Bunkerland

Under the regime of Enver Hoxha thousands of military bunkers were constructed in Albania starting in the 1960s through the 1980s, meant to be a defense against an invasion by Western forces that was constantly used as a source of fear. While some were part of established military complexes or placed near key border areas, many were dotted throughout cities and farmland. These outposts were expected to be defended by ordinary citizens, a throwback to the strategy of partisan militias that liberated the country from Fascism during WWII, and which the regime capitalized heavily on. The construction of these structures cost the Albanian state and populace dearly in terms of economic and human terms. In the end, the enemy never came. Today these structures lay dormant, destroyed, or in some cases provide a more practical use than they did when Hoxha was still alive. They remain a reminder of the paranoia and fear that used to rule this country under communism.

This was part of a commission for Dutch publication Nieuwe Revu.