a lot of problems because of the flash flood nature. Zall-Bastar looks close to Tirana on the map. Looks are deceiving. The trip is only 12 miles away from the town, but it took a good two hours each direction on a rough gravel one-lane road. First, you go up through a canyon in the Dajti Mountains along the Tirana River. Then you switchback over a pass and descend down to the little village below.

The scenery was fantastic. Evidence of road work can be found all along better explained here.

DAY THREE – REST DAY, OFF TO SKANDERBEG’S CASTLE

Day Three was a rest day after two long clinic days. We used it to explore central Albania a little more. Driving north, we explored the castle of Skanderbeg, the associated museums and had lunch in Kruje. It was an educational and enjoyable break from the work. Maybe more to be explained in a future post.

DAY FOUR – DURRES

Resuming our work, our group headed to the port city of Durres. After a little difficulty in finding our site, we produced another long day of work in a local school.

LAST CLINIC DAY – BACK TO THE ASHRAF

All of the groups came back to Ashraf 3 for one last final go. By the end of the clinic, glasses were running low. It was a good end to our series of Lions Vision Clinics in Albania.

LIONS EYE MISSION TO ALBANIA ACCOMPLISHED

The was the largest clinic ever undertaken by Lions In Sight and the number of patients was also the highest ever seen, as well.  The experience in Albania was a big success for all involved, from the Lions members who came along to help in the vision clinics and dispense the glasses, to the doctors, to the local Lions who helped interpret and to the patients who received the care.

For my wife, Therese, and I, it was another example of the best way to travel the World – learning about new countries, new people while helping at the same time in the true spirit of Lionism.