Albania

             The legacy of fifty years of Europe's most draconian communism is the darkest shadow of the past , that ended only in 1991. (a portrait of high Albania) Writing recent history is always problematic; an objective account of the past fifty years in Albania, where extremes and excesses of the communist regime are recent memory, is probably impossible. But everyone agrees in one thing: Albanian communism was not like the others. It brought this country overwhelming disasters and poverty. Albania's economy changed drastically in the early 1990s, as the government moved from a Communist system to a more democratic organization. Albania emerged from the Communist era as the poorest country in Europe. For the first time Albanians were granted the right to foreign travel. The country still relied on tens of thousands of Albanians who work in Greece, Italy, and Germany and send money home to support their families. (The Albanians) Throughout 1990 thousands of Albanian citizens tried to!.
             flee the country through Western embassies. A multinational relief operation arranged for safe evacuation of more than 5000 Albanians, and 20,000 more sailed illegally to Italy in vessels seized at civilian ports. ( Albania a country study) .
             From 1944 to 1991 Albania's government was under the complete control of the Communist Party. Power was consolidated in one man, Enver Hoxha, who ruled Albania with an iron fist and stifled any dissent. After Hoxha's death in 1985, Albania began to emerge from its isolation. As Communist rule in Eastern Europe collapsed in 1989, some Albanians demanded extensive reforms. In 1990 the government endorsed the creation of independent political parties. .
             Albanian citizens had few of the guarantees of human rights and fundamental freedoms that have become standard in Western democracies. According to Amnesty International, political prisoners were tortured and beaten by the Sigurimi during investigations, and political detainees lacked adequate legal safeguards during pretrial investigations.