CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN REVIEW Volume 14, 2020

BALKAN AFFAIRS. RECENT TITLES REVIEWED. By Antonia Young University of Bradford, UK Colgate University, USA.

Jane Nicolo (ed.), Somewhere Near to History: the Wartime Diaries of Reginald Hibbert, SOE Officer in , 1943–44. Oxford: Signal Books, 2020, Marius-Ionut Calu, Divided: Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Struggle for a State. London: I. B. Tauris, 2020, Felix B. Chang and Sunnie T. Rucker-Chang, Roma Rights and Civil Rights: A Transatlantic Comparison. CUP, 2020. Pepa Hristova (photographer), Sophia Grieff and Danail Yankov (text), Sworn Virgins. : Kehrer Heidelberg Verlag, 2013. Jelka Vince Pallua, Zagonetka virdžine (Sworn Virgins). Zagreb: Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, 2014, Paola Favorino, A je burrneshe (Are you manly). Verona: SIZ Industria Grafica, 2019.

ISSN 1752–7503

10.2478/caeer-2020-0012

© 2020 CEER

First publication Central and Eastern European Review

Jane Nicolov (ed.), Somewhere Near to History: The Wartime Diaries of Reginald Hibbert, SOE Officer in Albania, 1943–44. Oxford: Signal Books, 2020,

Jane Nicolov, Reginald Hibbert’s daughter, inherited her father’s diaries when he died in 2002, with his wish that they might one day be published. Although familiar with their existence, throughout her life, and even as a Cambridge graduate in European History, it was only in 2018, when James Pettifer approached her with a view to publication, that she studied them seriously.

Hibbert, was the youngest and least experienced of the British Liaison Officers (BLO) in Albania where he marked his 22nd birthday, during the ten months he spent in the North East mountainous region of the country. This was a region of least support for the Partisans (communists), the group which the British government decided to back, and which ultimately won (leading later to Albania becoming the strictest Stalinist state in Europe under the leadership of Enver Hoxha, whom Hibbert met during his placement). The other two active Albanian fighting factions at the time, were Balli Kombëtar (nationalists) and the Legalitati movement (monarchists and promoters of a Greater Albania).

Throughout the diaries, Hibbert relates his discussions with all whom he encounters and concludes that as a soldier, in fighting for the good not only of Britain, but of Europe, that the Partisans offered the best solution for Albania at the time. As Nicolov explains, Hibbert’s strong support for the Partisans was to cause political suspicion of him later in life.

Prefacing the Diaries, Pettifer gives a concise historical background leading to the period of SOE action in Albania, from 1943. By this time Germany had occupying forces in Albania, including Kosovo and Western Macedonia (the whole area referred to by nationalists as Greater Albania being the area of high ethnic Albanian habitation). The first section of the diaries records Hibbert’s 15 months of training in England, some from letters to his wife-to-be, Ann Pugh. A few pages are devoted to records of Hibbert’s training in Cairo (August-December, 1943).

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Landing from 2000 ft. by parachute into Northern Albania, Hibbert and several others spent their first night in the German occupied country in “a little Albanian cottage”. Within a week, all their kit was stolen, but they spent an “excellent” Christmas with Italians and . The day-to-day life, always on the alert for German attacks, describes alternately quiet days of simply waiting for commands, food drops by aeroplanes and actions, with days of extremely arduous travel on foot, never being sure of food and any place (disregarding comfortable) safe from attack, to sleep. Surprisingly, substantial meals and alcohol feature quite frequently in the diary. He also relates some time-filling hobbies, reading and learning Italian. Each BLO carried 100 gold sovereigns (and napoleons) to pay their expenses in the field (p. 66). Hibbert’s team frequently varied in size and composition, as did the various groups of Albanians with whom he worked.

However, additional difficulties are presented by the inaccessibility of radio contact in the mountains, by harsh winter weather and fleas and other bugs – and later by intense heat – and more bugs and other creatures. The SOE members as well as their supporting troops suffer sicknesses and wounds, with little resource to medical aid.

