The latest loss of life of five Albanian citizens, who drowned when the boat in which they were secretly being ferried across the border into Greece capsized, has re-opened the debate between the ruling majority and the opposition over the effectiveness of the “anti-trafficking” measures and the issue of the visa liberalization with the European Union countries. However, in following the dynamics of events and the testimonies of the witnesses, the debate that is plainly missing is that on poverty and the aggressiveness against the law at heated political moments. So very little is said about poverty and the lack of hope because in this country the use of motor boats is prohibited.
In 2005, the ruling majority, newly come to office, hastened to approve a proposal made by the Italian side to block the movements of all outboard motor boats and rubber dinghies with the aim of eliminating the illegal trafficking of people. The three-year long moratorium is supposed to expire this year. It seems, however, that the opportune political moment has not arrived. So successful has this solution been to the Italian officials, that they are considering applying it as a model to solve a similar problem Italy suffers from with the endless smuggling of people to Italian shores from the African countries. In Albania, the biggest critics of this decision link their dissatisfaction chiefly with tourism. Irrespective of the fact that this moratorium is still in force, the outboard motor boats have again begun to work the waterways. The moment is interesting – the climax of heated political discourse in the capital which has nothing to do with the free movement of the Albanians or with poverty. As a very bad habit in this country, once again, with the approach of general elections, there is a growth of illicit activity.
On the threshold of electoral campaigns, in the course of these campaigns and, usually, straight after these campaigns, aggressiveness towards the law intensifies. When in the autumn of 2005, the government announced that in two months time deadlines expired on the legalization of illegal buildings, cement prices increased threefold on the market, and all along the coastline hundreds of illegal buildings sprouted like mushrooms after the rain so that they were completed before the deadline expired.
Three weeks ago at the Council of Ministers it was stated that there would be major amendments to the Criminal Code and that whoever constructed without permits, even on their own land, would be severely penalized, up to seven years imprisonment. These amendments have still not been passed by the parliament but work is being accelerated so that the buildings are completed, in the existing tourist zones as well, and this involves top state officials too! As the time of the electoral campaign approaches, there will be an exacerbation of aggressiveness towards the law, because, as per usual, we are witnessing a deflation of work in the administration of the state which is responsible for the implementation of the law.
This latest tragedy brought sharply back into focus all the previous tragedies of that kind. There has not been a growth of poverty. Poverty has always been there. However, now we can see how permanent a fixture poverty is, because today it is exposed to greater visibility. Nowadays, it is easier to get to these locations because streets and motor-roads are being built. Poverty is visible and tangible because it is easier for television crews to access locations and report on it. Poverty is “the elephant in the china shop” that politics never mentions.
The opposition shaped its comments on the tragedy around further government failures, chiefly in relation to the visa liberalization. The government handles this tragedy as an isolated case and hits back at the opposition for attempting to benefit politically from a tragedy. At the very least, this latest incident proved that the border management policies are a failure. In six months time, Albania hopes to be invited to join NATO as a fully fledged member. The least that could be demanded of a member country of this alliance is to manage and control its borders. The receipt of this invitation coincides with the beginning of the electoral campaign. For the Albanian citizens there could be an ironic ring to a celebration of NATO membership, when they see that “everything is business as usual.” In joining NATO and drawing nearer to the EU, we hope, that as a state and a society, we settle even more solidly on the rails of the rule of law, so that the law has the same impact for all, for the poor and deserted as well as for the affluent constructor who strives to illegally sneak in the extra floor on a building; so that the law is respected just the same, both in the middle of a term of a ruling majority and at the culmination point of an electoral campaign, so that it has the same force on election day, too, when the will of the voters is fulfilled.
The five citizens who lost their lives in the waters of Lake Butrinti, on the border with Greece, constitute the routine tolling of the bells that sound the alarm of poverty and the failure to enforce the law in this country. At least, this latest incident was a tragedy, a tragedy forewarned. Only days prior to this boat overturning, the Albanian police rejected claims of the Greek police for fresh cases of illegal border crossings. This happens because the psychology of always having good news has gripped the police as well.
