Border Crossings and Cheddar Cheese

“ Next time be more careful Mr. Luck”, “Sorry Mr. Luck, we cannot let you board the plane”, “Your passport is missing information – do you have other forms of ID?”, “Our telephone number only works from land-line not a cell phone”, “THIS time, I forgive you”. These were just some of the phrases directed towards me during recent travels in and out of Albania.

Turns out I was illegal after all in Albania and that the information the police gave me was wrong. Well, sort of. Can I stay in Albania 90 days in a calendar year as told by them? Yes. BUT, only 30 days on any one entry. Therefore when leaving for New Year in Finland at my brothers I was busted as illegal. Despite only having been in Albania for 58 days. After pleading my case and offering to pay the 200Euro/$250 fine (presumably for being lazy and silly enough to trust the police as I had not read the 12 sheets of A4/8.5x11 paper that were posted on ‘billboards’ around the airport for foreigners) I was told I was forgiven this time.

So…having arrived back in the country on Jan 5 and knowing I needed a residence permit (Austrian Airlines had prevented me from boarding in Helsinki as I did not have one or a return ticket within 30 days) else face leaving the country again in 29 days, I got the necessary paperwork in order. All that is except for the UK police background check. This has been the stumbling block all along. Turns out that in the terrorist-ridden age we live in, the only way to apply for such a check is to appear IN PERSON at a UK police station. No giving Power-Of-Attorney to a family member, etc. Nope, in person or it does not happen. This is a little tricky when you have lived outside the UK for 12 years and are now in Albania. Not exactly a day trip to get there and back. Then on top of it, it will take up to 6 weeks from the application date to get a result. SIX WEEKS – this makes Albanian bureaucracy look supremely efficient. What to do? Really could not justify the cost of a trip to UK just to visit a police station. Plan trip for weekend in Montenegro and reset 30 days appeared a good short term solution – and as long as I did not leave the country once my 90 days were up , there would be no problem. No-one would be looking for me.

As fate would have it my Green Card renewal appointment came up. I got 10 days notice to be in Charlotte, NC, USA on Jan 24. The proverbial two birds with one stone. My return ticket to US went through London. After more than trouble than it should have been (amazingly British Airway’s number in Albania cannot be reached by using a Vodafone cell-phone) my tickets were changed and I had a day in London to take care of background check business. Green card interview went well and consisted of sitting in a room with about 60 other people before being called to have my photo and fingerprints taken. That was that. Done and dusted for another ten years I guess.

Despite delays getting in and out of US due to weather in Chicago, then Charlotte, an acute attack of gout preventing me from walking, then a supposed airline strike by BA on the way back, I made it back to Albania following my brief stint across the Atlantic. Now, time to do some real work.

Though I had been working on budgets and business plans, plus volunteer job descriptions while away I was looking forward to getting moved to Shkodra and getting immersed in YMCA Albania work. Since I last wrote, the school for Roma children in Shkodra has opened. For the last 15 years, a significant number of children have not had access to education. Through a partnership between the YMCA and the Ministry of Education a new school has been built with both parties contributing resources. Most of the funds generated by the Y have come from St. Albans Baptist Church in England. Two classrooms are currently equipped and the YMCA is working on raising the rest. The Prime Minister was present and it was a bells and whistles event. Shame I was sitting in a room ran by the Department of Homeland Security in the USA while this was going on. Two classrooms have been completely furnished due to the generous efforts of St. Albans church and it is my understanding that the relevant government ministry will furnish the remaining classrooms, allowing up to 300 Roma children to attend school. For the majority this will be there first time in a classroom setting. After school hours the YMCA will have use of some portion of the facility and is also the agency of choice in organizing and running the re-integration programs for the Roma community.

In Tirana, YMCA Albania has a new group of volunteers that have been active since the start of the new year. They are currently involved in creating a vision/plan for the Y through 2010. So far they seem to be making good progress. We are also working on holding the General Assembly and creating a new, autonomous NGO structure for YMCA Shkodra. This will allow them to work independently of the National board and hopefully make them more efficient in some of their endeavors. Additionally, new YMCA office space has been secured in Tirana. This was an important step as the current office lease expired at the end of February and there is not money to cover a new lease. However, the new office is free and has the distinction of being placed, along with many other NGOs in the ‘Pyramid’ – the building which served as the mausoleum for the late communist dictator, Enver Hoxha (Hoja)

The ‘big’ project during my remaining time here will be helping YMCA Shkodra develop their Youth Activity Center. This will provide: a library, study center, internet and computer resource center complete with training classes, leadership development program, camping opportunities for youth, language courses, sports programs, coffee shop and regional YMCA office. Through the sale of memberships and revenue from internet usage and the coffee shop this operation will be self-sustaining. Thus we will shortly begin a fundraising campaign to raise the necessary $75,000 required to make this project a reality. Part of the plan is for a sponsored trans-European bicycle ride from Albania to Finland. You will of course be hearing more about this as plans progress.

Last week I secured an apartment in Shkodra and had planned to begin the moving process earlier this week However, due to a family emergency on part of the landlord that has had to be delayed.

At present I am sitting in Vienna airport – no passport, exit/entry issues so far – en route to Norway. Following that I return to Albania for about 18 hours before boarding the overnight bus to Skopje, Macedonia. While there I will attend the YMCA Field Group meeting for that country which consists of YMCA partners, from various European countries, meeting with our Macedonian counterparts to strategize and plan how to strengthen the YMCA in Macedonia.

OK – I did not get this posted as soon as I had hoped. The bus ride was easier than expected and the only issue was returning when a lady in her 50’s was ejected from the bus at the border crossing for having incorrect papers (I believe). I was treated with the usual cursory look and commanded to pay €10 entry tax.

The meeting in Macedonia was a success with the major decision being that the two YMCA organizations existing there (YCS and YMCA) reached an agreement allowing YCS to take on the role of the National organizational (recognized by YMCA Europe and YUSA) with the local YMCA being a member organization of National. IT is a complicated story of how two YMCA’s came to co-exist but the result now is that there will be one internationally recognized organization which will open up new opportunities for the youth in that country.

Back in Albania I have moved one load of stuff to Shkoder, having staggered to the bus station, during this last week. This weekend I will have the help of an American co-student from my Albanian class to help me move the rest of my belongings in his newly purchased VW van. This conjures up images of ‘bodge-it and son’ removals, but I have nothing really to break except crockery, so should not be too much trouble. Apparently payment is expected in the form of English Cheddar next time I am back there. Definitely will need to issue an IOU on that one.

On that note, I will sign off. More from Southern Europe later this month. Mirupafshim.

Ian