A journey into the hell of the Copper Plant, where health is worth less than unemployment 30,000 residents of Laç amid poisonous clouds LAÇ — The factory is operating; it provides jobs for 800 people, but today another worrying problem exists: environmental pollution. We are in Laç, in front of the Copper Plant. Around here, 30,000 people breathe in every day the clouds of smoke released by the only chimney currently operating. The alternatives are catastrophic: total unemployment for thousands of workers; shutting down because of the extreme pollution at the Copper Plant would mean unemployment. And so the people of this town have chosen what anyone would choose in order to live, regardless of the consequences: a future. But the problem does not concern Laç alone: with the resumption of activity at Albania’s main refineries, environmental issues have come to the fore. Italy and Europe should bear in mind that, together with raw materials, they must also send assistance to combat pollution. Right at the entrance to the Copper Plant, you encounter people with red eyes, from the guard at the main gate to the metallurgists. “The dust makes our eyes burn constantly,” says Petro Strezl, one of the workers, “but the worst thing is the headache.” A dreadful cloud of reddish-brown dust is everywhere. But the tall emergency chimney, which continuously spews out thick plumes of wet, black smoke high into the air, is even worse. “Some of these harmful gases are eliminated by Acid Plant No. 2, which is no longer operating because of a lack of solar [fuel?],” says Pashkë Kastrati, a worker. “Now all this gas goes through the emergency chimney, and the rest settles over the facility.” Pashku, 32, is still undergoing treatment. He has chest pains and blocked lungs. But there are others like him. “I have a lot of stomach problems,” says the plant’s metals inspector. “I feel as if I’ve worked for 20 years, not two.” That [unit?], which reached [unclear] in 1989, has not been working for a month. As a result, sulfur dioxide and silicate dust have become even more dangerous. Although it is only ten o’clock in the morning, the situation inside the Copper Smelting Plant is shocking. It is extremely difficult even to breathe, let alone remain there for long. “After 12, when the furnaces are running, it’s worse than now,” an old hand warns us. “Even if they gave you pancakes with honey, you couldn’t work here, but we have nowhere else to go,” Abdi Disha, 26, a worker at the plant, consoles himself. The head of the Copper Smelting Plant understands everything, but adds: “If this factory closes, how will the families of these 800 workers live?” Ndue Toma, another foreman, seems more confident: “I’ve kept this gas mask for five years, from when they brought just a few. The others don’t have one, but I have to wear it to protect myself and my children.” Everyone knows the solution, but they are not calling for the factory to close. “With this technology, there is no solution,” explains Higmet Merolli, head of the Independent Trade Unions at the Copper Plant. “Investment and reconstruction are absolutely necessary.” And their salvation would benefit everyone. First of all, the nearby village of Shullaz, with its 180 families. “The mountain of Shullaz used to be all forest,” says Gjon Shkurti, Mardhoçi. “Look at it now, how it has been stripped bare.” The people of this village have witnessed a little Chernobyl. “The land has been left barren, because not even grass grows,” says Muharrem Isufi, a farmer from the village and head of a committee set up by the local population to protect the area from pollution. “My children cough too,” says Fëllënxa Toga, a doctor at the town hospital. Like her children, others in Laç are also having difficulty breathing. At the hospital, you learn that pollution-related respiratory illnesses include silicosis and blood diseases. There is also kidney and liver damage, but all of these conditions are treated in Tirana. “Laç still has no laboratory,” says Bujar Goga, head of the Hygiene Service. “So for a year now, not even basic tests have been carried out.”

TIRANA — The Tirana Municipality has decided to take decisive action to protect the environment in the capital. The latest meeting of the Municipal Council, which lasted four consecutive days, was devoted entirely to the minor problems that have emerged over the past two or three years alongside the development of private commerce and the increase in the number of vehicles travelling through the city streets every day. At the meeting, a Public Ordinance regulating vehicle traffic was approved. Here are some of its provisions: vehicles without mufflers, which pollute the city’s air, will no longer be allowed to circulate, while deliveries to shops by large trucks will be permitted only after 9 p.m. Motorists must also take greater care when disposing of old spare parts or vehicles that are no longer in use. A site for a vehicle graveyard will be designated on the outskirts of the city once a week. At last, a positive sign on the waste problem. It was decided to end negotiations with the Italian firm “Giuzio s.r.l.”, which had long been offering to build waste collection and processing plants for Tirana. With the freedom of private enterprise, an ever-growing number of kiosks and other small shops have sprung up on every corner. According to municipal specialists, these businesses obstruct implementation of Tirana’s urban development plan. Moreover, many of them have been built on the capital’s parks, damaging green spaces. The municipal official responsible for this matter is unequivocal: “Unauthorized construction will not be tolerated.” To achieve success, the press has been asked to help raise public awareness, along with the police authorities.

