On the domestic market, the local currency can even beat the dollar Foreign currency is falling in Albania: here’s why The chart shows fluctuations in the exchange rates of the main foreign currencies on the free market for the period 28 July–2 August. The dollar fell from 105.7 to 100; the Italian lira from 0.066 to 0.060; the mark from 60.5 to 56; the drachma from 0.43 to 0.40. US Dollar; German Mark; Drachma; Italian Lira. 28/7 29/7 30/7 02/8. TIRANA — (a.s) The foreign exchange market has been shaken. The main foreign currencies (the US dollar, German mark, Italian lira and Greek drachma) have depreciated significantly since the end of last week. Although it may fluctuate more, there is concern among people who receive income from abroad and among foreign traders. Why has all this happened? The amount of dollars suddenly put up for sale by the National Bank has reached 2,000,000. Its most obvious consequence is the immediate fall in the value of the dollar and other currencies, and the rise in the value of the Albanian lek. Experienced differently by different social groups—some with delight, others with concern—this sudden disruption of the currency balance has also raised many questions about its causes. So, what is compelling the National Bank, despite holding large deposits in foreign currency, to sell dollars, thereby also causing the value of those deposits to fall? One view, also supported by some banking-system specialists, explains this phenomenon as a shortage of liquid funds at the National Bank, needed to make payments. They believe the situation would be entirely different and the Bank would not have taken such a step if the 5 billion lekë in loans made to the state in 1992 had been repaid. This view is rejected by the director of the National Bank, Adrian Xhyheri: “If we lacked liquid funds—in lekë,” he says, “we could turn to the Bank of Albania, the Savings Bank or the Agricultural Bank.” Nevertheless, although he denies that the policy pursued by the Bank of Commerce was imposed by the Albanian Bank, Xhyheri is obliged to acknowledge that the Commercial Bank’s more open position on the dollar “is 25% a matter of choice and 75% dictated by the economic situation” the country is going through: “We are obliged to pursue a much more realistic policy, much closer to the economy,” he continues, “so as not to give the impression of a bank that cheats its clients by buying foreign currency cheaply and selling it dearly; we would accept sharing the profit with traders.” Asked whether it would be better to issue foreign currency as loans rather than sell it, the Bank’s director replied by defending his bank’s policy. “We give priority to strengthening the lek because this makes the bank’s policy even more credible,” he said. In short, this action undertaken by the National Bank may have been accelerated as a self-sacrifice for the common good. In any case, are all people grateful to this bank for this self-sacrifice? There is no doubt that a stronger lek benefits broad sections of the population. But it is difficult to say the same for emigrants, whose income has become quite low in real terms; a significant fraction of the population lives on this income. In general, it is difficult, indeed almost impossible, for any short- or long-term economic policy to have only positive consequences. In the case we are considering, this monetary policy greatly favors imports, but on the other hand it is not very encouraging for exports. In any case, there is no room in this whole story for either excessive jubilation or despair. Xhyheri confirms this when he says: “If tomorrow a situation arose that made it worthwhile not only to strengthen the sale of foreign currency but also its purchase, we would follow our own policy without seeking to discriminate against anyone.” exchange rates”. “If we were to lack liquid funds—in lek,” he says, “we could turn to the Savings Bank, the Albanian bank, the National Agricultural Bank, or the Agricultural Bank.” In short, this action undertaken by the National Bank is an act of self-sacrifice to speed things up for the common good. In any case, are all the beneficiaries of this bank in favor of this self-sacrifice?

Borsh will not provide water. An appeal to the state authorities. But at least the ambulances are operating QEPARO — (p.re) — The project to build a water supply system that would bring water to the village of Qeparoi is at risk of being sunk. The work, being carried out free of charge by a group of Italian volunteers, has unexpectedly encountered an obstacle: the head of the village of Borsh—near which the spring from which the water is to be drawn is located—has firmly said NO to the proposal to supply Qeparoi’s water system. So far, not even the offer made by the Italian volunteers has been enough to persuade him: in exchange, they offered healthcare assistance at the hospital and school materials for the 300 pupils attending the local school. “We are continuing to work,” explains Marco Sassi, President of the Emilia-Albania Association, which promoted the initiative. “We are now equipping the construction site for the main pipeline and distribution network. In the meantime, we are trying to contact the Albanian state authorities so that they intervene to ensure the agreement reached is respected. The water supply system,” Sassi continues, “is the first part of a much broader project in which we are offering the resources of Emilia Romagna, Modena and Reggio Emilia, as well as many other private individuals, in a spirit of solidarity in the fields of tourism, healthcare and education. All this must not fail because of the shortsightedness of a village head.” The cost of the water supply project—all expenses covered by the Italian volunteers—is about 200 million lire. These young people have set up an outpatient clinic in Qeparo, where two doctors work full-time, also as volunteers—Vanna Rinaldi (Italian) and Giorgio Mayer (Swiss)—and 30–40 people are seen every day. A register has been set up in which each patient’s diagnosis is recorded, while a three-copy list is kept for the medicines distributed to ensure proper accountability. Regarding the sudden halt to the work, the volunteers in Qeparo have requested the intervention of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission. A view of Qeparoi beach

A new border crossing point to open soon TIRANA — A new border crossing point between Macedonia and Albania will open soon. Preparations for opening this crossing point are nearing completion near the village of Bllatë; the authorities on both sides consider it useful for exchanges between the two Balkan neighbors. Just as the two countries are making efforts to intensify their relations in every field, a border incident has caused renewed tension. Macedonian border police beat an Albanian driver who was traveling from Tirana. The incident occurred near the new border crossing point. The incident has not yet been fully clarified. According to official Albanian sources, “the driver was beaten and mistreated by Macedonian police officers even though, recently, he had taken out international insurance bearing the symbols of all the countries of the world except Macedonia.” This is not the first time that such incidents have occurred on Albania’s eastern border. A short time ago, a major in the Albanian military forces was killed and a corporal was seriously wounded by a patrol of Macedonian border guards.

