BBC, Bushati explains Albania’s decision to take 20 Eritrean refugees from Italy

The Minister reminds Albania’s difficult past with emigration, 2-3 decades ago, when Albanian refugees received help from Italy, and appeals Northern and Eastern European countries to not forget their migration history when they were fleeing Communism or other oppressions.

BBC: Why did Albania agree to accept some of these Eritrean migrants? It isn’t an EU member although it wants to become one. Albania’s Foreign Minister, Ditmir Bushati.

Bushati: It has already been a decision that we made public after long discussions with Italian authorities because they were asking for our support in this endeavour. It coincides also with the principal position of Albania four years ago, when the refugee crisis started, and all countries in Europe, regardless whether they are part of the EU club or not, should contribute somehow to this crisis, because this is a European crisis, this migration crisis, and therefore it requires a European response.

BBC: I understand that you seeing what is happening now echoes what happened to Albanians 20 or so years ago.

Bushati: That’s true. When the communist regime was about to collapse many people were leaving the country due to political, but mostly economic reasons. And we should not forget about our history of 2 and 3 decades ago. And this was a motivating factor.

BBC: And to be clear, that history involved Italy taking in Albanians who had escaped the country.

Bushati: Yes, Italy was saving us, because many Albanians were being received by Italy during those dramatic times, and now it is also our time to bring our contribution into this process. I know very well because there has also been people criticizing us, saying that those are not Italians, those are Eritreans. But here we are speaking first of all about people, about human beings. Sometimes in the discourse, we forget that these are human beings. And secondly, this is a massive crisis. No European country can respond alone to this crisis.

BBC: Are you also to a certain extent sending a message perhaps to some Northern European countries who have taken a less welcoming view?

Bushati: Unfortunately, we have seen a Europe being divided. We have seen countries not only in the northern part of Europe, but also in the Eastern part of Europe, who have forgotten about their history because I can recollect the moments of the fall of the Berlin Wall, but also during Communism, that many people from the Eastern part were fleeing Communism and going to the West. I think it was a message for the European Union, that we need a more coherent view and a more coherent response in such important issues, also from a perspective of an EU candidate country, as Albania.

BBC: Do you hope this will perhaps make European countries look favourably on your candidacy as well?

Bushati: We don’t see this refugee migration crisis as a trade for advancing our EU accession agenda. Our Eu accession agenda is based on other rules and principles. Of course, we would be happy to see the European Union more engaged also on those issues, with the Western Balkan countries, including my own. We have heard in the past discussions about building refugee camps outside the European Union. That would be unacceptable because we see this as a joint exercise of other EU members states.

BBC: And that was Albania’s Foreign Minister, Ditmir Bushati.

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