Parma striker Melli, with coach Scala behind him He will play against Anversa ROME — Parma coach Nevio Scala and his team set off for London on Monday afternoon. Tonight at Wembley they have an appointment with history: the chance to enter the elite of European football once and for all. Only Anversa stands between Parma and the Cup Winners’ Cup, perhaps the least formidable of the opponents the Emilians have faced in this tournament (Atletico Madrid, Sparta Prague and Boavista), with the exception of Ujpest, eliminated in the first round. “An appointment with history? To tell the truth, Parma has been making history for several months,” says Nevio Scala. “Reaching the semi-final and then the final, on the way to the Cup Winners’ Cup, is truly a triumph worth remembering for a long, long time. But now that we have got this far, naturally we cannot be satisfied with that. We must look further ahead; we must take this wonderful step up in quality. By winning the Cup Winners’ Cup, I believe even a small city like Parma can be placed on the same level as Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin and Genoa, metropolises that can boast unquestionably considerable potential.” Parma’s great strength has always been the “group”, the team’s cohesion. But during this season, the fine “machine” put together by Scala with the help of Callisto Tanzi seemed about to fall apart. Scala does not admit it, but he has had some problems with Melli too. There has been a curious relationship between him and the striker, something of a love-hate affair. If Melli made it into the national team and did not go the way of so many other raw talents in Italian football, the credit belongs precisely to Nevio Scala, who did not hesitate to send him to the bench or the stands to make him accept his mistakes and bring him down a peg. He has also worked well with Aspirilla, who initially hated him. “I thought he was a terrible person,” the Colombian player said of Scala a few weeks ago. “But when I started to understand Italian and could communicate with him, I discovered a completely different person, a man with a great and generous soul. It is thanks to him that I changed course in Italy and did not sink into the misery of defeat.” And Aspirilla’s presence in tonight’s match against Anversa is Nevio Scala’s only doubt ahead of the London game. “Aspirilla,” says Scala, “is a very important player, but Parma is not just him. With or without him, we can win the Cup Winners’ Cup. Melli is in excellent form, Brolin played very well in Florence too, and Osio has a great deal of experience. We are not Milan, but within our means we have plenty of alternatives, especially in attack.” Sport

The family-planning programme aims for a further reduction The Institute of Statistics forecasts a 20 percent decline TIRANA — By the year 2000, Albania’s population will be growing much more slowly than before. This is the forecast of the Institute of Statistics. Specialists have described this as “a major change that concerns Albania’s very future”. According to the same source, in the period 1995–2000 there will be an average of 65,000 births a year, compared with the 79,000 births recorded in 1990. The number of deaths, meanwhile, will remain at current levels: around 20,000 a year. The population of working age, from 15 to 59, will decline by 1995 because of relatively high levels of emigration. This decrease will particularly affect young people between 15 and 35. The working-age population is expected to continue growing after 1995, but at a much slower rate than in earlier periods. In rural areas, traditionally known for their high birth rates, a relative decrease is expected, while the urban population will grow mainly through arrivals from rural areas. Until now, Albania has been the country with the highest population growth in Europe. This places it alongside most developing countries. For a year and a half, a programme aimed at reducing births through family planning has been underway in the country. International organizations have made around 1.5 million dollars available to the Albanian Government for this purpose. The programme, which will continue for three to four years, aims to supply Albanian pharmacies with contraceptives and to establish a countrywide family-planning network. However, despite a slight fall in the number of births being recorded only in recent months in Tirana—from 7,000 in 1991 to 6,700 in 1992—the coordinator of the family-planning programme for Albania is not entirely satisfied with the results so far. The aim is to halve the number of births. Six well-known Albanian newspapers suspend publication TIRANA — Six well-known Albanian newspapers suspended publication on Monday to protest against the “Demokracia” printing works, where they are printed. “Republika”, “Alternativa SD”, “Drita”, “Bashkimi”, “Zëri i Rinisë” and “Sindikalisti”, in a press statement, explained the reasons that compelled them to take such action: printing costs, a shortage of paper and the company’s near-bankruptcy. “The strike will continue until an understanding is reached.”

Magistrates too, against politicians To fight the corruption of Italian politicians, Tangentopoli investigators are no longer enough. Now the magistrates are getting involved too. No longer are Tangentopoli investigators enough to fight the corruption of Italian politicians. Now the magistrates are getting involved too. What seems like a comic story is in fact true, and entirely Italian: 5,000 magicians, gathered in Milan for their annual convention, have offered investigators their services and magical arts to punish corrupt public administrators, protect the country from the evil of Tangentopoli, and unmask the self-important politicians and their wrongdoing. In a room reserved at the Hotel Hilton, where the convention’s proceedings took place, a ceremony was also staged with the magicians’ ritual instruments. Iron chains, blessed prayers and [unclear] were used to drive away Tangentopoli’s evil spirits and protect Milan—and, through it, the country’s entire “moral capital”—from this trouble. “It’s nothing new,” explained Bellini, without offering many details, president of the national association of magicians’ [council?]. “Even the investigative authorities have turned to us magicians in the most difficult cases, and in at least one or two recent cases, in Rome and Milan, there has been information for investigations into corrupt politicians.” The formula seems simple: you need the date, place and time of birth of the person under suspicion, so as to establish the astrological details, and then a photograph of the person, a drop of blood, a frame of [unclear], a crystal ball, a hat and other elements of magic. And since the Italian magicians are not joking, they have also predicted the outcome of investigations into the country’s most prominent politicians—currently under investigation. “Bettino Craxi,” explains Eugenio Robotti, a member of the national committee of the magicians’ association, “will be caught up in the trial, stripped of parliamentary immunity and end up in prison, although he will try to flee abroad. To take refuge at his villa in Tunisia. As for Giulio Andreotti, his fate may be better: the investigators will not have sufficient evidence, and he will certainly be released.” As always

