Albania: Climbing Out of the Cage

By Howard G. Chua-Eoan

Snowcapped in winter and precipitous in many places, the Pindus Mountains, which straddle Greece and Albania, are all but impassable. That has not stopped thousands of desperate Albanians from crossing into Greece since the last week of 1990. In early December, four fleeing Albanians were shot dead ( near the frontier by soldiers of the Stalinist regime in Tirana. Last week, by contrast, refugees walked into Greece with little to deter them except the cold and the mountains. Instead of opening fire, border guards merely shot curses at the fugitives. By week's end about 5,000 refugees streamed into the northwestern Greek province of Epirus, doubling the population of the border area. Most of the fugitives belonged to Albania's large Greek minority, leaving territory once disputed by the two countries.

But even as Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis extended temporary- resident status to refugees claiming Greek ancestry, he pleaded with ethnic Greeks still in Albania to stay home to prevent a "national disaster." As for refugees in Greece, government spokesman Vyron Polydoras said, "We wish that the idea will ripen that they will return to their homeland."

With few volunteers for the trip back to Albania and more refugees expected in the months to come, Mitsotakis scheduled a trip to Tirana. He will be the first Western leader to visit since Albania withdrew into isolation at the end of World War II. Athens is aghast at the prospect of accommodating a good part of Albania's estimated 400,000 ethnic Greeks, especially when it believes that Tirana is encouraging the flight to wriggle through political difficulties.

In mid-December student demonstrations, belatedly inspired by the upheavals in the rest of the East bloc, forced concessions from the government of President Ramiz Alia, including promises of fair elections and economic reform. According to spokesman Polydoras in Athens, Alia is trying to rid himself of the Greeks before the vote scheduled for February because the ethnic group, which exceeds 10% of the population, is opposed to his rule.

Fearing persecution, ethnic Greeks chose to flee at the first word that border guards would not stand in their way. The countryside the refugees left behind is a wasteland of want. Virtually the only meat rural families saw last year was half a chicken distributed to each household on Nov. 29, the National Day. By contrast, even the icy refugee camps, such as Kalpaki in northern Greece, seem like paradise, providing shelter and plentiful food. Said a high- ranking Greek official: "The question is, Where does one draw the line? We don't want to make them feel too comfortable because we want them to go back." But back to what?

With reporting by Mirka Gondicas/Kalpaki