Today marks 25 years from the Tragedy of Otranto, where an Albanian boat carrying 142 people capsized after a collision with an Italian naval vessel.

81 people drowned, mainly women and children.

Krenar Xhavarra një prej të mbijetuarve që në atë tragjedi humbi të vëllain, bashkëshorten dhe fëmijën bën fajtor autoritet italiane për atë ngjarje ndërsa nuk resht së kërkuari drejtësi.

Krenar Xhavarra is a survivor, but he lost his entire family, his brother, his wife, and his 6-month old infant.

To this day, he blames Italian authorities and is relentless in his quest for justice.

“We’ve been fighting for justice for 25 years for the tragedy that took place at the Strait of Otranto”, says Xhavarra.

He was 25-years old when he and his family decided to go to Italy, in search of a better life.

“The Italian vessels started doing some dangerous maneuvers, getting close so it could sink us by creating waves. Then it hit us from behind in order to capsize our boat”, recounts Krenar.

He was the only member of his family to survive. 25 years on, memories from that night are still vivid to him.

He said that despite all his efforts, it was impossible to rescue his family.

“If we would have been defended by the Albanian state, then Italy was going to be sent at The Hague for committing crimes against humanity”, he says.

On 28 March 1997, an Albanian boat carrying 142 people on board collided with the Italian naval forces who wanted to prevent the illegal crossing of the migrants.

The bodies of 23 victims were never recovered.