Marriage and Motherhood
Marriage and Motherhood Despite the difficult conditions in her home country, life continued on for Albanians who raised their families and tried to make life enjoyable. In 1958, Ikbale was at a party with friends when she saw a handsome man across the room. 
He was a quiet, polite young man named Sezai. They danced the night away and instantly Ikbale knew she had found someone special. Within the year, Ikbale and Sezai were married and began a new life living together in their home city of Tirana. They both worked, Ikbale as a typist and Sezai as a baker and then a factory worker. Like all Albanians they struggled to provide the basics especially food which was not always in great supply. Ikbale remembers that early on they received a monthly ration of one kilogram of meat and ten eggs, along with a little butter and small, sour fruits.
Over the next few years, Ikbale became a mother giving birth to her son, Astrit, and later on to her daughter, Dorina. Both children were encouraged to pursue their education as a way to enrich and improve their lives. Ikbale was proud of her children when they eventually both graduated from the University of Tirana.
As in the rest of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, in 1992, democratic reforms began sweeping through Albania. Although changes were taking place in Albania, economic conditions remained difficult for the average Albanian as most of the wealth became concentrated in the hands of a few powerful families. But the newfound personal freedoms of Albanians created an opportunity for Ikbale and her family to consider emigrating to a new land.
