Albania Part III #132

Albania was shown the path to reconciliation and healing by Mother Teresa and they have been willing to confront their past. Warts and all. But there are some issues they’ll have to deal with and some quirks. 

One issue they’ll have to deal with is the widespread cigarette smoking. Everywhere you go there are smokers everywhere and an ashtray on every table. There will have to be a reckoning with that as the population ages. Another issue is that they have one of the lowest rates of gross domestic product (GDP) in Europe. They have petitioned the European Union to join and they should hear in 2029 with admittance in 2030 if all goes well. I think being part of the EU will have an explosive impact on tourism, which is their leading industry. 

There also are allegations of corruption. The difference is that Albanians are doing something about it. The main issue is that there is a proposal to build an enormous luxury resort on an ecologically and historically protected area on the coast. It doesn’t help the developers that part of the investment group is the son-in-law of America’s president. 

Because we could hear the protesters from our hotel room a few blocks away, we asked the manager about them. They had been nightly for 21 straight days and started because Albania is not for sale, even if the rich and powerful want to buy it. But it has evolved into protests about the ruling elite’s corruption and lack of transparency. I was reminded of a line, “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” 

A lot of things can still happen, but I am heartened by the fact that in the face of corruption and greed, the people still have a voice. And they are being heard.