Observation report exploitation of Albanian children in street situation in Kosovo

1. Protect children on the move
OBSERVATION REPORT: EXPLOITATION OF ALBANIAN
CHILDREN IN STREET SITUATION IN KOSOVO
December, 2010
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INTRODUCTION
After the 1999 Kosovo war, a new phenomenon of Albanian children in street situations
moving from Albania to Kosovo was noticed. These children and their families, who migrate
to Kosovo mainly for begging or collecting metals purposes face challenging socio-economic
situations that compound their further marginalization, social exclusion and deprivation from
proper child protection and access to social services. These children are also likely to be
exposed to the risk of exploitation by organized crime circles for sexual and forced labor
purposes.
This phenomenon however has not been properly documented by any comprehensive data
and/or analysis in either Albania or Kosovo. In order to address the lack of information on
the exact nature and situation of this phenomenon, MARIO partners in Kosovo and Albania
initiated a street observation process that was conducted by a Street Workers Team (SWT)
composed of one social worker from each Tdh delegation in Albania and Kosovo and one
social worker working at the Street Children Center, funded by Save the Children Albania.
The SWT members have all been trained in investigative street observation methods
through the MARIO1 project. Their investigation activities included street outreach work,
observation, and meetings with relevant stakeholders (NGOs, institutions etc.) over a period
of two weeks in Kosovo. The aim of this Albania- Kosovo transnational collaboration was to
collect and analyze information on the cross-border movements of these children from one
country to the other in order to get an overview of their numbers, attempt to identify the
patterns and trends in their movements between the two countries, better understand their
modes of recruitment and exploitation and offer recommendations accordingly on how to
protect these children on the move in line with the principle of a child’s best interest. This
observation research process was also envisioned to serve as a rapid needs assessment tool
in order to understand and identify some of the immediate challenges faced by these
children.
Overall, this observation report reveals that these Albanian children and their families find
Kosovo to be lucrative and accessible for begging purposes for a number of reasons such
as: the generosity of Kosovo people and immigrants who travel back home on holidays,
ease of travel between two countries due to penetrability of borders, the lack of visa
requirements, the similarity of language and close family connections across the two
countries. Daily earnings are reported to vary from 30 Euros up to as much as 250 Euros
during the busy tourist season in the summer.
So far, the only actual institutional response considered by the Kosovo authorities to
address this phenomenon has been deportation. Kosovo authorities themselves recognize
deportation to be an inadequate response as it does not provide an enduring solution to the
phenomenon, but also because deportation does not provide proper protection to these
children and their families. Legally speaking, begging in Kosovo in and of itself is considered
to be an offense in the framework of disturbing public peace and order. Such definition and
understanding of the phenomenon of begging may also explain why the various Kosovo
institutions from municipal social services to law enforcement and border police lack the
much needed information and collaboration to address this phenomenon through a
1
Mario project – supported by the Oak Foundation – is a joint effort of influential NGO players in the field of child
protection who formed a joint advocacy platform to enforce better protection of migrant children in Europe and put pressure
on European and national decision-makers to better protect children from exploitation, abuse and trafficking.
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coordinated approach. Similarly, Albanian and Kosovo authorities will often cooperate when
the issue of an Albanian child begging becomes an issue for deportation; however the
institutional cooperation between the two countries should take the form of an integrated
approach towards managing the cases of these children in order to effectively prevent and
address this phenomenon. In this regard, some of the local officials that were interviewed
suggested the creation of a joint task force between the two countries to deal not only with
the repatriation issues of these children but also their social re-integration.
In both countries, Tdh delegations and Save the Children Albania are working to develop
coordinated child protection safety nets that offer protection to children against various
forms of abuse including violence, neglect, exploitation, and/or trafficking. Tdh supports the
child protection work and efforts of the national duty-bearers through capacity-building and
via encouragement of synergies between the various protection actions undertaken by a
diverse number of multi-disciplinary actors.
