TIRANA, Jan 9 /ATA/ – Prime Minister Edi Rama on Friday urged calm as severe weather and heavy rainfall continued to affect parts of Albania this week, saying “rivers would not recede through protests or slogans but through concrete assistance to those affected.”
Rama was speaking while chairing a meeting of the Interministerial Committee for Civil Emergencies at the government’s operational situation room, where officials reviewed the impact of recent flooding.
“These have been exhausting and difficult days for everyone – both for families who have seen water enter their homes and for state employees who have worked day and night to deal with this natural emergency,” Rama said.
He said prolonged cold rain had caused widespread disruption, including flooded roads, damaged homes, interrupted work, transport difficulties, property damage and losses of livestock, creating stress and frustration among the population.
Rama said patience was essential in such circumstances, stressing that the situation went beyond ordinary bad weather.
“Rain does not stop because of allegations, rivers do not return to their beds through protests, and clouds do not disperse with slogans,” he said, referring to criticism of the authorities’ handling of the floods.
Such reactions, he said, fuel tension and division rather than solutions and assistance.
“In a situation like this, imaginary culprits are not needed – real people need real help,” Rama said, adding that affected communities needed solidarity, support and coordinated action rather than “shouting, misinformation or conspiracy theories”.
/gj.m/a.f/u.sh/