It was not clear to Hibbert at the start, that Northern Albania was so very strongly anti-Communist, even though it was the Communists that the UK government were militarily backing. The diaries shed light on Hibbert’s developing understanding of the complex interactions of the three Albanian political groups and their interactions with the occupying Germans. However, he reports on the differences of opinion of other SOE members from other areas some of whom visit him in the North and added complications in discussing their views with those with whom Hibbert developed good working relationships. There was a lack of liaison between the Missions of Northern and Southern Albania, all adding to his own diminishing belief in their effectiveness in supporting the British intentions (as promoted by the British command in Bari) as being the most effective way to fight the Germans, for example noting that they did not come to organize a mercenary army (p. 102).

An event in February, 1944, set a bloodfeud in motion when a villager of Kalis village shot another villager who opposed the presence of the British soldiers. In March Hibbert records a reprisal for an airdrop that they received, instigated by an

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Central and Eastern European Review unsympathetic Albanian who inspired the people of nine villages to make a (vow) against them.

By 6th August 1944, Hibbert is bemoaning the lack of support for the Partisans in the North, “to cut off and reduce the whole German garrison in Albania” (p. 175) And on 9th August, Hibbert expresses his disillusion: “Bari has been at fault in not understanding the political nature of this war in Albania and not giving us a directive for handling political questions. We have wasted eight months here”. (p. 176).

On 7th October, they finally leave for Bari. The diary ends, detailing six weeks in Bari, culminating at Christmas, which “will be very sober by comparison” to the previous Christmas, shortly after their arrival in Albania. The book ends with an overview of Hibbert’s life as an active international diplomat.

The whole volume provides a serious contribution to our understanding of the activities of the SOE in Albania in World War II, especially in bringing together (in footnotes throughout) many other written accounts of the same period, and with helpful short biographies of both them and the Albanian actors of the time.

Many contemporary photos and an index further enhance the Diaries, along with maps, though it is unfortunate that so many of the places mentioned in the Diaries are not shown on the maps.

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Marius-Ionut Calu, Kosovo Divided: Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Struggle for a State. London: I. B. Tauris, London, 2020.

This work, for which Calu earned his Ph.D, is the result of many years of study, mostly during the early part of the second decade of the Twentieth Century (after Kosovo’s declaration of Independence in 2008). He points out at the start of his Introduction, and returns frequently throughout the book, to the fact that the Western-centric preoccupation of “finding solutions for the integration and protection of all its constituents” in modern state-building, may be perceived as both an asset and a burden. Calu claims that that for Kosovo, the development of domestic sovereignty is very important following the dual legacy of Communism and conflict. He sets out the aims of his enquiries: to find out whether the multiethnic political and institutional set-up of Kosovo is an accurate representation of its actual social configuration; whether all minorities benefit equally and proportionally from the complex set of provisions and rights; and how practical and beneficial these measures are.

The first chapter is a general discussion about the dilemmas of state-building, giving distinctions between integrationist and accomodationist strategies. Calu gives an overview of the modern liberal democratic state: the state-in-society approach, quoting Joel Migdal and Max Weber; the nation state (noting the transformation in the Eighteenth Century from monarch sovereignty to peoples’ sovereignty; and externally led state-building). He concludes by suggesting that Kosovo falls into the paradigms of contemporary state-building, post-conflict state-building, liberal state-building, and EU post-liberal state-building, with state failure and weakness in the models of democratic governance. There follow a further 15 pages on these theories of state-building before returning, in the next chapter, to how it all relates to Kosovo.

However, the second chapter outlines extremely briefly, the history of Kosovo from 1912 – just two pages through to the post-1999 war: so brief that there is no discussion of the very important nonviolent democratizing movement led by Ibrahim throughout the 1990s (the subject treated in the Howard Clark’s, Civil Resistance in Kosovo, 2000). (Though Rugova’s name is listed in the Index to be found on pp. 57, 61 and 69, but I did not find any of these references. I did find it on p. 53)

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As a result, the book’s focus on rebuilding Kosovo’s institutions commences only in the immediate Post-1999 UNMIK period in accordance with UNSC Resolution 1244, establishing a status of autonomy, but with overall authority and coordination of local authorities held by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG: not included in the generally helpful “List of Abbreviations”). Calu describes how this UN body had extensive powers. He also clarifies the difficulties that it faced in the implementation of a smooth transition of power to local authorities. Cala comments that “UNMIK was effectively tasked to engage in state-building without statehood”.