Objectives of the research
• Observe, evaluate and analyze the condition of Albanian children in street situations
in Kosovo
• Understand the enabling factors of the phenomenon of Albanian children begging in
Kosovo
• Identify and recommend possible avenues for transnational collaboration between
various child protection stakeholders in both Albania and Kosovo
Expected results of the research
• Observe and interview Albanian children found in street situations in Kosovo.
• Compile the individual profiles of each identified children, detailing the difficulties
and stresses they face
• Cross-check of new data against previously collected data from different sources.
• Identify and analyze the children’s profiles and needs
• Provide a clear picture on the movement trends and likely modes of exploitation
faced by these children.
• Formulate clear recommendations on common points and opportunities for
transnational collaboration between Albanian and Kosovo authorities
METHODOLOGY
Number of children: Through the use of street observation methods, the SWT observed
an estimate number of 91 Albanian children who are facing a street
situation in Kosovo.
The SWT came in direct contact and interviewed 71 out of 91 children
identified to be in street situation.
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Third parties such as children themselves, parents and/ or neighbors
informed and indicated to the SWT team about at least 20 other
children begging.
Interviews: Interviews according to a set-questionnaire format were held with
Albanian children identified to be in street situations in Kosovo and
their family relatives.
Interviews according to a set-questionnaire format were held with
institutional representatives and other relevant child protection
stakeholders from the Kosovo local communities and authorities
Family visits: In some of the cities, the SWT visited to the neighborhoods here the
families live.
Institutions: Social Works Centers, Police Units in the Community, Units against
Trafficking in Human Beings, Police Investigation Units, Border Police,
The Judges on Minors Offenses Courts, The Embassy of Albania in
Kosovo.
Targeted towns: The observation took place in the following main towns of Kosovo:
Prishtina, Peja, Gjilan, Prizren, Ferizaj and Gjakovë. These cities were
selected on the basis that the phenomenon of Albanian children in
street situations was noticed to be more prevalent there.
Areas of Observation: Observation took place in the towns’ main streets, bars and
restaurants where these children were usually found begging and
working, as well as the places they used to rest/sleep.
Duration: The observation research process took place between the periods
of 5 – 18 July 2010.
Challenges faced by the Street Work Team (SWT)
• The identified children and their adult relatives were reluctant to give out specific
information. They feared the SWT members were either police representatives or
journalists.
• Some children hesitated and did not want to reveal their real names because they
were instructed by their parents to keep their real identities secret. There were cases
when some children, who were not even accompanied by their parents, gave false
names, such as the names of friends in Tirana or typical names of Kosova citizens.
• Some children did not hesitate to talk openly about their own situation, while others
preferred to describe the situation of other children they knew in street situations.
• Due to frequent movements, within the city and from one city to the other and the
fear of coming across with police, it was difficult for the SWT to establish an exact
number of Albanian children who are actually living in street situation in Kosovo.
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1. PROFILES OF CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES
The Albanian children identified to be in street situations in Kosovo come mainly from the
Roma community, the Egyptian community and the Albanian majority. These children come
mainly from the Albanian towns of Tirana (Selita, Kinostudio), Elbasan, (Rrapishte), Korçë,
Bilisht, Fier, Kukës, Burrel.
These children and their families cite their difficult social and economical situation to be the
primary motivation for moving to Kosovo for begging purposes.
Most of these children had started and then dropped out of school in Albania, while the rest
have either never been registered in school or have sporadically attended different
community day centers.
A considerable number of these children come from families where parents are divorced,
one of the parents is deceased or alcoholic, or the children are simply abandoned.
Out of the total number 71 of identified children 35 were girls and 36 boys.
The children’s ages vary from 0 to 17 years old, with 21.1 % (15 children) being of age 0-
3, 19.7 % (14 children) are of age 4-7 years old, 19.7% (14 children) are from 8-10,
18.3% (13 children) are from 11-14 and only 7% (5) are of age from 15-17. For 10
children identifying the age was rather difficult.
12 children out of the 71 with whom the team was in contact were babies only a few
months old or up to 3 years old found in hand of their mothers while begging. Children up
to 5 years old are usually accompanied by their mother or another parent/relative. Children
over 5 years old usually operate accompanied by their peers or older children.
