Speech of Prime Minister Edi Rama in the evening organized at COD in memory and honour of the Albanian volleyball players Asllan Rusi and Dashamir Fagu:
Hello everyone! Welcome!
This is for me a double pleasure also because I was once part of the community, although in front of many of you I feel a bit embarrassed because all of you have been better than me. Despite this, it has been a privilege to belong to this community and I say this with great pride.
Today, it is in fact a day when football has conquered the minds and the hearts of all the Albanians wherever they are, and despite the historical achievement of the National Team, it must be said that once upon a time, what today seems emptied of people and of interest, the field of hand games was in fact the focus of attention when it came to facing challenges internationally.
Today, we are celebrating here the extraordinary story of two athletes who were the standard-bearers of that heroic endeavour of the Albanian volleyball for men, and who, in conditions totally incomparable with those the other teams were trained, reached those peaks that Professor Xhela described accurately. He was so accurate, that I abandoned the speech I was prepared along with some statistics, because I was convinced that professor Xhela would find some errors in the statistics prepared by the organizers and Advisor Gaz Çaçi. I greet him, maybe he is following us although he is not here, and probably he is the first advisor in history who gives advice on an activity he does not attend. But this is part of being Gaz Çaçi.
While today, the big names of basketball and volleyball, here present or others who are not here, are entitled to feel hurt in terms of their self-esteem, when they see the big contrast that exists between what they did and what is being done with football, and what happens with the hand games. I think that there are many things to be discussed about “why” and “how”, etc. but it is certain that the example of Asllan Rusi and Dashamir Fagu, and the example of “Dinamo”, of the extraordinary “Partizani’” for men in those years, or another extraordinary example, the “Dinamo” for women – I hope the later “Dinamo” for men won’t mind this – shows that despite the great importance that infrastructure has, at the end of the day, you can make history even in a field of coal. It is surprising how under such conditions, those teams would train and manage to touch the peaks of Europe, while facing superpowers. And actually, I do not know professor Xhela if I am correct, but our team didn’t make it to a semi-finals only for political reasons, because it had to take place with CSKA in Moscow.
What I want to say is that we are trying seriously to improve infrastructure, not only that of football, but also of hand games. We are trying to improve the infrastructure, starting from schools because I believe that the basis is in creating spaces and opportunities for the young to do sports, but we must not neglect the most important structures in terms of size and budget. I hope that we will conclude soon the first phase of the Olympic Park of Tirana, where the former gym edifice that was abandoned will be transformed into a genuine sports palace, although smaller than the current “Asllan Rusi”.
In the meantime, we are cooperating intensively with the municipality of Tirana to be able to start also the reconstruction of the Palace of Sports “Asllan Rusi”. Just as I believe that it is not useless to say that we will finally provide a dignified shelter to all multi-sport federations, which you know better than I, have been sheltered in indecent places, of course not of their fault, but due to a complete lack of attention. The building of the federation will be built in the same place, at the Olympic park, and all the other federations will be there together, but with absolutely dignified conditions to perform their activities.
The memory of historical names such as Asllan Rusi or Dashamir Fagu is of great help. It helps to understand that in every neighbourhood, in every residential block in this country, there may be others, and there certainly are, who can make the difference and shine in the sky of the Albanian sport, of the Albanian volleyball for men or women, but it is us who should create as many situations today, when times have changed, when interests have changed, when young people are less attracted to sport and much more attracted to Facebook – to have them motivated and try to excel, as they have excellent, and as many of you who are here in this hall have excelled.
I am very grateful for this moment that you made important with your presence, and also I am very grateful especially to Asllan Rusi. I didn’t meet Dashamir Fagu, I’ve seen him from afar as a great sportsman, while I knew Asllan and his brother because we were neighbours.
I remember very lively still to this day his look and his training in the school yard “Alqi Kondi” at that time, at 6 am. I remember his hand. It was very large, and every time we met he would shake my hand and ask me, “Hi, there, son of Kristaq! How are you doing?”
I was very impressed by him, and he has left an indelible mark in my childhood memory, just as everything I heard about him from Ilir, Sokol, who were in our team and were more aware of what he did. And later, when we worked together with professor Kreshnik, I heard in detail some episodes, and in particular the way Asllan experienced volleyball.
Thank you once again! I hope that this moment was worth it. And I’m glad that it happened this way. We didn’t plan to score three points today, for we do not have that planning capacity yet, but I’m very glad that this happened exactly the day after yesterday’s match. Because no matter how strange it may seem to many people who are following us now that we are at the peak of ecstasy with football, they are actually dealing with two volleyball players who do not live anymore, this is the right moment to honour and respect them as people who gave our nation, gave our national team, gave our colours, in totally different conditions, in a completely different time and with privations unimaginable to today’s generations – the same dignity that the National Team is giving Albania today.
I want to thank with gratitude professor Xhela who is here present. I am convinced that he keeps doing those 5 kilometres, although probably at a lower speeds, but at this point he leaves us all behind, I’m sure!
Thank you!
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The Centre for Openness and Dialog (COD) in the Prime Minister’s office dedicated today a special evening to the names of prominent Albanian volleyball players, Asllan Rusi and Dashamir Fagu, two masters who made the teams of “Dinamo” and “Partizani” renowned in the 60s and 70s.
Prime Minister Edi Rama attended the event organized by volleyball fans, and attended also by the Minister of Education Lindita Nikolla, sport personalities, media and civil society representatives, and family members who remembered the passionate and dedicated work of the two athletes.
Asllan Rusi and Dashamir Fagu were the main protagonists of the victories of their teams, and examples for other players, because of the terrific contribution they made.
In the early 70s, Albania participated in the European Cups and scored high results, thanks to its teams consolidated on a tradition of successes.
