An investigation by the Italian newspaper Domani reveals troubling conditions at the migrant reception center in Gjadër, Albania. According to the article, since the center’s opening, there have been ongoing protests and 45 recorded cases of self-harm or suicide attempts.

The report states that in recent months, around 80 individuals have been held in the facility—figures that have not been officially disclosed.

Describing the center as a large, silent, and isolated space, Domani highlights that migrants are denied access to cellphones or television, contributing to severe psychological distress. One major concern is the widespread and uncontrolled use of psychotropic medication, which, according to the article, further deteriorates the mental health of those detained.

A recurring detail from testimonies of visitors to the repatriation center is the confusion among detainees over time:
“What day is it?” followed quickly by “What time is it?”

“No watches, no phones. There are televisions, but they don’t work. Imagine a large, ghost-like, silent structure where the echo of footsteps and the disconnection from reality, from the passage of time, from the outside world, become tools of erasure.
The environment is orderly, clean, aseptic—a kind of dystopia, far removed from the image of crumbling, filthy Italian prisons where smoke-blackened sections bear the marks of protests with burning mattresses,” the article states.

Domani also reports on a lack of transparency and the Italian government’s apparent determination to keep the center away from public and parliamentary scrutiny. It claims that visits from MPs are seen as a disturbance by the authorities.

The article includes testimonies from Italian MPs Debora Serracchiani and Claudio Stefanazzi, who visited the camp and documented alarming cases of individuals suffering from severe psychological and health problems, including multiple suicide attempts and poor medical conditions.