Albanian update

Where has the past month or so gone? For me it has been a quiet time at home in NYC, taking care of my dwelling's maintenance, but with an eye on Albanian news on a daily basis, as usual.

While there are no special news on a personal level, much has been happening in the Mediterranean area where the summer of 2007 is still in full swing with it the ups and downs of extreme temperatures, the disastrous fires, the lack of water and electricity especially in Albania, and my heart aches thinking of all this.

On the web, meantime, there is a proliferation of information relating to Albania that spans over many subjects: from the "sworns virgins" (just discovered by the western press !?!) that are still surviving in the northern areas, to the British real estate companies that furiously advertise sales of modern lodgings in Tirana and along Albania's pristine coast, from the environmental and economic projects to attract foreign investments and tourism, to the many more blogs of young people that are enjoying adventurous vacations even in the roughest and remote parts of the country. Albania is slowly and surely coming up in the world, but it still has a long way to go!

Today's posting on the ineffective roles of NGOs that have permeated the country for years without accomplishing much for it, is finally bringing to light a sad and regrettable situation well known and understood by the local population, and the Albanian diaspora, who has stepped in and furnished for years now a more direct and substantial financial input.