Rosalie said they sometimes had to beg for food or eat leftovers from the kitchen.
“They wouldn’t even give us the fish heads that were thrown away,” she said. “We can make soup with them.”
By the summer, the women wanted to leave. But there was a problem. The restaurant owner, the man BIRN would see at the airport, had taken their passports off them when they arrived, and was demanding they pay damages for breaking the contract – 4,300 euros each.
Analyn contacted BIRN on July 11, asking for help.
Their story is not unique.
“We have had at least 40 such cases that can be considered as potential victims of [human] trafficking”, said Irena Kraja, head of the Anti-Trafficking Programme of the Mary Ward Loreto Foundation.
In withholding passports, the perpetrators “apparently aim to get workers from far away in order to exploit them 24/7 and to have them under full control”.
In a draft report, the Foundation says the Albanian police are complicit.
“The failure of border police and other agencies to refer cases of potential human trafficking victims is a major issue and leaves workers unprotected,” the report states.
‘Modern slavery’
Amid huge rates of Albanian emigration, the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama has sought to encourage the arrival of workers from elsewhere, mainly from Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines or African countries.
Maricel, Analyn and Rosalie arrived in August last year, having worked previously as nannies in Hong Kong.
They each signed a two-year contract, but their residence permit was valid for only 12 months, until August 23 this year. The women say they had a verbal agreement to work until the permit expired and did not plan to prolong their engagement at the restaurant, but in June they found out their employer had applied on their behalf to extend the residence permit another year.
On July 11, Analyn wrote to BIRN via WhatsApp to say their employer was refusing to give back their passports until they each paid 430,000 leks, roughly 4,300 euros, equal to the pay they had already received under the terms of the contract.
In a video the women showed to BIRN, a person they identified as the business administrator at the resort where they worked is heard threatening to call the police to check their possessions, claiming items had gone missing from the resort: “I want the payment now,” she says.
Labour Inspectorate head Eljo Mucaj said only a court can decide on possible penalties stemming from a labour dispute, and that a unilateral breach of the contract would not necessarily incur penalties if there were legitimate reasons for the breach.
In practice, however, employers regularly decide when a migrant worker can leave the country, and meet little resistance from the state.
In its draft report, the Mary Ward Loreto Foundation cited at least one case in which authorities were informed about the right of a migrant worker – a Kenyan woman – being violated but failed to intervene. The woman was forced to leave Albania.
The accounts of other migrant workers in the report suggest the authorities are aware about the practice of employers withholding passports. Some employers ‘trade’ workers by exchanging passports.
“Migrant workers, especially those from the Philippines, face many difficulties in Albania, including forms of modern slavery and human trafficking,” reads the draft report, shown to BIRN.
Gentian Serjani, a lawyer specialising in human rights, said the practice of withholding passports “amounts to kidnapping”.
“Such a practice leads to exploitation and obligatory work that should normally be penal offences,” he said.
Mucaj, from the Labour Inspectorate, said some employers fear migrant workers might use Albania as a gateway to Western Europe, skipping the country and leaving the employer with the headache of explaining why they helped secure them residence papers in the first place.
‘Follow your boss’
Following Analyn’s July 11 email, BIRN alerted the police and the State Labour Inspectorate about the case. The police promised to check and sent the English-speaking officer; the Labour Inspectorate said it could only act on a formal complaint.
On July 12, the women were told to pack.
Police officers arrived, and Maricel called this reporter, saying the officers did not speak English.
BIRN contacted the regional police directorate in Lezha, which cover Patok Lagoon. An officer who spoke English was sent to the resort.
In recordings made by the women, the employer is heard telling the officer: “The passport is my guarantee. Do you understand? If they go, nobody brings another one.”
