Thank God for the Albanians they fed us, they helped us. As Persic talked, it became clear she had been abandoned long before June 14. Paralysis on the right side of her body has immobilized her arm and made it difficult to walk, but she does not seem to be mentally ill. She has lived here for 20 years, since her family tired of caring for her, she said. The institution, built immediately after World War II, is a human dumping ground for the mentally and physically impaired, for juvenile delinquents and for children who had the misfortune to be born to patients.
Many patients have severe mental disabilities, ranging from profound retardation to schizophrenia.
Some wander the halls for hours, dressed in rags, mumbling to themselves, squawking at demons or staring blankly. There are no organized activities for them, and interaction with staff members seems limited to meal times or when physical restraint is necessary. At the same time, a number of the patients, including some very young children, seem afflicted with the sort of mild mental retardation that would not prevent them from leading self-sufficient, productive lives if they had a proper social or family support. He said he was brought here by police after being falsely accused of killing his grandmother. It was impossible to discuss diagnoses or the severity of patients' problems with the nursing staff, because many of them do not even know the patients' names, let alone their medical histories.