Life In Tirana
Hundreds of thousands of people - refugees, military personnel, and journalists - have flooded into the tiny, poor country of Albania, headed to Tirana, the capital city. CBS News Correspondent Diana Olick reports on how residents of the city are coping.
The main city square looks much like other small eastern European cities. There is a mosque there, though Albanians, as a rule, are not a very strictly religious people. In fact, over the past nine or ten centuries, their dominant religion has shifted several times. For now, the majority of the people here are Muslim.
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The main market of Tirana is a mix of colors and smells and free market chaos. Before the fall of communism in the early '90s, none of this was here. There were regular shops, but long lines outside of them. Now, you can buy just about anything you need. But it is a lot more expensive, and much of it works on a barter system.
Life in Tirana can be difficult. Housing and work are hard to come by, and the unemployment rate is 24 percent. Many people used to work in factories, but more than 30 of them closed. After communism, they adopted a policy they literally called "shock therapy." They wanted to break with the past and see what grew out of it. Unfortunately, nothing did.
Driving here can be hazardous. The streets are filled with trucks, military vehicles, and stolen Mercedes. Very few of the traffic lights actually work. It is every driver for himself, and they don't stop for pedestrians.
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