………………………………
Die Polizei erklärte, sie habe keine Aufzeichnungen über derartige Missbräuche durch ihre eigenen Beamten und habe vier Fälle gegen Arbeitgeber zur weiteren Untersuchung an die Staatsanwaltschaft weitergeleitet. Polizeidirektor Ilir Proda kündigte Maßnahmen an. „Ich versichere Ihnen, dass kein Polizeibeamter, der in gesetzeswidrige Aktivitäten verwickelt ist, von disziplinarischen und rechtlichen Sanktionen verschont bleibt“, sagte er gegenüber BIRN. „Ich habe umgehend eine Arbeitsgruppe einberufen, um alle Praktiken und Verfahren in solchen Fällen zu überprüfen.“ Zwei Tage nach der Tortur am Flughafen mieteten Maricel, Analyn und Rosalie eine Wohnung in Tirana und begannen, nach einer neuen Arbeit zu suchen. Maricel erzählte BIRN am 17. Juli, dass sie in einem anderen Ferienort eine Stelle gefunden habe. Die Namen der in diesem Artikel zitierten Wanderarbeiter wurden zum Schutz ihrer Identität geändert.D
Sex tourism, the expert: Disturbing phenomenon, the cities most frequented by foreign escorts
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The security expert, Fatjon Softa, said that parallel to the beginning of the season, we also have an increase in some disturbing phenomena such as prostitution or drug use. As he mentioned the case of two Ukrainian girls or those from Venezuela, the expert says that it seems as if we are in brothels, but illegal ones. He adds that this phenomenon is more widespread in cities such as: Saranda, Tirana and Durrës. „Parallel with this beginning of the season, we also have the addition of some phenomena which are disturbing, such as prostitution or the use of narcotics by people who come for this type of tourism.These first cases, the case of the Ukrainians and other cases like those from Venezuela seem to be the first swallows of this type of sex tourism, as we call it, which is becoming present in the Albanian territory.Now it is a phenomenon where it seems like we are in public houses, but illegal.Because the fact that most of them get vacation homes that they use for a certain period of time as long as their residence permit lasts.The most typical cities where this phenomenon is present are Saranda, Tirana and Durres.The case of the Ukrainians is disturbing and requires investigation“, said the expert for „Ora News“.
Insider
Aug. 07, 2025., 07:22 •
Hirnlos Bildung von Open Society, den Georg Soros Banden, wo Olsi Soros, sogar Chef war von Open Society
Edi Rama, Georg Soros, Alex Soros
FOTO/ Rama speist mit Soros und Huma Abedin in Dhërmi; das Paar wird ohne Protokoll in der Regierungsvilla empfangen. 16:42: 03.08.2025 in NACHRICHTEN, POLITIK Edi Rama traf sich gestern Abend in Dhërmi privat mit Alex Soros und seiner Frau Huma Abedin. Wie auf dem folgenden Foto von Syri TV zu sehen ist, sitzen das Paar Huma Abedin und Alex Soros am Tisch gegenüber von Edi Rama und dessen Frau Linda. Verlässliche Quellen berichteten, dass das Paar Soros-Abedin vor zwei Nächten mit einer Luxusyacht, die in Saranda anlegte, albanisches Territorium betrat und sich anschließend in einer der Regierungsvillen in Dhërmi niederließ, einem öffentlichen Anwesen, das persönlichen Freunden von Premierminister Rama zur Verfügung gestellt wurde. Am Samstagabend wurden die drei beim Essen in dem Luxusrestaurant im Süden des Landes gesehen. Das Treffen fand ohne offizielle Ankündigung, ohne Transparenz und außerhalb jeglichen staatlichen Protokolls statt. Der Besuch wirft ernste Fragen hinsichtlich der privaten Nutzung staatlicher Vermögenswerte durch den Premierminister und des Fehlens öffentlicher Erklärungen zu den Gründen für den Aufenthalt von Persönlichkeiten wie Soros und Abedin in Albanien auf. Lesen Sie auch: Nicht lizenzierter Komplex in Dhërmi / Polizei „rettet“ Claudio Rico von „Olea“ und verhaftet Ingenieur Rama-Alabars Erfolg / Durrës Marina kassierte 43 Millionen Euro durch Reservierungen von Wohnungen in der Luft Darüber hinaus schürt der Mangel an Transparenz Spekulationen über die Art dieser politischen, persönlichen oder finanziellen Treffen, während Albanien weiterhin vom Regierungschef als Privateigentum genutzt wird und Regierungsvillen als Privathotels für die internationale Elite in Ramas Umfeld dienen. Wir erinnern daran, dass gegen den linksradikalen Milliardär in den USA an mehreren Fronten ermittelt wird, weil er politische Angriffe auf Präsident Trump initiiert hat, während Edi Rama die USA kritisiert, die er laut Internet manchmal als strategischen Verbündeten bezeichnet, wenn Soros regiert, und manchmal als „gefährliches“ Land, wenn Trump an die Macht kommt./Syri tv
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FOTO/ Rama darkon me Soros dhe Huma Abedin në Dhërmi, çifti pritet në vilën qeveritare pa protokoll
Lexo edhe:
Kompeks pa leje në Dhërmi/ Policia “shpëton” Klaudio Rikon e “Olea”, arreston inxhinierin
Suksesi i Rama-Alabar/ Durrës Marina arkëtoi 43 mln euro nga rezervimet e apartamenteve në ajër