Doctors explain: “It is a reaction to the new environment” 50 former refugees in the psychiatric hospital Doctors explain: “It is a reaction to the new environment” The “emigrant syndrome” emerges 50 former refugees in the psychiatric hospital SPIRO ILO TIRANA — Another illness is affecting Albania: it is called the “emigrant syndrome.” According to the register at the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, more than 50 emigrants who returned to Albania over the past three years have suffered severe nervous breakdowns. “I found myself in the middle of Milan, having come from a village in Kavaja,” explains one of the patients, who is now recovering. “I found it difficult to find my way around, to speak, to get work; what is more, all that time I lived in fear of the police because I had no documents. Then one night, in the shack where I lived with 20 other Albanians, they stole 5 million lire and all the belongings I had...” Brought to Albania from a psychiatric hospital in Milan, where he could not be treated because of his inability to communicate in Italian, he is just one of many cases of a situation that risks proving the fanatical Nazis who do not want foreigners right. The problem of emigration weighs more heavily than it seems, given the impossibility of realizing the European Community’s project. One of its fundamental principles—the abolition of passport checks at the borders of member countries—has so far been respected by no state, despite the fact that migrants cannot cope with life far from the country where they were born and raised. Almost all aged 18–25, they are victims of what is called “displaced stress,” from which more or less all emigrants everywhere in the world suffer. “Their situation in a foreign, large country where they know no one,” explains Malindi Treska, the hospital emergency doctor, “the difficulty of integrating into social life and, in many cases, being undocumented, cause them to experience an identity crisis and reactive psychosis.” “It is not uncommon for patients to come to us from abroad after committing various violent acts in the countries where they had been,” she continues. “One patient still here was arrested in Germany for drug trafficking and links with local gangs. After being tried there, he was later released from the prison hospital as unfit to stand trial and brought here for treatment.” But there are also other cases, especially from Greece and Yugoslavia, where patients have developed various psychoses after being beaten by the police. “There have been seven such cases just recently, in which young people ended up in hospital as a result of mistreatment by Greek border guards,” says Dr. Skënder Kodra, a Kosovar emigrant with a degree in clinical psychiatry from America, who has now come to help the psychiatric hospital in Tirana. There are also many other cases in which emigrants have suffered accidents or serious misfortunes affecting themselves, their relatives or friends, something that has affected their nervous systems. The conclusion is clear. In addition to many economic difficulties, our emigrants must also face another enemy every day: the stress of being separated from their loved ones, their homeland and the environment in which they grew up.

The real reasons behind the EC’s decision CARLO BOLLINO A united Europe, but more protected. While waiting to realize a political community—a goal repeatedly said to be within reach—the Twelve (including Italy and Greece) have decided to close the gates to immigrants. Except in rare cases—reserved only for war refugees—it will now be more difficult for many from the East to realize their dream of the West. The rules established during the Copenhagen summit have made visa issuance even stricter. The reasoning set out by European officials is simple: to guarantee free movement in Europe, borders must be closed to immigrants until all Community countries have the same rules for entry. At present, 8.2 million displaced people live in Europe, unevenly distributed among housing, and others are undocumented. The largest number are in Germany: 4.845 million, Community and non-Community citizens. And it is Germany, struck by xenophobic violence, that now wants to put a brake on immigration. Mer Germany: the house where five Turkish immigrants were killed on Saturday

