Italy's two migrant reception centers in Albania will welcome the first migrants tomorrow (16th). However, there are still many questions and controversies about how the two centres actually operate, how they function, and how they guarantee the rights of those in custody.
According to Italy's "La Repubblica" and Tgcom24 network, in November last year, the Italy government and the Albania government signed an agreement to build a migrant reception center in Albania to alleviate the problem of illegal migration in the Eastern Mediterranean faced by Italy. Last week, the Italy government announced that two migration centres in the Albania port city of Shëngjin and inland Gjadër were ready. It is expected that tomorrow (16th) morning, the Italy naval ship "Libra" will arrive at the Shenjin Immigration Center with the first batch of 16 male migrants, including 10 Bangladeshi citizens and 6 Egypt citizens. After they were discovered in international waters, they were transferred to the warship "Libra".
Upon arrival at the Shenjin Immigration Center, they will undergo identity verification and medical examinations before being transferred to the Jadel Immigration Center, which is dozens of kilometers away. Next, they will have the opportunity to submit their asylum application, which will be processed within 28 days. Migrants who successfully obtain asylum can be sent to Italy; Those who do not pass the application will remain at the Jadel Immigration Center pending repatriation. The opening of the Albania Migration Centre marks a new phase in the management of illegal migration by the Italy government, with the goal of "outsourcing" asylum procedures beyond Italy. However, the controversy over the center continues, starting with the issue of cost. The Libra is about 80 meters long and can accommodate up to 80 crew members and about 200 passengers. But only 16 migrants were transported from Lampedusa in southern Italy to Albania. The cost of the two-day voyage is estimated to be between 250,000 and 290,000 euros, which equates to about 18,000 euros per migrant. The entire project (2024-2028) is expected to cost the Italy government nearly 1 billion euros.
The social media platform of the NGO "Sea Watch".
Davide Faraone, a member of parliament from the Italy Vitality Party, commented: "This is the most expensive and useless propaganda act in the history of the Republic of Italy. ”
Shrein, the secretary of the Democratic Party, criticized Albania's migration centers as squandering public money that could have been used to improve public health services.
The sharpest criticism came from Sea Watch, a nongovernmental organization directly involved in the Eastern Mediterranean rescue. On Monday (14th), "Sea Watch" wrote on social platforms: "16 people who were randomly selected because of their nationality are taking Italy warships to the Albania concentration camp costing hundreds of millions of euros. At the same time, about 1,200 more people have landed on the island of Lampedusa since yesterday. The group satirized Meloni's immigration management policies while questioning the government's rationality in using taxpayer funds, arguing that the Italy government's construction of migration centers in Albania was not due to lack of space, but was actually aimed at weakening safeguards and evading responsibility. In response, Italy Prime Minister Meloni directly responded to the criticism of "Sea Watch" on social platforms, saying that the Italy government is a government with a clear mandate from citizens and is protecting Italy's borders and stopping human trafficking through concrete actions and international agreements. Speaking in the Senate this morning, Meloni said that the EU's attitude on migration has changed and that it is open to repatriation.
Video screenshot "When it comes to migration, Europe's approach is very different today than it was in the past, especially with the push of Italy, but the key is to continue to work and put new priorities into practice. Meloni continued: "I am proud that Italy has become a model to be emulated in this regard. In 2024, the number of illegal immigrants landing will decrease by 60% compared to 2023 and 30% compared to 2022. This is not only the result of government policy, but also thanks to European support for many of our proposals. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen believes that with the implementation of the agreement between Italy and Albania, the EU can also learn from it. She noted that the possibility of establishing repatriation centres outside the EU should continue to be explored, and called on the EU27 governments to "work to find innovative ways to tackle the problem of illegal immigration." ”
(Yi Yi Yi original, translation: Sasha, editor: Shu Liao, see the annotation for the picture source, please indicate Yi Yi: oushitalia for reprinting)