Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
Honorable Chair of the Albanian Parliament,
Honorable Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Education and Information,
Honorable Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights,
Honorable Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Domestic Violence and Minors,
Honorable Vice-President of the Alliance of Women MPs,
I appeal to all of you, through this open public letter, to demand the immediate dismissal of the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth as the primary responsible for the sexual violence and exploitation of children in public schools!
For several days, “STOP” and investigative TV programme has been broadcasting some very serious allegations where public educational institutions have been turned into shelters for sexual predators and pedophiles.
In its third program, STOP interviewed students themselves who pictured to the journalists a scandalous situation in which children are sexually abused and exploited by their teachers. The children highlighted that it was not just a teacher who sexually abused students, but a whole group of teachers. Such situation of sexual violence also occurred among the pedagogical staff themselves in the presence of students.
Dear Prime Minister,
Wouldn’t you, too, have asked for the dismissal of the Minister of Education for this unprecedented and deplorable situation that are the school and public education in Albania? As a parent of a child getting ready to go to kindergarten and school, wouldn’t you do the impossible to prevent anyone from daring to abuse your child?
Would you have the courage to sit next to the Minister of Education, at the Government table this Wednesday and see Minister Shahini straight in the eye, without thinking of those girls crying out for help as their teachers sexually assault them?
Dear Mr. Ruçi,
As the Chair of the “Friends of the Child” Parliamentary Group, do you not feel ashamed of the fact that today the only news coming from your Minister of Education is that of pedophiles and sexual predators, ruining our children’s childhoods?
Dear Vasilika, Fatjona, Eglantina and Elona,
You are mothers of baby girls and boys! Wouldn’t you ask the question: What if… it happened to my child? Wouldn’t you have screamed out of pain as a mother, and asked for the dismissal of the Minister of Education at the earliest hour? Because of her inactions so many children have been sexually exploited and abused! Would you have the courage to sit alongside the Minister, laugh, talk or support her work, when in reality the images that should come to your mind are of those unprotected, lonely girls, who have no courage to cheer because the teachers paid by the Ministry are robbing them what is the dearest for them: childhood with dignity!
ACT NOW – IT IS NOT LATE!
Don’t let the loss of these girls’ dignity cause you to lose your dignity, but also ours, as citizens and as a society!
Sincerely,
Altin Hazizaj
Executive Director CRCA / ECPAT Albania