The central Albanian town of Elbasan after a downpour.

 

PROJEKTI GOMAR

OPERATION 'GOMAR'

In 1999 Dissident Editions (me) proposed to "Friends of Albania"
(Miqtë e Shqiperisë) in England a modest project on behalf of the donkeys (gomerë) of Albania, a country where veterinarians and veterinary services are very few.

As a result of initial and anonymous funding by Dissident Editions, further cash was raised by the secretary and organiser of FoA, Miss Primrose Peacock. Veterinarians from England and Austria kindly offered their services at no cost, and, eventually, the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA) sponsored a Scottish veterinarian and offered literature in Albanian, tools and pharmaceuticals.

The very wealthy British charity, The Donkey Sanctuary, refused to help the project in any way.

 

Zyra Diaconia Agapes ne bashkepunim me organizaten angleze BESA: Miqte e Shqiperise organizon ne zonen e Shpatit Projektin 'GOMAR'. Tre specialiste nga Anglia, Zelanda e Re dhe Austria do te trajtojne kafshet tuaja te punes (gomere, mushka, kuaj) per probleme te ndryshme qe kafshet mund te kene si probleme me thundrat, demtime nga samari probleme te gojes etj. Jeni te mirepritur me DATE 10 TETOR 2000 ORA 9.00 ne Gjinar. Ju faleminderit!

Notice posted at Gjinar by Diakonia Agap�s.

From the 9th to the 13th of October 2000, the veterinarians and their facilitators both Albanian and foreign worked and spoke in five villages around Elbasan in central Albania: Balëz, Gjimar, Gjergjan, Thane and Papër. They were ably assisted by veterinarian staff from Elbasan and Tiranë and by workers for Diakonia AgaphV (Diakonia Agap�s: Service of Love) in Gjinar.

Much local interest was aroused, and many owners of donkeys (as well as horses and mules) turned up at the advertised places at the appointed times. They were obviously fond of their equines, and anxious that they have their teeth looked at and seen to, that they be inspected for parasites, and so on.

The following pictures were takern by the organizer,
� Primrose Peacock.

At Gjinar, 11.00 in the morning.

Austrian veterinarian, Edmund Hainisch at Gjinar.

A loving owner and a patient at Gjinar.

English veterinarian Neil Rudram at Balëz.

New Zealand veterinarian Ian Dacre examining teeth at Papër.

The river-bank near Papër

 

 

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albanian emigration

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wolf and donkey protect each other against human cruelty

 

A young Albanian man smokes a cigarette
as his younger wife carries hay alongside the main road near Elbasan,
February 24, 2003.

In rural Albania, as all over the world,
'tradition' dictates that women to do all the house chores
with men never helping, as this is seen to be a sign of weakness
if not 'effeminacy'. By walking thus alongside her
he flaunts his male superiority.
REUTERS/Arben Celi

combatting normality