GAZMEND KAPLLANI was born in 1967 in Lushnj毛, Albania. In January 1991 he crossed the border into Greece on foot to escape persecution by the communist secret services. In Greece he worked as a builder, a cook and a kiosk attendant, while also studying at Athens University and completing a doctorate on the image of Albanians in the Greek press and of Greeks in the Albanian press. He is now a successful writer, playwright, broadcaster and journalist with a twice-weekly column in Ta Nea, Greece's biggest daily newspaper.
Translated from the Greek, part autobiography and part fiction, this slim and thought-provoking volume is based on but broader than the author鈥檚 own experiences as an Albanian migrant to Greece in the early 90s. He writes of the absurdities, fears, and cruelties of living in totalitarian Albania, the terror and excitement of fleeing into the unknown, and the very unenthusiastic reception and prejudice faced in Greece (whose own emigrants have been discriminated against elsewhere, as in the US, he observes). Each short chapter combines an italicized continuing account of one migration (if I understand correctly Kapllani鈥檚 own, or based on it), with someone else鈥檚 story or more general observations. It got me thinking about how more recent waves of migration have been greeted, and also about the stereotyping of Albanians that I鈥檓 familiar with from European relatives and press in the past.
I received a copy of the Kindle version of the book through Netgalley.
I think this is an important book and I found the perspective very interesting, but the writing (maybe as it was translated from Greek?) didn't work for me. I found it stilted and lacking flow, with the author frequently relying on telling you directly what you were supposed to get out of the text or what he or others felt rather than letting the narrative show you.
This book was a pleasant surprise. As someone who studied international studies and political science, I was aware of the conflicts between Greece and Albania. However, while I'm old enough to remember the fall of Communism in general and in specific instances such as the Velvet Revolution in the former Czechoslovakia and the breakup of the USSR, the fall of communism in ALbania was never on my radar. I think this is because it was relatively less bloody than the former Yugoslavia. Kapilani and his translator put a wonderful human face to the struggles of every day Albanians that is applicable to those immigrating from other, lesser known countries. We know of the politics behind other refugees who make the news - we should know more about Albanians. A solid read.
I read this book because it was assigned for a college class. The professor who assigned it? Gazmend Kapllani. This is tagged as a memoir/nonfiction/biography. Which is weird because it isn鈥檛. This is a universal story. The narrator is not my professor but also it is him. They are never given a name or a gender. They are every immigrant. A faceless and therefore universal character. Trust me on this. The author told me, several times. He was proud of this story although he did say his favorite translation was the French one. So if you want to enjoy this book best, read it in French.
A story to tell, a story to read! A very important book about immigration and specifically Albanians in Greece at the very beginning of this long storyline!
I appreciate the way in which the dual narrative is spliced into 'this' side and 'the other' side of the Greek-Albanian border, and also into past and present. Although the autobiographical passages recount intense experiences, the overall tone is detached, as if the narrator has distanced himself emotionally, and is unable or unwilling to go into great detail about those experiences. Oftentimes I would make the logical connection with other first-person historical accounts, especially those describing persecution under the Nazi regime. Reading A Short Border Handbook I was looking for that unique angle, for what differentiates this 'contemporary' condition from what happened in Europe decades ago, or what may be happening right now in another location. Maybe we are condemned to relive the past....and each time the 'victims' feel a surreal isolation in their experience, as if it is happening for the first time ever in the history of mankind. "They say that hell is one place but, in reality, hell is private and particular to each one of us."
My father's job abroad was semi-diplomatic; he and his family enjoyed the privileges of a 'laissez-passer' (white passport), as we traveled from one country to another. I remember as a child what it was like to casually drive past endless lines at "third-world" border crossings and to be spared the endless searches & interrogations by customs officials, in particular as we were driving through border zones where war refugees were struggling to escape the conflict. From an early age I understood the importance of that special travel document in securing our route to safety on the 'other' side. Even today, I always make sure my passport is up-to-date, stamped with valid travel visas to 'safe' countries, and stored in an easy-to-obtain location, just in case I need to be prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice. So, yes, I too suffer from a variant of the border syndrome!
I don't know whether I should be disturbed by this: Finishing the book I thought to myself, yes yes yes to everything, but on the whole Gazmend is too kind to us Greeks. It's my impression that there are so many horror stories one can compile of our treatment of immigrants, and that the situation is only becoming with time.
Note on translation - On the whole I think this is a very good translation from the Greek original, with one exception. In my opinion, "paddywagon" may have been a better choice than "" for the Greek original "."
* Gazmend's (in Greek) * review * The Paper Trail about the non-documentation limbo status of children of migrants in Greece
Ein sch枚n gestaltetes kleines Buch 眉ber ein wichtiges Thema. Grenzen. Was sind Grenzen, aber noch wichtiger, 鈥瀢as bewirken Grenzen?鈥�
Gazmend Kapllani ist in Albanien aufgewachsen, und lebte dort zwischen Grenzen, teilweise zwischen mehrere Grenzen, in der Grenzzone. Und die Grenzen haben im gepr盲gt. Welche Wirkung haben Grenzen auf Menschen? Irgendwann schafft er es, in 1991 wenn das Hoxha-regime br枚ckelt, 眉ber die Grenze nach Griechenland zu fliehen. Und damit wird er von einem von Grenzen besch眉tzten Kamerad zu einer (ausgegrenzten) Fl眉chtling ohne irgend einen Schutz, da er ja, die Grenze 眉berquert hat.