The international community must provide protection for workers and the environment along with the raw materials.

President Berisha’s visit to Croatia Vlorë–Leccë: icon trading uncovered Director Salvatores will shoot a cowboy film

Selmen and Syriun, who are in Italy, are sent greetings on the occasion of [unclear] by their uncle, their uncle’s wife, their aunts and the children. They send their best wishes to the young couple Mirales and Roberto Gherbiënte. I am an emigrant here in Italy (Bari); I live in [unclear], my name is Malo Gremi. I would like to send greetings to my family in Elbasan, Marsela, Olta, Mikela and my relatives who love me and whom I love. I also greet a friend of mine here in Italy, Tasim Genceli. Yours, (Malo Gremi—Monopoli (Ba), Italy) I am a resident of the city of Shkodër. I am the brother of an emigrant named Ramiz Ali Alla, born in 1968, from the village of Marhneti, Municipality of Vora. Dear [unclear] from the village, on 6 March 1991 I reported [unclear] in order to search for and find him. The address on the letter dated 30.5.1991 was: Caritas Diocesana, Palazzo Arcivescovio, Villa Capua (CE), Italy. Camp telephone no. 003823969001 (The Alla family — Shkodër) My name is Mimoza, I am from Shkodër. I have [the text breaks off]

Do you have a relative, a friend or a loved one far away, across the sea? Would you like to reach them with a greeting, a message or simply a wish? This space is yours: use it, they will read it. If they are in Italy, you can write to this address: GAZETA SHQIPTARE, viale Scipione l’Africano 269, 70100 Bari — If you live in Albania, you can write to this address: GAZETA SHQIPTARE, Rruga Bajram Curri 370, Tirana. [We?] send greetings to Selmen and Syriun, who are in Italy, on the occasion of [unclear] from their uncle, their uncle’s wife, their aunts and the children. They send their best wishes to the young couple Mirales and Roberto Gherbiënte. I am an emigrant here in Italy (Bari); I live in [unclear], my name is Malo Gremi. I would like to send greetings to my family in Elbasan, Marsela, Olta, Mikela and my relatives who love me and whom I love. I also greet a friend of mine here in Italy, Tasim Genceli. Yours, (Malo Gremi—Monopoli (Ba), Italy) I am an emigrant in the city of Shkodër. I am the brother of an emigrant named Ramiz Ali Alla, born in 1968, from the village of Marhneti, Municipality of Vora. Dear [unclear] from the village, on 6 March 1991 I reported [unclear] in order to search for and find him. The address on the letter dated 30.5.1991 was: Caritas Diocesana, Palazzo Arcivescovio, Villa Capua (CE), Italy. Camp telephone no. 003823969001 (The Alla family — Shkodër) My name is Mimoza, I am from Shkodër. I have [the text breaks off] I am the mother of my dear son Agim, who is marrying Luljeta; they are in Milan, Italy. I wish them a long and happy life. I am with them in spirit and in my heart. I wish them health and happiness, and may all their youthful dreams come true. (Mimoza Backa — Shkodër) I am a mother from Berat, and together with my husband Adrijatik Caka we want to send greetings to our two sons, Bashkim in Greece and Ridvan in Italy, along with his four friends. I want to greet them and tell them how much I miss my sons, whom I have not seen for more than a year and a half. Although I speak to them on the phone and hear their voices, I miss them terribly because I want to see their eyes. I also want to greet my mother, my brothers and their families in Tirana, and my relative Valona and her husband Gëzim Meçe in Germany. (Asime Caka — Berat)

I am the mother of my dear son Agim, who is marrying Luljeta; they are in Milan, Italy. I wish them a long and happy life. I am with them in spirit and in my heart. I wish them health and happiness, and may all their youthful dreams come true. (Mimoza Backa — Shkodër) I am a mother from Berat, and together with my husband Adrijatik Caka we want to send greetings to our two sons, Bashkim in Greece and Ridvan in Italy, along with his four friends. I want to greet them and tell them how much I miss my sons, whom I have not seen for more than a year and a half. Although I speak to them on the phone and hear their voices, I miss them terribly because I want to see their eyes. I also want to greet my mother, my brothers and their families in Tirana, and my relative Valona and her husband Gëzim Meçe in Germany. (Asime Caka — Berat)