Twoller
04-15-2010, 12:44 PM
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/investigations/27343/
Border Crackdown Fails to Deter Albanian Migrants
Korca, Gjirokastra, Konsipol and Igumenitsa | 14 April 2010 | By Gjergj Erebara
Migrant`s pathBalkan Insight investigates the world of Albanian illegal migrants seeking a better life in Greece, who aren’t put off by tougher controls of the frontier.
“In the past two weeks I tried three times to pass the border but each time the Greek police caught me,” says Admir Cela, stranded penniless outside the Kakavija border pass, trying to hitch a trip back to his hometown of Fier in central Albania
Arrested three days earlier after illegally crossing the border close to Gjiroksatra, Greek police held him and then repatriated him to Albania where he spent a day in detention before being released near the border crossing.
The 17-year-old had hoped to go on foot all the way to Ioaninna, some 55 kilometres from the Albanian border inside Greece. “It’s become very difficult,” said Admir, who first hiked across the border aged only 13, while still in sixth grade.
In the last two years, Albanian authorities have stepped up border patrols in order to curb illegal migration. Tighter border controls are one of the criteria Albania needs to meet in order to achieve visa liberalization with the European Union.
However, despite the increased policing of the border between the two countries, the flow of economic migrants from Albania into Greece has not stopped.
Those who take the dangerous and arduous trip on foot through the mountains say that while the crackdown has made their lives more difficult, it has done little to deter their desire to seek a better life across the border.
....
During the communist regime, when everyone leaving did so illegally and was considered a traitor, an electrical fence was installed on the border to stop them. Border guards had orders to shoot escapees and the dead bodies of those killed were often paraded through towns to instill terror.
Nearly two decades later, with the electric fence long gone, thousands pass each year through the southern border village of Konispol en route to Greece.
....
The Baresha hostel takes its name from its landlady, though there are no signs to identify it. At the entrance is a picture of the shrine of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It contains two simple rooms lined with five beds.
Though landlady Baresha charges only 500 lek (four euro) for a bed for the night, rumours in the village have it that she has become quite well-off on account of the large numbers of immigrants passing through Konsipol.
All seven guests staying at the hostel that night left to cross the following morning illegally into Greece.
....
Gjergj Erebara is a reporter with the daily newspaper Shqip. The investigation was supported by the Danish association of investigative journalism, FUJ, under its SCOOP programme
The rest of the article is at the above link.
Border Crackdown Fails to Deter Albanian Migrants
Korca, Gjirokastra, Konsipol and Igumenitsa | 14 April 2010 | By Gjergj Erebara
Migrant`s pathBalkan Insight investigates the world of Albanian illegal migrants seeking a better life in Greece, who aren’t put off by tougher controls of the frontier.
“In the past two weeks I tried three times to pass the border but each time the Greek police caught me,” says Admir Cela, stranded penniless outside the Kakavija border pass, trying to hitch a trip back to his hometown of Fier in central Albania
Arrested three days earlier after illegally crossing the border close to Gjiroksatra, Greek police held him and then repatriated him to Albania where he spent a day in detention before being released near the border crossing.
The 17-year-old had hoped to go on foot all the way to Ioaninna, some 55 kilometres from the Albanian border inside Greece. “It’s become very difficult,” said Admir, who first hiked across the border aged only 13, while still in sixth grade.
In the last two years, Albanian authorities have stepped up border patrols in order to curb illegal migration. Tighter border controls are one of the criteria Albania needs to meet in order to achieve visa liberalization with the European Union.
However, despite the increased policing of the border between the two countries, the flow of economic migrants from Albania into Greece has not stopped.
Those who take the dangerous and arduous trip on foot through the mountains say that while the crackdown has made their lives more difficult, it has done little to deter their desire to seek a better life across the border.
....
During the communist regime, when everyone leaving did so illegally and was considered a traitor, an electrical fence was installed on the border to stop them. Border guards had orders to shoot escapees and the dead bodies of those killed were often paraded through towns to instill terror.
Nearly two decades later, with the electric fence long gone, thousands pass each year through the southern border village of Konispol en route to Greece.
....
The Baresha hostel takes its name from its landlady, though there are no signs to identify it. At the entrance is a picture of the shrine of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It contains two simple rooms lined with five beds.
Though landlady Baresha charges only 500 lek (four euro) for a bed for the night, rumours in the village have it that she has become quite well-off on account of the large numbers of immigrants passing through Konsipol.
All seven guests staying at the hostel that night left to cross the following morning illegally into Greece.
....
Gjergj Erebara is a reporter with the daily newspaper Shqip. The investigation was supported by the Danish association of investigative journalism, FUJ, under its SCOOP programme
The rest of the article is at the above link.