Das Buch ist aus 2 Perspektiven erz盲hlt worden. Die erste ist die Perspektive des Eingeschlossenen, (immer in Italic), wo er seine Erlebnisse, oft sehr humorvoll 眉ber die idiotische Alltag im Kommunistischen Albanien erz盲hlt. Es ist voll Humor, obwohl es eigentlich zum Weinen ist. Man sieht wie de Leute versuchen zu 眉berleben und den Willk眉r 眉berlassen sind. Ihnen wird gelernt, dass es verboten ist 眉ber die Grenzen zu gehen, ja sogar zu denken. Und dass drinnen das Paradies ist, und draussen die absolute Elend (das Kapitalismus). Oft kommen doch kleine Zeichen, 眉ber Fernseher, 眉ber das Meer etc. aus der Aussenwelt an und die sprechen eine andere Sprache. Also wissen viele dass es noch eine andere Welt gibt, die vielleicht besser ist, schlechter geht ja nicht. Also erf眉llen die Grenzen den Menschen mit einer Art von Sehnsucht. Teilweise sind in dieser Perspektive auch Kapitel geschrieben 眉ber sp盲ter, wenn er im Griechenland arbeitet, von seinem Leben als Fl眉chtling oder Ausl盲nder, wo man auch wieder ausgegrenzt wird. Man kommt nie wirklich an. Der Heimat kann man entliehen, aber es bleibt deinen Heimat.
Die zweite Perspektive ist die der Flucht. Irgendwann gelingt es ihm zusammen mit ein paar anderen 眉ber die Grenze nach Nord-Griechenland zu fliehen. Dort kommt er in einem Lager. Vorerst kann er sich keine Arbeit suchen und wie erw眉nscht arbeiten um Geld zu verdienen, und endlich sein eigenes Leben zu gestalten. Auch hier ist viel vom Willk眉r und Zufall abh盲ngig. Auch wieder wird das Lagerleben und den Alltag mit einem gewissen Humor beschrieben, obwohl es alles andere als gut war. Auf einem Punkt sind sich alle einig, die Welt ausserhalb der Grenzen ist nicht schlecht, und viel moderner als erwartet. Sch枚n beschrieben sind die erste Eindrucken in einem Supermarkt. Also zur眉ck m枚chte niemand. Aussichtslos ist das Leben auch hier zum Teil. Im Lager und w盲hrend dem Flucht folgen wir den Schriftsteller und 4 verschieden Protagonisten, alle sind gut ausgearbeitet.
Das Buch ist ein Roman, obwohl es sicher sehr viele autobiografische Elementen hat. Aber die Szenen, die Spannung, die sehr unterschiedliche Charaktere sind sehr gut beschrieben. Die Sprache ist sch枚n, teilweise leicht (nicht negativ gemeint) und oft humorvoll. Ich habe das Buch in der deutschen 脺bersetzung gelesen und weiss nicht in wie weit die Sprache vom griechischen Original abweicht. F眉r mich war es ein Buch, das ich gerne gelesen habe, das mich wieder mal zum Nachdenken 眉ber vieles (Grenzen, Fl眉chtlingen, Ausl盲nder, Anderssein, usw.) angeregt hat. Dazu geh枚rt noch ein sehr sch枚nes Cover. Also dieser Autor werde ich noch l盲nger verfolgen. Leider sind alle andere B眉cher (noch) nicht auch Deutsch erschienen. Teilweise schon auf Franz枚sisch.
This is a gorgeously written account of an Albanian refugee in Greece told with an amazing narrative voice, switching from the story of the need of Albanians to escape and his escape to his ruminations about what it means to be an immigrant. It is so thoughtful and powerful.
Una confessione di un migrante albanese (e quindi di un apolide dal 芦passaporto cattivo禄) sul proprio viaggio verso una presunta libert脿. Una riflessione sui risvolti spesso tragici dell'immigrazione clandestina causati da regimi dispotici.
Come a mettere nero su bianco la 芦schizofrenia禄 tipica di chi 猫 affetto dalla 芦sindrome della frontiera禄, i capitoli alternano due prospettive: da un lato la narrazione picaresca del viaggio, dall'altro la riflessione linguistica, sociale e culturale che s'impone al migrante nel momento del trapianto in un terra che di promesso non ha assolutamente nulla. Kapplani ci avverte: se i suoni di una lingua sconosciuta assomigliano a quelli di una 芦macchina da cucire禄, i suoni della stessa lingua ormai imparata a dovere esprimeranno comunque - e sempre - un'estraneit脿.
Un libro che ho trovato sbrigativo in alcuni passaggi, ma urgente e necessario nella scrittura catartica, indispensabile come esercizio di empatia nella lettura.
A Short Border Handbook by Gazmend Kapllani is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in mid-September.
Kapllani tells a mixture of fiction and his own experiences with visible, geographic borders (particularly between Albania and Greece) while describing the complicated predicament of migrant populations, like being regarded with hostility and suspicion, their second-generation children facing nearly none of their same problems, feeling under pressure to master a new language and to get a job right away, using humor as a defense mechanism, the detention/processing/deportation process if they are captured while crossing a border, the concept of achieving consumer/economic success, and fearing the stereotypes that uninformed citizens hold.
Gazmend Kapllani ci racconta la sua vita prima, durante e dopo la rocambolesca fuga a piedi verso la Grecia, verso il 芦mondo-oltre-i-confini禄, quando 芦varcare le frontiere di un Paese totalitario, qual era l鈥橝lbania fino al 1991, equivaleva a un miracolo o a un peccato mortale禄. La lettura 猫 consigliata a tutti, anche 鈥� o soprattutto? 鈥� ai pi霉 giovani. Kapllani ci conduce a una riflessione sul valore della libert脿 e dell鈥檃ccoglienza, sul pericolo dei luoghi comuni, sull鈥檌mportanza della dignit脿 di ogni essere umano, e lo fa attraverso una narrazione spiritosa e scorrevole, con tono lieve e 芦cuore pesante禄.