Albania He used children as beggars, was sent to trial.

January 6, 2009

Comment: The article presents the case of a person denounced for trafficking, by his family members with the purpose to exploit them for begging. It tells that the man was denounced and that he is on trial for the crime. (He has been exploiting his 5 children and his wife for many years and only recently they have been able to escape and denounce him.) According to the Albanian Criminal Code the man can be sentenced from 7 up to 15 years of imprisonment.

The article focuses only on the prosecution side. It does not tell what the protection situation of the children and the mother is. It does not inform if the family is safe now, if it is under the Testimony Protection scheme (from which they can benefit) and it explicitly points out that it was them who denounced the father. The family name and the location of origin are mentioned clearly in the article making it easy to trace the family, especially considering that they come from a relatively small community. This can put the children and the mother at risk of retaliation.

The opposition – on the same page – between an article on drug trafficking on the left side and on child trafficking on the right side, with a photo of packs of drug seized by the police, shows how confusing could be the treatment of child protection issues which could be assimilated to other forms of organised crime.

The author might take other lenses to consider the article, for example child protection issues. The case should not be treated purely under the judicial perspective. Furthermore, it should also consider issues regarding the economical situation of the family. They have lived for many years with the profit coming from begging, so it might be interesting to know what is their source of income. Also, other reintegration issues such as employment of the mother, education of children, etc. have not been considered.

Several journalists from the best Albanian newspapers have received training on how to sensitively report trafficking cases, how to better understand and inform the public on the issue. However it is obvious that more needs to be done in this matter.

After being informed of the case, the Child Protection Unit of the Municipality of Korca is trying to locate the family and potentially follow up the case, with the intention to provide protection and assistance to them.