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Cover of the Mr. Roberts
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Agron Alibali, in his study work "Faik Konica and the shadows of a diplomat", brings to readers an interesting fact.
In this work is mentioned the Albanian doctor Andrew Elia, who is said to have inspired the writer Thomas Heggen in his masterpiece, Mr. Roberts. The play was adapted for theater and TV, while in the 1955 film starring well-known actors: Henry Fonda, James Cagney, and Jack Lemmon.
"Ms. Dhimitra Cina from Korça had graduated in medicine at Boston University and was seeking a scholarship for two years of teaching practice. Konica addressed the Ministry of Education, explaining that Tirana had promised to Dhimitra Cina a scholarship twenty times and had never given it, so should be 'given for these two years'. The Ministry of Education reacted positively to Konica's request. By the decision of the Council of the Ministry of Education, on August 2, 1929, a scholarship was approved to receive practical medical training in Boston hospitals. Dimitra Cina successfully completed her medical studies and then stayed in Boston where she married dr. Andrew Elia, the first doctor of the Albanian-American Diaspora and a close friend of Konica. Dr. Elia also served in World War II and was the initiator of the establishment of the Albanian-American Veterans Association in 1946. Dr. Elijah, as the ship's physician, inspired the American writer Thomas Heggen in his famous book ‘Mr. Roberts'. The book then turned into a musical-theatrical show and then into a film starring Hendry Fonda. It is said that when the drama was played in Boston, its author, Thomas Heggen, introduced to the public dr. Elia and his wife, Dhimitra Cina, and invited them to meet with the actors behind the scenes", it is said in Alibali's work.
