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The New York Times: Albania under the smoke caused by the environmental massacre in Elbasan

Politiko 2025-07-04 18:08:13

The New York Times: Albania under the smoke caused by the environmental massacre
Prestigious international media have paid attention to the environmental massacre in Elbasan that has been ongoing for four days.

The American newspaper New York Times has dedicated a space to the event, as well as the protest organized by the Civic Resistance after placing the banner "Minister of Smoke and Pollution" on the building of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, at a time when the Mediterranean is under the power of the African heat.

"In Albania, across the Adriatic Sea from an Italy still scorched by unusually high temperatures, a summer fire at a municipal landfill in the central city of Elbasan erupted into uncontrollable flames.

Faced with temperatures reaching 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius), firefighters struggled to control it. And with clouds of toxic smoke billowing from the landfill, protesters gathered outside the Ministry of Tourism and Environment in Tirana, the capital, declaring that it had been renamed the "Ministry of Smoke and Pollution."

As in Western European countries hit by a heatwave this week, the elderly in Albania were suffering the most. Fatmir Dervishaj, 76, said he usually went out during the day to play dominoes with his friends, but was trapped at home because of the heat.

“Summer can be joyful for many people, but for me, it feels very isolating,” he said. For others, the misery was good for business. Ermir Metushi, 48, a taxi driver in Tirana, said the heatwave was “hard to bear” but that it had boosted his income because “more and more people are surrendering to the comfort of air-conditioned taxis, even for short distances.” That, and an influx of tourists during the summer, he said, “means I really can’t complain,” the article said. 

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