The talks to move towards Kosovo’s independent status negotiations were discussed for 3 years from 2005 under the leadership of the UN Secretary General, Martti Ahtisaari, leading to a mandate for a new international presence allowing for supervised independence. Although the plans were obstructed by , the Kosovo Assembly declared Kosovo an independent and sovereign state in 2008. Calu notes that this was recognized “by about half of the UN members”; the actual number is 111 (out of 193 member states).

Calu discusses the issue of the use of the term “community” rather than “minority” in referring to the ethnicity of Kosovo’s population, explaining the reasoning: that under the Resolution 1244, sovereignty of the Federal Republic of is preserved, thus suggesting that are the majority population, whereas in Kosovo, they actually represent only 7.8% of the population. The author points out that initially, both the Constitution and the Law on Communities only mentioned seven minorities in Kosovo: Serbs, , , Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian and Gorani; however, following three years of lobbying, after the 2011 Census, two more were added: and Montenegrins. The most visible political rights of representation for these minorities are the guaranteed seats in the Assembly, but as Calu points out, they have less visible participation “within other institutions (vice-president, deputy-mayor and deputy-chair or deputy-speaker in local assemblies)” (p. 71). There is no discussion concerning inter- ethnic marriage.

The third chapter is devoted to the Integration, Accommodation and Protection of Kosovo Serbs, as the largest minority population in the country. One of the greatest problems is that this minority is not willing “to fully drop their non-constitutional ties with ” (p. 82). Likewise, Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence

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(declared in 2008). Until the 2013 election, Serbs had been represented in Kosovo by one party; but in 2013 the Civic Initiative ‘Srpska’ (GIS) was created and financed from Belgrade, impacting considerably on municipal assemblies throughout Kosovo.(pp. 92– 3). Calu explains that one of the reasons for the high unemployment rate of Serbs in Kosovo is due to the fact that they refuse to work within the country’s institutions, though he also gives a figure of 4.9% Serb employment as civil servants. Most Serbs in Kosovo live in rural areas with involvement in agriculture. The overall unemployment rate in Kosovo is given as 43%, the highest in Europe (p. 102)

Although most of the sources used in the next chapter are from 2013 and earlier, the next chapter, devoted to the “non-dominant Minorities of Kosovo” is extremely helpful in clarifying how these minorities differ considerably from one another, in their historical background, languages and religion; several of them overlap with one another in one aspect or more. Most have mother-countries, something that the Roma and “Egyptians” lack. Calu argues that there is inconsistency in the protection of the various communities. In parliament, of the 120 seats, 10 are reserved for the Serb community and 10 for all the others. There are sections on each of these minorities, described in order of population size.

The Bosniaks (Muslim ) are the second largest minority group with 1.6% of Kosovo’s population, living mostly in Western Kosovo. A spokesman for them told Calu that they are in favour of “integration but not assimilation” (p. 112). They are fairly well integrated into public life in Kosovo, though there have not been established as authorities in any majority Bosniak municipalities. Unlike the Turkish minority in Kosovo, with their strong links to Turkey, Calu reports that Bosnia is not supportive of Kosovo’s Bosniak minority. However, many Bosniaks displaced by the 1999 War, have not returned to Kosovo.

The Turkish minority of 30,000 (according to the 2011 census) represents 1.1% of Kosovo’s population. They have had a presence in the region since the Ottoman conquest in the 14th century. They are represented in parliament by the Turkish Democratic Party of Kosovo. The Turkish community is primarily urban. Under the Yugoslav constitution, the status of its language was equal to that of Serbian and Albanian. Now as a minority language, it has nevertheless gained the status of language

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Central and Eastern European Review in official use at the local level, in four municipalities. The Turkish community were not seriously affected by outmigration during the 1999 War.

The Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, although distinct communities, have been grouped together as RAE. The Roma traditionally live in Serb areas and speak Serbian in addition to Romani, whereas most Ashkali (not officially recognized until 1999) and Egyptians speak Albanian.

