All photos by Jutta Benzenberg

‍On March 13, 2023, the Vjosa river in Albania was designated as Europe’s first wild river national park. The story of the Vjosa is one of rich biodiversity and cultural history, and it is also the story of the local communities who call the river their home. Generations of families have lived along its banks and have been blessed with its gifts—picking herbs, farming the land, learning to swim. Living in rural areas, they also face hardships and an often uncertain future. Their stories go to the heart of why this river is unique and why this wild river national park is crucial. Jutta Benzenberg, a photographer living and working in Albania, traveled to meet the communities of the Vjosa and to share their stories with the world, in their own words.

Sovjet Dako, 67 years old, Mashkullorë
“Vjosa has filled us with all this wonderful air that everyone enjoys, especially our lungs.”

Fabian Muka, 21 years old, Peshtan
“We have always talked about the river, but it was surprising to me how the talks and stories were all related to it. It is hard to live here, while my peers and I want to explore. We want to see a different world, even though it is a miracle and a beautiful peace here. But the river is like a friend I will always go back to see, wherever I am.”

Bashkim Pipa, 35 years old, Gur i Këlcyrës
“I don’t know what I would do or how we would survive if it were not for Vjosa. In the past, my friends and I used to think of it only as a playground, however I, like few others, had another connection with the river, too. My father went fishing on the river, and for me it was no longer just a passion, but it was our source of living at that time when poverty was not that uncommon.”

Pandi Shumeli, 33 years old, Kodër
“There are many things that are worth living a beautiful life, but when nature is so generous, when geography places you at the only natural or wild river, as they say, then you have no reason not to be happy. We are supported by agriculture, and I have found it reasonable to stay here, when others want to leave. Vjosa made things possible. I have 15,000 square meters of land, and I have about 250 olive trees. A man who wishes to work finds his way here and, to me, this is heaven. I don’t know what you can ask for from a place that gives you irrigation, the river to feed yourself, the climate and, above all, peace here is incomparable to anything. Listen! Without Vjosa, we would not have made it.”

Valentina Zoto, 65 years old, Athens (born in Këlcyra)
“It is one of the things that I always remember, how no foreign country really becomes your country, no matter how great the opportunities they offer are. I am sure Vjosa will bring us all back home.”

Suela Mamollari, 35 years old, Dragot
“We spend time collecting tea, which the slopes of the mountains give us, the smells of which fill our lungs. If we were not poor, we would have not even thought of moving from here. Vjosa is a blessing for what it gives us, the beauties and miracles.”

Geri Zeqiri, 25 years old, Këlcyra
“You know, I talk to the river and I’m happy that we have the river, that we are part of it. If it were not for Vjosa, we would not have survived. It makes Këlcyra beautiful, it helps us live. And it is sacred because it is so beautiful. If the river had a mouth, it would tell all the troubles and efforts of our people. My grandfather told me a lot about it, he was a respected teacher. We, too, realize that thanks to the measures taken recently, this river can change many things for us. It is true because we have it and we love it so dearly and he has returned this love to us with water, with life, with these plants … with everything.”

Bilbil Malaj, 66 years old, Kotë Fushë
“I don’t regret anything I’ve been through in life. We were poor, but Vjosa has eased our poverty. It has also damaged us with floods. But, in the end it has always rewarded us. We gazed at it from the house, but there in the village square, when we used to gather both young and old, all the conversations seemed to take place with the presence of the river. The river didn’t speak, it only gurgled when winter came and flowed calmly in summer, reminding us about life, its seasons and how we should obey them. The river to us is life itself; it is something that cannot be repeated.”