IN FIER, FATHER AND SON ARRESTED ON MURDER CHARGES — The Fier police have managed to detain Qazim Bushi and his son, Përparim. Both are accused of the murder of Hysen Alush Bushi. The incident took place on the 17th of this month. TROPOJË, RELOCATION TO THE LOWLAND AREAS CONTINUES — During the first six months of this year, 58 families moved from the highlands of Tropojë to the lowland areas because they did not have enough land to secure their income. The relocated families are mainly from the Lekbibaj area, which is poor in agricultural land, and from the Municipality of Fierzë, a large part of whose land has long been occupied by the lake of the same name. The families who moved have settled mainly in the districts of Lezhë, Laç and Lushnjë. IN LAÇ, FINANCIAL POLICE SUSPEND A LAWYER’S ACTIVITIES — The Laç financial police have suspended the activities of lawyer Ada Harxhia, who drafted contracts for the sale and purchase of homes, charging about 400 lekë for each contract. The episode has not yet been fully clarified. According to lawyer Harxhia herself, her work was carried out lawfully, since the clients themselves had requested it. According to a source at the district Prosecutor’s Office, there was no legal violation in this case. “But,” the source added, “this is more a moral aspect of the matter.” IN KUKËS, THE BANK DOES NOT CONVERT FOREIGN CURRENCY INTO LEKË — Because of a lack of information about the official exchange rate for foreign currencies, the Kukës bank has not carried out this process for ten months. For this reason, visitors and businesspeople arriving from abroad are forced to turn to money changers on the free exchange market.

The Municipality is trying to find a place to display them FIER — (p.re) This happened in Fier and is a typical example of what has happened to many works of art during these three years of transition, in which many works—often of rare artistic value—have fallen victim to damage, theft and mistreatment. This is the story of the Fier Art Gallery. Three years ago, in 1990, it was moved from the city’s Palace of Culture to the service workshops. Before long, the workshop premises passed into the ownership of the company “Iliria Holding”. The works were thus finally housed in a damp basement, and it was there that their extensive damage began. Many paintings and sculptures went missing during transport. About 16 paintings—among the gallery’s best—were lost, and 9 sculptures were seriously damaged. Now, thanks to the interest shown by the district Municipality, the works that have managed to escape damage, theft and vandalism have been moved to a somewhat more suitable place: the historical museum. “We are trying to find a suitable place to exhibit them,” said one of the Municipality’s cultural inspectors. But this will certainly be difficult. During the years of transition, there have been many cases of damage, theft and illegal sales of cultural heritage. It seemed as if the state was powerless against those who damage works of art. Icons, archaeological objects, rare paintings and sculptures—which would do any country honor—have crossed Albania’s borders illegally. Recently, another alarm was raised: the ancient walls of the ancient city of Albanopolis, from which Albanians themselves take their name, are being damaged. Some farmers in the surrounding area prefer to build their new homes with ancient blocks, old walls. “The competent local government bodies need to do more,” they say at the Ministry of Culture. Perhaps only the creation of a special police force, an art police, will improve the situation. “Such a project has already been prepared,” officials at the same Ministry assure us.

A cinematic adventure in Paris TIRANA — (fa.ba) On a film set, real police officers in uniform and carrying rubber batons were used instead of police extras. The incident took place far away, on the outskirts of Paris, but will be connected in many ways to Albania. First of all, this is because a film is being made on this very set about one of the greatest stories involving Albanians at the end of this century: the mass exodus to Italy. To shoot one of the crowd scenes, it occurred to the French filmmakers to use Albanian extras; no one could reproduce the scenes of the famous exodus better than they could. And the pay was good: 80 dollars a day. French extras had been chosen to play the police officers. It seemed as though everything was going well, but this was precisely where the difficulty arose. Gathered in a hotel on the outskirts of Paris, the Albanian refugees found it hard to concentrate and follow the director’s instructions. Many of them still had vivid memories of those days; someone began laughing as they recalled the events, and the laughter spread throughout the group of Albanians. The commotion grew, and the scene was postponed until the next day—only on that day there were no longer any police extras, but real police officers, with batons, who were no longer joking.

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We are three families here in Albania who would like, through this Newspaper, to send greetings to two Italian families who live in Assago, near Milan. We take this opportunity to thank them for the help they have given and continue to give our families. Our friendship goes back a long way. Our family knew Tomaso Bordoni during the war, and many years later he looked for our family and found us. From that day on, he and his family have never been apart from us in our troubles. Whenever he came to Albania, he always came with another Italian family, Valter and Anna Longoni, who have become like members of our family. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts. Respectfully — We are three families here in Albania who want to greet, through this Newspaper, two Italian families who live in Assago, help they have continuously given our families. The bond of our friendship goes back much further. Our family knew Tomaso Bordoni from the time of family and found it. been separated, even for a moment, from our troubles. When he came to Albania, he came together with another Italian family, Valter and Anna Longoni, who are like members of our family to us. We thank them warmly. Respectfully — Stella Lilla, Rukie Dervishi, Pranvera Lila — Tirana Arta Bani sends greetings to her sister, Zana, on the occasion of her marriage to Gencë Bimon. She also sends her greetings as she is unable to be physically present to share in the joy of her dear sister’s wedding. She wishes them a long and happy life. (Artani — Bari)