Only 11 million of the 30 million ECU have arrived in Albania . Delay in EC aid. Industry waiting for raw materials. ANDREA STEFANI. TIRANA — Aid from the European Community for Albania’s idle industry is arriving slowly. The prolonged paralysis of industry remains the most visible sign of Albania’s economic crisis. It was precisely to bring it out of this situation that the European Community had granted emergency aid in raw materials and spare parts for several sectors. Implementation charts show that by the end of the first half of this year, the first tranche of aid, amounting to 10 million ECU, had been delivered only 67 percent, while the second tranche, amounting to 20 million ECU, had been delivered only 25 percent. “There are many factors,” Thierry Deloge, project manager for ITAL-TREND, explained to the Gazette, “that have determined the pace of delivery of this aid so far.” But naturally Deloge cannot answer for the damage these delays have caused to the Albanian economy. Almost a year ago, on the eve of the G-24 Conference held in Tirana, EC specialists predicted that the Albanian economy could emerge from the crisis, provided nothing unforeseen occurred. Their confidence was based in part on the EC’s delivery of a large volume of aid to many sectors, including industry. August ’93 is drawing to a close, but the crisis is not. The unforeseen event did occur, and apparently part of it is the slow delivery of aid to industry. The Italian company ITAL-TREND.s.r.l. was appointed purchasing agent for the implementation of the industrial aid, and later, apparently to speed up the process, the British company EPC/B&W was also appointed. By 30.6.93, the first tranche of this aid (10 million ECU), whose delivery had begun as early as January 92, had been implemented to around 67 percent, while the second tranche (20 million ECU) had been implemented to only around 25 percent. In quite a few sectors, the figures for goods delivered under the second tranche are zero. The sectors most affected by this delay are ecology, shoe manufacturing and mechanical engineering. “The delivery deadline is the end of the program itself,” says Thierry Deloge, denying that any specific deadline has been set. Under these circumstances, it cannot be considered a delay even if the delivery process lasts several more years. But this does not change the fact that the pace of delivery has been very slow. One need only look at the implementation table for this aid. In explaining this pace, Deloge emphasized the difficulty involved in delivering aid of this kind: “The first difficulty concerns the large number (around 3,000) of items included in the lists of goods drawn up by the Albanian side. Also,” Deloge continued, “the Albanian enterprises had few ties with Western countries in the past, which made it difficult to adapt the list of goods to European standards.” Deloge identified as the main reason for what is called a delay the length of the extremely complex procedures required for procurement activities under EC rules. Alongside these factors, he also listed the difficulties in transporting goods resulting from the war in former Yugoslavia. The vital importance of EC aid for Albanian industry is clear. The current situation shows that the programs supporting it are still far from achieving their objectives. Moreover, estimating the losses suffered by Albanian industry because of these delays is an extremely difficult undertaking that no one has yet taken responsibility for. The little girl’s uncle, and perhaps someone—seeking financial gain—has sold his daughter to some wealthy Italian. But there have been no answers, even though the tragic message from little Juljeta’s uncle also conveyed a painful appeal for solidarity to all Albanians who know anything about the disappearance of little Juljeta. A poor family in Tirana has been waiting for 17 months to embrace the child someone took from them. The arrival of a shipment of aid at the port of Durrës

