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Carrying 16 migrants from Egypt and Bangladesh, Italian navy ship Libra arrived at Albania’s Port Shengjin after a 36-hour voyage. After the vessel reached the port and the migrants had arrived, Italian authorities denied journalists the ability to access the port.
After arriving, the migrants were registered at facilities set up by the Italian authorities within the port.The migrants were then moved to Gjader camp, which is 20 kilometers away, where they underwent identification and health checks.
Under detention, these 16 migrants are required to remain in pre-constructed houses that are 12 meters squared in dimension, surrounded by high walls and surveillance cameras, as well as monitored by Italian security forces. From within these houses, the 16 migrants will be able to apply for asylum on site. If their application is rejected, holding cells have been set up within the camp where they will be held while awaiting deportation back to their home countries.
The Albanian Interior Ministry stated that a family among the 16 migrants, which includes two children, were originally deported to Albania from Italy after which they were sent back to Italy again. This family will now reportedly be transferred to a newly established asylum processing center in Albania.
Initially, the 16 migrants were supposed to go through a rigorous bureaucratic process, where they are identified and photographed, at the newly established asylum processing center built in Albania by the Italian government. There, they would also be questioned regarding their intention to seek asylum in Italy. At the end of the process at the center, they would then be transferred to Gadir, a small village in the municipality of Lezhë, located within a rural part of Albania In the village, the 16 migrants would find a reception center for asylum seekers with a capacity of 880 people, as well as a detention center for ‘screening and deportation’ purposes with a capacity of 144 people. Any migrants whose asylum claims are rejected will be deported, and repatriated if their country of origin allows their return.
Libra, the Italian navy ship, rescued the 16 migrants while they were still traversing through Italian territorial waters. After leaving the coast of Lampedusa Island, the migrants arrived at Albania’s Port Shengjin where the first Italian-operated asylum processing center is located.
The arrival of the migrants on board the first ship was accompanied by protests held by a human rights activist group. The protesters held a demonstration where they held up a banner with a picture of Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, along with Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, dressed as prison guards.
Meloni’s right-wing government built the two aforementioned centers for asylum seekers in Albania last Friday, as Rome intends on processing thousands of male migrants who seek asylum there. This process begins when these migrants are intercepted throughout international waters while trying to cross from the North African coast to Europe.
The Italian and Albanian authorities came to an agreement on this controversial process regarding the matter in November 2023. This startling agreement in Europe has been denounced by many non-governmental organizations, as it is a violation of international law.
The agreement spans five years and is estimated to cost Italy around 160 million euros per year. The agreement pertains to adult men only that are intercepted by the Italian navy and coast guard in their search and rescue zones throughout international waters.
The centers will only be able to accommodate about 1,000 people initially, after which the number of people can only expand to 3,000 in the long term. For some, these limited figures alone do not justify the execution of the agreement.
