07 July 2007

amnesty international helps albanian orphans avoid eviction...

fifteen orphaned albanian adults are set to be saved from homelessness, after local authorities responded to amnesty international's (ai) calls not to evict them...

the 15 people, who were orphaned as children, were threatened with eviction from their current home in student residential halls (known as konvikt) in the town of korça, south-east albania...this would have risked the vulnerable group being left on the street...

on 31 may, several albanian newspapers reported on ai's recent press release calling for support for the 15, most of whom are women in their 20s and 30s...

two days later, the press reported that korça local authorities had decided to find - and pay for - rented accommodation for the 15...they also agreed to give the group priority when around 80 apartments for the homeless are built and allocated at the end of this year...

however, it appears that the authorities have not yet contacted the 15 people themselves to inform them of these plans, which they learned about only from the press...not an easy feat considering there are only 9 televisions per 100 people in albania (possibly a blessing)...

we are encouraged by the signs that albania plans to provide alternative accommodation for the 15 people...amnesty members urge the authorities to make this pledge public...

it's an extraordinary situation in the land that claims direct heritage to the family of mother teresa...read the complete story here...

peace out <3

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