A press that... poisons
Alarming data from the Institute of Hygiene
A press that... poisons
Many typographers are ill
Main causes: lead, noise, ink and dust
TIRANA — Printing houses continue to remain a true gangrene for their workers. For years, the substances still most widely used have caused illnesses due to lead exposure. In Tirana alone, in four printing houses and their facilities — the "17 Nëntori" polygraphic plant, the "Mihal Duri" plant, the "Çupi" plant and the "Vlera" printing house — according to data from the Institute of Hygiene, almost all workers (90 percent) suffer from these serious health problems.
"Working conditions in printing houses and facilities continue to be very difficult," Lushtja Shehu, a specialist at the Institute of Hygiene, tells Gazeta Shqiptare. "Dust and fumes caused by lead and by the paper itself have brought diseases and infections with consequences for the workers." Thus, to a large extent — apart from lead poisoning, which has become almost commonplace — they suffer from nervous-system disorders such as dizziness, headaches and insomnia.
"In fact there are several groups in the neurology department in urgent condition," Shehu adds. At the same time, these workers are also burdened by damage caused by premature births linked to lead exposure. Of them, 80 percent remain childless from a young age. Besides lead, harmful effects with consequences for health are also caused by machine noise. "In most cases workers feel a worsening of their hearing ability," Shehu explains.
The problems in these workplaces are very worrying. According to Shehu, conditions urgently need to be improved — half a liter of milk and drinking milk every day are not provided regularly, or when they are, they are consumed in the same environment where they work — and now they are rightly asking to retire after 23 years of work.
Armand Mero
Now free to pay the doctors too
Private ambulances begin operating
TIRANA — "Those are the private ambulances De'Igni's — Albania".
At last, the bad year in Albania no longer belongs only to the state system. And, "along with" the health workers, it is no longer the only option for Albanian patients seeking qualified and modern medical care. Only a few days ago the first private ambulance in Albania opened in Tirana — an initiative of the German humanitarian foundation "De'Ignis — Albania" — and it offers citizens a new possibility: treatment in exchange for payment.
At present, the first private clinic in Albania offers treatment for illnesses, micro-surgery, pathology, neuropsychiatry and psychotherapy, and also, in practice, advice for sick children. While the service for children is free, the maximum price for adults goes up to 100 lekë, and a simple laboratory test costs only 10 or 20 lekë. Four Albanian doctors have been hired so far at the private ambulance De'Ignis — Albania", but doctors from Germany, specialized in different fields, arrive regularly and replace one another for various periods of time. These doctors are housed at the private clinics of this foundation in Germany, which has also launched a publicity campaign there to invite well-known doctors from other German clinics to work in the first private ambulance in Albania. In any case, the activity has only just begun and "De'Ignis — Albania" is still in the completion phase. A subsidy from the German Embassy in Tirana for this ambulance will make it possible to install several other modern medical laboratories and, in any case, today in Albania medical visits no longer belong only to the state system. The first private ambulance has been born.
Edmond Laci
The Albanian refugee killed by hunger
GJIROKASTËR — Another victim among the ranks of Albanian refugees in Greece.
— Another victim among the ranks of Albanian refugees in Greece. Only this time it is a truly tragic episode. Among the many hypotheses of the doctors at the Gjirokastër Hospital, the most painful is the fact that "the 26-year-old boy from Berat may have lost his life precisely because he did not eat". The latest victim belongs to another unilluminated story — as has happened before in cases of emigrants who died in Greece — even though his almost lifeless body had been found abandoned in the Greek customs area of Kakavijë.
It had been some of his fellow townsmen who had managed to identify the 21-year-old from Berat, M.B., while they were passing through the Greek customs checkpoint on their way back to their homeland. But neither the name nor the customs staff, the law-enforcement officers and the doctors responsible could stop the unavoidable death: only a few hours later the young Albanian finally closed his eyes, without even knowing whether they managed to tell his shocked relatives, the only "testament" being a few teeth, which he could not leave to his family in Berat.
Thus another Albanian victim fell on Greek soil, as has also been recorded in yet another case in the long list of unfortunate emigrants.
Raimond Kola
Expo-Tirana: this is how trade can also help culture
A new initiative
TIRANA — Can spectacle serve trade? And can art also serve tourism?
The answer seems to be "yes", and the continuation of this original idea is called "Expo-Tirana". The initiative comes from the Contatto Agency, which in April organized the "Sfilatë e Juletës" among Italian singers and Albanian artists. "Expo-Tirana" will be held between 22 and 26 July near the International Center of Culture in Tirana, and it will host around 15 companies active in a wide range of fields: household appliances, industry, construction, agriculture. Some are arriving in Albania for the first time, taking advantage of this important showcase to make their products known; others have long been present in the country.
But "Expo-Tirana" is not limited to trade alone. "Our objective," explains Mimmo Contrada, the agency's head, "is to bring together artists, managers and people from the world of art with entrepreneurs who may be able to finance their projects." And for this reason the organization promises, throughout the duration of the exhibition, not only opportunities to buy and sell, but also small shows, musical performances and conferences. On Tuesday, five actors, dancers, models, publishers, circus artists, musicians, painters, journalists — "Expo-Tirana" will ultimately be an opportunity to promote tourist Albania, the one that can be "seen" by tourists and foreigners but also by Albanian tourists. So there will be more tourism operators, hotel owners and travel agencies, and sector experts. The project is certainly ambitious, and we do not know whether in the end the objectives will be achieved. But the organizers believe, and are already thinking of organizing an "Expo-Tirana" also in 1995.
Arm. M.
Property, a "blood-soaked land"
TIRANA — They went to claim their property but ended up badly bloodied among themselves.
