Imagine thinking each day that this may truly be your last day on earth. Imagine kissing your wife and kids goodbye in the morning with a lurch in your stomach as you wonder if you’ll be alive to hold them again in the evening. Imagine looking over your shoulders and wondering if you are being followed as you go to the store, to church, or to pick up your kids from school. Imagine risking your life every time you dare venture outside your home, all because of another man’s actions, whether intentional or accidental, that left someone dead.

This was Pastor Dritan (Tani) Prroj’s daily reality, as he stepped outside of his home in order to preach the Gospel, shepherd his flock in the church he was pastoring and serve his fellow citizens in the northern city of Shkoder. He found himself in these circumstances not because of anything he himself had done, but due to a bar room brawl five years ago which resulted in his uncle killing a young man. The uncle’s actions automatically brought the 23 male members of his extended family, including Tani, into a ‘blood feud’, making them a target of reciprocation for the victim’s family.

The majority of those who are involved in a blood feud choose the route of isolation and self-imprisonment at home, the only safe place dictated by blood feud codes (Kanun) where a person cannot be harmed or hunted down. Women and children are also exempt from the blood feud, though they still fear for the lives of their beloved fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons over the age of 15 who are explicit targets should they leave the safety of their home, even for an errand like buying milk from the store. Dreams of a normal life are shattered for these families– many children are kept home from school regardless of the code and their childhoods are void of friends, social events, sports and normal activities that every child longs to take part in.

Yes, it is the 21st century and yet blood feuds are a tangible experience for hundreds of familiies throughout Albania. It is estimated that there are 1450 families literally captive in their own homes because they are caught in the middle of a blood feud and have no way to escape its grip until the score becomes even. But ultimately it is a vicious cycle, one that never ends because with each life taken there is more ‘blood’ to avenge and little chance of families ever becoming free.

Initially, Tani too remained in isolation the first few years when the blood feud enveloped him and all his male relatives, though he continued to minister to his congregation from home. Given an opportunity to serve as pastor in England, Tani moved his family there but as they started to settle in, Tani sensed God calling him to continue to minister in his hometown back in Albania. Though limiting his time in public where he was an open target, Tani was active in serving the community and this past winter he led the distribution of humanitarian aid provided when floods encompassed the villages near Shkoder,causing many to be without homes, food, or clothes.

Tragically, three weeks ago, on October 8th, Tani was gunned down in broad daylight in a populated market and cafe area after leaving the church office to pick up his children from school. His 9 and 7-year old were left waiting, not knowing that the morning hugs and kisses with their daddy were to be their last embrace from him, this side of heaven.

Tani had his Bible in one hand along with his briefcase, which inside contained a written plan with ideas on how to combat this blood feud Kanun that has ingrained the idea of ‘rightful’ revenge in many Albanian minds who believe that following the code somehow supercedes waiting for 21st century law to hand out justice. The code is so strong that there is pressure on young men to take revenge for a family member’s blood (death) even if they themselves don’t want to. It is all about a family’s honor.

Last week on a TV program highlighting this archaic phenomenon, a local pastor involved in prison ministry told of a young man who was serving a prison sentence for having avenged the blood of his brother. When asked how he could kill someone at such a young age, his answer was shocking and heartbreaking. “For all these years, every single day my mother would curse me while eating, saying that I was having a homemade meal while my bother was ‘eating’ dust in the ground. Though in prison, somehow I feel I am more free.”

Pastor Tani’s death has been a wake-up call for the church in Albania and everyday citizens to stand up and bring attention to this code that still dominates the land and leaves hundreds of individuals cut off from society and fearing for their lives.

Last Saturday hundreds of evangelical Christians gathered at Mother Teresa Square on the main boulevard of town to peacefully rally on behalf of those who are entrapped in this violent cycle of revenge. In a solemn service several pastors spoke beseeching the government to open its eyes to this crisis and take action. Prayers were offered and 2 hymns were sung—the Albanian national anthem and the best-known Christian hymn, Amazing Grace.

Especially powerful and heartwrenching were the words of Tani’s wife, Elona, who spoke eloquently and passionately, emboldened by God’s grace and strength to implore all those listening to put an end to the tragedy of blood feuds through forgiveness. “True revenge…is in forgiving.”

Those words signify that with Tani’s death, this particular blood feud has come to an end, bringing release for the other male members of Tani’s family that were in hiding. Forgiveness is the only way to break the cycle of revenge.

Philip Yancey states in his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace: “The strongest argument for forgiveness is the alternative, a permanent state of unforgiveness.”

For Albania’s blood feud crisis – that quote could read—“The strongest argument for forgiveness is the alternative, a permanent state of blood feuds and vendettas, leaving lives shattered & broken and people hurting, hiding, fearing… not truly living.”

In one sense, Tani’s death is reflective of the Savior he loved and lived for, because in death, he set the male members in his family free from the blood fued cycle so that they can now live in the open. Similarly, Jesus’ death sets us free from the cycle of sin and isolation from God, and we no longer fear death, but rather experience true life in Him.

May God bring many stories of redemption through Tani’s example in both life and death, and may thousands of Albanians experience the freedom that he had found through a personal relationship with Jesus.

For a better understanding of Blood Feuds from Tani’s perspective in an article published just before his death, click here.

{ 2 comments }