Albemigrant Interview is the newest column we are opening. The goal is to “harvest” the qualified opinion of Albanian emigrants, intellectuals, their experience and their view of the homeland and the concerns that are on the agenda for all Albanians. You have an opinion, you have an idea, contact us. Put us in touch with personalities of the Albanian diaspora from whose words everyone can benefit. The Albanian diaspora is moving and must move. We would like to be in the forefront of this movement. What about you?
From the interview with Mr. Joe Dioguardi
Albemigrant : First, considering the capacity and patriotism of the latest generation of Albanian immigrants, can you tell us about the Albanian-American Civic League and its relations with this generation of Albanian immigrants in the US and Canada?
Mr. Dioguardi : One of the major challenges that Shirley and I have faced since we joined forces in 1993 (four years after I left the U.S. Congress and formed the Albanian American Civic League in 1989) has been connecting with the large Albanian diaspora communities in North America and around the world. We have traveled from Alaska to Australia, from Washington to Brussels, from Toronto to London, in addition to numerous trips to Albania, Kosovo, and the Albanian lands in Presevo, Macedonia, and Montenegro.
Why? To meet with Albanians in these countries and to inform them (and through them to awaken their political leaders) that an independent voice – the Albanian American Civic League – was working in Washington and other world parliaments for human rights, democracy, freedom, and self-determination for all Albanians in the Balkans. Since Albanians, even in the US and Canada, are not united when it comes to national, political and civic objectives (whether at home or abroad), our strategy to unite them as participants in our mission has been difficult and only partially successful.
To succeed in overcoming this difficult challenge, LQSHA has focused its main activities on achieving independence for Kosovo through our close work with powerful friends in the US Congress, and we are close to fulfilling this objective, which has been our main and most important objective for over twenty years. Read more For the interview in English, please click here