Hot, Hot, Hot

I see on the news that Britain is suffering from a deluge of rain, consequent floods and colder than normal weather whilst we here in Kosova, and most of the Balkan peninsular, are sweltering in near 40 degree temperatures. At the moment this heat is combined with searing hot dry southerly winds that can only be coming up from Africa. Someone said to me the other day these were the dog days of summer; to me it seems too early for the dog days, spring is not long over and July not yet begun. Never-the-less this uneven distribution of rainfall is beginning to cause problems here. In the water company here in Prishtina we have already put in place some stringent water restrictions in parts of the city in order to conserve supplies. If we do not have a wet snowy winter there is a real danger that the city could be completely without water next summer. Not wishing to sound like a doom-monger, these days I have been explaining this to everyone I meet but so far the general response is “it will rain – ‘Ishalla’ ”. But what if it doesn’t; there is bound to be a first time that there are two consecutive very dry winters. How will 600,000 people survive in this bustling crowded dusty city next year with no water? There are water supply projects that could be started now that would alleviate a crisis situation should it occur but they need money and they need to be started now.

I plan to keep trying to get the ear of those who can do something. There is a small cultural difference to overcome; here people rarely plan ahead. It is noticeable, for example, that no one ever organises and invites participants to meetings, parties and other social events more than 3, often less, days in advance. Even the National Theatre only advertises its performances on the day before the event! People generally don’t keep appointment diaries. Next year’s water supply, well that’s hard to imagine, let alone worry about. It will rain…Ishalla…trust in god.