[ALBSA-Info] Meet Shaqir

[Kreshnik Bejko]

WORLD
Meet Shaqir, 'travel agent' to illegal immigrants
By Mario Kaiser
Christian Science Monitor

In Tirana's Street of the Martyrs, the bustling promenade of Albania's 
capital, a man wearing three gold rings is waiting in the shadow of a plane 
tree. His name is Shaqir, and to shake his hand will cost you $150. That's 
his minimum commission.

He sells the illusion of a comfortable life, and issues the fake passports 
to enter it. If you are rich, he will book you a flight to Paris; if you are 
poor, he will reserve a spot for you on a speedboat to Italy.


•The life and crimes of a smuggler


Caressing his gold Breitling watch, he smiles and swears he is only there to 
help. "In my opinion, every Albanian should go to Europe," says Shaqir, who 
would only give his first name, "because there they will learn how to work 
hard, look proper, and things like that."

Shaqir discovered his appreciation for good manners in Freiburg, Germany. He 
spent three years in prison there, after severely injuring a man during a 
fight at a night club. In jail, Shaqir says, he learned how to behave like a 
"good German." But when he was released, German authorities immediately put 
him on a plane to Albania, expelling him for life.

Nevertheless, he is still close to Germany, Shaqir says, especially to its 
Embassy staff in Tirana. The Embassy, as most Embassies in Tirana, has an 
Albanian interpreter on its staff who is involved in the issuing of visas 
and knows the intricacies of the process well. The interpreters have two 
choices, Shaqir explains. "Either they cooperate and take my money," he 
says, "or they don't cooperate and get a taste of my fists." But he rarely 
has to use force, he adds, "because every person has a price, right?" An 
Embassy spokesperson declined to discuss the details of the application 
process, but insisted that visas were issued based on merit.

As he strolls past sidewalk cafes here, Shaqir is constantly greeted by 
young men who firmly shake his hand and kiss him on both cheeks. They are 
assistants who get $50 for every customer they bring. One assistant tells 
him that he has two friends who want to take the ferryboat to Italy. "Come 
back tomorrow," Shaqir says, "and don't forget the photographs."

Shaqir uses a passport with a valid visa three to four times, as long as he 
can change the photograph without damaging the page. "The Italian 
immigration officers can't tell," he says, "but the Albanians always want to 
see money." He calculates the price for smuggling a person according to the 
amount of work and the customer's preferences. "If you have a lot of money," 
he says, rubbing his thumb and index finger, "you can fly." For a flight to 
a European country, Shaqir charges $4,000 for a package that includes 
airfare, visa, and bribing the Albanian authorities. "We call it a luxury 
smuggling," he says. He offers a standard smuggling by ferryboat to Italy 
for $2,000, on the condition that the fake passport must be returned to him 
after arrival in Italy. The cheapest way to get to Italy is to take a 
speedboat from Vlorë or Durrës for $600. "But that is just for idiots," 
Shaqir says. "They're paying for their death."

There was a time when Shaqir made his living as a bricklayer. That is the 
job he was trained to do. But the money he made wasn't enough to get by, 
Shaqir says. "You come home, and your child looks at you and says, 'Daddy, 
I'm hungry. Did you bring some chocolate?' What am I supposed to do? Steal 
from people? Kill somebody?" Shaqir, like so many smugglers, insists there 
is nothing criminal about the business. "All I do is to show my customers 
the way," he says. "I don't force anybody to take that road."

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