e shtunë, tetor 09, 2010

Just another blood feud killing?

Today I lost a friend, Dritan Prroj. He was shot at midday in one of the busiest areas in Shkoder. I was going to say he was shot doing nothing...but that would not be true. He was shot whilst preaching a belief from the bible of peace, love, tolerance and forgiveness and actively involved in helping the poor - he had been extremely busy helping families that suffered during the flooding in Shkoder earlier this year.
The reason he was shot was due to a “blood feud”.
His uncle had killed someone some years ago.
He had taken no part in the killing, nor had he been in agreement with it.

I wonder how Albania can seek to have visas to travel freely through Europe when they do little or nothing to stop these blood killings. Why would other countries want such people to come and visit or live in their land? ( I know not all Albanians have this mentality( thankfully) , but at the same time, the government do little to stop these killings) Surely NOW is the time for the government, in fact all political parties, to join together and to take action and make a new law taking sever action on any blood killings.
Far too many families are living indoors in fear of their lives.

This is the first time, as far as I am aware that a religious leader has been shot in a blood feud.
Dritan was the Pastor of an evangelical church in Shkoder.

Tonight my prayers are for his wife and children and his family. They will be much like me, still in shock and unable to comprehend WHY this happened.

The only good that come out of this ( as far as I can think) is that if Dritan’s death was remembered as the last killing in all blood feuds.
Unfortunately I think it will not be so.

I just hope the media and the social groups now put pressure on the government to ACT and get much tougher against the blood feuds.

 
expatriate