Roma have lived in the region since the 13th Century. They are predominantly Muslim. During the Yugoslav era, discrimination was minimised and they received education along with all other Yugoslavs, enabling some to benefit from university education (Prishtina’s University opened in 1969). Now without a mother country, with poor participation and poor representation, it is harder for Roma individuals to compete in the employment market. They have thus now become one of the most vulnerable communities in Kosovo.

There are twice as many Ashkali as Roma living in Kosovo. They are Albanian speakers of the Muslim faith (identifying their origins as ancient Persia). Calu notes that in 2010, the unemployment rate for Ashkali was over 60%, and that now, the majority rely on social welfare.

Of the over 11,000 Egyptians, almost half of them live in the municipality of Gjakova. They speak Albanian and most are Muslim. Their political representation has been better at the municipal than state level.

There are over 10,000 Gorani living in Kosovo, concentrated in the least developed municipality in Kosovo: Dragash, adjoining the small area in Albania where there is also a Gorani community. Their Slavic language has not been standardized and is not therefore recognized as an official language. Calu notes that their identity has been claimed by both Macedonia and in providing passports. (p. 137).

Both the Montenegrin and the Croatian communities in Kosovo have declined, due to outmigration, since the 1999 War. In 2010 although three Montenegrin political parties were formed, this did not guarantee them a seat in parliament to represent the 5,000 inhabitants.

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The Croat community is the smallest of Kosovo’s minority communities, estimated in 2010 to number “only 259 residents”. As Catholic Slavs, their children attend Serbian schools, but they lack access to most social services.

The following chapter discusses minority rights at the local level of governance in Kosovo, noting that strategies of decentralization are now preferred, especially for the Serb-majority municipalities. Kosovo Turks are the only minority with a municipality where they are in a majority (Mamuşa/Mamushş/Mamuša, in the Prizren district). A table on p. 160 shows this alongside the other six (all Serb) municipalities where a minority ethnicity is in a majority (excluding North of Kosovo). A major problem concerning the Serb-majority municipalities is their insistence on maintaining parallel institutions, supported by Serbia. Calu concludes that they have “a limited capacity for sustainable self-governance” (p. 196). While the analysis of most of the book relates to documentation up to 2013, this chapter is updated to events in 2017.

Calu’s final conclusion is that “the relationship between state and society in Kosovo remains largely undefined” (p. 198).

Each chapter is provided with over 100 footnotes, and the bibliography extends to over 20 pages. The text would have been greatly enhanced by a map of Kosovo, showing locations of the minority populations, and their municipalities in Kosovo. While it is true that the book is specifically about the several ethnicities in Kosovo, it would nevertheless be useful to have each of those minorities fully listed in the Index.

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Felix B. Chang and Sunnie T. Rucker-Chang, Roma Rights and Civil Rights: A Transatlantic Comparison, CUP, 2020.

At first glance, this appears an odd comparison: one cannot tell from the title that in fact “Civil Rights” in this instance refers specifically to the 1960s Civil Rights Movement of the Southern US states “the epicenter of slavery” (though the specific states of the South and the Deep South, mentioned on p. 37, are not named in the main text). The relevance of the comparison to Roma rights in Central and Southeastern Europe becomes clearer in relating, the progress towards equality for these internal Others gained through this movement as it evolved following the fall of Communism, and the increased need to protect the rights of the Roma from their endured subjugation, as part of the perceived “liminal and barbaric” region of Europe.

The book details the historical context for each of their minority groups (blacks of the American South and Roma of the CSEE countries), through traditional markers of a nation’s cohesion, shared linguistic, historical, geographic, ethnic, territorial and religious features. Whilst the Roma of Kosovo are included in the narrative, those in Albania (with a single mention on p. 43) are not included. Albania has between 90,000– l00,000 Roma, about 3 percent of the Albanian population (MRG, 1997), or according to the World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous people a much larger figure of 200,000–250,000 . In Albania, the Jevg (also not mentioned): or ”Jevgiit” are a people called “Gypsies” by ethnic Albanians, but are not recognised by many Roma as Roma, nor for the most part do not identify themselves as Roma; and “Egyptian” people of Albania, all distinguishable by their dark skin, who are not considered to be an ethnic minority since they have no kin-state; were therefore not given any special rights after the fall of Communism in 1991.

