Fier: Millions of money are spent, but the housing of the Roma community is half left

37 Roma and Egyptian families in the town of Korça were forcibly evicted 2 years ago from their residence near the old bazaar. Today, they live in the former agricultural school of Covington in fear of an epidemic.

Turkish and Italian firefighters recover the 41st earthquake victim from a hotel in Durres. The man, about 55, was a hotel employee. Video Brejdon Xhavara / BIRN

Activists call for public investment to improve the living conditions of 8 Roma and Egyptian families housed in the former South City Cinema Theater building.

The silent scandal of the Albanian authorities' evictions of the Roma community

Over two decades, Albanian local authorities forcibly evicted hundreds of impoverished families from their homes, plunging them deeper into the vicious cycle of homelessness and extreme poverty. The Roma community in Tirana faced multiple evictions, including the dismantling of a camp near Liqeni i Thatë in 2015 shortly after Erjon Veliaj's election as mayor, under the pretext of complaints about pollution, security, and public space occupation. Despite the Tirana Municipality's claims of prioritizing affected families in social housing programs, evidence suggests that suitable alternatives were not always provided, violating their rights. BIRN's data from the last two decades indicates a pattern of forced evictions across Albania, often due to public infrastructure projects and development interests, disproportionately affecting marginalized groups like the Roma and Egyptian communities. The most significant displacement occurred in 2016 during the construction of Tirana's Great Ring Road, affecting 70 families. Victims like Flutura Zerellari and Nertina Muharremi recount the trauma and difficulties faced, including discrimination and the challenge of finding housing. The United Nations recognizes forced evictions as a severe human rights violation, particularly the right to housing, and international principles on this matter have not been adequately applied in Albania.