Part VII Albanians Abroad

"Well that could have been much worse…" Chatin Sarachi sighed as he raised his glass of brandy "To the National and finally getting back to business."

The other two men in the room Albanian ambassador to the US, Faik Koniça, and Columbus Marion "Dad" Joiner raised their glasses as well. "To Business!" They echoed, promptly followed by the customary "Gazuar!" (1) which even Joiner had now adopted due to his dealings with the Albanians.

The past few months, hell, the past few years had been nothing short of exhausting and had thoroughly convinced Chatin that "too much of a good thing" was indeed a reality. He'd been elated as anyone when he realized that Zog's decision to purchase drilling rights over swaths of East Texas had panned out, had he known the headache it would eventually cause he would have tried far harder to get his promised appointment to Vienna earlier rather than later. The sheer size of the East Texas Oil Field had complicated Zog's attempt to effectively monopolize its development and soon thousands of oilmen had rushed in to try and snag a piece of the action. Initially, the American public had been elated at the discovery too, considering that it happened mere months after the stock market crash. But this elation quickly turned sour when all the new oil hit the market at once, causing the price of oil to plunge and only exacerbating what was then a worsening recession. (2)

And in an election year to boot!

Though Joiner eventually listened to Zog's pleas to limit production, his fellow oil men did not and instead pumped even more to make up for decreasing profits, ultimately driving the price of oil to 13 cents in July 1930. This stark reality stood out even amid economically disastrous situations in every area of the American economy and of course attracted attention to Zog's partial ownership of a huge swath of the production. Xenophobic sentiments quickly boiled to the surface, and even though both Zog and Joiner did everything they could to comply with the legislation, calls for nationalization never completely disappeared. The East Texas Oilfield became a central issue in both the 1930 Texan gubernatorial election and the 1932 state and national election thrusting Chatin into the limelight. With Zog unable to travel due to fears of Italian intrigue, he quickly found himself occupied with various personal appearances and radio broadcasts. To be fair Zog wrote most of them and did far more than many expected him to in absentia, but the travel and appearances still took their toll for in addition to dealing with the press Zog also pressed Chatin into being his proxy negotiator with various governors and later Federal officials.

Hopefully this is the last of it…

Initial attempts by the state of Texas to limit oilfield production had failed in spite of their best efforts causing oil prices to fall below 10 cents a barrel and making the issue a Federal concern in 1932/33. Given that Chatin found Washington preferable to Austin this didn't seem to be a bad thing when he arrived, however Zog's adamancy about fiddling with both the Federal and the State bills made his life exhausting. Hours and hours of work all added up all for a few lines and changed words in anticipation of yet another appeal to the Supreme Court. Fortunately for everyone involved, the credibility Zog had built by working with authorities and his attempts to conserve the oilfield's water-drive mechanism by pumping salt water into the aquifer had helped immensely. (3) That and Chatin's newly cultivated skill of getting Americans to think his ideas were theirs had resulted in all of Zog's proposed changes getting accepted. Everyone expected an appeal to show up in the coming weeks, but it wasn't apparent just how they'd get around the provisions.

"Speaking of business Mr. Joiner, a man of your age… you surely must be thinking about retirement!" Faik Koniça said with a smirk. "After all, I imagine meeting the demands of your young wife while undertaking all of this has put a strain on your new marriage…"

"My wife and I are doing just fine Ambassador." Joiner said punctuating his reply with a sip of his brandy. "While I just can't stress enough that all your concern about the Federal government nationalizing your portion of the oil operations was overblown, I am also glad to see this done with. Now the country can truly begin recovering and we can all turn our attention to more pressing matters." Joiner paused for a moment and then smirked before continuing "You know it's hard to believe there was a time when I had never heard the name Ahmed Zog and I thought Albania was the state capital of New York… but here I am. Just how Zog found out about me or why he chose to help me the way he did I still don't know, but I do know that I will be forever grateful…"

Chatin had to suppress a snort. Forget the incessant politicking around the regulation of the oil fields, sorting out Joiner's legal affairs had been far more annoying and needlessly complex. After securing all the mineral leases, Chatin had found himself rushing across Texas at a breakneck speed to negotiate settlements with Joiner's estranged wife and family. Though they'd been initially overjoyed at Joiner's supposed newfound generosity, that joy had turned to fury when the oilfields started producing. A fury that had become even more vicious when the realized that they had no legal recourse and instead had to watch Joiner amass more wealth than he'd ever had while marrying his 20 something stenographer. (4) Zog had gambled that doing all of this for the old oilman would win them the goodwill they needed to make this enterprise work, and as the old man struggled to find his words it seemed like he was right.

