Land Legalization Revisited

Last July I wrote about the new federal, land legalization initiative that was starting. The process has been running for over two and a half months now, and from what I read and hear, it is not going well.

To recap, all Albanians who have purchased land without a proper title are being given the opportunity to legalize their landholdings without any penalities. Starting from July 15, they are given four months to complete a preliminary declaration saying that they would like to have their land legalized. After this four-month period, the local municipalities will be given the responsibility of completing the necessary reviews, technical work, and collection of payments.

From what I hear, like happens many times in politics, the federal government created the process without much consideration for the capacity of local governments to handle all of the work involved. Durres alone has around 10,000 illegal households, and an urban planning staff of around 10 people. Also, there seems to be some clashes between local governments and the new federal office that was established to oversee legalization. Tack on to this disputes over how to compensate claims by rightful former owners, and it is obvious that this situation is a long way from being resolved.

Clean Cities and Cigarettes

Last Friday was International Clean Cities Day, so we celebrated in Keneta. The youth had worked all week building a model of what they think should be included in the new kindergarten they are going to build in Keneta. It turned out well. On Friday, we went out near the abandoned hospital and planted three trees and some flowers in painted tires. I am really hoping that they survive the winter and all the coming rains. The ground in Keneta is not the best for plants, it is below sea level and fairly salty.



















If there is one generalization about Albania that has justification, is that a lot of people here smoke. My annoyance toward all the smoking ebbs and flows. It is certainly worse in the Winter, simply because everyone is indoors more and thus the second-hand smoke is worse. Right now, there are people smoking here in the internet cafe. I don't really mind except for the fact that I am going to smell like cigarettes the rest of the day.

There are two things about smoking here in Albania that bug me. The first is the high use of cigarettes by youth. I think the youngest person I have seen smoking was around 8 years-old and the level of smoking among teenagers is really high. Much like America of old, there are even cigarette brands here that are marketed directly to youth.


It certainly is a wonderful world with Elixyr cigarettes "Cigare per te Rinj" or "Cigarettes for Youth".

The other aspect of smoking here that bothers me is the way that it has become adopted among girls and women as a sign of their increasing liberation. From what I have heard, smoking among girls and women was taboo until several years ago, and even today it is not really common in many villages. However, in cities I have a seen a growing number of girls and women smoking, and many have commented to me about how it is kind of a symbol of bucking cultural norms. This certainly isn't the case for all women who smoke, but I would think for a good number. Unfortunately, if they continue smoking, their liberation will come at the cost of their lives.

My funniest experience with smoking here happened my third week in-country up North in Rreshen. I was visiting another volunteer, Daniel, and he had organized an anti-smoking activity with some school officials at a local cafe. Part of the planned program was to have a local doctor come in and speak on the health risks associated with smoking. About a half hour into the activity, we noticed the doctor was running late, so someone was sent to fetch him. All of the students were sitting, somewhat patiently, for the doctor to come. Of course, in typical Albanian irony, the doctor walked in with a lit cigarette between his lips. Needless to say, his ensuing speech was not very influential.

Durres Water Equation

(1 City below sea level) - (1 working storm drainage system) + (2 inches of rain in 30 minutes) =

Balkan Travels

I am back in Albania, a couple kilos lighter and fairly well rested. Our “Around the Balkans in 10-days Tour” was a success.

Each of the six of us seemed to have different objectives for our travels. Some were looking for a “return to civilization”, some for adventure, and some simply for a meal at McDonalds. For me it was simply to see some new places and spend some time at the beach.

As should have been expected, getting out of Albania and into Montenegro proved to be the most complicated part of the trip. Luckily, through various connections we were able to secure a ride from Shkodra directly to Budva, Montenegro. Montenegro was absolutely beautiful and still relatively undiscovered by travelers. Montenegro just declared independence from Serbia several months ago, so it is nice to be able to say that I have been to the newest country in the world. Our time in Budva was spent cliff jumping at the beach and eating a giant fish dinner and delicious Serbian sandwiches.

From Budva, it was on to Dubrovnik, Croatia. Dubrovnik was a complete contrast to Budva, as it was packed full of tourists, mostly because of the giant cruise ships. The city itself was beautiful, but the entire atmosphere seemed a bit contrived. I don’t have many pictures of Dubrovnik because I had traveler’s sickness for one of the days. Luckily, the view from my bedroom window was nice.

After Dubrovnik, it was on to Sarajevo. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip. Sarajevo is a beautiful city with a recent, tragic history. Evidence of the four-year siege is still starkly visible throughout the city, but it is also evident that the city has moved forward and begun to recover. I would recommend Sarajevo as a must-see for anyone traveling through the Balkans. Being in Sarajevo and driving through the Bosnian countryside reminded me how large and brutal the war there really was.

Another striking aspect of Sarajevo is the scale of religious diversity. Coming from Albania, where religion is a non-issue and was even outlawed for several decades, Sarajevo had an almost overwhelmingly religious exterior. Within the city proper, there are hundreds of mosques, catholic churches, orthodox churches and synagogues. In fact, two churches, a mosque, and a synagogue all reside within a two-block area.

As always, returning to Albania begets a period of readjustment, so it will probably take several days to get back into the Albanian lifestyle.

I have posted my pictures on my flickr site. Just click the newer pictures link on the right.

Travels

I am currently on vacation and traveling through the Balkans. It has been a good trip so far and I will write a full summary when I get back to Durres.

Peace.