Do not cry

The second part, the disappointment.

All the hope that Albanians had with the arrival of the new system was blown up overnight.

In exchange for a can of Coca Cola and avoiding lines to get food, corruption and deceit, scam and fraud were established in Albania. Young Lea saw with her own eyes that what the people had dreamed of, that what her parents expected had been a chimera. Thousands of families were ruined when a form of savings spread throughout Tirana and other cities that was in reality a hidden theft that was only discovered — as is usually the case — when this activity collapsed. An economic scheme that everyone knows and in which, however, many continue to believe.

Democracy also brought to Leushka's world the terrible and unjust Structural Reforms, in capital letters, the loss of jobs and the bankruptcy of the country; while she had her own torments…

My teenage years were, for the most part, unblessed, something that was made even worse whenever my family insisted on convincing me that I had no reason to feel that way.

(It is clear that a teenager is not helped, on the contrary, his feeling is reinforced by telling him that he has no reason to feel bad.)

Tears came to my eyes when I read, in this chapter, Lea's volunteering at the orphanage and the life of little Ilir.

A great book.

From my Borstal

LDR

 

Lea Ypi.- Free. Coming of Age at the End of History. Allen Lane. London 2021