"…you all didn't know me from Adam, yet I feel now as if we're family… I wanted Zog to be the first to know, but it seems like you two have already figured it out. In the next year or so I'm going to be pulling back from the oil business. I'm sure both of you know Zog's desire to exploit his new concession in Al-Hasa and wanted me to strike it rich with him one more time but…" he sighed, obviously still torn "Your king's instincts are good but… This is my third fortune you know…I always told myself that if I made it I was going to quit while I was ahead unlike the other two times and that's what I'm going to do. But what I already wrote to Ahmed I'll tell you: just because I'm retiring doesn't mean that I'll ever forget. If you need anything, and I mean ANYTHING, I'll be there for you."

Faik raised his glass "To new and lasting bonds of friendship!"

"Gazuar!"

(Excerpted from Jason Tomes "King Zog: Self-Made Monarch of Albania" 2003)

…Never content to rest on his laurels, Zog continued his search for additional sources of revenue by turning his attention to the Arabian Peninsula almost immediately after striking oil in East Texas. With his reputation buoyed by his recent success, Zog had no problems attracting American partners who hoped to use his reputation and Muslim faith to facilitate negotiations with local rulers. Though Zog's later actions would put considerable strain on his relationships with Arabian rulers, at the time it should be noted that his relationship with Albanian religious authorities, consolidation of power, and rapid accumulation of wealth, presented a tantalizing model for Muslim rulers throughout the Middle East. Ultimately, all of these factors combined to justify the hopes of Zog's American partners had for including him in their plans for the Middle East as they were able to outcompete representatives of Standard Oil to secure concessions in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia… While the hopes of all parties for another quick oil boom were dashed when the initial strikes failed to produce a similar output to the East Texas Oilfield, later strikes in 1938 revealed considerable reserves which would eventually help fund Zog's policies during the Second Albanian Economic Miracle…

Boston, United States of America. July 11, 1933.

Fan Noli had always secretly liked word games and other such linguistic or musical puzzles. Perhaps that had been the underlying source of inspiration for his current studies (5) and perhaps that is why he had come to enjoy getting correspondence from none other than Ahmed Zog. Perhaps he needed these smaller puzzles to try and distract his mind from the even larger and inscrutable puzzle that was the man himself.

Almost three years now…

He could still remember the beginning of their correspondence in 1930 when he received a letter from the New England Conservatory of Music stating that his tuition had been paid and providing a receipt. Upon visiting the registrar in an attempt to figure out what happened, he found a handwritten letter from Zog asking for forgiveness and opening the door to Noli's eventual return to Albania. Knowing that the Italians were monitoring him, he had taken it upon himself to take precautions to safeguard future correspondence. Not only had Zog's man Sarachi had personally delivered the letter and the payment but the last page he included instructions for their future correspondence. Zog had found one of Noli's contacts and contracted him to send regular updates. With the help of a fairly complex cipher, Noli would be able to decode the messages Zog included within these updates. At first, he thought it was a fake, yet letter after letter kept coming and Zog's actions as king continued to echo the sentiments expressed in the messages so Noli finally wrote back according to the instructions given to him. The relationship which developed through the correspondence that followed was something he'd never anticipated.

Like a frog being slowly boiled to death in a pot, Noli gradually found himself becoming one of Zog's confidants and a sounding board while also becoming increasingly invested in the man's efforts to improve the lives of Albanians both in the country and around the world. In this Noli was hardly alone, the man's rapid accumulation of wealth and his willingness to spend it almost as quickly on improving the lives of his people had attracted a growing legion of admirers around the world. Furthermore, the continued profitability of his factories meant that the jobs he had brought to Albanian communities in Boston and around the world provided an entry point for thousands of Albanians into the middle class. This in turn proved to be a major boon for the economy of Albania itself as Albanians abroad were more than happy to send more remittances to their relatives back home which in turn gave them money to spend. (6)

Any signs that Zog was content to rest on his laurels had long vanished with his turn towards commercial pursuits. He had found a working strategy and seemed hellbent on pursuing it to the fullest. Recognizing that many in the Albanian diaspora had skills which were generally lacking in the populace of Albania proper, Zog had begun exploring pursuing more advanced manufacturing efforts in those countries. Whereas FMSh workshops in Albania itself would have struggled to produce sufficient numbers of his new ballpoint pen and the infamous "Albican," FMSh factories in America and other more developed countries had no such difficulties. The latter, a robust, standardized, pressed steel container for fuel and other liquids was proving to be particularly lucrative as FMSh branches around the world gained lucrative contracts from armed forces in the process of mechanization. With the most recent order from the American government, the "Albican" seemed poised to become ubiquitous around the globe.

