Author: Ina Allkanjari
Four years after the 2019 earthquake in Vora, the signs of destruction are still present, while reconstruction proceeds at a slow pace. Many buildings remain unfinished, leaving thousands in temporary shelters. Delays, insufficient funds, the termination of the rental bonus, mean that this year hundreds of residents are waiting for next year to return them to their homes.
Vora is still a construction site. Traces caused by the November 26 earthquake can be seen along the road. Many buildings have not yet been completed or are in the initial stages of construction.
In the village of Marikaj, some houses that were hit by the earthquake and classified as uninhabitable at the DS5* level have not yet collapsed, or at best have just collapsed, but the reconstruction process has not yet started.
About 3 citizens in Vorë Municipality have become part of the reconstruction project and still hundreds of them, when four years have passed, continue to live in temporary shelters. The most "lucky" citizens have managed to secure income to cover the costs of rental housing, while among them there are others who live in containers in minimal conditions, or some have chosen to move into the new houses that are not yet finished.
Fatbardha Muça, a resident of Marikaj, is one of the citizens affected by the earthquake. Before the earthquake, she and her family of four had a private apartment in Marikaj. But from November 26, 2019, their lives changed completely.
"The verifications came, it turned out that the DS5 will collapse. I have done all the papers are in order. My main gripe is just the bonus. An aid only for the bonus to pay the rent of the house, until the house is built", says Fatbardha.
For 8 months now, Vorë Municipality has stopped the rent bonus for those affected by the earthquake, although there are residents who have not yet entered the new apartments. The municipality did not respond to the request for this information. Citizens tell signal that the reason for the interruption is the fact that no more funds have been received from the Ministry of Finance for the rent bonus.
"I am the fourth myself. I am husband and wife and two sons. With very big sacrifices, we barely make it because the salary is low. Only for the bonus I have the biggest problem, nothing else. It's been 8 months and we haven't received a single lek. Nothing, it has been removed for everyone they say".
Fatbardha says that the process of rebuilding her apartment has not yet started. From the information received, she says that the construction is expected to start in the following days, as there is no answer when we ask her when she thinks she will be able to enter her house again.
"It's been 5 months since I received the money to build the house, I handed it over to the construction company. The construction company came then demolished it and left it a bit behind as there is a lot of work to do. The house has been demolished for 5 days, but the workers are busy, when they are free they will come. Within two weeks, he said, we will come and start it. I know they have their own problems, it's too late. They left many homes, not just me. We are talking about Marikaj", says Fatbardha as she shows that the total amount received for the reconstruction of the house is 26 million lek and so far she has only received half, as according to her the other half is given after the construction of the apartment starts.
Reconstruction delays and insufficient funds
Bashkim Grrica, another resident affected by the earthquake in Vorë, expresses concern that the amount of money received from the grant does not correspond to the high prices of the construction materials he needs for the apartment.
"The masonry house is finished, but it needs insulation, plastering, there is work to be done. According to the papers, I spend 26 million old lek. I received them but they were not filled again. The house without fear wants another 10-12 million lek".
After the termination of the rent bonus, Grrica says that he was forced to leave the rented house and return to their unfinished house together with his family.
"We barely paid the rent, myself without a job, my wife without a job, the girl in high school, the son has now started a job. I returned to my house, without windows, without doors".
Economy expert Mateo Spaho, at the same time Dean of the Faculty of Economics at "Marin Barleti" University, dwells on the delays in the reconstruction process and the economic consequences that accompany these delays.
"Obviously, I think it is a mix of faults related to the central government and the local government, which did not carry out the right practices at the right time. On the other hand, the funds have been stopped, re-released, re-blocked. While the years have passed, the prices have increased and while the prices are increasing, there is a need for more lek", says expert Spaho.
Life in the container of the 18-year-old
18-year-old Klevisa Çaushi has been living with her parents in a container for some time. She says for signal that life in the county is very difficult, emphasizing that she lives in a very small room with her two parents, and they don't even have the minimum conditions such as a shower or a washing machine.
"The municipality gave us the container to live in until we move into the house. Only with one room, it's cold. Only a small toilet, we don't even have a shower to wash, we wash with a can. We wanted to live in a rented house. When we moved into this rented house, because our bonus was cut off, we didn't know how to maneuver for the Lek work and we were forced to leave".
Klevisa does not know when the day will come that she will be in her home.
"They told us that they will give us entrance. They have not given us any exact date. They haven't told us exactly because they say it's a lottery and it depends on when it falls. Mom went and asked us, they said we don't have information, we don't know when they will be distributed", says Klevisa.
