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| During today's protest in Tirana that came as a result of the violence of a 3-year-old girl |
With slogans such as "do not touch our children," "stop abuse," "we want safety for children," "don't kill our dreams," "This is not an education system but a crime system," many citizens protested in front of the Ministry of Education in Albania, demanding justice for the case of a 3-year-old girl whose parents reported that she was physically mistreated by one of the educators at a kindergarten.
The incident occurred on November 1st, and after some incidents, the parents reported it to the media three days ago, while the educator was arrested by the Albanian police on November 9th, under the charge of "child abuse."
This case was denounced in an investigative show in the Albanian media, to which the girl's parents turned. The published footage showed the educator forcefully pulling the 3-year-old, whose leg got stuck in the space between the beds. According to the parents, her hip bone was broken at that moment, and in the video, the girl can be heard crying. The educator's actions continue with offensive language and with the use of violence even after the girl is lifted from sleep and continues to cry. Her parents have stated that they were informed by the kindergarten authorities about five hours after this incident. According to them, the kindergarten authorities tried to conceal the incident, telling them that the leg injury occurred from the sting of some insect. However, doctors have confirmed that there was a fracture of the femur.
The incident has prompted a reaction from the society in Albania. Initially, there was a protest on Tuesday at the doors of the non-public kindergarten, which was immediately closed by the order of the Ministry of Education. On Thursday, citizens gathered in front of the Ministry of Education.
Protesters in Tirana demanded the resignation of the heads of the Ministry of Education.
The request comes after the ministry itself admitted that the kindergarten did not have a license from this institution. The owner had registered the kindergarten at the National Business Center, but did not have a license to operate this activity in the service of children.
The Ministry of Education stated that its responsibility is only to provide a license, not to control whether such businesses carry out activities without a license. However, this institution decided to set up a task force to verify all the entities that carry out activities in services for children.
"There must be control and private nurseries. They have multiplied like mushrooms. Horrifying scenes. Educators do not know what qualifications they have, they take them and bring them there," said one protester.
It is unclear how this kindergarten managed to operate without a license and without fulfilling its obligations to the authorities in terms of taxes and duties. The owner of the kindergarten has been charged with three accusations: "operating financial activities without a license," "concealing income," and "non-payment of taxes and duties."
Protesters then continued their march from the Ministry of Education towards the Ministry of the Interior.
"We are here to demand that the institutions function properly," said one citizen, while various speakers at the protest demanded that this incident be followed by the resignation of officials from both ministries.
In addition to the violence exerted in the kindergarten, the negligence of the institutions that allowed the functioning of this entity, there are suspicions that the police have also neglected the incident. For this reason, two employees of the No. 1 police station in Tirana, with the rank of sub-commissioner, have been suspended and are being investigated for "abuse of duty."
The police said that "there are suspicions that the two sub-commissioners did not perform the necessary investigative actions to hold legally responsible the persons who mistreated the minor in the kindergarten premises."