Accounts of peaceful co-existence between Christians and Muslims. Journey to the city of Saranda, in the southern part of the country, where the Marcelline sisters have a big education centre. Sister Daniela Silvestrini and Entela Kenaçi, head of the nursery: “Religious faith is not a cause for division”.
When Pope Francis visited Tirana on 21 September 2014, he there was “a rather beautiful characteristic of Albania, one which is given great care and attention, and which gives me great joy: I am referring to the peaceful coexistence and collaboration that exists among followers of different religions. The climate of respect and mutual trust between Catholics, Orthodox and Muslims is a precious gift to the country. This is especially the case in these times.”
The seaside city of Saranda in southern Albania, 20 km from the Greek-Albanian border is a case in point: The 30,000 inhabitants here are equally divided between the orthodox and Muslim faiths, while the number of Catholics amounts to about 30 people. The city is home to Qendra Sociale “S. Marcellina”, an education centre founded by the Marcelline sisters 21 years ago. Here, Christians and Muslims work together for the benefit of the whole population.
The story begins with Sister Daniela Silvestrini in Lecce, in the 90’s: she taught and began helping out the hundreds of Albanian refugees who arrived on the coasts of Puglia in southern Italy. She soon realised that while it was vital to promote integration, it was just as important to support and help them in their own country and she saw education as the primary area where action needed to be taken. So it was, that she asked to move to Albania with some other nuns. The country had just come out of a winter of isolation and persecution by the communist regime.
Desperate for affection
“It became apparent to me right from the start that what people in Saranda – especially women and children – needed the most, was attention, a special care that went beyond material needs and there were many because poverty was (and still is) widespread. I remember something that happened in 1997: there was great unrest in the city and having overcome our fear, the other nuns and I decided to venture out. Suddenly we bumped into some children and I gave one of the youngest among them a caress. They immediately got in line: they all wanted a caress.”
An education centre open to all
Today, the big centre, which is attended by Christians and Muslims, houses a nursery that looks after 120 children, a cantine, where 170 poor young people attending state schools can get a complete meal and a free infirmary that is open to the public. The centre organises summer camps, after-school activities, language courses for young people and an embroidery course attended by group of unemployed women who are able to learn a trade and support themselves financially. Of course there are also catechism courses too.
A happy Muslim head teacher
The head of the nursery is Entela Kenaçi, a 39-year-old married Muslim woman, mother of one, who says: “Every parent wants the best for their children: so many Muslim families choose our school because the nuns aim to provide a quality education. I really like working here: Sisters Daniela and her two fellow nuns helped me grow as a person and to understand the importance of my profession. I appreciate their dedication and the ability they have to involve all collaborators in their various initiatives. We get on so well. Being head of nursery is exciting, I know every single pupil and I have a beautiful relationship with each and every one of them: I share in their joys and problems. When I enter class, the little ones run up to me to give me a hug and tell me about their day. This is important for the children and for me as well: their liveliness is contagious”.
Good relations in the city
In the city, Christians and Muslims live peacefully alongside each other, Entela points out: “People respect each other, there are no prejudices: religious faith is not a cause of division.” During the communist regime which attempted to eradicate all forms of religious expression in the name of radical atheism, people ended up joining forces and this solidarity remained, Sister Daniela explains, adding: “We nuns have very good relations with the Muslims, especially with the Bektashi Order (an Albanian branch of Islam), which is particularly open : for example, they invite us to their feasts and ask for our help with some social initiatives. Here’s one story I think is quite significant: a lady from a Bektashi family recently converted to Catholicism and was baptised. She was a bit worried about telling her father but finally bit the bullet. The father’s reply was: ‘What matters is that you have found God, it doesn’t matter where you found him’.”
The consequences of communism
Those were tough times under the regime, Sister Daniela continued: “One lady told me that she often made the sign of the cross and when the daughter asked her to explain what it was about, she said it was a gymnastics exercise. Children were interrogated at school and whichever of them knew how to make the sign of the cross put their parents in serious danger. The forced exclusion of God from personal and community life left its mark and changed the way people lived the faith. Many, Christians and Muslims alike, lost the habit of religious practice, which was certainly not encouraged by widespread consumerism after the collapse of communism. In recent years, however, I have seen a strong desire – especially in young people – to explore their relationship with God further, read the Gospel and approach the sacraments. I realised that faith, when it is lived in an authentic way, when it makes you look at God as your origin and horizon and makes you take care of others in a non-extemporaneous way, sparks wonder in people and induces serious reflection.” Entela concluded by saying: “The truly religious demonstrate the importance of behaving righteously. Good relations between people are born out of the goodness, respect and understanding shown by each person.”
