An agreement lasting five years, with the possibility of creating in Albania, at the expense of our country, two centers for temporary reception and carrying out procedures for requesting asylum or repatriation of migrants rescued at sea by Italian ships. The pact signed between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart Edi Rama is currently being examined by the European Union. The opposition’s reaction lasts. The leader of the Five Star Movement Giuseppe Conte spoke of “a temporary mass deportation which will cost us a lot, also in terms of human resources”. The Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein thundered: “It is unacceptable that this agreement does not pass through Parliament”, furthermore for the dem leader the agreement with Albania “seems to be in open violation of the rules of international and European law”.
We have gathered the point of view of Sindi Manushi, the first mayor of Albanian origin in Italy. Lawyer, 31 years old, since June she has been the first citizen of Pieve di Cadore (Belluno) elected with the Democratic Party.
How do you rate this pact?
“I find it an agreement that leaves the time it finds. A palliative. First of all, I am not convinced by the timeliness with which the news of this agreement arrived, given that as far as we know it had already been reached in August, but was only made public now. If you want to think badly, you might believe that it was done on purpose, to remove chestnuts from the fire, in a delicate period for both Rama and Meloni, with our government struggling with the budget law”.
What in particular doesn’t convince you?
“In general it seems to me that this pact has received excessive hype compared to its real scope. There is talk of the movement of three thousand migrants to Albania, a decidedly reduced percentage compared to the number of people who arrived in our country this year. So I don’t think it will be of much help, besides the fact that there is currently no clarity on the terms of the agreement. Initially there was talk of two centres, now it seems that there will be only one. Not even its nature is certain, that is, whether it will be a CPR (Permanence Center for Repatriations) or not. And we still don’t know the costs that Italy will have to face and how they will physically move the migrants to Albania. But above all, we don’t know how they will be able to carry out around 3,000 repatriations a month from there, when Italy has carried out 3,000 in the whole year.”
The topic has inflamed the political debate, with clear criticism from the opposition.
“I wouldn’t make it an ideological issue, and I honestly think it’s excessive to talk about Guantanamo as someone did. I think it is an agreement that will not bring great benefits, but a huge cost for Italy both in terms of human capital and from a financial point of view”.
For the majority, with this pact it will be possible to give a breath of fresh air to the centers most in difficulty, such as Lampedusa.
“If Lampedusa is collapsing, new hotspots should be created, but always in Italy. Also because this way management would be easier, also from a logistical point of view.”
Could this agreement be a way for Albania to accelerate its entry into the European Union?
“It would be a vain hope, given that the requirements are very different, certainly not to detain migrants on behalf of third parties. Corruption, justice, economy are the points on which Rama’s country must work to enter Europe”.
How will the Albanians react to this agreement? Is the country ready?
“Even if they are not used to taking to the streets, Albanians are very annoyed by this pact, as polls report. Both for ideological reasons and because they do not have the economic and organizational tools to manage reception, also because Albania has never been a landing country for landings”.
Do you think that behind this pact there is a sort of attitude of supposed superiority of Italy towards Albania?
“I certainly don’t think Italians are arrogant or presumptuous. But at the same time I don’t think the government would have allowed itself to make the same request to another Western or European Union country.”
What should be the government’s attitude towards the European institutions on the issue of immigration?
“The problem has been going on for many years and it is right for Italy to beat its fists to obtain greater solidarity from the other member states, otherwise, as Mario Draghi said in recent days, the European Union will be reduced to being just a market unique”.
In your opinion, should we focus more on the redistribution of migrants, while the executive seems to opt for agreements with the countries of departure?
“The best solution is redistribution. Already in the past both our country and the European Union have attempted agreements, such as with Libya or Tunisia, but in the end they proved to be palliatives, given that the emergency continues”.
As a local administrator, what is your opinion on the work of the Meloni government, in particular on immigration?
“I have only been mayor for six months, so I have not directly experienced the first part of the executive’s action. As far as I could see, there were many organizational and management shortcomings, and the burden fell on local authorities, who had to deal with the emergency and reception, with few resources available. We can say mayors in the trenches, less government.”
There is an extraordinary reception center in your municipality. How is this experience going?
“For the moment everything is going well, let’s hope the classic bad apple doesn’t arrive which would ruin the climate in the center and also the reputation the kids have outside. They are also working hard on studying Italian.”
I would close with a personal memory of his. She was little more than a child when she came to Italy for the first time from Albania. What memories do you have of those moments?
“The journey was tumultuous, because the sea was very rough. Then a long train ride from Brindisi to Pieve di Cadore. However, I was lucky because I didn’t travel on a boat but with the ferry, having all the paperwork in order. The first impact was difficult, because I came from an industrial city in Albania and I found myself in a small mountain village. After a complex first year for adaptation, we always had a good time because we were welcomed and well liked by everyone.”
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