Headlines: Albania ready to receive its first contingents of Afghan refugees
Afghans sitting on board an American military plane to leave Afghanistan, at the military airport in Kabul, August 19, 2021. AFP - SHAKIB RAHMANI
Text by: Philippe Bertinchamps
7 mins
Advertising
Read more
Tents have been pitched at Tirana International Airport.
In total,
Albania could accommodate 2,000 to 3,000 Afghan refugees
, while the figure is 10,000 refugees in Kosovo.
Albania and Kosovo had previously confirmed to conduct secret negotiations with the United States to receive "
several thousand
" nationals of Afghanistan
who collaborated with American forces, while their asylum claims are examined.
If it had been mentioned that Montenegro could accommodate refugees, this announcement was officially denied by Podgorica.
For its part, North Macedonia announced that resorts and hotels would be made available to refugees.
Croatia is also said to be ready to welcome Afghan refugees, but barely twenty.
"
People who have worked with Croatia or are linked to it in one way or another
", clarified Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who also assures that "
Croatia will defend its borders to face a big wave of refugees which would destabilize Europe
”.
“
As I watch your entry into Kabul through the open doors of the presidential palace, my feelings are mixed.
I don't know if I should be happy or cry ...
”In Bosnia-Herzegovina,
the former reisu-l-ulema Mustafa ef.
Cerić addressed an open letter to the Taliban and their leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar
.
A vibrant call for an Islam of freedom and respect for the rights of all, men and women.
Arms sale: how Europe and the Balkans make refugees
While the capture of Kabul by the Taliban made the headlines, the latest report from the Transnational Institute (TNI) shows that
the weapons that Europe exports are the direct cause of forced displacement and migration
.
The report, titled “
Smoking Guns
”, details how weapons made in Bulgaria, Romania or Croatia end up in Syria, Iraq or the Democratic Republic of Congo, coinciding with the forced displacement of populations.
The wars in Libya and Syria were in fact very good business for the countries of the Balkans
, manufacturers and sellers of arms, especially Serbia.
In Serbia, return to military service and coal pollution
Several Balkan countries have spoken about it, Serbia is preparing to do so.
The restoration of compulsory military service would be on the agenda for 2022
.
But in what form?
With what funding?
And above all what objectives?
Still in Serbia, President Vučić does not give up:
coal has a future and the country will not give up its thermal power stations
, which are among the most polluting in Europe.
The country emits in fact five to six times more sulfur dioxin than the authorized standards.
Greece: arson, feminicides and discrimination against Roma
In Greece, fires ravaged the island of Evia for seven days before the authorities provided the means to fight the fire.
The former president of Vouli Zoe Konstantopoulou denounces serious shortcomings
and will file a complaint against the government.
While the number of feminicides explodes, journalist Olga Stefou investigates this violence, but also sees the emergence of a new feminist consciousness, because
women no longer want to be silent
.
In Balkan societies which are still very patriarchal,
much remains to be done to achieve gender equality
, while domestic violence is often considered "
normal
".
In Greece again,
some 300,000 Roma are believed to live in the country, but still marginalized from society
.
It was not until 1978 that a Roma obtained citizenship for the first time.
How to get out of the infernal spiral of misery, illiteracy and exclusion, further reinforced by the pandemic?
Miss Stone, an explorer of the Balkans
It was at the beginning of the 20th century, in the turmoil of independence: the “Miss Stone affair”, named after this American Protestant missionary, made international headlines.
Kidnapped by the
comitadjis,
she became a muse of the Macedonian cause.
Even today, all over North Macedonia, streets bear his name.
The delight of Miss Stone, hostage of the Comitadjis
.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Newspaper
Albania
Kosovo
Afghanistan
North Macedonia
Croatia
Bosnia and herzegovina
Serbia
Greece
Romania