According to the economy expert Mateo Spaho, the reconstruction process has been accompanied by a lack of transparency and accountability from the responsible institutions.
"In our case, it is no longer tolerable for the state, even in the 2024 budget, to plan more than 100 million euros in reconstruction expenses, without accounting for what will be built, how much will be built, how many square meters, at what price ", the expert says while emphasizing that we still do not have a final list of the injured, when 4 years have passed.
"We don't have a clear list of the square meters that need to be rebuilt, and we don't have a clear list of who took the house and it's no longer an issue and who still needs to take it," emphasizes Spaho.
Unclear and uninformed residents about the winners of the fund
The reconstruction process has been accompanied by many questions and doubts from various residents of Vora. Denis Subashi, 34 years old from Marikaj, says that he still has no information if the apartment he owns together with his brother will be rebuilt.
"They came and verified it and then in the municipality they pretended that this house is in ruins, it has collapsed. When the house is still currently standing. It was not a luxury house, but it was a house that we lived in. They came and put the stamps and left. We waited like everyone else, for them to do it for us. Wait today, wait tomorrow, 1 year, 3 years passed, only our house was not being built".
He says that although the house was classified DS5 level after the earthquake, later the process was accompanied by many problems since according to him the institutions claimed that this house was in ruins before the earthquake. The young man says that he lived together with his brother in that apartment and therefore decided to hire a lawyer to pursue this matter further.
"They are not giving us any kind of explanation, any kind of thing. Will they do it, what will they do? Because once they said I will make it a state. But until now, a name has emerged in the municipality. We are interested, we have got a lawyer, everything. Nothing, keeping us with vain hopes, not today not tomorrow", says the 34-year-old.
According to expert Spaho, in many damaged areas, the method of selecting families has had major problems.
"What is being done is that year after year, despite the fact that four years have passed, even for the fifth year, that is, for the next year, they plan a certain amount of tens of millions of euros for reconstruction. While four years have passed and while all the damaged buildings have not yet been identified", the expert raises concern.
Spaho says that this is a very serious thing because it shows that the record and no longer the reconstruction has not been completed.
"Albanian institutions have been completely unable to manage that situation and completely penetrated by instances of corruption, abuse, partiality and the desire to waste even on the nation's misfortunes", says Spaho.
The rebuilding process, setbacks and challenges
To learn more about the reconstruction process in Vora, we sent you to the Vora Municipality through a request for information to find out, among other things, how many flats and buildings are classified DS4/DS5 level, at what stage the reconstruction process is, how many beneficiaries have received the grant for reconstruction, and what is the reason for the termination of the rent bonus for citizens who have not yet entered the new apartments.
In the response received for Sinjalizo, the Municipality of Vorë writes that a total of 2847 applicants were submitted to the reconstruction office.
"Vorë Municipality is still in the Reconstruction phase, the building process continues. 6 DS5 buildings, 5 of which collapsed in the village of Marikaj. 15 buildings DS5 all demolished and 4 buildings for expropriation of which 3 buildings were demolished in Vora. Part of the packages is the reconstruction of 30 buildings with a total number of 405 apartments in the city of Vora", says the municipality's response.
Furthermore, this institution says that regarding the reconstruction grant for the DS4 category, no beneficiary applicant has yet been allocated the fund while the process is ongoing. While stopping in the village of Marikaj, the municipality specifies that the reconstruction of the apartments has been completed and the lottery has been carried out as stipulated by the legal procedure, while the 94 applicants and beneficiaries have been accommodated according to the Decision of the Vorë Municipal Council.
"94 applicants of the DS4 category are still in the process for funding. A total of 573 applicants, of which 212 applicants include the category of damage DS5, where only individual dwellings included in the entire territory of the Vorë Municipality are included, are in the process of concluding a contract for the withdrawal of the value of the damage according to the relevant category," writes the Vorë Municipality. in the incoming response for alert.
After the earthquake in 2019, numerous statements by different governors followed each other, with successive changes to the reconstruction deadlines. Today, when 4 years have passed since the earthquake, its traces are no longer felt in political statements, but if you describe the city of Vora, you can clearly see the violation of the deadlines of the reconstruction process and the traces left even today on the citizens who live among the construction sites .
DS5*- Earthquake damaged buildings classified for demolition and reconstruction from scratch
This article was created based on input provided by individuals who have chosen to speak up. Share your story, empower others and be an agent for change. Visit the website: www.acqj.al/sinjalizo-dhe-ti/
