Prime Minister Edi Rama’s remarks at meeting with foreign ambassadors accredited to Albania*:
I would like to Thank everyone for making it in such a short notice!
I want to express, I believe on behalf of everyone and every citizen of the Albanian nation, the deepest gratitude to each and every one of you for really standing by the Albanian people and for having promptly shown your sorrow and willingness to come to our aid. I would especially like to thank Luigi and Leyla, who were the first to send messages expressing on behalf of all European Union member states and the United States of America full readiness to help. So thank you very much!
And let me praise with all the strength of my heart the excellent work that has been done by all teams, but also by some crews from your countries. What I have experience and witnessed in this rescue mission has been really impressive and it will stay with me during my whole life.
I would like to share with you the emotion, the very special feeling that an immediate reaction was expressed by Prime Minister Conte, Prime Minister Mitsotakis, President Erdogan, President Macron, who were the very first ones to show their sorrow, and other leaders one after another. I really feel that words cannot describe what this meant to me, what it meant to us. It’s brilliant. President Vucic, Plenkovic, Djukanovic, Prime Minister Zaev, people who represent countries that are not among the richest, or the strongest ones, but who have done everything. Let alone our brothers in Kosovo, the President, the government and the excellent people.
I apologize if I am forgetting anyone, but everyone has been excellent. Mr. Ambassadors, thank you for extending your condolences and expressing readiness on the same day. Prime Minister Orban and everyone else. It has been something extraordinary. The President of Romania. It was really impressive. The Romanian search and rescue crew arrived immediately, without asking for help, because we were yet in the process of issuing the appeal for help. The rescue team from Switzerland just arrived and did an excellent job.
It is really amazing to see people coming from different parts of Europe, without ever being in Albania, never having to deal with Albania ever, without knowing the language, to put their own lives at risk just to save unknown people. The Greek team did something really inspirational. I was there and they finally pulled out a boy from a 6.5-meter tunnel through the rubble. It happened when all our teams were really exhausted. They had been working hard to rescue people and they kept rescuing many, but then things started to complicate because the cases were really complicated and the pressure was extremely high, the responsibility was tremendous, the tension too and they were part of the quake-affected people.
I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard how beautiful Pope Francis expressed his emotions. I could go on and on, but let me stop here for a moment. And once again, I want to apologize to all of those I forgot to mention. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, people, our friends in Saudi Arabia who have sent non-stop messages from the Royal Court, asking about things, seeking to find out more. Israel was just extraordinary. They arrived here without having been asked them and I said oh my God, how beautiful is this. They have to form a government yet, but they came to help us.
Thanking you all for all of these and by expressing my gratitude for your immediate reaction in the face of this new challenge, which is to inspect and understand where we stand in terms of the solidity of the buildings and homes. I would like to some few things, because you know Albania very well, you live here in Albania and you feel the country. You know that it is humanly impossible to go through it alone, or go through it in a normal way and by normal way I mean the normal mechanisms.
That’s why I wrote to all of your leaders, asking for their help and assistance. I wrote to (British) Prime Minister Johnson, telling him that Great Britain is facing a tremendous challenge, but we need help. I have sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Japan, the Prime Minister of Sweden, the Prime Minister of New Zeeland and so on and so further, without forgetting our friends in Middle East, asking every one of them “brothers, help us,” because what we are facing now is a problem of sharp tension and psychological misbalance.
People are afraid. People feel insecure and they need to see things become better. And, yes, we can ask them to show patience, but they will start to be patient if they feel and see that the world would not abandon us. You know that many people have left Tirana and Durres moving to other cities of the country. This is because people do not feel safe.
In this very building, at the Prime Minister’s office, the half of the people working here are not sleeping in Tirana. Instead they sleep in other districts of the country and come to work every morning, but they come here after sleeping in Elbasan, Fier, and Vlora. Many people at the apartment building where my mother lives have abandoned their homes and everyone says the same thing; they all feel unsafe.
Of course, it is clear that – I am being notified by my ghost here, the person next to me – but I thought I mentioned it, I talked about our brothers in the Middle East, Kuwait and Qatar.
I saw Dutch Ambassador and I would like to thank you for your concern and for having expressed it and I know the (Dutch) Prime Minister is concerned too. The Prime Minister of Denmark also sent me a very beautiful message.
Sorry if I forgot someone.
So, returning to the point again, I would like to say we really need to work together, because there are several levels of all this. First, we need to have teams on the ground and Gent told me this morning that many of the ministers, starting from the Dutch Foreign Minister, Hungarian Minister and many others have shown their readiness to immediately percept the need to have these inspection teams.
There is also something else I would go further, the cabinet of the Chancellor, how am I supposed to forget it, they have been so active from the very beginning. We have had an immediate positive reaction from Germany and also the reaction by the Foreign Minister today, which is a very positive one about what we are trying to do. But it will be crucial psychologically for the Albanian people that assessment of damages to the buildings is made by teams composed of two Albanian experts and two foreign experts, because this is about trust, it is about guarantee.
The buildings that are being shown are actually disastrous, but I know this is not the case for every affected building. There are buildings that have suffered cracks and rifts, but they have suffered no damages to their structure and they can be reconstructed quickly. Yet, who is willing to enter their homes again along with children, their aged parents when they have all been through this kind of nightmare without a stamp and a confirmation decision by us. We need to do it fast and I hope we will do it fast.
