Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

FROM THE FIELD

Tirana explodes: Albanian families pick up pieces of their shattered lives
27 Mar 2008 08:58:20 GMT
 Source: World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe office (MEERO)
wvmeero logo
Destroyed houses in the village nearby Gerdec 12Km away from capital city Tirana
Previous | Next
Destroyed houses in the village nearby Gerdec 12Km away from capital city Tirana
World Vision MEERO, http://meero.worldvision.org
Albanian families are picking up the pieces of their shattered lives after the explosion of the military depot in Gërdec village, 12 km from the capital city Tirana, that left thousands of people homeless, traumatized and hurt on 15 March.

More than 600 families, with numbers increasing daily, are taking temporary shelter provided by the Albanian government at Durrës military resort and at nearby private hotels. Thousands of others who lost their homes are taking shelter with their relatives.

'There is a real and immediate need to work with children, as many of them are traumatised. We need to do our best to help them and their parents transition back to their normal lives,' said Muzli Shala, director of Durrës military resort.


World Vision responded within 24-hours of the tragedy providing clothing for the internally displaced people. Three days after the disaster World Vision opened Child Friendly Spaces to help children regain a sense of normalcy and deal with posttraumatic stress. More than 90 children 12 years old and younger who are staying at the shelter now have a safe place where they can play and receive the care they need.

'As soon as the announcement was made that the child friendly spaces were ready to start the activities, more than 40 kids flooded the door at once. It is a joy to see light in their eyes again,' said Gentian Leka, Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs (HEA) manager, World Vision Albania.


According to Albanian media and government officials, more than 100 people, mostly women and children in their early teens, were working on dismantling munitions when the explosion occurred. The firm in charge of dismantling the munitions hired teams of four people, according to villagers who lived nearby. Many of those who worked in the depot teams were members of one family. Obligated by poverty, many parents brought their children along to work with them.

Albanian national news sources stated that the depot held some 3,000 tons of munitions and there is a total of 100,000 tons of ammunitions spread in tunnels throughout Albania. The president of Albania said that the strength of the explosion was that of a nuclear bomb without radiation.

World Vision is collaborating with the Albania General Directorate for Civil Emergencies, Red Cross, Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Emergency Committee to assist afflicted Albanians. However, the area continues to be under the surveillance of the military and search and rescue teams; no civilian or NGO worker is allowed in at the moment.

'Unfortunately, bad weather last week has made the situation more complicated and demanding,' Leka added.


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Children

MORE >>

Members

•  World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe office (MEERO)

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Tirana explodes: Albanian families pick up pieces of their shattered lives
World Vision MEERO - Cyprus

•  Donated medicines save lives
Medical Teams International - USA

•  Romanian villagers’ business potential boosted by tourism training
World Vision MEERO - Cyprus

•  CWS sand dams lessen Kenya-Uganda border water conflicts--Women lead effort
CWS

•  The Children of Iraq: 5 Years on
World Vision MEERO - Cyprus

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Car bomb in Afghan market kills 8 -police

•  FEATURE-Chinese dams threaten Cambodia's forests, farmers

•  FEATURE-Britain targets Muslim women to fight extremists

•  YEMEN: Early marriage hampering country's development, says report

•  Somali Islamists seize key town of Jowhar

MORE >>

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Related articles

Breaking stories
Car bomb in Afghan market kills 8 -police (1 minute ago)

FEATURE-Chinese dams threaten Cambodia's forests, farmers (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
MEDIAWATCH: Life in election-time Zimbabwe (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
Tirana explodes: Albanian families pick up pieces of their shattered lives (1 minute ago)

Blogs
MEDIAWATCH: Somalia heads for crisis (1 minute ago)

Maps
Northern Region UNICEF Data, Ghana (1 minute ago)


Country information

Topics
Children

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-03-26T112239Z_01_SJS03_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SJS03.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-03-26T111925Z_01_SJS02_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SJS02.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-03-26T111025Z_01_SJS01_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SJS01.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-03-26T083655Z_01_SRI06_RTRIDSP_2_CHINA-TIBET_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SRI06.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-03-26T022131Z_01_SIN15_RTRIDSP_2_HONDURAS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SIN15.htm

Palestinian children take part in a symbolic Arab summit at Rafah camp in the southern Gaza Strip March 26, 2008. The children called on Arab leaders to push Israel to end ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Thu Mar 27 09:30:08 2008