Documentary

The other day I received a last minute invitation to attend the projection of a film that covered a U.N. trial in Kosova, which documents the differences between the modern European and old judicial ways of settling criminal cases in the Balkans.

Curious and willing to learn a bit more, I attended this 1 1/2 hr presentation offered by the Austrian Cultural Forum in N.Y. I was among few participants, mostly Albanians, except for 2 Germans, and I was one of only 2 women present at this showing.

The Court proceedings dealt with young Albanians accused of having participated in a heavy assault incident. During this trial, Chief Judge, Claudia Fenz, encounters and discovers the existing traditional jurisdiction that is in contrast to the rule of law pursued by the UN juridical process. The differences were striking and surprising also to the 2 German participants in the audience with me, and whom, at the end of this film presentation, I and 2 Albanian lawyers, also present, had a chat with.

Although, like most Albanians, and due to my family history, I am acquainted with the old traditional code that has governed for centuries all aspects of life in Albania, a couple of issues surprised me while watching this film. First, and above all, that the UN appointed a woman judge to rule in proceedings taking place in a very male dominant society, with knowingly traditional systems - both of these issues, I believe, should have been known to, anticipated, and dealt by the top international organization before hand.

Secondly, it was impossible for me not to be emotionally involved in the hardship encountered by both the judge, and the chief prosecutor, also a young woman, who, however, performed splendidly. They not only spent lots of time trying to understand the local customs by visiting and meeting with local mediators, who shared their experiences in similar cases, but they also excellently kept at bay their frustration, continuously challenged by the impertinent behavior of the local male defense attorneys.

Other very important parameters that had great effect in this whole situation were language translation for the judging body and poor conduct on the part of witnesses. The latter, after sentencing, ended up threatening of killing each other, while the judges, during the process, had a very difficult time understanding the details of the case. This was due non necessarily to the translation process, but because the answers to specific questions very always very superficial, and lots of time irreconcilable with the questions posed.

This is a very interesting, but difficult situation to be involved in! In the past few years, I have experienced (not as a lawyer, but as a simple party involved in a dispute) similarly frustrating moments, especially due to legal language context. It's no fun, asking for a specific answer, and getting replies that may, at times, be totally, but probably intentionally, unrelated to the requested details at hand!

I'm glad to have seen this documentary in any case. Didn't learn very much from it, except getting confirmation of having been involved in similar predicaments, which lead only to waste of precious time, expenses, and many disappointments. 'C'est la vie' in our global society!

Contrasts

Shortages or excess??
It still all depends from nature's generosity or stinginess.

New Year, new projects

After a quiet, and restful pause during the holidays, I was determined to tackle much needed tasks within my residence, and thus, I started the new year with a long list of items to be fixed or replaced in my apartment.

I didn't even realize how fast the days were going by, but, I'm finally noticing the list is getting shorter and I feel satisfied about what I've accomplished so far with relative ease, except for having to dip deeper into my wallet.

Some old equipment needed complete replacement, which I was able to order online, after some research and analysis of alternatives. While I was waiting for the orders to arrive, I rearranged wiring and cables, extended hookups, and cleaned some areas that are not easily accessible to normal dusting. In doing so I even reshuffled the electrical plugs and surgemaster units so that now it's even easier to save more electricity due to the repositioning of these units, which can be easily turned off when not in use.

The new laser printer was a breeze to install, the new desk chair, although quite heavy, was not difficult to assemble, the new high definition TV is up and running, coupled with a new combo VCR/DVD that will allow me to convert the many VHS tapes I have.....time permitting! The only problem I encountered was with the cable company that services my building. The HD cable modem I needed from them had to be replaced 4 times because they were defective. Some unit functioned only if I rebooted it every time I turned the tv on. It's obvious that these are recycled units, but the service was furnished with smiles and apologies, which now are culminating also in a credit for interrupted service during the past month.

While this was going on, the amaryllis I received for Christmas (below) has gone through 2 cycles of blooming, but a 2nd plant, which I also received for New Year has now bursted out into 7 new flowers, all at once! In a dreary day like today, when it's snowing in New York and the temperature is a frigid 19F ( -7C) degrees, I'm warmed up by quite a sight on my desk (top picture)!