The "Albican"​

Once again, Zog had taken a massive risk and it had paid off. His decision to invest money in the very steel stamping factories and machine shops that were now cranking out FMSh's newest goods was quickly becoming even more impressive than any of his previous market coups. This expansion had bought him even more goodwill abroad as its expansion now exceeded the human resources of the Albanian community and required managers to employ large numbers of non-Albanians. (7) Had he been a man of lesser ambition he likely could have made a respectable living as a professional gambler, but he seemingly had far loftier ambitions.

Noli suspected that Zog wouldn't be satisfied until Albania had truly been established as a European nation and held in similar esteem to Greece, Italy, or France. As king and now as a millionaire with assets around the world he'd become increasingly concerned with Albania's image abroad. To this end he'd worked with Noli and others to establish a system of "culinary diplomacy." (8) Once identified, Zog worked through his agents to quietly provide interest free loans and other forms of financial aid to those with the necessary ambition and skills to run a café or restaurant. The only condition was that they emphasize their Albanian heritage and adhere to certain standards regarding the treatment of their workers. Though the program was still in its infancy, early results were promising particularly here in Boston where Albanian style "byrek" pastries filled with FMSh "Nutella" were proving to be quite popular. (9) Though they were hardly "traditional" in any sense of the word, Zog seemed happy with the fact that they raised the profile of Albania and perhaps provided a better entry point to Albanian cuisine not to mention the jobs they created.

Though there are many kinds of byrek, this is the kind I had in mind: the triangular street food version. Though OTL's versions are typically savoury, I think a nutella version would work...​

The Albanian diaspora in America was now effectively at full employment as were Albanian communities in Canada, the UK, France, and Romania. Albania itself was also progressing quite quickly along that path. The effects of that were completely astonishing as the relief of economic pressure led to a flourishing of community life. Donations poured into churches and cultural institutions while hundreds of young Albanians were freed to pursue their education. While certainly there were some who were willing to sit back and simply accept what had been given to them, Noli firmly believed that most were seeking to make the most of this once in a lifetime opportunity.

While Noli often found it frustrating to be effectively watching these developments from the sidelines, he took solace in the small role he seemed to be playing. From the tone of his letters and messages, Zog certainly seemed to be in desperate need of a friend and confidant. The exponential growth of his support base had also resulted in a seemingly equal growth in the numbers of powerful domestic foes. Fortunately for Zog, the resources of many of the Beys and Bajraktars concerned with their future seemed to have been significantly diminished by recent market downturns. Not everyone, it seemed, was as savvy as Zog in choosing stocks or investing. All that being said, there was still one enemy which both he and Zog recognized as their chief adversary: Mussolini. The Italian Fascists remained fixated on Albania and certainly had the resources to compensate for the recent reverses experienced by Zog's foes. If they were to ever cease their attempt at economic colonization and opt for a more traditional course, they would find no shortage of allies within the traditionally empowered classes.

As fervently as Noli hoped such a thing would never come to pass, he had far more hope now than he ever did in the past that things could truly change. Zog had managed to do what he had only dreamed of: secure financial independence for Albania and build a true constituency for reform. Though Noli still strongly disagreed with the methods Zog had used, he took a small measure of solace in his willingness to return effective power to the parliament in the future. Then again if the Italian designs on Albania were true, and it certainly seemed that they were, perhaps Zog's approach was the right one after all.

If only I had known that in 1919! Could or would a foreigner really have done better? Could anyone? (10)

Outside of serving as a confidant and sounding board, Noli gladly performed the additional duties Zog now asked of him. Regularly reporting on the attitudes of the Albanian American community was certainly no hassle and neither was facilitating correspondence between Zog's sister Nafije and her American suitor, Ilir Taragjini. As an unmarried man, Noli had initially been uncomfortable serving as a matchmaker for Zog's sister, especially when considering the fate of her past husband, but he'd done it any way considering that it genuinely seemed like Zog wanted the best for Nafije.

