House of Hoxha

From our window at the office we have a wonderful view of the house of the old dictator Enver Halil Hoxha. It is quite appropriate, as we are interested in leadership, to have a view of the house of one of Albania's most historically influential and recent leaders. Hoxha was the communist dictator of Albania from 1944 to 1985. Under his dictatorship Albania became a more self-sufficient nation. He brought down the illiteracy rate and even was able to match it with some western countries. He made Albania agriculturally self-sufficient. He implemented equality for women in Albania, which previously was an extremely patriarchal society in which women had little rights. Under Hoxha Albania became an atheist state, wherewith all religious centers were closed down. He placed thousands of concrete bunkers all over the country to be used as outposts or protection from attacks. He wanted Albania to be able to thrive on its own without any need or influence from imperlialistic western powers. Despite some of the benefits of his dictatorship he also, like communist dictators before and after him, instituted secret police, harsh laws, and placed an iron fist on the people, and so many perished.

Albania has changed a lot since the fall of communism. The bunkers and factories lay waste and rusting throughout the nation. They are as historical monuments of a time not so long ago. Tirana within just the last ten years has doubled its infrastructure with more people and businesses having moved into the city. There are now at least two political parties competing for office. People are able to enjoy religious freedoms. The country has been working to fix its own internal problems to be able to reach its goal of joining the E.U. in the future. Albania is progressing. Here we sit in the office watching people busily bustle around all day, and see the city is rise above this house, leaving it and its past behind as the nation reaches upward towards a bright future of success.