'Memories don't go down the drain': A village in Mat resists the wave of hydroelectric power plants

On a hot morning in mid-June, the silence in the hills of the village of Kurdari was interrupted by the dry metallic noise of an excavator that appeared in the wild bed of the Lusa River, one of the tributaries of the Mat.

The machinery and workers were brought in by the company 'Global Interprise Group' to begin digging a canal - approximately 4.4 kilometers long, where a pipeline will be laid that aims to divert the flow of the river - the first step for the construction of the Doma hydroelectric power plant.

But the villagers, who have been opposing the construction of the hydroelectric power plant for years – part of three planned hydroelectric power plants on the Lusa River – were determined not to allow the work to begin.

A dozen men gathered and stood up to the heavy machinery by creating a barricade with their bodies, while the younger ones filmed the confrontation to distribute to the media.

“These HPPs serve no one, except for a few special pockets, in politics, but also close to it,” vented Ilirian Çeliku, an environmental engineer by profession, as he recalls how during the summer, when they were children, they would beat the heat by bathing in the river water. “The Lusa River in Kurdari is, so to speak, both our identity and our memories,” he added.

The residents' opposition to the project is not just a matter of nostalgia. Agriculture is the main economic activity of the area – which is considered the 'breadbasket' of the Mati Valley. Many of the local farmers fear that the construction of the HPP could affect their supply of water for irrigation.

"They want to take away even that drop of water from us," Xhevahir Perlati, who has returned to the village after several years of emigration to England, tells me.

"We are staying here for that water, this nature and agriculture," he added.

Unlike the residents, the company developing the energy project declares that the construction of the HPP does not harm the community, while emphasizing that it has secured all the necessary permits required by law.

“For this investment, our company has followed legal procedures since 2017 until today,” Ashim Doma, administrator and shareholder of the company “Global Enterprise Group,” told BIRN over the phone.

"We have renewed all documents and obtained all relevant permits," he stressed, adding: "Anyone who thinks there have been violations should contact the institutions."

The river is gone, life is gone.

This is not the first time that the village of Kurdari has attracted media attention. Two more hydroelectric power plants are planned to be built on the riverbed by the company "Idrolusa" sh.pk. In May 2022, residents evicted the representative of this company in protest, expressing their deep dissatisfaction during a public hearing.

Bar-kafeja e vogël e Shkëlqim Kadriut në qendër të fshatit, shërben jo vetëm si pikë takimi për banorët, por edhe si shtab emergjence për organizimin e rezistencës kundër HEC-eve. Mes tymit të duhanit, banorët e mbledhur kujtojnë se idetë fillestare për ndërtimin e HEC-e në lumin e Lusës shkojnë pas gati dy dekada.

“Jemi mbledhur në mënyrë të vazhdueshme,” më thotë Shkëlqimi, ndërsa rikujton aktet e vazhdueshme të rezistencës dhe protestat ndaj punimeve. “I gjithë fshati është afro 600 ose 700 familje,” tregon ai, përpara se të shtojë se “thuajse 90% janë kundra ndërtimit të HEC-eve.”

Edhe pse shumë prej banorëve kanë emigruar jashtë vendit, një pjesë e madhe e tyre vazhdojnë ta ruajnë lidhjen me vendlindjen, ku disa kanë investuar për shtëpi pushimi. Fabiol Zeneli ishte vetëm 13 vjeç kur u largua nga fshati për në Angli. Atje u arsimua, nisi punën si inxhinier dhe themeloi një kompani private në fushën e ndërtimit. Pas afro 25 vitesh, ai u rikthye në banesën e gjyshërve të tij, ku nisi një rikonstruksion të plotë për ta kthyer kullën në identitet.

“Gjej qetësi këtu,” me thotë Fabioli. “Fëmijët, pavarësisht se kanë lindur në Angli, kënaqen gjithashtu kur vijnë këtu” tregon ai.

Për Fabiolin, ideja e ndërtimit të HEC-eve në fshat është e paimagjinueshme.

“Gjuetia e peshkut, larja gjatë verës – nuk mund të futen në tuba,” tha Fabioli. “Ne kujtimet i kemi aty,” thekso ai, ndërsa shtoi se “po iku lumi, ikën jeta.”

Dëgjesa të kontestuara

Ashim Doma, administratori i kompanisë ‘Global Interprise Group’ – e cila qëndron pas projektit të HEC-it ‘Doma’, insiston se ndërtimi i hidrocentralit është një investim strategjik, ligjërisht i rregulluar, i planifikuar prej vitesh dhe që nuk sjell asnjë dëm për komunitetin.

Ai thekson se janë zhvilluar disa dëgjesa publike për projektin ndër vite dhe se pjesëmarrja në to ka qenë e hapur, ndonëse nuk mban mend numra konkretë.

“Në momentin që paraqet dokumentacionin për Vlerësimin e Ndikimit në Mjedis (VNM), një ndër dokumentet është njoftimi i publikut,” tha ai, ndërsa theksoi se në dëgjesa ka marrë pjesë “kush ka qenë i interesuar.”

“Aty kanë qenë ndoshta 20 apo 25 veta, por kjo është bërë më shumë se një herë, ndoshta 3 apo 4 herë që nga 2017-ta,” tha sipërmarrësi. “Ne nuk i marrim njerëzit me zor,” shtoi ai.

Por banorët e kontestojnë pjesëmarrjen në dëgjesat publike që deklaron kompania. Ato pretendojnë se një pjesë e firmave në listat e pjesëmarrjes janë falsifikuar.

Megjithatë, Ashim Doma mbetet i vendosur për ndërtimin e hidrocentralit, ndërsa thekson se gjurma e tij ndodhet afro 300 metra poshtë fshatit dhe nuk prek asnjë banor drejtpërdrejtë, “as me zhurmë, as me ndotje, as me kufizim të burimeve”.

“Unë nuk kam asnjë lidhje me banorët e Kurdarit,” tha ai. “Jemi shumë larg tyre fizikisht.”

Doma lë të kuptohet se, nëse banorët këmbëngulin në bllokimin e punimeve, ai do t’u drejtohet institucioneve të rendit. “Unë do të vazhdoj punimet”, theksoi sipërmarrësi.

Interesa politike?

In Kurdari, speculation that people with political power are behind the HPP projects has become a legend. Like many things in Albania, the confrontation between the residents of Kurdari and the HPPs seems to have a political background.

The village is part of the Suç administrative unit, in the Klos municipality, which was once a right-wing stronghold. But in the parliamentary elections on May 11, the Socialist Party managed to win a landslide victory, securing 60% of the vote.

Many of them believe that the start of work on the Doma hydroelectric power plant, right after the parliamentary elections, is no coincidence. The administrator of the construction company, Ashim Doma, is a local figure closely linked to the Socialist Party. He was a candidate for deputy in the 2013 elections on the SP list in the Dibra district.

Some residents think that the former mayor of Mat and the new SP MP, Agron Malaj, are behind the project.

Asked about the rumored connections with the MP, Ashim Doma denies any political involvement and defines the investment as a "family business."

“I don’t need to have a political background,” he said, claiming that “most of the protesters are not from the village at all.”

"They say we take drinking or irrigation water, but these are fabrications," Doma added.

After the media coverage of the clash with the company, the elected SP MP, Agron Malaj, had a meeting with the residents of Kurdaria on the afternoon of June 29.

Malaj seemed determined to dismiss rumors that he was behind the project, adding that any work that is built without public approval and hearings is "invalid."

“This area is a working area, this area lives on this water,” Malaj said. “Life cannot be compromised for interests that are not shared,” he concluded./ Monitor