Several of the children and the families interviewed said that they had previously been to
and begged in Greece. They said that they moved to Kosovo because their residential
permits in Greece expired. According to their testimonies, some of them will continue to
stay in Kosovo after the expected visa liberalization for Albania takes place, because Kosovo
is perceived to be lucrative with the advantages of using similar language, the close
geographical proximity to Albania, low cost of travel and ease of movement between the
two countries. While others declared that with visa liberalization they will try to go to
Schengen countries but they declared not to want to go back to Greece.
2. WHY AND HOW DO THEY COME TO KOSOVO?
Why do they come to Kosovo?
These children and their families come to Kosovo because they face an extremely difficult
economic and social situation at home in Albania. According to them, this is the primary
reason that forces them to find themselves in street situations in Kosovo.
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The children admit they are talked into coming to Kosovo either by their family members or
neighbors, who believe and perceive Kosovo to be a better place than Albania for generating
higher incomes through better work opportunities. They also admit living conditions to be
better and more affordable in Kosovo than in Albania. According to their testimonies, the
higher incomes that they manage to secure in Kosovo enable them to pay for rent and
provide food for their families with much more ease than in Albania.
Interestingly, a majority of these Albanian children in street situations in Kosovo admit to
have never begged in their home country before. According to their testimonies, their
principal money-making activities back in Albania included buying and selling second-hand
clothes, and collecting and selling scrap metal and aluminum cans. They state they would
feel too ashamed to beg in Albania, but Kosovo for them is different. They say that begging
outside of Albania and away from their home communities is a lot easier for them to do.
According to the testimonies of these children's relatives, another reason why these families
and children come to Kosovo is to run away from having to pay back significant bank loans
or family debts accumulated as results of either failed efforts at establishing/running a small
business or large medical bills incurred. They state that their inability to repay these
debts/expenses forced them to move the whole family to Kosovo in order to escape the
pressure of having to pay back the bank or their family creditors.
Profits
The children report that the summer months and public holidays are the most lucrative
times for begging as this period sees an increase in the number of Kosovo immigrants
abroad returning home for the holidays. Their reports on daily earnings during this period
vary between 30 and 250 Euros. During summer, children beg almost every day, meanwhile
in winter the begging days are reduced also due to the cold weather.
Their reported earnings during winter time are significantly lower at an average of 10 Euro
per day. Yet a majority of children state that they will continue to remain in a street
situation in Kosovo despite low temperatures and hard weather conditions during
wintertime, in order to make the estimated 300 Euros per month.
The most lucrative towns for Albanian children in a street situation in Kosovo are Prizren,
Prishtina, Gjilan and Peja.
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Working team observations
- Some of the Albanian children who beg are accompanied by their mothers and
relatives. Children beg in bars, in and around the main streets and near traffic lights. The
children are expected at every 20 minutes to report and hand over their profits to their
parents, relatives or elderly brothers or sisters (this was due to the fear of older children
stealing their profit)
- Kosovo children in a street situation do not mix with the Albanian children; they have
their own separate “working areas”, and they often hesitated to reveal information
regarding the Albanian children. The Albanian children avoid hanging out with the Kosovo
children because they stick together in groups therefore making them an easy target for
the police.
- It is noticed that generally the Albanian children look after their personal hygiene and
appearance better than the Kosovo children, and this makes it easier for them to enter
bars for begging purposes.
- The Albanian children have adopted and use the Kosovo dialect because they believe
people are likely to give them more money if they perceive them to be Kosovo children.
Children often report to have been told by passersby to go back to Albania, in cases these
have recognized them.
- Most of the bars in the main areas will allow the children to beg in the bars. Only if a
child spends more than 5 minutes in one table, the waiter will approach the table and ask
the client if he/she is being disturbed by the child begging, still allowing the child to
attempt one last begging negotiation.
How do they come to Kosovo?
