More on the Albanian Kanun

Intriguing NYT article this morning about Albanian men and boys forced to live as recluses because of blood feuds. According to the Kanun, the ancient Albanian code of conduct that i discussed in this post, if a member of family A kills a member of family B, family B has the right and is even honor-bound to avenge the death by killing any male member of family A. As a result, many men and boys are stuck indoors because they are likely to be killed if they venture outdoors, and must rely on their female relatives and on charity for subsistence. Being second-class citizens, women are exempt from blood feuds.
"Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" - how radical the Judeo-Christian idea of turning the other cheek, and forgiving your enemies seems right now.