Albanian political fugitives in Greece (1945-1990)

In Greece, at the end of 1945, some 1.000.000 refugees were recorded, who did not wish or could not be repatriated, walking around like human shipwrecks in dirty camps. By 1946, the number of refugees had doubled and the International Organization for Migration (1946) was looking for new countries for the stateless, victims of the red atrocities of the eastern band. In 1951, 1.250.000 refugees were expected in Greece (the term “political fugitives”) for their professional and housing restoration pending departure to the second country of asylum: USA, Canada, Australia, Israel, etc. Etc. At that time, the authorities estimated that around 3000 Albanian political fugitives were in Greece, living in refugee camps (Lavrio and elsewhere) or even free, with the appeal to seek a new homeland, in overseas countries I don’t know. Many times the hospitality conditions were bad, but usually the Greek Red Cross and the American Refugee Program did everything they could to congestion of fugitive reception centers, managing with respect the dignity of the fugitives. Basic element: the Christian love and mercy of the Greek, with the weak and the victim. One thing was important: all these “wandering around the camps” had escaped the communist blade. However, since 1949-1953 many political fugitives – deliberately or forced – have made north of the bulimic desire of foreign secret services, which, in a childish way, planned the famous cruiser operation “Valuable” to overthrow the communist regime in Albania, using them miserable Albanian fugitives as “consumable human material”, with secret shipments of land, air and sea raiders. The conditions for restoration of fugitives were complicated and suspicion of the penetration of agents from the communist camp has stepped up. It was the height of the cold war tension. The operation failed badly and only a few of the raiders were able to survive, folded again in Greece; most of them were severely eliminated by the regime. The photos show a telegram of the political fugitive Chyssni Dema, a state of political fugitives from Balkan countries at the care center of foreign lavrion and a photo of an Albanian minor, murdered and desecrated on the Albanian border during the attempt to escape from the border guard force that had evolved into a terrorist mechanism for Albanians. In his pocket, the address of a Greek who would host him at the place of destination, in Crete, according to a study by the famous Albanian researcher Castriot Dervisi. The journalistic text belongs to the political Virginia Tsouderou, which – in addition to the inappropriate designations that have been made against it – contributed with humanism to the restoration of Albanian political fugitives in the 60 s in Greece.