Justice reform, a ray of hope for blood feuds victims in Albania

TIRANA, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Justice reform that is being implemented in Albania has aroused hope for the Albanian families who live isolated in their homes for being involved in conflicts known as blood feuds.

Blood feud is an old infamous code, mostly applied in northern Albania, under which someone has the social and moral obligation to commit murder in order to save the honor questioned by an earlier murder or moral humiliation.

The whole family of the person who commits a murder is later isolated and home confined as the affected family will get revenge and wait for the moment to hit back.

Blood feuds can involve generations, even descendants of these families who have nothing to do with the original insult or murder.

As a result, Albania counts at least 68 families in the northern region of Shkodra who stay isolated in their house, fearing a revenge attack by their enemy.

This means that over 100 children have attended no school, they don't get medical treatment in hospitals and they can't even play at their yard as they are constantly "monitored" by their enemy.

Blood feuds sprouted in early 1990s, when the state control was weak and people took arms to solve their personal conflicts without thinking of justice and laws.

"The isolated families see the justice reform as a salvation. Their expectations are high since they believe the reform will bring justice even for them," Liljana Luani, a teacher who teaches the "trapped" children in these families told reporters Friday.

"When the justice reform gets concluded and corrupt judges and prosecutors get what they deserve, the blood feud problem will be solved too because the criminal will be punished. And the ones who force families to stay home confined will be punished because this is considered a criminal offense, depriving others from liberty. Only then, these people and these innocent children will be free," Luani said.

On Thursday, teacher Luani and Albania's minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati visited some of these families where the minister assured them that such phenomenon would soon come to an end.

"Blood feud is a deep-rooted phenomenon in our society but we can work together and step up efforts to eradicate it," Bushati said from Shkodra. Enditem