Family’s desperate appeal to the humanitarian organization Her mother: “It’s one more glimmer of hope” The mysterious disappearance took place 17 months ago EDMOND LAÇI TIRANA — Another hope for the family from Tirana that has been searching for its missing child for months. The Italian Red Cross has now also begun taking an interest in Juljeta Hoxha—abducted under mysterious circumstances on March 12 of last year. The leaders of the Italian humanitarian organization will also send confirmation of this to the Hoxha family in Tirana. Nevertheless, no reliable information about the whereabouts of little Juljeta has yet reached Albania. This is so even though her parents have told the Gazette that they suspect their daughter is there. “It was one of our desperate efforts,” says Valentina, the little girl’s mother, “the letter to the Italian Red Cross. I want to see my daughter as soon as possible, so their recent interest gives me another glimmer of hope.” Missing for 17 months, little Juljeta Hoxha—then six years old—has now made headlines in the domestic and foreign press and on television. Following the family’s appeal, published several times in the Gazette, major Italian media outlets have given special attention to the “Juljeta case.” She was also the main subject of the state broadcaster RAI TRE program “Chi l’ha visto,” watched by 6 million viewers throughout Italy, segments of which were broadcast live from Tirana. Even after all this, the theories that the little girl is in Italy remain only theories. One of Gani Hoxha’s theories, the little girl’s father, is that someone—seeking financial gain—sold uncle promised: “If I know she is alive, I will legally give her to whoever now has this child, whether bought or stolen, by signing the papers.” It is striking that Juljeta’s mysterious disappearance—very close to her home, near the Children’s Hospital in Tirana—occurred on the day former President Alia had decreed a ban on adoptions of children by foreigners. The adoption files—long blocked by the Investigation Department because of irregularities, and soon to be forwarded to court—offer a small glimmer of hope concerning Juljeta’s fate in Tirana. The fact that the Italian Red Cross is also taking an interest is at the same time the child someone took from them. Little Juljeta (right) together with her mother and brother

TIRANA — Works by Salvador Dali have arrived in the Albanian capital for the first time. Reproductions by the famous Spanish painter—who died several years ago—are on display in one of the halls of the National Cultural Center in Tirana. The interesting initiative was organized by the Albanian Youth Federation, which has long been committed to expanding cultural contacts between young Albanian audiences and world artists. It makes one of the changes a reality, something that entire generations of artists in Albania were unable to achieve in their youth. Not so long ago, Dali’s paintings were still viewed secretly in albums that entered the country illegally.

The Marlboros came from Italy DURRËS — (a.s.) — Another smuggling case was uncovered in Durrës last Friday. The city’s financial police seized two trucks transporting cigarettes. Their entire cargo, “Marlboro” packs worth 300,000 dollars, was confiscated by the Albanian authorities. The trucks, which had come from Italy bound for Dubrovnik in Croatia, but were traveling via Shkodra and Podgorica, violated the articles of United Nations Resolution 820 concerning the embargo against former Yugoslavia. For this reason, they were impounded. In addition, the financial police discovered that the cargo documents for the two trucks bore no transit stamps from Italian customs. A typical case of smuggling was immediately suspected, and the “Marlboro” cigarette shipment was seized. According to an official of the Financial Police, “It is suspected that this shipment was intended to supply cigarette smuggling along the Montenegro–Apulia route.” This latest case adds to the number of incidents recently recorded off the eastern shores of the Adriatic, in Albanian territorial waters. A few days ago, the Durrës court sentenced three Italian nationals accused of smuggling to several months in prison. A large quantity of cigarettes had been found in their speedboat.

Egypt: attack on minister, 7 dead • Historic bridge in Lucerne destroyed by fire • Dinamo faces the “big” teams

The card game is becoming increasingly widespread in Albania TIRANA — (fa.ba.) - It seems the time has come for Albania to have its first casinos, too. The first signs of this change have already appeared. “I am seeking permission to set up a venue where traditional card games can be played: bridge, poker. The clientele will be select. The venue will be frequented only by selected people.” This is the content of a request received by the Ministry of Culture. It was written by an Italian entrepreneur from Rome, resident in Tirana. This is not the first time such requests have been made. Some time ago, an Albanian living in Germany made a similar request. On behalf of a German millionaires’ club, he asked to rent the first floor of the International Cultural Centre in order to establish a place where wealthy Germans could indulge in their hobby, playing cards. Everything would be done under regular contracts, and the state would also receive a percentage of the daily turnover. Meanwhile, this game continues to be played in the streets of Albanian cities. Known in everyday language as “bixhoz”—a term that often has a pejorative nuance—the game continues to have its lucky winners, but many more unlucky ones. The familiar cry “this one loses, this one wins” continues to buzz around the nimble players, small groups of people. Some watch the swift shuffle of the cards with distrust, but there are also those who risk large sums. In a way, it has become a profession for those who play regularly, and most people are no longer surprised by it. But every profession has its designated place of work, and this game will reach that point when special venues for it begin operating, too.

