By Ilir Ikonomi
Memorie.al / The man standing in the first photo is American President Woodrow Wilson, about whom historians agree that he saved Albania from dismemberment in the years 1919–1920. He is, so to speak, the American Skanderbeg of the Albanians. Thus writes journalist Ilir Ikonomi in his Facebook profile, also publishing the letter that the renowned Albanian professor and scholar Kostë Çekrezi wrote to the grandson of President Wilson. The President is seen in Washington in 1915 with his son-in-law, Francis B. Sayre Sr., and his newborn grandson. At the time this photo was taken, neither President Wilson nor his son-in-law had imagined that they would ever have anything to do with the distant country call Albania.
When Sayre later studied at Harvard University, it happened that he had as a classmate Kostë Çekrezi (1892–1959) from Ziçisht, Korçë. Çekrezi had been an editor of the newspaper “Dielli” in Boston before going to Harvard.
Later, he was appointed a professor in Washington, returned to Albania to work as a journalist, and became an opponent of King Zog. In 1935, he fled Albania as a participant in a rebellion against the King and ended up in France.
To return to America, he needed a visa, so in January 1936 he wrote a letter to his former Harvard friend, Francis B. Sayre, who was now working as an Assistant Secretary of State. At that time, President Wilson was no longer alive.
I came across Çekrezi’s letter in the American archives, and my attention was drawn to this part where he reminds his former classmate of how they had met at Harvard in 1918:
“At that time, you were kind enough to show interest in Albanian affairs to such an extent that, of your own will, you undertook to speak with the late President Wilson and, believe me, your intervention was quite helpful.”
It is not known how much Çekrezi’s friendship with his Harvard classmate may have influenced Wilson’s becomes acquainted with the Albanian cause in 1918, when the First World War was drawing to a close.
However, at that time, the Albanians in America were making efforts to have their voice reach the ears of the American president, in the hope that he would help Albania preserve its borders in the peace negotiations that were expected to begin in Paris in 1919. / Memorie.al
