Britain makes plans to stop Albanian migrants

Refugees in a boat / Photo: Archive

Illegal immigration of Albanians and the prevention of this phenomenon has been a major topic of the media and the UK government in recent months.

Despite the negligible number of those crossing the English Channel, London has decided to make closing this route its top priority, often using derogatory terms against Albanians who want to set foot on British soil.

"I am here to observe the deportation of Albanian immigrants. The guards just left. They are on their way to the airport and will be in Tirana in the morning. "I met the excellent staff who are working non-stop to find Albanians - illegals in Britain and stop them," said Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick in January this year.

According to official data, almost 13.000 Albanians arrived in Britain from France last year, while the total number of illegal immigrants in small boats was 45.000, which is the annual number of passengers on the least used line of the London Underground.

But how was the 'Albanian problem' created in UK public opinion? To answer this question, the political crisis must be brought into focus, primarily due to the resignations of Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Johnson left because of scandals with the parties, and Tras because of the inability to keep the promise of economic recovery for the country, reports Albanian channel A2.

Their successor is Rishi Sunak, who, according to many analysts in Britain and abroad, has diverted attention from the main problem, the political and economic crisis, by looking for a "lifeboat" in illegal immigration. To his aid came a series of articles from the British media, which often portrayed the Albanians as criminals who filled the prisons, although in official figures it is a very small number compared to the local population. This caused thousands of Albanians to demonstrate peacefully in the British capital. But what was published in the newspapers forced the government of Sunak, the son of immigrant parents, to take measures to close the borders to illegal Albanian "occupiers".

"No Albanian should be accepted as a refugee. Albania is not a war-torn country and it is very difficult to argue that asylum claims are legitimate. There is a particular problem with Albanians who cross the channel illegally either to find work for about nine months or to work with internationally wanted criminals," British Home Secretary Suella Braverman said in November last year.

Albanian Prime Minister Rama has suggested that Britain should behave like Germany in examining Albanian asylum seekers.

"It's not about one person, it's about the atmosphere that's been created, by looking for scapegoats and blaming others. It has nothing to do with Albanians or aliens or gangsters, but with failed border policies and crime. Such language is not a policy, a program or a vision. It promotes xenophobia by targeting and singling out only one community. I appreciate everything that British politics stands for, but I am really sick of this type of politics, which is ultimately destined to fail," Prime Minister Edi Rama said in November last year.

First a scheme was presented for the rapid deportation of Albanians from Britain, then a €72 million agreement with France to increase patrols on the English Channel coast, then another agreement with the government of Tirana for English officers to patrol Rinas airport with the task of detects potential immigrants, up to the tightening of the law on asylum seekers, which has been strongly criticized by the United Nations. UNHCR representative Vicky Tennant said such a move would be a breach of international law and that it was not necessary to stop cross-Channel entries.

The Sunak government not only did not back down, it did not stop there. This month, the British prime minister agreed to foot a hefty bill of more than €500 million to the French president to set up a detention center in northern France to house illegal immigrants trying to cross by boat. The agreement also included the commitment of hundreds of police officers from both countries and high-tech overhead surveillance equipment. This plan has also been strongly criticized by international organizations, including the Red Cross. If indeed the Albanians were the crisis of this decade for Britain as they claim, the answer is given by the government of this country itself, which confirms that during this year it needs 1 million immigrants to perform the communal and other low-paid occupations that the English prefer. not to do them.

Dear reader,

Our access to web content is free, because we believe in equality in information, regardless of whether someone can pay or not. Therefore, in order to continue our work, we ask for the support of our community of readers by financially supporting the Free Press. Become a member of Sloboden Pechat to help the facilities that will enable us to deliver long-term and quality information and TOGETHER let's ensure a free and independent voice that will ALWAYS BE ON THE PEOPLE'S SIDE.

SUPPORT A FREE PRESS.
WITH AN INITIAL AMOUNT OF 60 DENARS

Video of the day