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Terre des hommes Albania

Terre des hommes is actively engaged in the prevention of child trafficking in Albania through prevention campaigns, schooling programs and social support at a communal level as well as by the repatriation and social or family reinsertion of children. Child trafficking – Illegal emigration is a major phenomenon in Albania. When the country opened its frontiers in the early 90ies, more and more children crossed the country’s border. At the end of the decade, thousands of them used to work in the streets of Athens, Rome or other European cities. Drastic economic conditions have meant that uninformed parents and single mothers allow their children to leave home with traffickers, often a person known to the family, who promise to share the revenue generated by the child. Aged between six and twelve, these children work up to 15 hours a day, on the street, selling flowers or handkerchiefs, washing car windscreens or begging to obtain the amount of money set by their bosses. In conjunction with the Albanian authorities, Terre des hommes has put in place a transnational program to fight child trafficking. The Albanian Foundation NPF, the Greek NGO Arsis and other national and international organizations are also involved in this project which covers 19 Albanian districts and mobilizes social workers in the streets of Athens and Thessalonica. By means of campaigns, children, their families and the community are informed about the risks brought on by exile. This project also encourages schooling and organizes recreational activities. On a case by case basis, Terre des hommes will repatriate children who have been placed in Greek institutions and helps them return to their families as well as ease their social reinsertion back into society. Tdh yesterday… Terre des hommes has been present in Albania since 1993 when it established classes which allowed disadvantaged children to catch-up scholastically. Albania has a low school attendance rate. Since 2001, this project has been independently managed by its Albanian partner NPF. From 1993 to 2004, Terre des hommes also worked on the fight to prevent child abandonment. Since 2005, the project known as “Rozafa”, has been taken over in its entirety by NPF. During the war in Kosovo, Terre des hommes undertook emergency action helping Kosovar refugees arriving in Albania. In 1999, 700 children received food, sanitary and psychosocial help prior to being repatriated to their homeland. In 1999, Terre des hommes and NPF undertook preliminary investigations into child trafficking taking place between Albania and Greece. In 2000, the actual prevention program against child trafficking began. In 2002, in light of the magnitude of the project, Terre des hommes received a prize for Human Rights given by the French government. …and tomorrow The key element in the success of the above program was being able to demonstrate that child trafficking is not a fatality and that it is possible to effectively battle it. Despite the fact that the situation is improving in Albania, effective protective mechanisms remain weak. In 2006, Tdh plans to continue its advocacy work and protection campaigns, taking care of over 1’000 children. The key success factor will lie in strengthening capacity building at a local level (parents, communities, associations, and state institutions) and ensuring the existence of long term protection measures for children. Real Life Mirela (name changed for protection purpose), aged 15, lives in Elbasan in southern Albania. Her family belongs to the “Evgit” people, a minority group victim of hatred by the rest of the population. Her parents, now divorced, had 8 children. No one in Mirela’s family has a job. One of her brothers is in prison. 3 sisters live in Italy. They were sold and work as prostitutes. Mirela’s mother receives a small stipend from social security and has to take care of 9 people on this small amount. Sometimes Mirela and her sisters resort to being prostitutes in the main town. When she was 10, Mirela was taken by her aunt to Thessalonica in Greece. For six months she had to beg in the streets, often mistreated when she did not bring back enough money. One day she was arrested by the Greek police and returned to Albania. Discovered by Tdh, Mirela was registered in the program for the prevention of child trafficking. She went back to school and now her family receives food, school materials and medication. Mirela has been able to complete her 3rd year of schooling. In parallel, she has been able to go to a hairdressing school and sewing classes set up by NPF. Tdh also applied for identity papers for the 3 youngest children of the family. Thanks to collaboration with the Elbasan anti-trafficking police, we were able to stop one of Mirela’s sisters from selling her 2-year old baby, presumably for illegal adoption.