His son, Bashkim, speaks about his father’s end Revelations and theories in a sensational book published in Paris. “Anyone who knows something must speak” His son, Bashkim, speaks about his father’s end Mehmet Shehu’s death reopens the old mystery Revelations and theories in a sensational book published in Paris. “Anyone who knows something must speak” FATOS BAXHAKU TIRANA — After many years, the mystery of Mehmet Shehu’s death is being reopened once again. The end of one of Enver Hoxha’s regime’s leading figures caused not only astonishment, but also much speculation that remains unexplained to this day. After numerous suppositions, rumors and “exposés at the workplace,” it is an actual protagonist—the former prime minister’s younger son—who is trying to shed light on his father’s death and the terrible fate that befell his family. Bashkim Shehu brings together in a single document everything he learned after several years of research into his father’s death, and does so in a book published in Paris by the French publisher “Fayard,” under the title “L'Automne de la peur” (Autumn of Fear). The official version of Shehu’s death, on December 17, 1981, was “suicide during a nervous breakdown.” But many people do not believe this version. One of those who finds it difficult to believe this account is Bashkim Shehu himself, who spent nine years in the infamous Burrel prison. Bashkim writes: “Until 1981, and for some time afterward, I believed the official version, but later I began to have doubts.” After his release, Bashkim began meeting experts and people who had been close to his father until the final moments, and began reconstructing everything. He recalls that none of the family members heard any noise on that night in December 1981—not a single gunshot—and that there was a secret entrance in the house through which someone could enter unseen. He also learns that someone was alone near the house that night and begins putting the facts together, but finds it difficult to give a definitive account. So he calls on others to do so: “Hekuran Isai is the one who pursued this case after the execution of Kadri Hazbiu. He must surely know.” For Bashkim Shehu, the rivalry between Hoxha and Shehu, which for many years was considered the cause of his father’s death, did not exist. “My father adored Enver Hoxha,” Bashkim says. According to him, other cliques in the Communist palace were interested in eliminating their opponent. The book also recounts attempts to find the graves of the Shehu couple. But while the grave of the former prime minister’s wife, Figrete, who died in prison in 1988 of a heart attack, was found by her surviving children in a lonely place near a village in the vicinity of Lezhë, Mehmet Shehu’s grave seems never to be found. “Don’t look any further,” one expert tells Bashkim, “Mehmet’s body was burned.” No sign of a grave appears to emerge to challenge Bashkim Shehu in the book. A sign that he, who lived with dictators but also with their victims, is not seeking revenge. Only the discovery of the truth.

Irregularities suspected in the distribution of aid ELBASAN — It seems that the storm that has engulfed Caritas in Elbasan for several weeks will finally subside. The Financial Police have completed an investigation begun into the officials of the aid organization, suspected of having improperly used some of the aid supplies—brought in 150 trucks—to the city in 1992. For several weeks, the Caritas warehouse in Elbasan was occupied by the Financial Police carrying out checks. Today it appears to be formally open, although the activities carried out as part of the investigation in these warehouses remain unresolved. Caritas’s activities in Elbasan are directed by its Tirana headquarters. The Financial Police also conducted an investigation at Caritas in Tirana, but found no irregularities. But what happened in Elbasan? The accusation is serious: those in charge of the local Caritas (led by a Kosovar priest) are said to have sold some of the aid supplies to the population. The suspicion arose from numerous irregularities found by the Financial Police in the records of goods entering and leaving the warehouses. But Caritas is playing it down: in exchange for the aid, only small contributions were requested to cover transport costs. As for the documents, they were not in order only because of carelessness. Photo in the article

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The protest spreads to 4 cities TIRANA — (Fa.Ba.) — The health of 92 hunger strikers, members of associations of former owners and former political prisoners, has deteriorated. A team of doctors is with the strikers at all times. One of them, Dr. Arben Dobi, gave “Gazeta” the latest medical update: “After ten days, the strikers’ health is now poor. We have sent 18 of them to hospital for admission, and recommended that five people remain in hospital. We have recommended that they receive care in hospital. Almost all the strikers are suffering from severe headaches, difficulty seeing, dizziness and general weakness. They are all people who have also had difficult lives and do not find it easy to endure the lack of food.” “To show solidarity with Tirana and Shko-dër, associations of former owners and the persecuted in other cities are preparing to join the hunger strike: Lezhë, Vlorë, Elbasan and Lus-hnje,” says the deputy chairman of the association “Pronësi hjnë”, says the deputy chairman of the association “Pronësi”, Xhavit Turkeshi. He has just met the Chairman of the People’s Assembly, Pjetër Arbnori. “I was not satisfied with the meeting,” says Turkeshi, “because once again our demands were not taken into account.” Almost all the strikers have voiced complaints about Albanian Television, which, according to them, has not given this strike the attention it deserves.

