I was infinitely surprised by the wide reaction to the article ?Tired of scary news? 13 things no one tells you about Covid-19 . I didn't write it to publish it, but to send it to my parents. They, as well as your parents, find it difficult to orient themselves with the truth of the online media ocean. At a time when we all have our minds on hand hygiene, it is very easy to lose the hygiene of the mind.
I will also conceive of this writing as a remote conversation with my quarantined parents. If in the first article I tried to argue some of the figures circulating about Covid19 in Albania and in the world, in this article I will try to talk about what is happening in Albania as they do not mind.
I.
Dear mom and dad, do you know that
Are there other patients in this country?
In 2018, there were 21,804 registered deaths in Albania. According to Instat, the main "killer" of Albanians with 53% of cases (11,599 deaths) are cardiovascular diseases. While the second place is occupied by tumors with 16.9% (3695 deaths).
While you are at home and scared because of Covid19, these two killers are doing the trick. They don't ask about the virus. They have their own agenda. In Albania, 750 thousand medical visits are made every month. These visits during quarantine time have not been possible.
Do you know how dangerous it is for health and pocket to be late in detecting a cardiovascular disease or a tumor? Dear parents, if you necessarily need to be afraid, worry about these two killers who together make up 69.9% of deaths in Albania and not about Covid19 which currently makes up 0.119% of them.
Note: Voice 3 in the Instat table that says 16.9% of diseases are from "Symptoms, signs and well-defined diseases" we will discuss once again.
II.
Dear mom and dad, do you know that
Did our legislators find time to draft and vote on a law that punishes patients with Covid19?
As you read in my first article, Albania has taken the toughest measures in Europe. Not only are they disproportionate to the risk that Covid19 has posed in Albania, but also contrary to the Council of Europe Guidelines of 8 April 2020 on respect for human rights. As if that weren't enough, it's time to draft and vote (the President and the non-parliamentary opposition have not shown any substantial opposition) a change in the country's Penal Code to sentence prisoners who spread the disease to prison. I am not going into the technical details of this absurd and unnecessary law. Suffice it to quote a sentence from the first interview a few days ago of one of the personalities of Albanian Health and a former respected legislator like Mr. Leonard Solis.
"When this parliament, which is well below the average of the Albanian people, allows them to put their hands on the criminal code, it is the same as being a monkey to hand over a Kalashnikov."
So, dear parents, if you necessarily need to be afraid, worry about monkeys with kallshnikov who are in control of your life and the lives of your grandchildren.
III.
Dear mom and dad, do you know that
Shkodra has the lowest mortality rate of all cities that have victims?
Yes! Regardless of what you hear on TV, Shkodra has the lowest mortality rate of all the cities that have had victims of Covid19. Only 1.06% of those infected died with Covid19. While in Kavaja, for which you do not hear at all, the mortality rate is 22.22%.
But how is that possible?
The number of infected people in every city and village of Albania is many times higher due to the arguments I presented to you in the first article. So it is enough to choose a city anyway and do more tests and suddenly you can give the idea to the public that there is a hearth there.
Therefore, the tests should not be done selectively, but respecting the country's census. Only in this way can we really understand what the most affected cities are.
IV.
Dear mom and dad, do you know that
Are there Albanians who think that Albanians are animals?
You don't have Facebook and Instagram, but let me inform you that there is a large army of Albanians who practice their favorite national sport, insulting Albanians. Every time a new aggressive measure is communicated, a flood of comments such as "Well done, they don't understand otherwise", "They're better in prison than we die" are flooded.
I would also like to inform you, dear parents, that you should be proud of the way Albanians have behaved during this period where their patience has been put to a difficult test.
At no time in Albania have we seen scenes like these in Australia
Or like these in America
... even though these countries have not had any restrictions on the timing of food purchases.
Albanians also, although living in one of the 5 poorest countries in Europe, have not challenged the state authorities with weapons in hand, as happened a few days ago in the US, the country we adore and take for example so often.
And since we are in America, I would like to remind you of an expression of one of their most prominent figures:
"Those who give freedom, to buy some temporary security, deserve neither freedom nor security!"
Benjamin Franklin
V.
Dear mom and dad, do you know that
Is Italy and other countries getting ready?
