From: Exit Staff
Tirana Family Living in Car Two Months After Albanian Earthquake

A family of four people, including two young children, have been living in the car for most of the last two months, after their home was declared uninhabitable from the November 26 earthquake.

The Saraçi family in Tirana, with two children aged 10 and 11, say they have not received help from the Municipality and that they are sleeping and living in the car every day.

The father, Ferdinand Saraçi told BalkanWeb that after the apartment block where they lived was declared uninhabitable, they were housed in a tent set up by Civil Emergency, but the tent was filled with water after the first heavy rain.

They then took refuge in a hotel but stayed there only two days after being pulled out at the request of the head of the Administrative Unit as soon as they spoke to the media about the difficulties they were facing.

Now the Municipality has given them only one blanket and the rent bonus for January and not December.

Asked about the case, the head of Administrative Unit No. 6 in Tirana, Adriatik Merko, said the delay in delivering the December bonus is the responsibility of the municipal council and the Municipality. He declined to comment on Ferdinand Saraçi allegations of eviction.

The family, where Ms Saraçi is the only member in full-time employment, decided to take out a loan of 2 million ALL (€1,650) to rent an apartment, but she said rents have risen and that none of the landlords agreed to enter into a regular lease.

They told the media how their case is not unique and there are others in the same area of Tirana, in Kombinat neighborhood, who have not received any settlement from the Municipality but have tried to find a provisional solution: some have found shelter with close friends or in rented apartments, while others have decided to take the risk by continuing to live in damaged palaces.