"In cases where vacationers drown, it is not determined what responsibility the beach station has that does not hire a lifeguard or the lifeguard himself, whose action or inaction did not result in saving the lives of the vacationers." points out as a concern during the audit of the beaches the High State Control. According to KLSH, it is enough to look at the example of Greece, where the profession of beach lifeguard is regulated by a series of acts without forgetting the Criminal Code, which has introduced as a special criminal offense the role of the lifeguard, which in cases of drowning provides for a prison sentence when he does not act.
But the law that included the watchman on the beaches of the Albanian Riviera, seems to first continue to treat it mostly as an accessory of the tower, although some changes have occurred since the entry into force of the law. However, a VKM from five years ago emphasizes the existence of a tower rather than the profile of the water rescuer, who should be engaged by tourist businesses ready to help people. But the High State Control points out that the 3-meter-long towers for every 200 to 250 meters of beach were not efficient, undermining the watchdog's ability to monitor vacationers and save lives in cases of drowning risk.
Despite the time that has passed since these findings of the end of 2018, the problems continue to be current and still far from the example of Australia, a prominent country in this field where 5 thousand vacationers are saved per season due to high control and efficiency.
You're not season me shortage shpëthymeësh
For the second year in a row, Albania opened the tourist season again in a pandemic state, where, as in every field, the commitment of water rescuers has also been affected. From south to north, the typology of the beaches is very different, but they have in common the lack of beach watchers, whose status, despite the necessary training they must undergo, must be recognized as a profession.
In the south of Albania, Arditi has opened his bar, in front of which lies a beach, which he hopes will be filled by Albanian and foreign tourists this year. In this way, it will manage to compensate a part of the losses from last year. In addition to business problems, finding the beach watcher was also a separate problem for him.
"I searched for 1 month until finally, I came across a lifeguard. That you can't take someone who doesn't care about the job and just keep them sitting there. So far, we have not had problems with drowning or similar, but far from it happening once, if that person is not capable, he takes what he needs". says Arditi.
Meanwhile, about 200 kilometers to the north, on the beaches of Lezha, you meet Luciano Marku, a beach watcher with several years of experience, who during his years of work as a watcher, has often had difficult situations.
"The most difficult moment of work is when you have vacationers who are in the water and need help. For four seasons, I have intervened in 26 direct cases. The most difficult day was a Sunday when, together with two colleagues, we took out 10 people at a time when the sea was very rough", he says, adding that there were also cases when he himself was endangered.
"There was a case of two vacationers who needed help as they were in danger of drowning and it was impossible to get them both ashore at the same time, so I intervened to get them both out at the same time. This was one of the cases where I myself was hospitalized and needed medical help". he concludes.
Although the sensitivity to having lifeguards has increased in the Lezha area, the shortages are still evident.
"Every year there is an increasing trend in the number of beach watchers, but we still have shortages as only in Lezha there is a need for more than half of the watchers. So out of the 240 that Lezha needs, we have 90 observers. The demands are much greater than the offer that the market has", he says.
Saved...
In the 12 months of 2019, Albania was visited by 4,850,689 tourists, of which 3,363,970 in the summer season, this is a figure that translates into about 400 thousand more tourists than the summer of 2018 and about 900,000 thousand more than summer of 2017.
But with the increase in the number of tourists in the coastal areas, the cases of risk of drowning or other problems on the coast have also increased. According to the data from the Association of Beach Watchers, it turns out that during 2019, 12 deaths at sea were reported, of which, 5 were caused by a heart attack, 1 by health reasons, 1 as a result of being hit by a boat, 1 by consequences that are related to criminal circumstances and 4 of them as a result of drowning at sea. This figure is low compared to the previous two years, where from the same data source, in 2017 it was reported that 42 people lost their lives.
During the summer of 2019, which was a tourist season unaffected by the "Covid-19" pandemic, Beach Watchers have reported 84 rescue cases, where the watchers' intervention was necessary to bring the endangered to shore . Of these cases, 24 were in critical conditions and were kept or revived until the arrival of specialized medical help.
