A feast and a crisis

Today it’s a public holiday in Albania. It’s the day of Big Bajram that ends the month long period of Ramadan, during which time Muslims abstain from eating during the day time hours. Here, in the capital of Tirana, this feast is announced by the sound of drums that are played by a couple of men parading throughout the city, while the children, off from school, are having fun igniting fireworks here and there. Interestingly, during this stay and contrary to previous experiences of mine while in town, I no longer hear the call to prayer broadcast from the local mosque’s minaret five times daily. I’ll have to investigate why this change has taken place. In the past, the sound of these calls were a point of reference: there was no need to look at the clock to find out the time of day!

All government offices, banks, large stores, and even foreign embassies are closed in observance of today’s holiday. However, small, family type businesses, mama and papa stores are always opened every day of the year until the wee hours of the night. Even the main post office in the center of the city is always functioning until late in the evenings, Sundays included.

In the past few days, the energy crisis in this country has become more acute! The lack of rain has decreased the water supply in the dams, and thus the hydropower. Electricity has been shut off 4 to 5 hours a day, usually from 9am to 2pm. Life and work, therefore, have to be re-arranged accordingly to offset this deficiency. Today, exceptionally, the lights did not go off in the morning, probably to allow cooking for the holiday (in Albania the main meal of the day is usually at lunch, although consumed late), but, it was then cut at 2pm and did not resume until 5pm.

At home, it’s not easy to cope with lack of light when the days are shorter after the change back to standard time, but the myriad of café’s, bars, fast food places, and restaurants continue to do business with the help of large generators, usually placed outside of the premises, nearby on the street. They are automatically switched on when electricity fails, and they produce a humming noise so familiar to all that no one pays any attention to it anymore. What amazes me is how the people sitting at the tables (mostly outdoors) can cope with this nearby clatter and the polluted air that this equipment churns out. They totally ignore the circumstances, which, unfortunately, include their heavy smoking habits!

The news today is that the government is opening negotiations with neighboring countries for the purchase of additional power, which is critical especially in view of the upcoming winter, but there seems to be shortage everywhere else. This capital does not yet have an alternative solution to this shortage, such as gas production and distribution system. Only small, portable tanks can be purchased for home consumption, and a lot of people do use this facility for cooking nowadays, so that a hot meal is always assured. I am sure they had a special one today!