Italy and other countries in Europe and the world have set up a task force with the country's brightest figures in the field of Economics and Sociology, the two areas most affected by Covid19. These task forces consist not only of experts with unquestionable professional profile, but above all of the figures who did not agree with the extreme approach of quarantining the population. As a result, there will be a healthy debate on all issues.
Meanwhile, I have been searching the internet for a while for meetings of the Civil Emergency Commission, but I can't find it. I hear on TV respected figures of Albanian medicine such as Mr. Sulçebe, Mr. Kakariqi, Mr. Solis, but also the Director of Emergency, Mr. Brataj who with a professional calm argue that Covid19 is not as dangerous as we have thought and that we should start thinking about the economic renaissance. Are there such voices in these meetings?
From the decisions that have been taken so far, the quality of the debate in these meetings is debatable. How can a decision be made to limit the schedule of one of the most important services such as food supply? Even a child is clear that by limiting the time, the density of people will increase and as a result the probability of infection will increase.
You didn't go shopping to be fully quarantined, but here's what the markets were like when it was timeless
and here's what they are like now after the time band extension:
VI.
Dear mom and dad, do you know that
Have the prices of the basic food basket increased too much?
According to Instat, during March 2020 (April data are still out), there is a 24% increase in fruit and vegetable prices in Albania. The Albanian family spends on average 45% of its small food budget (32,347 lek per month on average). An increase of 24% means that on average an additional expenditure of 7700 new lek has been added to each Albanian family these days. You are the second light bill.
Remember that in the UK, one of the richest countries in the world, food basket prices have risen by 4.4% and this has become a national problem.
VII.
Dear mom and dad, do you know that
Isn't Albanian production being promoted enough?
I believe that you already understand that very difficult times await us. The economic consequences of this situation will be tragic for many Albanian families. In the next 2 years, tourism, the pillar of the Albanian economy will be lame. If there is one thing that should be the leitmotif of any public communication of our leaders, it should be promotion and invitation to consume Albanian products and not the constant panic that helps neither health nor the economy. If you look closely, you will find a local alternative to any foreign product you consume. Let's help the fragile ecosystem of our economy by circulating money within us.
VIII.
Dear mom and dad, do you know that
Construction continues at the same pace?
If there is one thing that has not stopped in this country, it is construction. He continues at the same pace. Let's face it, I'm glad that an entire industry is working normally and many employees still manage to get their full salaries. But on the other hand, today, we are more aware than ever that pollution, overcrowding and lack of green spaces are some of the main causes of damage to our physical and mental health.
We need to start talking about a new approach to building our cities. We should not build less, but we should build better. If we do not insist on this to those who lead us, we will go down in history as the only nation that keeps a distance of 2 meters from man to man and only 1 meter from palace to palace.
IX.
Dear mom and dad, do you know that
Has a hunt for property started?
While all countries have quickly issued economic packages for all walks of business (small, medium, large), the highest figures of the Albanian State have expressed a disgust for those who have. In 2020, 30 years after the fall of Communism, we still hear:
1. Sell Yachts and pay the unemployed!
2. Sell Cars and do not ask for help.
3. VIP businesses show banal luxury by buying villas in Qerret, Lalez, Palase.
If I have heard anything dangerous since the day Covid19 was declared pandemic to this day, it is precisely this dear parent. Those who have, have no debt to the virus. If they have done it with their sweat, well done. If they have stolen them, let them find them above and take them where they belong.
The virus did not come from the rich, but from the poor. It is extreme poverty in some areas of China that has made it possible to conceive of this pandemic (the transition from night bats to humans). If we have to hack something, it is poverty. It is the source of all evil.
X.
Dear mom and dad, do you remember
How expensive is freedom?
If there is one people who must recognize the value of freedom, it is precisely Albania. In order to have the freedom we deserve, 28,110 Albanians died during World War II, and an estimated 6,000 others were killed during the communist regime just because they thought otherwise (+34,000 political prisoners).
Today, in the absence of the Courts and a dignified electoral representation, our freedoms are easily jeopardized. Let us not forget our past and learn from other nations that have suffered as much as we have.
This is a protest of Israeli citizens against the abolition of Constitutional Rights during the pandemic (Israel has extremely soft measures compared to Albania).
Dear mom and dad, I greet you and don't forget that Fear is the only virus you should be afraid of! You only need to be careful of other viruses.
*. *. *
Written by Gjergj Kalaja