Luigi has been instrumental in ensuring the Brussels’ commitment. Earlier today, I had a very long phone conversation with the new President of the European Commission and I could hear she was thoroughly informed and she didn’t need much information. And she told me that some people from the new Commission will be here on Wednesday to assess and see what they can do.
But the other aspect is the know-how of this whole. There are countries that have faced much stronger earthquakes than the one that hit our country. Of course, I am not saying this earthquake was not powerful, but when I think about Turkey and Japan, or even Italy and Greece, our friends and neighbours, all these countries possess incredible knowledge and we would be really grateful if we would have their support in terms of know-how, and whoever sends here one or two persons, who would help us to improve knowledge about “where to start with, what to do, or what about we build on the very same site or elsewhere, what would happen?
There is another serious problem with the people in rural areas, because although it won’t be that easy with the residents in urban areas, it will still be less complicated, because people in the rural areas like those in Kruja, Durres, Laç, or Lezha and Tirana, they are very connected to their land and livestock. We can’t even tell them to go to the hotels and that they have to leave, but they won’t do so, because they want to stay with their things. But we should make sure that they are all provided shelter in tents that were supplied by Italy lately and these tents meet European standards as they are beautiful, totally isolated, not affected by cold, water or humidity. Everyone should be provided this opportunity for their families. And I don’t think it would be complicated. So, if every one of you puts an effort to this, we would absolutely do the best for these people.
Then, funding the whole operation is of course another big, as for was it was like a hurricane that has hit hard our daily live. Tomorrow I will be meeting with the National Rebuilding Committee. It is a transversal body gathering representatives from the government, the civil society, representatives from the civil society organizations in solidarity with people in need, which have turned out to be great in fund raising, representatives of banking system, commercial organizations, the Chamber of Commerce, and representatives of the Albanian Development Fund.
I would have wished for the opposition to join us. I have invited them, urging them to send their representatives, in order to table their ideas and share their concerns with us and hopefully develop best idea. This is not about who is the most intelligent. I am sure we have had enough time and, once all this is over with the God’s help, we will certainly have plenty of time to fight about who is the wisest, who is the best and so on and so forth. Now, however, it is time to look at this challenge and deal with it as human beings who are responsible to make best decision for the good of our own country. I am looking forward to seeing them join us.
But, again, we need you. President Erdogan himself has already started a process of engaging other countries in the region for the Donors Conference. I think that the West should do the same. It won’t pass with a mechanism only. Of course, the EU mechanism will be there. I am sure about this because Luigi and Ursula have shared their commitment with me from the day one, yet this is far from enough. We need to think about a Donors Conference for all EU members and not the EU member states only, but everyone. I would be very happy if China would also organize something with other countries in the Euro-Asian region.
What I want to say is that it is very important give the country back to the people. You know quite well how many difficulties we would face in our efforts to go further and move forward. You know quite well how hard we were hit emotionally by the EU decision and we need to work together to tell and show people, not by words, but by facts that the future is right here and not open the path for a new wave of discontent, which if it explodes, then it would be impossible to do this all.
So, this was more or less what I had to say. Of course, this process includes many details and many aspects, but I don’t want to take all the time here. I am sure you also have things to say. And again I want to thank everyone for the support and again apologize for the third, fourth, or fifth time to everyone I might have forgotten to mention. But I know that each of you here have sent your messages and I am deeply grateful for that. Actually it is better that we count the things that have been already done and may miss something, because it means that a lot has been done.
Again, thank you to every participant from other sectors, like the World Bank representative. Thank you very much!
As you all know, we have named a plenipotentiary minister, who is Mr. Çuçi. He has amassed great and lifetime experience in working on the local government issues. He is highly experienced. He is a man of few words, but of hard work and therefore I believe and I am confident he will do an excellent job. We have then three heads of the emergency teams in Tirana, Durrës and Lezha and then the National Rebuilding Committee will represent the table where we would very much like you to join us in to monitor and be updated. However, my conclusive point is please, please, please help and render us the best know-how you command about this. I know money is absolutely crucial, but the know-how is fundamental on how to spend the money in the best way possible.
This Committee is also meant to be a mechanism of transparency, because, as you all know, people are contributing and putting their heart in it and therefore we won’t allow this process be spoiled because of the lack of transparency, abuse, or corruption. That’s why we would also need help in building this mechanism of transparency. The Committee will serve the Emergency Services during this emergency period and later the government, but being at the same time an engine of transparency. Every single penny, every euro, dollar or lek should be visible to the people to show them what is being done with the money. Likewise, there is something also very tricky, because we have to act fast and therefore there is not enough time to pursue the typically usual procedures, which sometimes may take a year. We need to act fast, but also act in full transparency. Therefore, it would be very useful if we are provided help and know-how on this aspect.
I will stop here, because perhaps I am sleepless and may be the adrenaline make me forget when to stop. So I am stopping here and, if I may, I would ask Luigi to open the discussion and then whoever wishes to speak just feel free to do so.
And there is one more thing I am really wondering where is it? Where is my 16th coffee of today? Where is that coffee for the friends here, because it is impossible not to drink a coffee here? Please make sure that coffee is served.
I hope the reconstruction process would be like that. Once you ask for a coffee, the coffee is immediately served.
*Simultaneous interpretation