Problems of training lifeguards in cities
Saranda is one of the most favorite Albanian cities for summer holidays. The strategic location of the city by the Ionian Sea makes it a favorite for many vacationers due to the quick access to the town of Ksamil or the beaches of the Albanian Riviera. Saranda's beach line stretches from Borsh to Ksamil, and needs a large number of lifeguards to ensure the safety of vacationers in the water.
"I cannot say a fixed number of lifeguards in Saranda, as some of them have been trained and left abroad. Currently, 100 observers have been certified in the Saranda area", says Agron Halili, head of training of the Association of Beach Watchers in Saranda.
But problematic for him are the vast majority of beaches. "All areas are problematic, all beaches have problems, 80% of them in terms of trained individuals and material base. There are definitely subjects who are aware of this part, but they are few". he says.
But to qualify to be a lifeguard there are some criteria. "The training is divided into two forms, one fragmented during the week 2 or 3 times a week lasting a month or day by day lasting 20 days". says Agroni, who adds that the training consists of the theoretical and practical part, where the theoretical part includes the characteristics of the beaches, first aid, medical problems, and transport. Meanwhile, from the practical side, the swimming part is done, the instruction, since it is a different type of swimming that the beach watchers must master, from how to enter the water to swimming towards the person who asks for help and placing the transport materials.
"Communication with the health center is also part of the training, so that doctors can prepare for the health problems that await them. They are also trained for the part of setting up signage, its maintenance, but also communication with beachgoers". says Agroni, who also appeals to the owners of the beaches not to leave the beach watcher's training for the last moment, as it is a training that requires dedication and will.
"In the end, the observer will have the life of the vacationer in his hands, training cannot be neglected and after the training that is done to be certified, the observer must pass the exam. If he or she fails to pass the exam, he or she is not certified." he concludes.
A constant absence
"More than 1700 businesses have been registered this year, but they operate more, I don't know the exact number. This year, there are expected to be over 2 businesses and the number of inspectors who have been certified is somewhere around 780. The market requires over 2000 inspectors, but all of them are recalled at the last moment. this is the answer that Genti Lasku, secretary of the Federation of Beach Watchers, gives when you ask him about the great shortage that the country has for these frontline workers. But beach watchers are seen by business operators more as a criterion to meet the legal criteria for obtaining permits to continue their work, than as a necessary employee to guarantee the safety and life of vacationers on the shores of the sea.
"In 2020, about 120 interventions were made, starting from the treatment of cracks, fractures, etc. About 40 of them were of a high-risk degree, 25 of an extreme degree, of which 8 were brought back to life, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, were without a pulse and came back to life. says Lasku, trying to show the importance of beach watchers for the safety of life at sea.
And when you ask him about the situation, he tells you dozens of problems, but he also places some of the blame on the observers, citing an example. "Even observers have their faults. It has happened for years that a lifeguard has been registered in two businesses, but measures have been taken to prevent this from happening again."
Genti Lasku is also critical for the implementation of the law, since most of the beach watchers' tools required by the law are not provided by the business owners.
"Even the entire material base that must be provided is well defined in the law. This is not the duty of the employee, but the subject and must make the working tools available. At least they should apply the law in two criteria, the lifebuoy and the first aid kit, but the first aid kit for the beach watchers and not the one bought in the pharmacy, because it is not for that job". he says.
And while the tower of the beach watcher was erected during the past seasons as a symbolic object that showed the lack of a watcher, Lasku says that it is an unnecessary object for the typology of Albanian beaches.
"In the old law, no one dealt with the beach watcher, but with the watch tower, which had to be over 3 meters high and over 200 meters apart. The tower does not go to save anyone on the beach, sir. For years, the police went to the beaches and asked where the tower was. Now, by law, it is the checkpoint, the red umbrella, the flag, and the signs of what the given signage symbolizes." he says, showing that in Albania there are towers with tiles in the middle of the beach, which are practically illegal constructions.
For this article, the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism contacted the Ministry of Tourism to get information about the current situation and whether there is a work plan to improve the lack of beach watchers, but the ministry was unable to conduct an interview. .