Based on the children's testimonies and statements from border police representatives,2 the
children come into Kosovo through on of the following ways:
a. Legal crossing of the border checkpoints
b. Illegal border crossings through secondary and other routes
a. Legal Entrance – In most of these cases, children and their families are organized and
travel together to Kosovo. Border police at the border checkpoints of Qafa e Morines,
Bajram Curri, Qaf Prushi will allow them to enter the Kosovo territory even in cases when
their identification documents do not satisfy the proper legal requirements or when they
seek to hide some of their documents.
If an Albanian citizen seeks to enter the Republic of Kosovo for tourist or business purposes
without a passport the competent body for the control of state border crossings may grant
him/her permission to cross the State border on the basis of a document which confirms
his/her identity (such as Identity cards). Entry permission granted pursuant may have a
2
Border Police in Qafe Prush, Morine and Bajram Curri
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validity of up to ninety (90) days. If the person wants to stay more than 90 days in the
Republic of Kosovo he/she has to apply for a residence permit to the competent authority.
The profits in Kosovo are higher. In Albania we have never begged because there
everybody knows us while here no one does. We have crossed the border on a bus filled
with Roma families. The police asked where we were going and what were we going to do
there. We have told them we were going to Peja to gather scrap iron. The police did not say
anything and we proceeded. – A 13 years old child in Peja.
b. Illegal entrance – The children and families that cross the border illegally will travel by
bus towards the border and get off before they reach the border checkpoint, to then
proceed across on foot through mountain paths. This is done to avoid being discovered by
the border police as their names will likely be included in the list of people banned from
entering/returning to Kosovo. Residents of the border areas or people smugglers will
arrange and facilitate their illegal crossings for a small amount of money, accompany them
across the border, meet them on the other side, put them on a minivan and take them to
their final destination. Many deportees will likely return to Kosovo through illegal entry.3 It
is difficult to pinpoint the key illegal routes into Kosovo used by these children and their
families as a result of the varying strategies they will utilize depending on the situation.
“The Albanian families have sophisticated their methods, they do not cross the border in
groups anymore, now they travel separately on different buses in order to avoid being
noticed and picked by the border police.”4 At the border checkpoints, the Albanian citizens
are not necessarily required to show their passports they can pass with their ID cards or
birth certificates instead. In order to avoid getting entry/exit stamps on their passports by
the border police.5
Children’s movements
Children and their families move regularly between the major towns in Kosovo, such as
Prizren, Peje, Gakova, Ferizaj and Prishtina.
Children say they are constantly on the move because they:
1) fear being caught by the police and as a result being deported
2) follow the fluctuation of emigrants and tourists during the changing seasons and holiday
periods.
Children say their movements from town to town are well-coordinated and organized. They
travel mainly by bus and sometime taxi if they are working during the late night hours.
Their families will split to cover different towns, for example, the mother will beg in Prizren,
while the father and children will beg in Prishtina.
3
Interview with the Vice Commandant of the Border Station in Vernice, Prizren, 14/07/2010
4
Interview with Vice Commandant of the Border Station Vernice, Prizren, 14/07/2010
5
The border between Albania and Kosovo can be crossed with a passport or ID
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The children and their families say they regularly travel to Albania in order to collect the
social benefit entitlements they receive in Albania or to sort out their identification
document (i.e. the biometric passports, ID cards, birth certificates etc.).
Sometimes they will return to Albania during the winter months to avoid the harsh cold
weather in Kosovo.
With the pending visa liberalization, the majority of these families expressed that they
would like to emigrate to Italy, Germany, France and Holland and other western European
countries but not to Greece. Some of the families have been themselves in Greece or they
are aware of the situation there through family, friends and acquaintances. In any case,
staying in Kosovo is seen as a preferable and lucrative option.
3. ALBANIAN CHILDREN IN A STREET SITUATION IN KOSOVO
Over 91 Albanian children have been identified to be in a street situation in Kosovo, the
SWT got in direct contact with 71 of them. Among the children with whom there was some
interaction, 12 were babies who were observed to be begging with their mothers, during
late night hours and during high day temperatures, thus seriously putting their infant health
in jeopardy.
