The first time translator Zuzana Finger came to Albania, although still a student and uninformed about the situation in 1988, she felt the shadows following her around Tirana. They never came close enough to scare her, but they never left enough to make her think they were no longer around. It may seem strange that a German woman could speak Albanian so clearly, but Finger has come to Tirana so often and met so many people and collaborators that it has become quite normal for her. This time, after 10 years, she returns as a guest to the “Poetekë” residency to work again on translating the works of her Albanian authors and friends into German. She had been in Tirana for a month (she left on Friday), but it doesn’t seem like a long time. The first few times she came, she stayed even longer.
Today, Albania seems changed to her, not only when she compares it to the time of communism, but also to that of 10 years ago. It is precisely the changes that time and man have made to the country that are always at the center of her conversations. In this interview, Zuzana reveals the reasons why she was first brought to Albania, why she chose to learn Albanian, what connected her later, during democracy, to the country she already knew well, and all the strange things that used to happen to her, just because she was a foreigner...!
Ms. Suzana, you speak Albanian so well that I can't ask you anything other than: how and why did you learn it?
I studied Linguistics and traveled to Yugoslavia, since my native language is Slavic and I had no difficulty understanding Slavs when they spoke, while I could not understand Albanians and this made me even more curious about the language. I had a very good professor in Berlin, Norbert Reirte, who dealt with the Albanian language and he had his influence.
You learned the language, you already understood Albanians, didn't you think it was a little dangerous for a foreigner to travel to Albania in 1988? You were very young when you first came...?
I didn't think it was dangerous, because the first trip to Albania was organized by the school, I didn't come on my own initiative. When I was a student in West Berlin, a professor of ours organized the trip with students of Language and History. We stayed for a week and during that time I started to practice Albanian quite well, even though I found it a very difficult language.
Did you like it enough to come back a year later?
A year later I applied for a scholarship from the German Academic Service. A one-month scholarship to attend an Albanian course in Tirana. We stayed in the same hotel, the “Hotel Tirana” and attended classes at the Faculty of Foreign Languages.
No matter how much of a student you were, it's unlikely that a foreigner wouldn't be seen as a suspect in those years. Did you have any prior information about this?
We had heard, yes, and this was one of the reasons why I and the other students tried not to establish any connections or have any communication with Albanians. First, because we didn't want to harm them and second, so as not to create doubts in ourselves.
If so, there's probably always been someone watching you... Have you noticed anything?
Oh yes! It was very difficult not to be noticed! Whenever we went out, my old friend and I always had two men following us. They never approached us, never bothered us or tried to communicate, but they were always there.
What were your first impressions when you arrived in Albania?
I am originally from Czechoslovakia and I grew up with the rules of socialism, it is not that the atmosphere here was completely unknown. I had previously collected postage stamps, so when I was little, and I had some stamps from Albania. I always had a connection with it. Then when I came to the airport I saw it up close, just like on the days when we went by bus to different cities, such as Saranda, Kukës, Pogradec, etc. There were very good Albanologists in Germany. I found people there who were very interested in Albania and Albanian culture.
Did you strictly adhere to the "order" not to communicate with any Albanians?
On the first visit yes, while on the second, also because the time of stay was longer, we had some random episodes. I remember that there were many, many men on the street, and we were surprised, not women. It seems to me that the women were busy at home. When we asked why there were no women, they told us that they were on other shifts, and when we saw them, they were not working.
There were only men in the parks, streets and squares. The second time I came, in 1989, the atmosphere had changed a bit, things were cheaper, but we continued to follow the same lifestyle, until one day, my friend fainted on the street and some residents of a neighborhood I don't remember came to help us.
They took us into the house and helped our friend get better. As soon as she got better, they gave us the signals that we had to leave. I remember the whole neighborhood gathered in those minutes that we stayed in their house. They were curious or I don't know what, but they gathered to see the two strangers who had entered that house.
Have you had other similar experiences?
Yes, it was common for people to stare at me on the streets, but when I came for the second time, unlike the first time, I found a hairdresser. I went there to get my hair done, and I can't remember how many women must have gathered there, just to look!
How did your relationship with the Albanian continue after you left Albania?
For some time I had no contact. I returned to Kosovo for two years for the German Academic Service, in 1999-2001. I worked at the Faculty of Philology in Prishtina as a lecturer of German. I was happy to be among the Albanians. It was a scary time for me. I met Kosovar writers. In 2000 I met Nevijana Dostin, who worked at the German Embassy. She pushed me to translate literature.
Which Albanian authors have you translated?
I have translated from Serbian and other languages, but Albanian is the most important. I translated “In Search of the Lost Shirt” for an anthology in Austria. In 2006, I translated Arian Lekë, some poems, for a reading in Germany. Some I have translated only for fair readings. I have translated five plays by Jeton Neziraj and am translating the sixth, Xhevdet Bajraj has also been published.
I have also translated Arben Idrizi, Parid Teferiç, Luljeta Lleshanaku, Luljeta Dano, Ervina Halili, Lisjana Demiraj, Doruntina Basha, Ledia Dushin. Now that I am in a literary residency in Tirana at Poeteka, I am meeting with those who I know as authors, but have not met them up close. I mainly deal with poetry translations, but I have also translated drama, but not novels.
This is the 5th time you've come to Albania, while you've only told us about the first two times. What brought you back later?
I worked as an external associate with the OSCE and came here as an election observer in 1996. The riots came later. There were political conflicts then, chaos, anger and resentment. I was stationed in Himara and it was even more difficult there. You could find armed people in bars, you could see the abuses they were doing with the votes. People who voted several times…
Did you intervene in cases like these?
Of course, whenever we spotted them. I have tried to intervene at other times, but I realized that I had my limits.
What situation are you referring to?
I remember once when people had entered the headquarters of one of the major parties and I was there to make sure that the people left, because they were innocent. The police made a public statement that they would let the people go, but in fact they escorted them to the region. There I asked for explanations and tried to intervene, but the way they removed me made me realize that I could not do more than was necessary.
The connection with Albania made you part of a group that welcomed Albanians in Italy in 1990, and then transferred them to your country. What was the story like?
The German Embassy was part of the developments at that time and was the one that asked for help in Germany. The German government decided to ask the German Red Cross for help in organizing three trains that were to arrive in Bari, where they would pick up Albanians to take them to Germany. Then they asked that there be doctors, nurses and translators on the train.
I was the translator for this humanitarian action group and I accepted immediately, along with Robert Elsie and a journalist who works for “Deutsche Welle”, with whom I had been here in 1989 to learn Albanian. It was a very dramatic situation. I saw Albanians disembarking from the ships in moments that I will never forget. They were exhausted, partially ill, desperate, but hopeful. For many, many years I remained in contact with some refugees.
They had a very difficult time, because no one cared about them. They were people from different professions, such as technicians, engineers, people who later studied in Germany. While they were in the refugee center, they were easy to contact and then they got private housing. My experience was mostly good. They came from a different regime in a big and cold city and they had a hard time. Their challenge was that no one cared about them./ Memorie.al
