Actually, Albania and especially the capital Tirana is promoted as a metropolis of modern lifestyle. Fantastic beaches, good food and a distinctive nightlife – that speaks for a great holiday that many tourists would dream about. Some say that dream can come true in Albania.
Unfortunately, the reality is different. On Friday, in front of a club in the heart of Tirana’s nightlife – called “Blloku” – we talked to two German men who asked us how to actually get into these clubs. Surprised that this should be a problem in a country that is touted as being so open, we ask them about their experiences. While we are interviewing the Germans, arrests are being made, police officers are frantically running back and forth. The two men tell us that they can’t get into most clubs. At the door they are told they need a reservation. While the bouncers were turning away the tourists with this excuse, other guests are being let into the club every second. Sometimes they let in even more people than usual security regulations would allow – if those are followed at all in Albania.
Groups of young Albanian men who partied a little wilder than expected were also allowed to enter. Shortly after 1 a.m. on Saturday night, less solemn scenes take place on the second floor of the packed club. Several men start hitting each other, a mass brawl that quickly escalates to the point where, where after the punches with their fists, bottles and broken glasses are flying through the air. Some guests who have nothing to do with the punching group are injured, they bleed, some of them at the neck, which can very quickly become life-threatening.
Some of the guests shout “guns!”. Apparently they are confusing fireworks held outside with gunfire. Some of them are sure there were shots with guns into the ceiling of the club, like in Mexico. Traumatized, the guests of the packed club run outside, past the very narrow entrance area – many of them rush into the toilets to find protection from possible gunshots.
While the guests arrive outside safely also the police arrives – a quarter of an hour after the first emergency calls were placed by the guests. No one is said to have seen an ambulance though. One of the guests calling for help is even rejected by the medical emergency hotline number – he had dialed the wrong number, he is being told he should call the police and thus the right number, says a nice lady on the other end of the emergency line. Obviously good skills are necessary in order to call for help at the right place in Albania, because mass brawls with the possible use of firearms are not classified as a potential medical emergency in Albania.
Some of the people detained by the police are not even being searched, standing and arguing with the police in the middle of the action scene – a police officer shouts after his colleague “Search his bag and arrest him!” – the bag is never searched – not even after the person has been taken into the police car.
After a few arrests were made, the situation calmed down – there were a few injured, but fortunately no fatalities. The guests wander traumatized either to other clubs or home. Tomorrow they will start over again, a new party in a new location.
The next day we try to question the responsible head of the police station about the incident. We ask him a lot of questions, especially whether the suspicion that an armed police officer was involved in the incident was true. He tells us that his police department does not have any detailed information about the incident, as the case is being handled entirely by the supervisory authority. According to a press release, the supervisory authority has suspended the police officer involved in the incident and initiated proceedings for breach of official duties. It is suspected that the police officer was armed, this could be the reason why the supervisory authority is investigating the matter and it is not handled by the responsible police station.
According to the police, the identity of some of the people involved with the police officer has not been disclosed – the reason is unknown but it could be because those may be people that no one in Albania wants to talk about in connection with such incidents. Not because they are dangerous, no, but because in most cases their parents are wealthy and influential.
The irony of this story is that we should be grateful to the bouncers at the door for not letting the Germans in. Without knowing it, they were spared from possibly being injured or killed. Criminal proceedings in Albania usually shouldn’t last longer than a year – we’ll follow up on what happened to the case – until then, German tourists have to learn to be a little more creative in order to get into the popular Albanian clubs. We gave the two German tourists some tips. Let’s hope they will be able to use those tips to have a good time in Albania.
Link: Arkiva News
Photo: Arkiva News