Poverty in Memaliaj
01/11/2011 00:00
Linda Rama: Between Family, Work and Albania’s Future 18/08 14:30
Once populated by miners, the small town of Memaliaj today lives in
extreme poverty with unemployment figures higher in the entire region.
All residents are self employed and the debt lists can be found in every
consumption unit.
The town has today only half of the population that used to have 20 years ago. Almost every family has a member in emigration, but even they are bringing less revenues. The poverty for pensioners is extreme. Many of them buy even the bread on tick, as explains the owner of a small bakery.
Some of them are returning with the hope of opening a small business, which most of the times is a coffee bar.
“Strangely, 173 of the businesses registered as tax payers in the Municipality are coffee bars,” declares the head of the Municipal Tax Office, Aleks Haxhiraj.
According to him, poverty in this town is extreme and the buying power is always falling, together with the annual business revenues. Haxhiraj says that the tax collection is a very difficult process, due to the owners’ refusal to pay.
The town of Memaliaj lives in deep indiference, and there can be seen the clear traces of the communist regime, combined with the absurdity that accompanies the town since the ‘90s.
Top Channel