The authors note that while the US Civil Rights movement (of roughly 1954- 1968) has been very thoroughly analysed, the same cannot be said of Roma rights in SE Europe, which has lacked decision-makers at the top. The book sets out to answer the question of whether laws move cultural attitudes or vice versa. There follows discussion of the US Civil Rights’ achievements and the EU’s late 1990s and early 2000s’ revamping of its constitutional order to prohibit racial discrimination in living and educational

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Central and Eastern European Review standards and employment opportunities. The authors note that the two movements, although half a century and an ocean apart, both “occurred at a moment that was pivotal to the constitution development and identity construction of each nation”.

The study searches for answers to three questions, firstly what motivated the push for the rights, and how were they supported (p. 10-11); secondly how the relevant institutions and legal systems accommodated to change – the authors make frequent reference to the landmark ruling of Brown v Board of Education (Brown) of the mid- 1950s; and thirdly how receptive mainstream society has been in accepting change. School desegregation in the US “achieved a modicum of integration” yet “schools are as segregated today as they were in 1954” (p. 142), this statement might be disputed. For the Roma, access to education has varied enormously both in time and in area. The use of films and public opinion polls help to demonstrate results.

Chapters I and II give the historical background, the effects of WWII on black Americans serving in the military where they were released from the laws of Jim Crow, whereas for the Roma, there was the persecution under the Nuremburg Laws and the Holocaust, in which 1.5 million Roma died. Additionally, in , under Ustaša racial laws, between 16,000 – 40,000 were sent to the Jasenovac concentration camp “where they died quickly and violently”. The of the Fifteenth Amendment in the US prohibited the denial of voting rights on account of race, though political will remains weak or even negative to this day. In Europe, “Deeply entrenched social antipathy toward Roma” has hampered progress towards social change. The authors note that most studies of the Roma have not been written by Roma. In the 1960s, a Roma organization was formed in , to establish a Roma homeland, and claim both reparations and rights.

The origins of the two groups under comparison have been well documented, though there remains considerable controversy over the origins of the diverse Roma group. Those members of each group, who are descendants of mixed marriages, may “pass” as white, thereby forsaking their heritage in order to choose privilege over burden. One important dimension of comparison is that both communities, black American and Roma, had a history of being and as slaves: yet the commonality of Roma slavery and slave experience in America is surprisingly ignored. President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 passed anti-slavery into law. Just a year later

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Moldavia and Wallachia, as a unified Romania, gave legal freedom to Romani slaves. In both cases, the authors note that the freeing of slaves was followed by a general perception of these people as threatening and potentially, criminal.

Under Communism, in most of the CSEE countries, Roma benefitted from education and employment, though they had to suppress their ethnic and racial identities, and lost much of their close-knit community living. Their advantages were lost with the fall of Communism, forcing them to the periphery of towns and societies, lessening their employment opportunities, and even leading some to seek asylum in and Canada. In Czechoslovakia, a Nazi era practice was resurrected, of sterilizing Romani women, and in Bulgaria, Romani populations were forced to take Bulgarian names. The 2006 EU Race Equality Directive was automatically transposed into the laws of EU member states. There is discussion of the convergences of interests in civil rights and Roma rights (pp. 51–60), with particular reference to the work of Derrick Bell.

With the fifth EU enlargement in 2004, there were included for the first time, minority protections, thus those countries joining the EU thereafter had to prove such protections existed in their countries before joining (whereas those existing EU states had not had this requirement). In the US, during post-Civil War Reconstruction (dated by the authors as approximately 1863-1877), racial equality became a formal pre- condition for statehood. The Changs analyse the hypocrisy involved in effecting these legal demands in both the EU and the US cases, especially given constantly changing situations in both regions. For example, in the sixth EU enlargement in 2007, when Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU, they were not afforded the advantages of visa-free travel within the Schengen region, which all other EU member states enjoy. Enforcement of the law can be supported in the US with federal troops, whereas there is no such central force for the EU to call upon.

