Baban village, under the weight of the indifferentism of the government

As are all the villages of Albania left by the State "behind the lists", which especially in these thirty-odd post-communist years, suffer the "weight" of governmental indifference, a "disease" that has already become "gangrene"! The village of Baban, which we are talking about, is no more than 6 km away from the capital of Devolli, Bilishti, the proximity of which, it seems, creates a "dead corner" for the eyes of the local government, which sees "far" ! Like the other forty-five villages of Devolli, Babani should be seen as a priority more than the other villages, and here's why. The village of Baban, as yesterday in the war, even after the liberation, in the reconstruction of the country, has been in the vanguard, with special contributions perhaps a little more than others, whose inhabitants have become so well known not only in the war of great Antifascist National Liberation, but even after the long liberation of the country's reconstruction period. Entering his interior, not only we, who know him, but also those who have not heard him, as soon as they hear the surnames "Mero", "Agastra", "Lulo", "Mancka". "Keço" etc., it is not necessary to tell them which province or village they are from, but they say it themselves, from the traces they have left in every corner of Albania, in Europe and America in all areas of life, such as masters of work and knowledge. Even so, it speaks volumes for the village of Baban, that today, it does not deserve this indifference of the authorities. Babani is known for the eighty-eight partisans he brought out of his bosom, and of them twelve martyrs and a "Hero of the People". After the liberation, two hundred and twenty-two senior and middle-level cadres, engineers, agronomists, diplomats and managers of all fields, etc. of which sixty-two officers and thirty-six teachers. Before I talk about the much-heard tribes of this village, and even more so about their contributions, in Albania, Europe and America, it will take hundreds of thousands of pages, but I will briefly dwell on the origin of the tribe "Mero". The first of them, Mulla Ajdini, a former major officer in the Turkish Army, originated from the village of Tërbaç in Vlora, who left there in the middle of the 18th century to settle in the place called "Magjer", the place where the village of Baban is today. After the death of Mulla Aydini, his daughter Hamzade gave birth to two sons, Ymer and Hasan, who were born in Baban. From the eldest son of Hamzade, Ymeri, (1793-1897) who was called "Aga Mero" for short, with a great contribution in preserving the territorial independence from the neighboring Andarts, The last name of Aga Mros was taken by his entire tribe, and today, there are hundreds and hundreds and all with contributions.. Ymeri, on his part, left four children, three sons and a daughter. His eldest son Aliu, (Mero), (1828-1918), together with his son, Sali Mero, are both decorated with various medals and orders, as Delegates to the Congress of Manastir in 1908, the most important contributors great in the opening of the first Albanian school in Korça, as well as the signatories and members of the Governing Council of the Autonomous Province of Korçë, since its formation in 1916. Ali Mero, had nine children, of which three girls and six boys, each of them had their own specialty and the common "specialty" was patriotism. It seems redundant to talk about the heroics of the "People's Hero", Fuat Babani (Mero) who interrupted his engineering studies at "La Sapienza" University in Rome and went to where the Motherland called him, where he gave his life. He was among the excellent students of the University whose picture is still in this University. He didn't even take into account what the heads of the University recommended: "Albania will have a lot of need for skilled staff like you"! "More than ever, Albania needs today, that it has been enslaved" answered Fuati, a few months after the fascist Italian invasion and he immediately went to the front, where he gave his life. In addition to the "Hero of the People", from their tribe, there are also three partisans, a "Teacher of the People", Nezhdet Mero; who for 12 years stayed as Director of Education in the district of Korça. The hero of war and knowledge, Ziqiri Mero, after graduating from Elbasan Normal School, in 1942 he was appointed a teacher in Panari e Hoçisht and after a little more than a year he grabbed his rifle to join the "Fuat Babani" battalion and then in the ranks of the Ir Assault Brigade. In the ranks of the Army, he performed many tasks in high positions, after graduating from the "Frunze" Military Academy in Moscow. up to the rank of General and Rear Admiral. During one hundred and one years of his life, he remained steadfast in the service of protecting the Motherland. And so on, in addition to the "Mero" tribe, the "Lulo" tribes, Agstra "Keco" etc. are no longer left behind. All of Devolli and beyond remember with respect Myfit Lulo, the Director of the Construction and Assembly site at the Metallurgical Combine, who rightfully called him "Myfit Devolli" for so much he did for Devolli, Myfit, with whom I had the fortune to work for a long time the last seven years of his life, where we finished three books together, dedicated to the heroic work of his friends in the industrial works of Albania.. Myfit Lulo, always tireless, even at the age of ninety. He not only kept his father in his mouth but also made many charities and investments in the most difficult years of the beginning of the construction of the System, building H/Centrale, investments for the arrangement and weaving of the village cemeteries, as bequests from his brother Martyr . From the Agastra Tribe, is Demir Agastra, the outstanding intellectual in Devoll and beyond, who has contributed to Devoll and Baban in the energy field. From the Mancka tribe, there is Ziqiri Mancka, also an intellectual with many contributions. We make the first visit to the house of the "People's Hero", Fuat Babani. There, we find Sybi Lulo, the brother of the senior military Irfan Lulo, an example in the Army and everywhere, Educator for many years at the Military Academy, who also created the AK "Devolli" Association. Sybiu, although alone at home, at the age of eighty-two, we find him cleaning the house, to always remain as Fuati left it, before dawn on August 7, 1943, never to return. In his hands, it truly remains a Hero's house with all rooms on both floors. Sybiu thus completes a legacy of those who gave their lives for a free and clean Albania, for a clean house and family as the Albanian has in his tradition.. But the troubles of Albania and the village of Baban did not separate you. Even a plaque at the entrance of Hero's house fell to the gangs of 1997, breaking it. Apparently, they thought, "from now on, we don't need either Heroes or Martyrs."! These "Heroes" had no chance after the "pilaf", to kill the real Heroes who gave their lives in the flower of youth, that's why they "killed" them dead, turning the bust of the "People's Hero" Fuat Babani into a shooting board, the "democratic" policemen in 1997. But, it was not only The People's Hero" Fuat Babani. The 88 partisans and 12 martyrs had the same fate. For them, the Muze "apartment" where they rested was destroyed, so that not only they would not be "presented" to future generations, but that their names would not even be heard. They were moved to a stone wall page written with ink only as names to be finally erased from the courtyard and History together. "We no longer need heroes or martyrs". Even the fabric of the cemetery where those who died in the war and those separated from life are laid to rest, is collapsing to take your irons! "Once the village, says Sybiu, had about 400 houses and more than 2000 inhabitants. today, there are or are not even 600 inhabitants, only the third age and few young people. Today, more than half of the surface is at the mercy of thorns and thistles... I, he continues, have 24 dunyms of land, but not a single meter is worked...! It is not bad that only the young men and women, the working age, have fled, but with them, the land has also fled, the production has also fled, the cattle have also fled. There is no question of sewers, except for some families who have built them with their own strength up to the fence of the house. The streets are covered with dust and grass, which gets its food from sewage. No one cares enough about the water reservoir to keep it under control. The water flows into the residents' taps warm, from the pipes that no one bothers to put even an inch under the ground. All residents, they are outraged that no one from the local government is in sight, although one of the heads of the local government is a resident of the village, but apparently even his own village is a "dead end" for him. Rightly, a lady says: "We wait for the rulers, both those we have close to us and those who are far away, only one month before the elections, so that at least we can see who they are."!