Everyone dreams when they sleep. This is an entirely normal fact, except that sometimes dreams are so beautiful or so terrible that they leave you astonished and bewildered when you wake up. But dreams can also be “prophetic,” that is, they can contain a foretelling, a warning about what may happen in the future. “Gazeta Shqiptare” offers its readers explanations and the meanings of the objects and situations most often dreamed about. CIGARETTE Psychological interpretation: In a dream, the act of smoking has an erotic meaning: in fact, the cigarette symbolizes the male organ, while the mouth represents the female one. In this sense, it is very important to see what the cigarette looks like in the dream: if it is smoking together with us, because this is the person who arouses our desire. Predictions: We should smoke only in our sleep: that way all the harm caused by smoke would be avoided, and, moreover, we would have pleasant forecasts concerning adventures and wealth. LOSE Psychological interpretation: To understand this dream in depth, the lost object or objects must be carefully assessed. In general, it speaks of profound mental disturbance, often connected with sexual anxiety: losing unimportant objects means fear of being attracted, for example, it indicates fear of betrayal. Predictions: Positive results are expected; beware of futile attempts, too. ON THE CEILING Psychological interpretation: Spiders, insects, mice, in a dream symbolize things that disturb our peace and disgust us: in the dream they represent fear, especially fear connected with childhood memories. Since we have seen that the house symbolizes our personality, the ceiling is connected with the head, with the intellect; from this point of view it also represents our mental state: a bright, spacious ceiling indicates clarity of thought, while a dusty, untidy ceiling reflects confusion. SUN Psychological interpretation: In general, its image brings to mind everything powerful and life-giving: God, the father, the husband or ideal man, the brother. The sun is also a symbol of knowledge and intellect, authority and justice, love and fertility. A sunny landscape reflects conditions of existence dominated by reason and awareness. In this vision, the great store of energy with which the sun is endowed in a dream is clearly apparent. Nevertheless, like other symbols, the sun can also take on negative meanings: its power becomes destructive and harsh. In that case, its image is associated with an intellectual, spiritual, or emotional outburst, with a state of mental unease, with delusions and isolation. Predictions: The sun is a good sign for prosperity in business and pregnancy; the setting sun predicts a peaceful pilgrimage, while the sunrise announces the arrival of good news. When the sun draws close to the moon, it signals an atmosphere of confusing changes and war.

Works by Dalì in Tirana Marlboros come from Italy Inside Yesterday in Albania

U.S. DAIRY COMPANY HOLDS SEMINAR IN TIRANA — “Land O’ Lakes,” one of the 200 largest companies for collecting, processing and marketing milk in the United States, helped organize the National Forum in Tirana on the topic “The campaign to improve dairy products in Albania.” The event was held in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The American company had previously helped by also holding a seminar in the United States to train Albanian specialists. It has also secured a fund to carry out its project in Albania, which will be completed by the end of 1994. EC AID FOR ALBANIA CONTINUES — The European Community’s aid to Albania continues. The ship “Leh,” carrying 5,000 tons of flour, arrived at the port of Durrës and began unloading. The port also confirms that another shipment of 5,700 tons of wheat is expected soon. This aid is also from the European Community. MEDAL FOR 12 MIRDITA VICTIMS OF THE COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIP — “Martyr of Democracy” is the medal awarded by the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, to 12 men from Mirdita who were killed by the communist dictatorship on August 17, 1949. The martyrs’ remains were buried with honors and respect by the people of this area and the families’ elders. INVESTMENT BY A GERMAN COMPANY IN KRUMË TO RECONSTRUCT THE WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM — Work has begun, by the German company “Rodeko,” to reconstruct the existing water supply system in the town of Krumë. But this investment too cannot solve the many problems that have accumulated over the years in providing a normal water supply to the mountainous district, which has more than 25,000 residents.