The unbearable lightness of judgment
Last week the news that the 2400-and-counting years old city of Berat did not make it into the precious UNESCO heritage list spread like wildfire provoking different reactions in the Albanian community. The news must have hit harder the people who are actually working very hard to compile the files and the folders of documentation to prove to UNESCO that this city is really old, really beautiful and really valuable, something that even a half-blind person can conclude after a one-day visit to the town. There is a small army of historians, art experts, restaurateurs and municipality workers committed to presenting an image of their beloved city so that it gains the special attention of this important world institution.
Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Yes, one of the reviewers of the Berat file has declared that an appeal shall be made next year and the documents will be presented once again. Yet this is not the point. The news of the postponement seems to have raised a debate about many issues related to the city at the feet of the pine-lined hills.
Should we really discuss about the values of Berat? About the castle- the only inhabited one in the Balkan region, whose stone layers testify to each different historical period the town has lived under? Or the Onufri church and museum where the rare codex (Codex Purpureus Beratinus F and Beratinus-2, the Golden one) were discovered and where the wonderful artistic iconography of the master Onufri still adorns he altar and the walls? Or the classic Ottoman style architecture bridge of Gorica watching the clam green waters go by? Not to mention the Mangalem and Gorica quarter with their whitewashed walls, wooden-framed windows that blend miraculously the Mediterranean style with the autochthonous elements.
Berat does not offer only historical and architectural values; it is a symbol of religious harmony. The visual representation of people belonging to different confessions respecting the centuries long tradition of harmonious coexistence is seeing in Berat’s old quarters churches and mosques side by side, just like in Sarajevo. Unlike in Sarajevo here the view is not deceiving.
(Still not convinced? Die-hard skeptics? Check out the photos at http://www.bashkiaberat.net/index.htm , you shall see the light.)
Berat is old! Berat is beautiful! Berat is valuable!
An argument launched as an explanation for not including Berat in the list yet was the resemblance of Berat to Gjirokastra further down south. This likeness granted that exists is not overwhelming and most importantly cannot be a reason of rejection. Does the fact that Budapest resembles Vienna or Prague make either of these cities less pretty or less loveable? As a reason it is ludicrous.
Some people have argued that the Albanian authorities have not done enough to document or promote the values of the city. There might be some truth in this as our administration seems too busy playing peek-a-boo with the president issue. Yet I doubt that more efforts would convince the sometimes irrational international judges who come to these conclusions (yes non-Albanian people are human beings as well and yes they tend to be irrational just like the rest of us mortals, no big deal!)
The city of Berat does not need UNESCO to affirm its values, the Albanians should be one hundred percent certain and comfortable that they exist and no other city, older or prettier, can be a match. The people of Berat need the extra protection, the potential upcoming investments and promotions.
It will be an honor to UNESCO when they eventually include this amazingly rich town in terms of history, art and culture into its own ranks and not vice versa. Yet sometimes even what seems obvious and just tends to disappear in the unbearable lightness of judgment!
