"In cases where drownings of vacationers are recorded, it is not determined what responsibility the beach station that does not contract a lifeguard or the lifeguard himself has, whose action or inaction has not resulted in saving the lives of vacationers", emphasizes as a concern during the audit of beaches by the Supreme State Audit Office. According to the Supreme State Audit Office, it is enough to look at the example of Greece, where the profession of beach lifeguard is regulated by a series of acts, without forgetting the Criminal Code, which has introduced the role of lifeguard as a special criminal offense, which in cases of drownings provides for a prison sentence when he does not act.
But the law that included the watchman on the beaches of the Albanian Riviera, seems to first continue to treat it mostly as an accessory of the tower, although some changes have occurred since the entry into force of the law. However, a VKM from five years ago emphasizes the existence of a tower rather than the profile of the water rescuer, who should be engaged by tourist businesses ready to help people. But the High State Control points out that the 3-meter-long towers for every 200 to 250 meters of beach were not efficient, undermining the watchdog's ability to monitor vacationers and save lives in cases of drowning risk.
Despite the time that has passed since these findings of the end of 2018, the problems continue to be current and still far from the example of Australia, a prominent country in this field where 5 thousand vacationers are saved per season due to high control and efficiency.
You're not season me shortage shpëthymeësh
For the second year in a row, Albania opened the tourist season again in a pandemic state, where, as in every field, the commitment of water rescuers has also been affected. From south to north, the typology of the beaches is very different, but they have in common the lack of beach watchers, whose status, despite the necessary training they must undergo, must be recognized as a profession.
In the south of Albania, Arditi has opened his bar, in front of which lies a beach, which he hopes will be filled by Albanian and foreign tourists this year. In this way, it will manage to compensate a part of the losses from last year. In addition to business problems, finding the beach watcher was also a separate problem for him.
" I searched for a month until I finally found a lifeguard. You can't hire someone who doesn't know what they're doing and just keep them there. So far, we haven't had any problems with drowning or anything like that, but if it happens, if that person isn't capable, they'll take what they need," says Arditi.
Meanwhile, about 200 kilometers to the north, on the beaches of Lezha, you meet Luciano Marku, a beach watcher with several years of experience, who during his years of work as a watcher, has often had difficult situations.
" The most difficult moment of the job is when you have a vacationer who is in the water and needs help. For four seasons, I have intervened in 26 direct cases. The most difficult day was a Sunday when, together with two colleagues, we pulled out 10 people at a time when the sea was quite rough," he says, adding that there have also been times when he himself has been in danger.
" There was a case of two vacationers who needed help because they were in danger of drowning and it was impossible to get them both to shore at the same time, so I intervened to get them both out at the same time. This was one of the cases where I myself was hospitalized and needed medical help," he concludes.
Although the sensitivity to having lifeguards has increased in the Lezha area, the shortages are still evident.
" Every year there is an increasing trend of beach lifeguards, but we still have a shortage because in Lezha alone there is a need for more than half of the lifeguards. So out of the 240 that Lezha needs, we have 90 lifeguards. The demands are much greater than the market supply ," he says.
Saved...
In the 12 months of 2019, Albania was visited by 4,850,689 tourists, of which 3,363,970 in the summer season, this is a figure that translates into about 400 thousand more tourists than the summer of 2018 and about 900,000 thousand more than summer of 2017.
But with the increase in the number of tourists in the coastal areas, the cases of risk of drowning or other problems on the coast have also increased. According to the data from the Association of Beach Watchers, it turns out that during 2019, 12 deaths at sea were reported, of which, 5 were caused by a heart attack, 1 by health reasons, 1 as a result of being hit by a boat, 1 by consequences that are related to criminal circumstances and 4 of them as a result of drowning at sea. This figure is low compared to the previous two years, where from the same data source, in 2017 it was reported that 42 people lost their lives.
During the summer of 2019, which was a tourist season unaffected by the "Covid-19" pandemic, Beach Watchers have reported 84 rescue cases, where the watchers' intervention was necessary to bring the endangered to shore . Of these cases, 24 were in critical conditions and were kept or revived until the arrival of specialized medical help.