The authors demonstrate that changes in the situation for the two groups under consideration came about with faltering political will and weak institutional design, leading to tentative rather than sweeping implementation of equality and integration. Major changes for Southern blacks came about following their military service in Europe, but thereafter any advantages depend on which president is in office; for the Roma, education under Communism elevated a generation of Romani intellectuals. The

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Changs note that the most emphatic development in the EU was the Race Equality Directive of 2000 (RED) and also work by civil society organizations, prohibiting racial and ethnic discrimination, which have produced significant victories for the Roma, as has the ruling from Brown in the US case.

In the Chapter 6, “Filmic Representations” (including literature), notes that each of the books’ subjects “have been excluded and marginalized for centuries, with weak recourse under law”. For black Americans, there were set characters in literature: for men, the Tom, as in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and the infantile “coon”, and the threatening “buck”; for women, the endearing “mammy”. There follows a very full analysis of carefully selected half a dozen or more films for each group. The authors note that African American films took on more nuance over time, whereas the depiction of Roma in film is more recent. But both groups show a shift, on screen, from caricature to recognizable representation. They quote Stuart Hall and his description of images which work unconsciously reinforcing ideologies, and ideologies producing social consciousness. Sidney Poitier, the first black to win an Academy Award for best actor (in 1963); was the only African American male to earn such an award until 2001.

Early Romani films depict scenes of racially defined Other, with no historical memory. During the period of CSEE, Romani films were made in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and in Yugoslavia, avoiding discourses of race, aiming rather to celebrate ethnic diversity. During this period, the Roma populations benefitted from equal educational opportunities, enabling some to become film directors, ready to work on serious topics after the fall of Communism. There has also developed a Roma Online Resource Center, database of film by and about Roma. There are also Roma film companies, and film festivals throughout Europe

The authors’ conclusion is that despite anti-discriminatory legislation, both focus groups of this study, suffer from the disconnect between words and action, and that resistance rather than acceptance continues to dominate the discourse on these two communities. They note that anti-discrimination protections, both in the US and in the CSEE are acted upon cyclically, and that currently, after Obama’s two terms in office, the right-wing backlash in the US, is also seen both in CSEE: and Slovakia purged Roma of national citizenship. Only in education is there progress towards equality: through Black Studies programmes in US universities and Romani Studies in the CSEE.

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The book’s text is very fully documented with hundreds of footnotes and over 20 pages of listed sources. However, there are no maps to clarify the two areas, the US states or the EU states, nor mention of exactly which US states are involved; while those of Central and Southeastern Europe are named and discussed, but Albania is omitted.

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Pepa Hristova (photographer), Sophia Grieff and Danail Yankov (text), Sworn Virgins, Berlin: Kehrer Heidelberg Verlag, 2013.

Jelka Vince Pallua, Zagonetka virdžine (Sworn Virgins). Zagreb: Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, 2014,

Paola Favorino, A je burrneshe (Are you manly). Verona: SIZ Industria Grafica, Verona, 2019.

These three excellent volumes, all published within six years, have richly enhanced the ethnology and anthropology of the burrnesha (sworn virgins) in the South East and Central . Through visual images our encounter with these cultural survivals and traditions are greatly amplified. In two of the three books, it is photographs which predominate, but they play a key role in each, both having their own distinct perspectives. The second book is the result of considerable historical research.

‘Sworn virgins’ of the Southern Balkans fulfil honorable roles in their society. In traditional patriarchal society in that region, there has long been an option providing male heirs, or fighters where none actually exist within the family: a girl or herself, or her parents even at birth, may declare that she has become a male. In these cases the thenceforth dresses as a boy/man, performs male tasks and mixes socially as a male. With the change s/he swears lifelong never reverting to her/his birth . In this way inheritance of a family home is assured.

A second way that this change of gender may retain honour in society is in the case where a girl, already betrothed possibly at birth or even before, may refuse to marry the specific man who has been chosen as her future husband. ‘Sworn virgins’ still live in Northern Albania, where they are completely respected in their male roles within their tightknit societies. This phenomenon actually supports the strict patriarchal system, still in place in northern Albania and further afield, if also ambiguously, allowing subordinated a way to a freer life. More recently, a few Albanian girls/women have made the choice for personal enhancement, or even to avoid the danger of kidnapping (something that became prevalent from the 1990s).