Of the 59 children with whom interviews were conducted, they revealed that they begged
during the day and sold small items (such as cigarettes, chewing gum, etc.) during the late
hours in and around the main streets of the towns, near traffic lights, sat on the streets, or
knocking door to door through different neighborhoods. The latter activity of knocking door
to door occurs mostly in the town of Peja, or in cases of major police action in main areas of
town.
39% (23 of the 59 children interviewed) said they collected and sold scrap iron together
with their families, aside from begging. Collection of scrap metal and fortune telling
activities are usually pursued as alternative income-generating options following the
increasing pressure from government structures against the phenomenon of begging.
9 children said they preferred to use a particular method of begging by holding a written
piece of paper along the lines of “Please help me with what you can, thank you” or “I am an
orphan, help me with what you can, I have a family to look after, may God bless you,” in an
attempt to elicit feelings of pity and empathy from citizens passing by. These children did
not know how to read or write; they had no idea what was written on the piece of paper
they were holding thus adult relatives had written the pieces of paper for them. Also
children held in hand medical prescription bills in order to elicit sympathy from people
passing by.
7 children were observed to physically approach people in the street by seeking to kiss
and/or grab their arms/hands, wishing them good health and begging for money, thus
seriously exposing themselves to verbal and physical abuse by the passersby.
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Girls over the age of 12 and their mothers told the SWT that they were wearing black and a
veil covering their heads so as to give the impression that they are Kosovo women stricken
by some great tragedy, in order to make more money.
When I beg people tell me I am too old and must go and find a job. When we beg in bars
people will shout abuse at us using the worst words possible. I wear a veil on my head
when I go out to beg as I earn more money in this way. I feel scared and stay close to
my mother to avoid bad things happening to me. I do not earn much more than 20 Euro.
A 13 years old girl from Tirana identified in Ferizaj.
Education
None of the Albanian children who were interviewed attend school in Kosovo because they
do not possess the most basic documents6 needed for school registration. Most of the
children that were interviewed expressed the wish to register and attend school.
Health conditions
4 children were found to be in severe health condition with high fever. Rheumatism
problems were common to many of the children met. They were not able to receive the
appropriate medical care due to lack of financial resources and parents negligence. These
children and their families had approached the local communes for medical, economical and
social support and they reported to have been told: “Return to your home country because
you are not Kosovo citizens”.
Given that many of these children are not registered in Kosovo, they do not have a medical
file/record that would enable them to receive free medical assistance. They have to pay for
every single medical service they receive. The babies amongst these children are the most
endangered health-wise as they are exploited by their mothers for begging whilst having to
endure high summer temperatures and prolonged periods of time without being fed. The
mothers say they avoid breastfeeding their babies in the street because men will approach
them thinking they are prostitutes.
I asked for help in the commune because some passersby told me I could seek economic
assistance from the municipality. But the municipality told me to go back to my home
country. Sometimes even people passing by will say the same, “Go away, go back to your
country.” A 33-year old mother from Elbasan with her 2-year-old baby girl, said when
identified to be in a street situation near a commune building in Peja.
Parents maltreating their children
Based on several testimonies, there are cases of some of these Albanian children in street
situations in Kosovo who are physically abused and maltreated by their parents and adult
relatives, when the children fail to bring back the amount of money expected of them.
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Birth Certificate, Vaccination Records
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My neighbor punched his child on his stomach so much that the child started to throw up.
I have heard of cases when some of people will not feed their children or will lock them
up because the children have not made enough money. The grandmother of four
children, Prizren 07.07.2010
Suspected sexual exploitation
Two Albanian parents originally from Fier who were interviewed in Peja reported they were
aware of 2 Albanian minor girls, respectively aged 16 and 17, from Fushë-Kruja and Selita,
Tirana, that were being exploited in prostitution in some of the bars in town. However, this
information has not been verified by the Police and the Kosova Police has under observation
such cases of girls who enter Kosova with the justification to work as singers and dancers.