Perhaps he feels guilty?

Unlike the politically advantageous marriages he arranged for his other sisters, Zog was more than happy to let Nafije marry for love and had reached out to Noli to help him find a suitable candidate. Apparently, Nafije had grown unhappy and envious of her sisters after a year of living with her mother in Burgajet. Though she still wanted to live a life away from the public eye and out of politics, she no longer wished to remain a widow. (11) Since Zog believed that his sister's marriage to anyone in Albania proper would have large political ramifications, Zog had turned to Noli and others abroad for help. If he ended up getting his way, once his sister settled on someone, he'd be able to quietly ship both her and her son out of the country to live the remainder of their lives in peace.

God willing, Ilir is the right man and this all works out… He wasn't a Christian, in fact he came from a Muslim background. Yet what made him a good candidate in Noli's mind was the fact that not only was he not particularly committed to Islam but that he was both literate and very active within the community. As one of the first Albanian-American employees of FMSh he had managed to build quite the life for himself here in Boston but had still not found the right woman. Based on what Noli could gather things were going well but any relationship he had with Nafije was going to be a bit odd considering the politics. They really only could get to know each other through their letters as an in-person meeting would be quite difficult given both the politics of the situation and Zog's strained relationship with his mother. According to Zog, Sadije would react quite poorly to the departure of both Nafije and her son Tati.

All of that was out of his hands though. The Lord only knew what was going to happen. Taking out a pencil and his copy of the cipher, Noli opened the letter and began to decode the message Zog had enclosed within.

Notes

1. Cheers!

2. OTL's price drop happens a year earlier due to Zog helping things along and striking oil earlier see Part III.

3. All of this is more or less OTL including the use of salt water which began in 1938. The only real change is that Zog is pre-empting the Supreme court striking down the portion of the NIRA which governed the production of oil which necessitated the passage of the 1935 Connally Hot Oil Act and some state legislation.

4. Here again Zog basically just pre-empts Joiner's OTL actions. After selling his shares in the East Texas Oilfield, Joiner used that money to settle his legal problems and eventually secure a divorce from his wife to marry his much much younger stenographer who lived with him until his death in 1947.

5. In OTL Noli continued his education following his retirement from politics. Receiving a Bachelors of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1938, an MA in History from Boston University in 1939 and a PhD in History (dissertation on Skanderbeg) in 1945. In TTL he begins this earlier due to an earlier retirement from politics.

6. Remittances from the Albanian Diaspora comprised (and still do comprise) a sizeable chunk of the Albanian economy in OTL and they understandably fell during the Great Depression. Zog's policy of focusing on Albanian diaspora communities around him has the added benefit of not only preventing this from happening but boosting remittances.

7. This was always going to happen, the Albanian diaspora in many of the industrialized countries capable of making "Albicans" and ballpoint pens was quite small.

8. This is an actual policy currently being pursued by the Thai government in OTL. From what I understand the idea is to both raise the profile of Thailand abroad and hopefully drive additional tourism. While Zog wants to pursue both of these goals with a similar policy in TTL, raising remittances and expanding the reach of his constituency is also a priority. Eventually, these Albanian restaurants could also serve to expand the market for Albanian agricultural produce as well.

9. Feel free to suggest alternatives, but what I was thinking was something akin to a pain au chocolat. I can't make byreks myself so I can't test it out. I also think it would be heresy to the Albanians I know who do make byreks considering that they think of it as solely a savoury dish. However, by participating in the grand tradition of tweaking traditional dishes to fit American tastes, I think the Albanians have an in here. It isn't that big a jump from a "chocolate byrek" to more traditional cheese and vegetable ones and from that a whole host of other dishes await.

10.During the Paris Peace Conference Noli was among many other Albanians desperately trying to secure Albania's future. He was eagerly looking for an independently wealthy foreigner to become Albania's king and even likely approached famed English Cricketeer Charles Burgess Fry as a possible candidate. Fry's letters from 1919 reveal that he was in Paris at the time and describes being approached by someone who looked very similar to Noli.

11. I've gone back and forth with this one for a while. While it is true that Nafije remained outside of the public eye in OTL and never remarried, I think the fact that all her sisters got married in TTL and that she's living away from Zog would remove a key social support from her. While Sadije's presence helps a bit, she's obviously distracted. When combined with the social pressures on Albanian women to marry and have lots of kids, I eventually came down to her making this request. Fortunately for her, Jack is more than happy to oblige.