Albania enters the 21st century after half century of economically devastating communist rule and a dozen years of painful transitioning into an emerging democratic and free market state.
Albania is both a transit and source country for the movement of women and children into EU countries. Increasingly well organised criminal organizations threaten to undermine strides being made in transformational development programs.
Young women in Albania are particularly vulnerable. With few economic opportunities in what remains the poorest country in Europe, they are ripe for ruses and false promises of economic opportunity abroad or outright marriage proposals.
Families of these women are usually economically distressed and give their blessing to what appears to be a better future for their daughters.
The central government in Tirana is losing the battle against the traffickers. Criminal elements centred in Vlore smuggle women into Italy across the Adriatic Sea. Illegal profits move back into the Albanian grey economy, further distressing the national infrastructure.
World Vision Albania believes income generation projects and community education provide critical on-the-ground support to more aggressive counter-trafficking programs currently under discussion and review.
World Vision feels rural communities that realise increased economic opportunities for women and higher levels of awareness about the dangers of trafficking will be less vulnerable to this national tragedy.
An excellent reference work on this crisis is "The Girls and Trafficking" published by 'The Hearth' Psycho-Social Centre of Vlora. It is a detailed study of trafficking during 2002 and is breaking new ground
ground in understanding this issue.
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