The Albanian Ombudsman, Igli Totozani, has declared in front of the
Ministers of Education, the Minister of Social Welfare, the Minister of
Interior and the Minister of Urban Development, and other international
organisms and civil society, the European Union recommendations
regarding the Roma Community.
“One recommendation is for easing the sheltering criteria of the Roma citizens. Another one is for easing the social assistance criteria. The next recommendation is to ease the procedures and criteria for the registration of the Roma citizens at the civil registrars, and transferring them from one local unit to another. Another recommendation is for the Minister of Education, which should improve the conditions for making the Roma citizens part of all the education phases, especially the pre-school”, Totozani declared.
The Minister of Education, Lindita Nikolla, declared that the Roma will have more access to education, while there are 3200 Roma students who have started frequenting schools, and text books for them are free.
“By implementing the agreement made with associations and school directories, as approved by the Education Directories, Education Offices and the Ministry of Education, schools throughout the country are organizing supplementary teaching hours with students who are behind. They have planned and are organizing training in schools with the Roma parents, focusing on the learning of the Albanian language. We will do everything possible for these children to receive education and to become equal citizens in the Albania that will be integrated in Europe”, Nikolla declared.
The Minister of Social Welfare, Erion Veliaj, brought the idea of food packages as aid, as he launched accusations for abuses with the economic aid scheme.
“Maybe it is time to discuss that the economic aid should be exclusively for food. We have evidence today that suggest that many of the people who receive economic aid are just abusers who use it for gas in their vehicles or alcohol”, Veliaj declared.
The Deputy Minister of Interior, Elona Gjebrea, declared that this Ministry is committed to see the Roma with priority, while they are also working for the fight against traffic, in which the Roma community has a major part.
“We have an action plan, a strategy to help the minimization of the human traffic, including prevention, prosecution, enabling a legal procedure through the Commission of Laws, and to guarantee protection and assistance of the trafficked victims”, Gjebrea declared.
As regards the last debate, which has been brought even by the Ombudsman, it seems that it will have support also from other institutions.
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