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| Erion Veliaj, Fayez MIshari Al-Jassim and their teams |
Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj and Kuwaiti Ambassador to Tirana Fayez Mishari Al-Jassim participated in the distribution of the first aid to the affected residents.
Stressing that this challenge is best met when you have donors friends, Mayor Veliaj added that in addition to basic needs assistance, the Kuwaiti Embassy has also provided assistance for the reconstruction of the houses.
“We have the first three trailers today; an immediate response from the Kuwaiti Embassy, the Kuwaiti people, the Kuwaiti government. We have been given basic emergency needs like blankets and food while we are building the damaged homes. The Kuwaiti Embassy has also helped us with the post-construction part, so in addition to building some houses together, we've also got electronics, washing machines, refrigerators, a lot of equipment; some of these families that are assisted economically, have never had these house devices before, their houses were built in the 1950s and 1960s by means of stones, mud, straw and reeds”, said Veliaj.
He also expressed the need of municipalities for efficient equipment and tools in dealing with emergency situations, such as earthquakes, floods or fires.
“I remember the year '91 when Kuwait has been occupied by Irak. Albania was the first country that not only recognized the Kuwaiti government but condemned that attack and disaster that occurred to the Kuwaiti people. Here's how the story comes! Today we need help, and Kuwait was actually the first to help us. I hope very much that many other embassies to whom we have asked for help will lend a hand. In the first few days and weeks need concrete help in order to recover the homes, and then we need long-term help. We need firefighters, stairs, which are mainly the main evacuation processes, firefighter cars with stairs, in order to save people, and tank-firefighters, mainly to use their water motor when there are floods, as it happened this time”, said the Mayor of Tirana.
Kuwait's Ambassador, Fayez Mishari Al-Jassim, said this is the first shipment of aid to families affected by the earthquake, adding that further assistance will be available in the coming days.
“This is just the first load, a gift, some blankets, washing machines, refrigerators. There will be another consignment in the coming days, which will include, among other things, "real estate" products, as well as first aid kits," he said. The ambassador expressed his willingness to contribute, along with Kuwaiti NGOs, to local fire fighting systems, as well as fire trucks.
Immediately after the earthquake, the Municipality of Tirana began work on the reconstruction of damaged houses, where besides its fund to overcome all the consequences, a significant contribution is also made by the business.