Baby Ema

A couple of friends at my church have a 9 month baby daughter named Ema.

Ema was ill when she was 4 months with a high temperature.
She was diagnosed with an infection just above her kidney and was operated on Tirana.
They thought she had fully recovered, only to be told later on that the doctors had found a malignant tumour and she would need chemotherapy.

Ema then went to Germany for an operation, and the parents hoped that Ema would have the tumour removed.

However, she still requires 6-9 months chemotherapy and at the moment, she is there for the treatment with her dad. Her mum is working in Shkoder and will go whenever she gets some free days off work.

They have set up a small blog to let us know what is happening.
Please pray for Ema's full healing...

http://emaevogel.blogspot.com/


...and if possible, visit the blog and give Ema's dad a little bit of encouragement. I am sure he will appreciate it.

Do not play on the grass!

Another beautiful day here in Shkoder.

I have been really busy recently, but decided that as my 3 boys have been in the apartment day and night, it was time to take them out for some games. So, down to the park at the bottom of the apartment and we played with the football and throwing the frisbee. Lots of fun. My 4 year old was having a great time!

But then there came a man from the Town House and told us that we were not allowed to play on the grass!

I mean - what is that all about?!

I asked him where we could go to play and he just laughed.
He told me that in Tirana someone was playing in a park, kicked a ball and a woman with a baby was passing, the baby got hit on the head and the child died.
therefore, there was no games allowed in the park.
And that he was employed to make sure that no-one played in the park.

Now, if that is true, then it is a tragic accident for which I am sorry about!

But at the same time, i have got to say...
Has Albania gone mad?!
Is this the proper reaction?

What next?
Are they going to ban cars from the road , because there are accidents?
Stop people selling in shops because there is food poisoning?
Stop people going to the beach as some drown in the sea?

Get real!

Then an old woman sitting nearby proceeded to tell me that abroad no-one is allowed to play on the grass in the parks EVER!
Yeah!?
I told her I am a foreigner and we have many parks full of children playing.
In fact, that is their purpose.
Somewhere for the children to go to and play!!! ( maybe Albania can learn from that!!)
But, no this old woman proceeded to tell me that she had also been abroad and what she was saying was right!

I guess she must know better than me !

Shqiperia ne NATO

The new home for "5 Heronjte"

( Can you spot them - they ARE in the photo!)


I met a friend this week on a visit to Shkoder.
He came up from Tirana by train.
When I met him, he told me that he had found the 5 Heroes.( and full credit to him - because they are NOT easy to find)
he said to me...."They are in a rubbish dump just outside of the city!"

So yes - it is true - the 5 heroes have a new home!!

...and yes there is some good news.
You can actually view the beauty of this sculpture from above and not just below. You can actually touch it. You can actually appreciate just how great a work of art it is.
That is really good!!

...of course, that is if you can actually find where the 5 heroes are!

They are in the middle of nowhere.
wait...that is not true.
they are in the middle of a rubbish dump....way outside of Shkoder....



The only people there were two men burning rubbish and a donkey!



Talking of donkeys.
What a stupid decision to send them here!!

And there is more...
I went to get my wife a birth certificate and family certificate today.
First of all, why does she have to have a birth certificate dated within the last 3 months?!
Her details of her birth do not, and never will change, so any birth certificate will ALWAYS be the same.
Anyway, whilst i was there , and waiting ( as you do for a certificate!! - usually for most of the morning!) I decided to check the maps on the wall to see what zone we are in for my wife's identity card.

Maybe I just got very stupid or disorientated, or maybe geography was never my strong point, but I could not find where we live!!

I mean , we live at "5 heronjte".
How difficult can it be to find that!!!

Then I realised the problem.
" 5 Heronjte" does not exist anymore...neither does Rruga Çlirimi....nor nearly every other road in Shkoder. they have all been renamed.
I now live on rruga Qemal Draçini, Sheshi Demokraci, Shkoder. ( ?!)


So here is Sheshi Demokraci!
The lasting legacy of democracy....


I remember seeing a Documentary in 1994 on the BBC in the UK, before I came to Albania. It was by Andy Kershaw a Radio One DJ on a visit to eastern Europe and of course - to Albania. His program only lasted 30 minutes and , 15 minutes were for Albania. I always remember how he finished off his report. he was up in the mountains somewhere having been invited to a wedding. There, he was with Albanians sitting on a wooden seat drinking raki and toasting the happy couple....
As the day went on, someone got in a Mercedes car and started driving round and round a field...as there was in fact no real road to the house where the wedding was celebrated.

The film showed a group of mainly young men laughing as the driver reversed in circles at high speed in a huge field....and Andy Kershaw gave us his prophetic words...

"My lasting view of Albania.....

Travelling at high speed into democracy - but in reverse gear - not knowing where they are going!"