observation report exploitation of albanian children in street situation in kosovo

Protect children on the move

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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.

6 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

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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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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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• 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.

observation report exploitation of albanian children in street situation in kosovo

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