4. THE LIVING CONDITIONS OF THE ALBANIAN CHILDREN IN KOSOVO
Residence: The Albanian children and their families were observed to live in some of the
poorest suburbs, in dilapidated buildings that have been abandoned by the local Serb
population, often crowded 7 to 25 family members to a room. Their rent varies from 50 to
70 Euros per month. They are well organized within their families. They often change their
living accommodations and area of operation in order to avoid being picked up by the
police, especially in cases when they have been previously given a police warning.
Identification and Residence Documents: None of the Albanian families (from Egyptian
and/ or Roma backgrounds) have applied for a residential permit in Kosovo because they
are either engaged in illegal/informal activities or they fail to fulfill the basic criteria for legal
residence such as a regular job, a permanent place of residence, etc. However, there was
at least one case of a family who has been living in Kosovo for years and its members were
trying to naturalize as Kosovar citizens. They came from the northern part of Albania, a
village at the border with Kosova and were found begging in Peje.
In addition, the Albanian children who are born in Kosovo are not registered because their
Albanian parents lack information, are too afraid to approach the appropriate institutions in
Kosovo. More to that, they are frequently on the move between Albania and Kosovo, or lack
the financial resources to complete the birth registration procedures.
“Our children were given birth in Kosovo. We want to register the births of our children,
but have not registered them neither in Albania nor Kosovo. The registration should have
taken place in Albania. But the traveling is too expensive. We also fear loosing profits in
the meantime.” The testimony of two mothers.
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5. THE INSTITUTIONAL ATTITUDE
Based on the interviews held with various institutional representatives7, Kosovo authorities
do not have accurate information on the exact number and nature of the phenomenon of
Albanian children and their families coming to Kosovo for begging purposes. The Social
Service Office which acts as the responsible body for providing the appropriate protection8
does not posses any exact information regarding these children. No institution has deployed
a street team to deal with the identification of these children or their case management. The
relevant institutions have not undertaken an identification and assessment process of the
situation, nor have they managed any of the cases relating to these Albanian children. The
information that these institutions have mainly comes from dealing with cases of
deportation or sporadic street observation made in some of the towns. In view of the
current legislation on begging and its strict implementation,9 the police units are mostly
focused on “cleaning” the streets off the children begging and the subsequent deportation of
these children.
When asked to comment on the situation of Albanian children begging in Kosovo, some of
the institutional representatives who were interviewed seemed to proceed on the basis of
assumptions drawn from the situation of Kosovo children in street situations, without
drawing the difference between the two groups of children and the particularities of their
street situations. “The presence of a large number of children in the streets gives a bad
image to the city and to Kosovo in general,” stated one municipality official, “such a large
number of beggars in the streets is damaging the image of our town”.
There is no institutional action plan or strategy in place for tackling this phenomenon, apart
from sets of action relating to deportation processes only. There is no institutional
cooperation with the relevant Albanian counterpart institutions on the issue of the Albanian
children in street situations in Kosovo.
6. SUSPICION REGARDING ORGANISED CRIME
Kosovo police units10 are aware of information coming from concerned Kosovo citizens
which seems to suggest that the phenomenon of begging may be connected to the larger
phenomenon of organised crime. In this regard, the issue of these Albanian children facing
the risk of exploitation and trafficking in Kosovo constitutes a major concern for the local
authorities.
A cloud of suspicion without any clear and concrete evidence however characterizes the
majority of these reports which makes it difficult for the local Kosovo police to identify the
persons that are suspected of organizing and facilitating the exploitation of these children
for begging and other purposes.11
7
Social Work Unit, Community Police Units, The Units against Human Trafficking
8
The Law on Social Services and Family, No 02/ L-17
9
The Law on Public Peace and Order Nr. 03/L-142, Article 10
10
Community Police Units, Anti-trafficking and Investigative Units
11
Prishtinë, Pejë, Gjilan and Prizren, Ferizaj
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We have had information that some person uses a van to bring a group of children every
morning in one of the suburbs of Prizren, and this same person comes back in the evening
hours to gather and pick them up. – Head of the Police Unit against The Trafficking of
Human Beings, Prizren region.