Problems of training lifeguards in cities
Saranda is one of the most favorite Albanian cities for summer holidays. The strategic location of the city by the Ionian Sea makes it a favorite for many vacationers due to the quick access to the town of Ksamil or the beaches of the Albanian Riviera. Saranda's beach line stretches from Borsh to Ksamil, and needs a large number of lifeguards to ensure the safety of vacationers in the water.
" I cannot say a fixed number of lifeguards in Saranda, as some of them have been trained and sent abroad. Currently, 100 lifeguards have been certified in the Saranda area," says Agron Halili, head of training for the Saranda Beach Guard Association.
But the vast majority of beaches are problematic for him. " All areas are problematic, all beaches have problems, 80% of them in terms of trained individuals and material base. There are definitely subjects who are aware of this part, but they are few," he says.
But to qualify to be a lifeguard there are several criteria. " The training is divided into two forms, one fragmented during the week 2 or 3 times a week lasting a month or day by day lasting 20 days," says Agron who adds that the training consists of theoretical and practical parts, where the theoretical part includes the characteristics of beaches, first aid, medical issues, and transportation. Meanwhile, on the practical side, the swimming part is done, instruction as it is a different type of swimming that lifeguards must master, from the way in which the water is entered to swimming towards the person who needs help and the placement of transport materials.
" Part of the training is also communication with the health center, so that doctors can prepare for the health problems that await them. They are also trained in the installation of signage, its maintenance, but also communication with beachgoers," says Agroni, who also calls on beach owners not to leave beach lifeguard training to the last moment, as it is a training that requires dedication and will.
" Ultimately, the observer will have the life of the vacationer in his hands, training cannot be neglected, and after the training that is done to be certified, the observer must pass the exam. If he or she fails to pass the exam, they are not certified," he concludes.
A constant absence
" Last year, over 1700 businesses were registered, but more are operating, I don't know the exact number. This year, over 2000 businesses are expected, and the number of lifeguards that have been certified is somewhere around 780. The market requires over 2 lifeguards, but everyone is recalled at the last moment," this is the answer that Genti Lasku, secretary of the Federation of Beach Lifeguards, gives when asked about the country's severe shortage of these frontline workers. But beach lifeguards are seen by business operators more as a criterion to meet the legal criteria for obtaining permits to continue their work, than as an essential employee to guarantee the safety and life of vacationers on the coast.
" In 2020, about 120 interventions were performed, starting from the treatment of cracks, fractures, etc. About 40 of them were of a high-risk grade, 25 of an extreme grade, of which 8 required resuscitation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, they were pulseless and were brought back to life," says Lasku, trying to show the importance that beach lifeguards have for the safety of life at sea.
And when you ask him about the situation, he tells you dozens of problems, but he also places part of the blame on the lifeguards, giving another example. "Even the lifeguards have their faults. It happened last year that a lifeguard was registered in two businesses, but measures have been taken to prevent this from happening again."
Genti Lasku is also critical for the implementation of the law, since most of the beach watchers' tools required by the law are not provided by the business owners.
" The law is well-defined, even the entire material basis that must be provided. This is not the duty of the employee, but the entity and must make the work tools available. At least implement the law in two criteria, the lifebuoy and the first aid kit, but a first aid kit for beach lifeguards and not the one that is bought at the pharmacy, because it is not for that job," he added.
And while the tower of the beach watcher was erected during the past seasons as a symbolic object that showed the lack of a watcher, Lasku says that it is an unnecessary object for the typology of Albanian beaches.
"In the old law, no one was concerned with the beach watchman, but with the observation tower, which had to be over 3 meters high and over 200 meters apart. The tower doesn't save anyone on the beach, sir. Until last year, the police would go to the beaches and ask where the tower was. Now, by law, it's the observation point, the red umbrella, the flag, and the signs that indicate what the given signage symbolizes," he says, pointing out that in Albania there are tiled towers in the middle of the beach, which are practically illegal construction.
For this article, the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism contacted the Ministry of Tourism to get information about the current situation and whether there is a work plan to improve the lack of beach watchers, but the ministry was unable to conduct an interview. .