TIRANA — They went to claim their property but ended up badly bloodied among themselves, with bullets in their bodies. On Sunday, 47-year-old Kujtim Luga was shot in the arm with a revolver by his brother Llaka while at the house on his plot of land in Allias, Tirana. The land issue continues to add new crimes to society. "I, together with my brother Ziham and Laki, with the four brothers from Laç, were dealing with the property and land issue in the area of Gërshën Bregdetar and were judged and driven back home — but they betrayed us by taking up arms," he said. "They threatened us when my brother wanted to enlarge his house and showed us the guns." Now, after the latest incident, two of the brothers have been detained by the police, while the other two, according to Luga's relatives, have disappeared. The issue of ownership continues to cause bloodshed so much that often it seems as if everything has returned to life on the soil of feuding times, when only the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini ruled. "That land is mine and I will never give it up, even if they put a gun to my head," concludes Luga.
Ar. Me.
YESTERDAY IN ALBANIA
TIRANA, THE ROGNER HOTEL WILL BE COMPLETELY FINISHED NEXT YEAR — "The Rogner Hotel will be ready in one year," declared Reinhard Schmidt, its representative in Tirana, during the visit of Albanian Prime Minister Meksi to the construction site where the work is under way. So far the foundations have been laid and construction of the shell is expected to begin. This hotel will be 5 stories high and three stars. In addition to a large number of rooms, it will also offer various office spaces and parking.
IN BURREL, A KUWAITI BANKING COMPANY HELPS 75 ORPHANS — It is 2,500 lekë per month that 75 orphans in the Mat district receive from the special aid provided by a Kuwaiti banking company. In addition, various forms of assistance have also been sent to 400 other orphans living in this district.
KORÇË, WORK CONTINUES TO RESTRUCTURE THE ELECTRICAL NETWORK — There are around 80 electrical cabins in the Korçë district which are now undergoing partial repair. Within the framework of the overall restructuring of the area's network, the power company is also continuing work in many villages where, shortly, six completely new cabins for the city are also expected to be installed.
PËRMETI, FINES FOR FOREST DAMAGE STILL UNPAID — Nearly 60 percent of the administrative fines imposed on forest offenders in Malësia e Madhe remain unpaid. Meanwhile, Forestry Police officers have recorded 81 administrative violations with damage valued at 36,800 lekë and 9 criminal violations.
"Punish the police officers"
After the torture at the police station
54 years in prison requested in the Laç case
TIRANA — The prison term requested by the prosecutor for the five former police officers accused of killing the citizen from Laç, David Leka, has been completed. After nearly two weeks of preliminary investigation, the prosecution — on Tuesday morning — finally asked the court to declare all the defendants guilty of the crime of "murder" qualified as committed in cooperation or also "abuse of office". Thus, for Tef Alidon and Alfred Hinka and Arjan Halluni, respectively 20, 17 and 15 years of imprisonment were requested, while for Musa Hajdari only 5 years. The lightest sentence was requested for Preng Laska — former duty officer at the Public Order Branch, Laç — and it corresponds only to the time spent in pre-trial detention, about 3 months.
The trial was reopened on 5–12 August of last year, when the citizen David Leka — detained for stabbing police officer Ilir Dosti — had been beaten by several police officers in the premises of the Laç Public Order Branch, causing his death from multiple injuries. On this same basis — following the complaints by David Leka himself and the Public Order authorities, Laç — the prosecution brought the responsible persons to criminal account. Now that the trial is almost over, only the court's final word remains. (e.l)
Attempt on the prosecutor fails
POGRADEC — Flames in the home of the District Prosecutor of Pogradec.
— Flames in the home of the District Prosecutor of Pogradec. Not only the perpetrators, but also the motives behind this event remain mysterious. Yesterday at 4 in the morning, the owner of this house, Meta. Although the incident resulted only in slight damage to the room furnishings, the investigation is now focused on the political [?] motive behind this episode and the mafia-like action. (p.r.)
16-year-old mother: kills herself out of shame
CURSIVE REALITY
DURRËS — She was only 16 years old.
In a few more months she would probably have become a mother. But the girl from Durrës, J.F., chose a different path in the face of life and a world filled with "morality" (a throwaway special) mixed with sugar; she chose to end her own life, and thus it seemed she had become already a burden to her family. A tragic solution, perhaps, the shame of an unwanted pregnancy.
The tragic event happened on Friday when the parents of the 16-year-old had no knowledge of their daughter's relationship (ik?) and had only learned that she had been seeing a boy for some time — they took her to the central hospital of the city. There the doctors discovered the true cause of the girl's tragedy. She had been pregnant for four months. The 16-year-old's writhing lasted for a week and then two days in a row. Because of the severe poisoning the doctors felt almost helpless and sent her father to Tirana. But in vain. There, too, lying on the hospital bed, she opened her eyes only for a few short hours.
Main square of Durrës
Stabbed by his nephew: in hospital
FIER — A rare family duel in Fier.
— A rare family duel in Fier. And 49-year-old M.M. ended up in the intensive care unit of Fier Hospital, having been stabbed precisely by his 15-year-old nephew. As confirmed by the Police Commissariat, this is how the serious event that occurred yesterday at midday, right among close family members, unfolded — two completely opposite facts. Although the motives were extremely weak and accidental — after this sudden incident the 15-year-old nephew is detained — the uncle continues to suffer from his knife wounds at the city hospital. (En. My.)
IN THE INTERIOR
"The situation in Kosovo is very tense"
Alarm raised from Geneva
ON PAGE 2
Clinton: "America will always stand by the East"
The American president in Berlin
ON PAGE 2
