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'Associated Press' reportage in Kukës: The poor Albanian town that ties the hopes of tourism to the communist tunnels
If you want to walk for miles in concrete bunkers, built to protect an isolationist totalitarian regime that no one wanted to attack, Kukësi in northeastern Albania is the place to be.
The communist dictatorship of the small Balkan country after the Second World War was 'joyed' by the massive defensive works; the countryside is still littered with the crumbling remains of 175,000 concrete mini-bunkers – built again to stop imaginary invaders. But the first prize is taken by the Kukës tunnels.
Excavated from the 1970s to the early 1990s – just in time for the fall of the communist regime – the underground network was intended to house the city's entire population of 16,000 for six months in the event of war. Equipped with everything from the prosecutor's office to a maternity clinic, it was Albania's largest fortification project, with tunnels stretching up to seven kilometers.
Now, local authorities hope to turn it into a tourist attraction, with the help of European Union funding. By the end of the year, they say, a multi-room command center and a long tunnel leading there from city hall should be accessible.
Now, local authorities hope to turn it into a tourist attraction, with the help of European Union funding. By the end of the year, they say, a multi-room command center and a long tunnel leading to it from city hall should be accessible.
Post-communist Albania remains one of the poorest countries in Europe. Tourism is a major source of income, generating 17% of GDP in 2021, while revenues increased by 33% in 2022, with an estimated 7.5 million tourists.
Tourists would be especially welcome in Kukës, a town 150 kilometers northeast of the capital Tirana, near the border with Kosovo. It is the poorest area of Albania, despite its mineral wealth and stunning mountain scenery, from which most young people emigrate - many go abroad.
Kryebashkiaku i Kukësit Safet Gjici, tha se turistëve do t’u ofrohen eksperienca gastronomike si dhe eksperienca e tunelit.
“Një qytet i tillë muze, do të tregojë vlerat lokale të popullsisë dhe do të tërheqë vizitorë, do të sjellë para për bashkinë dhe punësim për njerëzit,” tha ai.
Banorët më të vjetër vendas, kanë kujtime të gjalla për kompleksin, i cili u ndërtua kryesisht me punë masive vendase dhe u përdor vetëm një herë në një stërvitje të mbrojtjes civile, në fund të viteve 1980, e cila e dërgoi të gjithë popullsinë e Kukësit nën tokë.
Një zile alarmi ra natën. Kryetari i bashkisë së qytetit dhe lideri i partisë u takuan në një hyrje tuneli poshtë zyrave të tyre dhe ecën katër kilometra për të arritur në qendrën e komandës.
Armida Alikaj, e cila në atë kohë ishte 10 vjeçe, tha se babai i saj e zgjoi me qetësi dhe secili mori një çantë shpine me rroba, ushqime dhe batanije, për të shkuar në tunele me “erën e dheut” dhe parulla e numra të pikturuara në dyert e lyera me gëlqere.
“Nuk kisha frikë sepse na thanë se ishin ndërtuar për ne,” tha ajo. “Por zhurma e sirenës ishte e tmerrshme.”
Kukësi është një qytet relativisht i ri, me banesa pesëkatëshe me tulla të bardha të stilit sovjetik – me murin e tunelit – për të strehuar rreth 16,000 njerëz pasi qyteti i vjetër, u ‘gëlltit’ në 1978 nga një liqen artificial, i projektuar për të ‘ushqyer’ një hidrocentral.
Banorët e çdo pallati kishin vendin e tyre të përcaktuar në tunele, me qarkullim të mirë ajri dhe furnizim me ujë.
Kishte gjithashtu një fabrikë buke, një shkollë, një spital, një maternitet, prokurori, stacion policie, radiostacion, shtypshkronjë për propagandën komuniste, si dhe klasa për fëmijë dhe hapësira për burra dhe gra, për t’iu nënshtruar trajnimit për qitje dhe aftësi të tjera ushtarake.
Diktatori komunist i Shqipërisë Enver Hoxha, ndërpreu lidhjet me Jugosllavinë fqinje në 1949, me Bashkimin Sovjetik në 1961 dhe me Kinën në 1978. Frika e tij nga pushtimi, e bëri regjimin të shpenzonte rreth 5% të buxhetit të tij vjetor për ushtrinë.
Oficeri në pension i ushtrisë Haxhi Cenaj, 81 vjeç, thotë se ai kaloi orë të tëra nën tokë në qendrën komanduese të Kukësit me 37 dhoma, ndërsa krerët ushtarakë komplotonin strategjinë e tyre, duke u përgatitur për një sulm jugosllav, që nuk erdhi kurrë.
Derisa doli në pension në vitin 1995, Cenaj ishte një major, që drejtonte një njësi të vogël këmbësorie të caktuar për mbrojtjen e qendrës.
Djali i tij, Afrimi, i cili tani kujdeset për një pjesë të vogël të tuneleve, tregon dritat në muret e ftohta, tavolinat e betonit dhe tualetet. Grupe të vogla lakuriqësh nate grumbullohen në tavane.
“Shumë njerëz – britanikë, zviceranë, holandezë apo francezë – vijnë në Kukës vetëm për të parë tunelet,” tha ai.
Bukurosh Onuzi, një ekspert turistik i ngarkuar me projektin e muzeut, tha se ka “shumë interes për kompleksin, veçanërisht nga të huajt, por edhe nga të rinjtë shqiptarë, që nuk kanë njohuri, nuk kanë informacion ose nuk kanë jetuar në komunizëm”.
Cenaj, ish-majori i ushtrisë, thotë se e kujton me dashuri kohën e kaluar nën tokë.
"We have tried scenarios, provocations. We planned that there would be a war, probably an airstrike, and we trained on how to survive, " he said. "I would prefer to still have the underground network ready. Who knows what is going on with the wars around. / Associated Press'/
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