Tirana Times
TIRANA, Dec. 8 – Thousands of people have been evacuated to be followed with thousands of livestock. Thousands of hectares and thousands of houses are under water.
Was that a natural calamity?
That is what the government says. The opposition, on its side, turns that down and says it was bad management and lack of proper care for infrastructure in the area.
True there has been heavy rain during the last month.
And the flooding of all areas in northwestern Shkoder and its surroundings, close to the Shkodra Lake and Buna River has turned into a political issue in the ever-squabbling country.
The government should be commended for interfering and not letting the loss of a single person in that disaster.
But power corporation KESH was obliged to open the gates of its hydropower stations in the Drini River to let water go out before destroying their dams and consequently sparking an unimaginable disaster.
But the government, on the other side, should be reprimanded for stopping or delaying the investment in the infrastructure to prevent the repeat of the flooding.
Some areas south of Shkodra suffered flooding for the fifth time this year and Shkodra itself for the second time. They started just before New Year last year to be repeated so often, increasingly making the people in the area suffer.
Floods also covered Fier, Vlora, Berat and Korca. Land sliding occurs time and again all over the country.
One could easily say that the fault for the repeated flooding in the area belongs to the government, governments in fact that have run the country since 1990 after the fall of the communist regime.
It is the government (it is really not important if of the Democrats or the opposition Socialists that have run the country since then) to be blamed for not taking care to continue cleaning of the Buna River as it was done during the communist regime.
It is the government to be blamed for not taking care of the canals all around the country.
It is the government to be blamed for letting people very often to build their houses over the canals.
It is the government to be blamed for letting and licensing so many companies taking stuff from the river beds and selling it for construction.
It is the government to be blamed that has let free hand to irresponsible people and companies cutting woods all over the country’s forests.
It is the government to be blamed for not taking good care of the country’s environment.
The people have elected these leaders to run the country in the last twenty years. They are responsible for governing the country and not only for keeping their posts and harshly fighting the opposing political group.
True there have been many irresponsible persons and companies violating the country’s nature and environment. But we, the people elect the politicians to become the country’s administrators and be responsible on that.
It is this irresponsible management, policing and governing the main reason that is delaying the country’s integration and in certain moments seriously endangering its normal existence.
That is why it is hard for anyone (not to think of Europe and the international community) to clearly saying that Albania’s post-communist transition is over. The tiny Balkan country is a NATO member and looking to become an EU one. But that will take such a long time … until we really think of ourselves.
It is time that the country’s politicians strongly believe and act to defend the country’s land.
This government showed so well to Europe that if a country reacts strongly it can stop illegal human trafficking as Tirana did after passing a moratorium banning boats.
Why not other moratorium on stopping cutting of forest woods and stopping exploitation of the river beds? Why should the government turn it down simply because it was the opposition mentioning that?
The country wants that and much more, so that one day in the future it is up to the EU standards on environment and people live there normally.
Evacuated family fearing blood feud
SHKODRA – Aishe Ademi is a woman of a ten-member family which is in a blood feud case in northern Shkodra district.
Following the flooding the family was obliged to secretly transport the children to a safe place in capital Tirana while all the other members stayed home, Ademi said to News24 private television station.
A family member had committed a crime and the whole family was isolated since seven months.
But the flooding last week obliged them to be evacuated.
They feared any revenge so they decided to transport only the children.
Ademi called for help on the authorities.
Red Cross aid
TIRANA – CHF 204,031 (USD 208,860 or EUR 156,274) has been allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the National Society in delivering immediate assistance to some 2,000 families. Unearmarked funds to repay DREF are encouraged.
To address the situation, the Red Cross Society of Albania with support from the International Federation will assist 2,000 families in temporary accommodation and/ or in their flooded houses with basic food and non-food items
This operation is expected to be implemented over 3 months, and will therefore be completed by 05 March 2011.
Fearing epidemics
SHKODRA – The people’s evacuation, their move to their families or at public shelters, has raised fears of any epidemics in the flooded city.
Health officials in the city nevertheless assured there was no fear at the moment but still urged the people to take good care of their surroundings.
Public authorities were also hygienically all the pavements and other places.
