By Majlinda Bregu
There are people who don’t just leave behind footprints, but open doors as well.
Werner Daum, the German diplomat who passed away just a few hours ago here in Albania, was one of them.
I had read and heard much about the German ambassador who, 35 years ago, made the “German wall” more passable — the one that separated an Albania wounded by dictatorship from the dreamed-of European freedom.
This time, it was fate that allowed me to meet Werner Daum, even if only briefly, during the graduation ceremony at the European University of Tirana.
“Amazing,” — that was the first word he said, addressing the freshly graduated students with a clear, resonant message — a farewell, perhaps unknowingly, but one of the most beautiful legacies a person can leave to the younger generation:
“You represent the future of this country, but also the result of the efforts of generations before you.”
He said it so simply — as if to remind us all that the future is not a blank page. It is a continuation of who we are, of what has been achieved through effort, mistakes, and the courage of generations. It is both a responsibility and a privilege.
Even today, 35 years later, fences may still stand — but there is always something “amazing” about those who dare to cross them, or who refuse to keep the gates shut.
Europe is not just a map; it is a conviction that people deserve not to be left behind walls.
Werner Daum was a guardian of that conviction.
Gratitude for a man of wisdom, who with his final words reminded us that freedom cannot live in forgetfulness.
It is more than a word.
It is a gate flung open with courage — one that begins where walls are brought down