Word: pyramides
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...been a lightning rod for public rage since the January collapse of more than a dozen get-rich-quick investment schemes that lost the life savings of somewhere between 50% and 90% of the population. Most Albanians believe that Berisha was in cahoots with the operators who ran the pyramid swindles...
...were trying to stamp out demonstrations. Vlora, a town of 70,000, had recently been prosperous, at least in Albanian terms, largely because some of its residents are noted for their skill at smuggling. Since they had money to lose, they lost more than most Albanians in the collapsing pyramid funds. They have had it with Berisha. "He is a thief who stole our money," says Idris Nimet, a carpenter turned rebel. "Berisha will never get to Vlora. The people are with us, the soldiers are afraid, and everyone has guns...
...gathers to hear a speaker demand the ouster of Berisha, but he is preaching to the converted. "Here in Vlora," says Velo Cazin, 44, "all people think as one. Berisha must come down." They also think they can somehow be given back the money taken by the pyramid funds, even though almost every Albanian lost some savings...
...They have reportedly seized three tanks and seek to capture Tirana, the nation's capital. Meanwhile, residents in the south are flocking to shops to stock up on food and supplies, and several Albanians are trying to flee the country altogether. Albania has seething since mid-January, when failed pyramid schemes left thousands destitute. Defrauded investors took to the streets to protest their suspicion that government officials at least tacitly allowed the schemes to continue and perhaps even profited from them. After protests turned violent, the government declared a state of emergency Sunday evening and enforced a strict curfew, authorizing...
...amid widespread violence, Albania's parliament re-elected the man who pledged to use an "iron fist" to end the chaos. Thus President Sali Berisha enters his fifth year as leader of this often forgotten Eastern European nation, which has been gripped with unrest since mid-January when failed pyramid schemes left thousands destitute. Under the state of emergency, declared Sunday evening, people cannot gather in groups of more than four and must stay off the streets between 8 pm and 7 am. People caught outside during those hours will be arrested or even shot if they offer resistance...