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Whilst urban life adapts and changes fast, poor physical access to rural mountainous Northern Albania has ensured that transition is very slow; there is no longer employment in rural co-operatives taking women out of the home. Education, especially in the countryside has declined due to several factors: extremely poor pay for teachers, migration of the educated both abroad and to the towns and importantly, increased danger especially for young girls, of kidnapping for trafficking. Besides this, there is an increased need by families for their children to be working to supplement meagre incomes. With the lowering of educational standards comes an increased dependence on traditional values. Bloodfeuds, sparked by poverty, the shortage of resources and especially a lack of clarity over landownership have also contributed to a resort to the traditions of male dominated society and to the centuries’ old laws (banned under Communism).

‘Sworn virgins’ usually wear men's clothing, smoke and drink alcohol, sometimes carry knives and/or guns (none of which women do) and take on any responsibility for maintaining honour in time of . They adapt their own speech and mannerisms such that many would not tell their true biological identity. Others relate to them as men, usually using male pronouns both in addressing them, or in speaking of them. The film director, Srdjan Karanavic, maker of the film, Virdzina in 1991, asserts that ‘a ‘sworn virgin’ is not a man in terms of sexuality, but in terms of social power.

Hristova’s magnificent outsize hardbound book is organized around portraits of the l1 subjects (some are those whom I met in the 1990s), mostly posed in static, domestic settings, often interior images with small personal inserts, some of them with disappointingly little information about the people. She juxtaposes portraits and group portraits, and superb landscape scenes from High Albania. What is largely missing are scenes of the burrnesha at work in the fields or other jobs (driving, machine work, etc.). Nor are there many scenes of them in all male settings (drinking, smoking and separate from female relatives). The other inconsistency is that only some of the individuals have indications of their lives and choices (and regrets or satisfactions). Where there is no quote, no biographical hints, the pictures have less meaning. There are useful notes on five of the subjects, but thumbnail portraits of all 13, with images from 12 family albums relating to them. A map of all the burrnesha’s home areas would have been meaningful without intrusive location.

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Vince Pallua’s serious, substantial ethnographic study, is well researched, with special features, including maps, bibliography, ethnographic material, historical overviews of the phenomenon. It has exceptional archival photographs (some, as in Hristova’s book, from family albums of the subjects) and a 181-page chronological overview of literature from 1860-2014); with excerpts and quotes in several languages. These unique segments make it a major addition to the literature on the subject, (it is hoped to be published in an English-language version from the Croatian text). There is no hint of “exoticism” and the subjects are treated as working villagers and family members, often completely or almost indistinguishable publicly from biological male counterparts in their local cultural setting.

Favorino’s book is essentially a very personal poetic photographic journey of several years, into the land of the Burrnesh. Sensitive and entirely unsentimental and socially realistic, she emphasizes the poverty of the regions in which many of those portrayed, live. They are stark and unromantic. A few of the images also portray work and working environments, many outdoors, in a suggestively creative, wordless, presentation. There is an accompanying tri-language leaflet (Albanian/Italian/English) – a text of personal expression.

Although the phenomenon of ‘sworn virgins’ had been recorded by several writers over the past 150 years, there were no full-length books on the topic, before my own, Women Who Become Men: Albanian Sworn Virgins was published (Berg, Oxford, UK; NYU Press, US: 2000, republished 2001. It has been translated into Persian by Manijeh Maghsoudi and Mohammad Mehdi Faturehchi, published Tehran, 2011 and 2019, translated into Albanian, Gratë që u bënë: Virgjineshat e betuara shqiptare, ë by Harald Ҁela, Tirana, 2014, and into French, Les Vierges juré d’Albanie: des femmes devenues hommes, by Jacqueline Dérens, 2016)

About the reviewer

Antonia Young is Honorary Research Fellow in the Division of Peace and International Development, University of Bradford, UK. She is also Research Associate at Colgate University, New York. Her email address is a.t.i.young@bradford

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