Only six apartments remain unvacated, while 26 families have already been moved from Villas 36 and 38, in Durrës neighborhood 13. The rest of the apartments are expected to be vacated on November 13, the deadline set by the enforcement office.
Despite protests in front of the City Hall for weeks, residents have not resisted leaving their homes, but they have not yet lost hope that an institutional solution can be provided.
"I can't believe the current situation that is happening to us. They are evicting us from our homes without any kind of compensation, without any kind of shelter," Aledio Hoxha told Citizens.
Residents, in the information dark for years
32 families who have been living in beach cabins on "Albanopoli" street since the 90s, were initially sheltered there with homeless status.
These families were settled in the former beach cabins as a temporary solution after the upheavals of the 90s, when many state-owned housing estates were privatized and some citizens were left homeless.
However, the lack of investment and clear legal status for their homes has left them in limbo for over three decades.
Residents claim that in 2009 there was an opportunity for them to privatize their apartments, but they were never aware of it.
The Municipality of Durres told Citizens that with letter no. 5185, dated 19.11.2009, it has requested the Municipal Council to declare the privatization decision invalid, because it is contrary to the laws in force.
Citizens has requested the Municipality of Durrës to issue a decision revoking the decision of the Municipal Council, but has not yet received a response.
Subsequently, the land where these cabins are located entered the property restitution and compensation process, and since 2013, their ownership has been transferred to the owners of the land.
Residents claim that they found out years later that the Municipality had transferred the building "with residents inside" to the current owners.
"We were not notified when the municipality handed over the buildings, because there is a handover deed as if the building was empty, while we were there. The municipality should feel indebted to us and should have offered us an alternative housing option by 2013," lawyer Merita Dakovelli previously told Citizens.
Solutions from institutions
Residents say they cannot judge the decision to transfer ownership of the buildings to the current owners, but they are seeking some form of support from institutions.
The Municipality of Durres told Citizens that families can apply through the e-albania portal by uploading the required documentation to benefit from social housing programs. But the majority of residents, who belong to vulnerable groups and are elderly, say they do not know where to turn.
While others say that Mayor Emiriana Sako herself told them in a closed-door meeting that there are about three thousand homeless people in the city and they should register when it is their turn to have their case reviewed.
The situation has led many young people and families to express that being left in the middle of nowhere has led them to consider leaving the country.
"I am very sorry for my country that I have to leave this time for good. Maybe I will come visit it sometime and that's it..." - concludes Aledio Hoxha.
In parallel, protests against the project are continuing in Durrës.TID Durres", who oppose the AADF project in collaboration with the Municipality of Durrës for the expropriation of around 170 owners of old villas in the archaeological area of the city.
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He completed his master's studies in the department of Journalism and Communication Sciences at the University of Tirana. She has been reporting for more than four years in Citizens.al on issues of culture, urban development, feminism, etc. She is also a contributor to other local and foreign online media, and has worked in the editing of various materials. She is the author of the podcast "Pezull" on Citizens.al and is engaged as a coordinator of projects related to the empowerment of young journalists and migration issues.
