A peacemaker but no saint
Often, there鈥檚 a temptation to bestow sainthood or even hero status upon a do-gooder.
To be true to his profile of an Albanian blood-feud mediator, reporter Jeffery White couldn鈥檛 go there.
鈥淭his guy鈥檚 a character - a bodyguard by day and a peacemaker in his free time. Most Albanians spend their free time trying to make an extra buck. Agim Loci spends it bringing families together,鈥� Jeff says. 鈥淭hat makes him different.鈥�
But while Agim is on a mission, he鈥檚 not a missionary. 鈥淗e鈥檚 more like the street-hardened gang counselors, or even the cops, who鈥檝e see a lot of
violence. I鈥檝e met both of those types doing stories in South Central Los Angeles. Agim鈥檚 like them,鈥� says Jeff. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 carry a Bible.鈥�
This is the kind of story that may reframe a place for readers. Albania doesn鈥檛 generate a lot of news coverage, but when it does it鈥檚 often
negative. Most stories on Albania鈥檚 blood feuds tend to focus on the families or clans involved 鈥� not the peacemakers.
That鈥檚 why Jeff chose to write about Agim. He鈥檚 also a coordinator of like-minded volunteers. In a small nation of three million, Jeff was struck by the fact that there are dozens of blood-feud mediators. 鈥淚 wanted to find out about these people who spend days, weeks, and years to bring these feuding families to peace and why.鈥�
