Gjadër, a small town lost in the north of Albania, was until now much more marked by emigration than by immigration. Located less than 7 kilometers in a straight line from the Adriatic coast, this town is, as is often the case in the Balkans, a chain of abandoned houses. “All the people have gone to look for work in other places in Europe,” apologizes for Amarildo Pali, 26 years old, who came from the capital, Tirana, on Wednesday, October 30, to visit his parents, strange souls who stayed to live in this region in the process of advanced desertification.
However, for several months now, a new turmoil has awakened Gjadër. In fact, on the ruins of the old local air base abandoned since the fall of communism in 1991, the president of the Italian council, Giorgia Meloni, decided to erect the symbol of her very restrictive immigration policy of “outsourcing” processing. of asylum applications. At the foot of a parched hill, a new wall several meters high hides a huge detention center made up of stacked containers. The powerful lighting illuminates the entire valley.
Some construction equipment is still in operation, but everything is supposed to be ready to house up to 3,000 migrants in these dormitories. After being rescued in the Mediterranean, the men from countries considered “safe” will be taken to this country of 2.4 million inhabitants that is not yet part of the European Union (EU). Your asylum application will be processed behind these walls by the Italian authorities.
Those whose refugee status is accepted will then be transferred to the Peninsula, while those rejected are expected to be expelled directly to their country of origin. At least if they agree to receive them within the maximum stay period of twenty-eight days set by the agreement signed in November 2023 between Rome and Tirana.
“A gift from heaven”
Father of young Amarildo, Vat Pali also serves as informal leader of the village of Kakariki, bordering the immigrant center. “When we first heard about this project, we feared that these refugees would attack our village. But when we saw the investment of the Italians we stopped being afraid, with these walls it is impossible for them to escape.”this professional engineer calms down from his garden.
He especially sees “positive impact” tens of millions of euros that the Italian government has invested: “Quite a few people were hired for cooking, cleaning or care services. We are talking about a salary of 1,200 euros per month, it is a very good salary for Albania. Not to mention that Italians rent houses for 400 euros per month. For our lost people, it is a blessing. »
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