Tirana’s new Socialist mayor, Erion Veliaj, has taken office during these dog days of summer with a couple of laudable goals – cleaning up public areas and protecting public property from vandalism and damage.
These elements both relate to things people can see and feel directly and quickly – a key strategy for winning political support pioneered by Mr. Veliaj’s mentor, Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Some Albanians like this PR approach to politics, of which both Mr. Rama and Mr. Veliaj are very good at. Others do not, seeing a lack of substance in its focus on appearances.
We won’t get political about it. A cleaner city with less vandalism is a good thing. The littering of our streets and destruction of public property are symptoms of deeper problems, however, and they must be addressed to make the city more livable.
The fate of a monument in downtown Tirana that commemorates 100 years of independence, which Albania marked in 2012, is the worst symbol of a lack of self-respect and dignity for some members of Albanian society. The monument had been repeatedly vandalized, its bronze plating stolen in places to be sold for scrap and people often took advantage of its room-like shape to urinate on it out of immediate public view.
For Tirana residents who want to live in dignity, regardless of how much money or education they have, the view was almost unbearable, and Mr. Veliaj’s action this week to start repairing the monument and vowing charges for any further damage are welcomed steps.
Protecting the monument does not fall entirely on the municipal government’s hands, however. The national police force and state institutions in charge of monuments are also to blame for not acting sooner.
The monument is only a symbol. Tirana has seen ugly trends for years. Manhole covers are routinely stolen and sold for scrap. Many public spaces such as sidewalks are illegally invaded by street sellers making navigating them almost impossible. Summer in particular is stop-and-smell-the-garbage/sewer time of year. All these problems have developed over the past two decades and must be addressed to make the city more livable.
While the above issues can be addressed through policing, regulations and clean up work, some of the city’s other problems can’t be fixed as easily, and Tirana residents will have to live with what its mayors and central governments – in cooperation with the private sector – have done since the fall of communism.
Albania’s capital is largely a product of 25 years of chaotic transition which allowed for aggressive high-density construction that placed profit above everything else. The urban development was largely negative, and both the public and private money spent could have produced a much better city – if there had just been better planning and a willingness follow basic rules and not to cut corners.
Despite improvements over the years, Tirana is still not an easy city to live in. Beyond the show-off areas in the downtown with their neat bicycle path and recycling bins, Tirana is a place where sidewalks are often narrow and full of obstacles – where one’s life and limb are constantly in danger from missing manhole covers and zooming cars. The air is polluted. Park space beyond the downtown is very rare. Even the little green patch that the Artificial Lake Park has become over the years is no longer safe. The government is planning to build “a park entrance” that would likely include multi-storey buildings on what is now green space. The new mayor has not said anything about the green space construction plan, because he knows that it is a deeply unpopular move. But the project will likely go on anyway. As with previous urban planning misdeeds in Tirana, there is just too much money to be made. And the 30 or so activists that show up regularly to protest these things, will likely be drowned out by the turbo-folk concert next to them sponsored by the media companies serving as propagandists for their commercial causes and their owners.
Mr. Veliaj’s tasks are so great, they are unenviable. However, he must resist urge to be just a PR man – despite this being one of his strengths. He must resists the tendency of Albanian politicians to provide panem et circenses (bread and games, superficial means of appeasement used by Roman emperors).
If he wants to provide a genuine service to the people that elected him, he must tackle the challenges that seem impossible to solve – repair some of the damage done to this city and prevent any further from occurring.
Written by Andi Balla, aballa@tiranatimes.com