Schools closed for 5 days ARLINDA ÇAUSHOLLI SHKODËR — Teaching has been suspended in schools in the Shkodër district for two days. Teachers and education employees have gone on a five-day strike. According to the Independent Education Union, the strike is in support of several economic demands, whose fulfillment the union has requested from the government. The main demand is a pay rise. It is well known that teachers are paid less than everyone else in the superstructure, less than the military, the administration and doctors. Their salaries range from 1,900 to 2,300 lek. Many teachers believe that the strike should have begun earlier and been supported by other cities in the country as well, but despite the delay, it is now under way. The teachers’ protest at the end of the school year may cause exams not to be held on the scheduled dates. Naturally, this is to the detriment of the students who are preparing during these hot summer days.

The problem of emigration is more pressing than the telephone lines in the remote district of Pukë. At present, the Pukë—Fushë-Arrëz and Pukë—Shkodër lines, as well as other lines between communes, are damaged. The damage has made things difficult for the employees of the Telekom branch in Pukë. A FAMILY PLANNING CABINET OPENS IN PESHKOPI — The Family Planning Cabinet has begun operating in the city of Peshkopi. The new service—which is located inside the city Polyclinic—has now also been staffed with the necessary personnel. During the first days of its activity, it will focus on providing guidance, since this service itself is a new model for all Albanians. AN ALBANIAN EMIGRANT HELPS HIS FELLOW DIBRANS — Hëqmet Dine, now in the USA, has sent 62,000 dollars to his fellow Dibrans. After a meeting held in the village of Maqellarë, the distribution of this money, donated with great generosity, was also announced. 50,000 dollars were set aside for the Dibër district council, another 5,000 for the construction of the Maqellarë water supply system, and 1,000 for poor families in the city of Peshkopi. A sum of 6,000 dollars was left to the district Democratic Party. SEMINAR ON IRRIGATION IN BURREL — The lack of liquidity for the use of water resources, the signing of contracts with private farmers, and claims of land ownership were the main issues that dominated the seminar in Burrel. The problem of irrigation, which is not a new one, is now compelled to take center stage. Of 40 pumping stations, only 20 are planned to be put into operation, even though 6,000,000 lek had been made available for this purpose. Specialists in water resources from other districts of the country were also invited to the seminar.

Before cleaning rusty objects, put them in a dry place. Rub them from time to time with a cloth lightly moistened with oil, then wipe them with a woollen cloth. Put rusty nails in gasoline and leave them there for two or three hours, then take them out. If necessary, you can also rub them with sand. * * * Roses love cold water. In summer, it is a good idea to put a piece of ice in the vase. * * * To prevent embroidery from being flattened by ironing, first place it on a thick, slightly damp towel and iron it on the reverse side. * * * When salt has become damp, put it in the oven to dry thoroughly; it will be more convenient to use. * * * To use up leftover soap, put all the pieces in warm water. While they are still soft, mix them together to form a new bar of soap. Once it has cooled, it is ready to use. * * * Bloodstains should be washed with cold water; otherwise, the stain remains. Bloodstains can be removed with white vinegar or water with ammonia, and rinsed quickly. * * * For our shoes to last longer, we must take good care of them. We should never wear them until the heel is worn down and then repair the rubber of the worn-out shoe. To this end, we should polish them regularly; we should never dry them ... het të pimë lëng limoni me një lugë mjalt, para se të hamë. * * * When we are near someone who has fainted, we should first loosen any clothing that is tight and impedes blood circulation. Lay the person down, open the windows and wet their face with cool water, or have them smell vinegar. * * * Mirrors are best cleaned with vinegar or alcohol. For stains, use sulfate detergent, then wipe it off. * * * If a toothbrush is very stiff, put it in cold water with plenty of salt for 24 hours. * * * Spinach stains on fabric can be cleaned by rubbing them with a raw potato and then washing with soapy water. * * * When we feel low on energy and tired, lie down and place a hot-water bottle behind the knees. * * * In case of nervous exhaustion, apply a wet sponge to the nape of the neck and let cold water run down the spine and over the kidneys. Change the water; it can also be warm. You can refresh yourself by taking a bath with hot, salted water. * * * Tobacco lovers get very annoyed when they find that their tobacco is dry. This can be avoided by putting a few slices of raw potato in the tobacco pouch. Here are this week’s practical tips