Kosovo police authorities say that they are not connected directly with the process of
identifying children who are begging as this is primarily a matter of responsibility for social
service centers at the community level. However, the police will get involved if there is
suspicion that their situation relates to organized crime activities and trafficking. Kosovo
police say that it has so far been difficult to argue or prove that organized third parties
facilitate, manage and exploit these children and their families for begging purposes.12
For example, an investigation on reports about some children that were being transported
and brought everyday at 6am into the main square of Prizren amounted to nothing as it was
difficult to prove that the mini-bus drivers were part of an organized group facilitating and
managing these children’s begging activities in the streets of town. This was rather a case of
children and their families getting on the vans and paying for their transport into town. 13
7. DEPORTATION
Albanian children and their families will be deported from Kosovo if a) they are found to
have overstayed in Kosovo illegally beyond the allowed 90-days limit14; b) if they are caught
begging in the streets.15 According to the Kosovo Law on Public Order and Peace16, begging
is an offense related to the disturbance of public peace and order. Courts can issue a
number of penalties for people/children who are caught begging, such as: court order
warnings, deportation and/or fines, which can vary from a minimum of 30 Euros to a
maximum of 500 Euros. Taking into account the difficult economic situation of these families
and their inability to pay the fines, the Kosovo courts will mostly issue deportation orders
back to the country of origin.
Proving that these families have overstayed in Kosovo beyond the allowed 90-days limit
presents a challenge for the prosecution/ court authorities. The judges generally blame the
police for failing to secure and present in court the full paperwork and documents that
would enable the issuance of a deportation order. “In the absence of proper evidence to
show when a person has entered Kosovo, the Court can not decide to deport that person
back to their country’, states one of the Judges at the Prishtina Court for Minor Offenses.
According to the same judge, police will apply pressure on the Courts for the issuance of
deportation warning although they will fail to bring sufficient evidence that proves a
person’s involvement in begging. According to a Judge in Prishtina 150 cases of Albanian
citizens were identified from the Police to be deported but many of them could not be
deported because of lack of appropriate documentation from the Police. For example, during
a recent case the defendants were not stopped by the police whilst begging but rather
12
Head of Anti-trafficking Unit, Prizren
13
Interview with the Head of the Anti-trafficking unit, Prizren, 14/07/2010
14
Interview with the judges from the Court for Minor Offenses in Prishtina and Peja, 16/07/2010
15
Law No. 03/L-142 on Public Peace and Order, article 10
16
The Official Gazette of the SAP of Kosovo”, no. 13/81
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whilst they were at home sleeping, which ultimately caused the Judge to suspend and annul
the proceedings as it could not be proved that the defendants were guilty of disturbing
public peace and order.
The Courts do have lists with names of all deportees, but the information contained in these
lists is not entirely reliable as some of the deportees may have not had proper identification
documents on them or they hide them from the Police, as one woman found begging
declared to the SWT team. Often deportees will return again and again to Kosovo, despite
having being banned from entering Kosovo or having been deported back to Albania once,
and in some cases, even two or three times before.
In cases of deportation, the Social Services Centers complain they do not have the
necessary time to conduct a proper verification process and checks on the deportees as
their deportation will take place within a very short period of time, sometime within a day.
In addition, these centers lack the dedicated human and financial resources, as well as the
space to accommodate and help these people. Moreover, ‘the maximum time granted to
interview a child subject to deportation is 20 to 30 minutes, which is not enough to collect
the full and exact information on the child,” says the Head of the Social Services Center in
Prizren.
All the different institutional representatives who were interviewed agree that deportation is
a failed process that offers no solution. They all expressed that a proper and permanent
solution must be found to address the phenomenon of Albanian children begging in the
streets of Kosovo. Some also mentioned that good practices models such as the public
awareness raising campaign against the phenomenon which was implemented in Peja must
be replicated throughout other parts of Kosovo.
According to Kosovo border police, a total of 114 Albanian citizens have been deported from
Kosovo from January to July 2010. Deportation data however gives only the total number of
deportees without specifying age and gender categories, thus making it impossible to
determine how many of these people are actually adults and children.
