Refugee camp in Gjadër, DW: There are no conditions, the containers are not suitable

The sun is scorching in the interior of Albania, it is hot at the old military airport in Gjadër, the temperature is over 30 degrees. A fire is seen on a nearby hill, plumes of smoke rising into the blue sky.

At the construction site of the Italian camp for asylum seekers in Gjadër, work is currently stopped due to the heat, as stipulated by the Italian labor law. Italian laws are also applied in Gjadër, because Albania has given that country a military zone. The construction of a container camp for asylum seekers did not even require an Albanian construction permit.

3000 migrants per month

Italian law currently applies to construction workers - and in the future it will apply to more than 3,000 migrants and refugees a month whose claims must be processed here, meaning a decision must be made on whether they are eligible for asylum or not .

In the future, Italy will transfer to Albania the persons rescued in the area of ​​international waters in the Mediterranean. First, in the port of Shengjin, where a small camp is already ready to receive asylum seekers. Those people have to register there, have their fingerprints and other data taken - before they are transferred to Gjadër.

And who will move to Albania? According to the Embassy of the Republic of Italy in Tirana, the decision for this should already be taken in the emigrant rescue ships. Depending on the country of origin and the health status of the migrants and refugees, it will be decided who will be transferred to which camp.

Short stay

Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International criticize that most migrant rescue ships are not equipped enough to make such decisions. They claim, for example, that there is no suitable medical equipment for more comprehensive examinations of people.

In addition, as these organizations claim, many migrants and refugees do not have personal documents with them. The letters are decisive for making a decision on asylum: supposedly people from the so-called safe countries (of origin) must go to Albania, that is, from those countries with which Italy has signed an agreement on the return of immigrants. This should prevent asylum seekers whose application has been rejected from staying in the camp for a long time.

The containers in Gjadër are not suitable for a long stay anyway. Two soldier beds, two metal cabinets and four plastic chairs are the furniture that take up most of the space in them. There is room for four people in each room. Showers and toilets are located in another part of the camp.

Exception, not rule...

The camp area in Gjadër, from a legal point of view, should have the same status as border areas or transit areas at airports, as defined by law - and this is a prerequisite for the rapid approval of the procedure for the right to asylum. Asylum seekers should only be transferred to Italy in exceptional cases.

The calculation is clear: people who end up in Gjadër have no chance of getting asylum. They will probably never move to Italy again.

But the procedures themselves must be carried out in accordance with the law of the Republic of Italy. There are office containers at the entrance to the camp. According to Italian claims, they should be equipped with lawyers and judges responsible for the proceedings. Some things can be done through video conferencing, it is claimed. It is difficult to get more specific information about it, just as it is difficult to get an answer to the question: can asylum seekers be forced to stay in such a camp, that is, in a place where freedom of movement is limited?

Albanian activist Arilda Lleshi from Shengjini doubts and sees this as a violation of the rights of immigrants, which are guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. The agreement is absurd and serves only the heads of the Italian and Albanian governments, Edi Rama and Giorgia Meloni, she claims. "It doesn't serve the expats and it doesn't serve our community here," says Lleshi.

Refugees and tourism

Shengjin is an ambitious tourist destination. The beach, on which there are many sunbeds in August, is located right next to the port, where the immigrants must land in the future. "There was no public discussion about this at all. We found out about it on November 5, when the agreement was signed in Rome", complains Lleshi.

Some other people in the region hope that the existence of the camp can have a positive effect on the local economy, especially in Gjadër. Italy has promised to create new jobs for local residents, for people who will work in the kitchen or as cleaners. And hundreds of Italian policemen have to be accommodated somewhere, they have to spend the night in hotels in nearby cities. The agreement between the two parties stipulates that the camp will be in operation for at least five years.

In a few weeks, the camp in Gjadër should be ready to receive the first asylum seekers. But only after the Italian authorities have given the "green light" to start work. It seems clear that Italy does not want to make a single wrong step in this camp. For Italy, it seems, Gjadra cannot be a template for camps other similar DW