CONCLUSIONS
• Albanian children identified begging in the streets in Kosovo are found to be exposed
to various forms of child rights violations, including neglect and maltreatment, or
even physical abuse and emotional abuse from passersby, lack of access to basic
healthcare, lack of access to school, lack of proper housing and in some cases
absence of proper birth registration. These violations are complicated by the
repressive legislation against begging which leads to continuous movements within
the country in order to avoid being arrested.
• The forms of begging identified also expose the children to a number of risks,
ranging from bad health conditions for the small babies exposed all day under high
temperatures, to physical and verbal abuse as children offer to kiss and/or grab the
hands of people passing by. The children also beg during the late hours of the night
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15. Protect children on the move
in places often attended by young people and adults, thus putting themselves at risk of
sexual exploitation and/or trafficking, and some instances are suspected.
• The local authorities do not necessarily associate the phenomenon of begging as
something that can potentially expose the Albanian children to other more severe
forms of exploitation such as physical and sexual abuse, and/or exploitation for
prostitution purposes, and children and their families are generally treated more as
delinquents breaking the law than as children in need of support and protection.
Therefore, the local institutions usually get in contact with these Albanian only in
case of their deportation.
• The Kosovo Police Anti-Trafficking Units generally consider the phenomenon of
begging to be an issue for other local authorities/structures to deal with, and they
will only intervene in cases of children begging when suspicions about human
trafficking arise. These units do not keep in regular contact with and are not well
informed about the work of other local authorities/structures in this regard.
• According to the Social Services Centers, it is impossible to conduct a full
identification process and case management for these children and their families
given the limited number of staff at their disposal.
• There is a marked absence of cooperation and coordination, especially in terms of
information exchange, between the various institutions including the police
authorities and the social services centers when it comes to the issue of Albanian
children in street situations in Kosovo.
• In addition, there is also a lack of cooperation between the relevant institutions in
both countries, Kosovo and Albania, in relation to the issues of Albanian children in
street situations in Kosovo.
• The various institutions agree that deportation is an unsuccessful approach to the
issue of Albanian children begging in the streets of Kosovo. However, deportation
seems to be the standard action taken when dealing with the cases of these children
and their families. All the institutions believe alternative solutions to deportation
must be pursued, but these alternatives are not being found and/or offered.
• With the pending visa liberalization, the majority of these families expressed that
they would like to emigrate to western European countries.
ISSUES FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION
• Interventions to address immediate needs for assistance and gross child
rights violations: a number of difficulties and rights violations have been identified
through this observation and measures should be put in place to ensure the
provision of basic services to Albanian children found in street situations in Kosovo in
order to improve medical situations, access to education, etc.
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16. Protect children on the move
• Proactive identification: methods should be put in place by the local government
social services and supported by the Ministries of Labor aiming at early identification
of children in need of assistance and protection.
• Best interest determination: Albanian children identified in street situations in
Kosovo should be assisted on a case by case basis, through a normal case
management process, based on a proper assessment of the needs of each child,
within a rights-based framework and according to the best interest of the child.
• Collaboration and coordination with place of origin: in order to be able to
identify sustainable interventions in the best interest of the children found,
assessment needs to take place in close coordination and collaboration with the place
of origin. The Albanian Embassy in Kosovo could also play a key role in assisting
cases of Albanian children found begging (and their family members) in terms of
both accessing immediate support and facilitating follow up on return to Albania (eg
coordination with the local child protection units).
• Birth registration: institutions from both countries should be ensuring children are
registered at birth regardless of the status of the families.
• Systematic approach to protection: further developing the child protection
systems and social welfare in both countries in order to prevent the exploitation of
children in begging situations, to support children and families. The development of a
comprehensive and holistic system to protect all children in both countries would
help prevent the phenomenon of child begging and exploitation. This could include a
set of family support measures in place to support families and parents with housing,
employment and income-generating opportunities combined with psycho-social
support.
• Awareness raising: Continuous public awareness campaigns must be organized
and launched in order to raise awareness of citizens about the phenomenon of
begging, its risks and consequences for children.
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