NOMINATION: THE 2010 SECRETARY'S AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 THESSALONIKI 000052

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR S/GWI, EUR/SE, EUR/PD
ATHENS FOR PD, POL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KWMN KPAO PREL PHUM GR
SUBJECT: NOMINATION: THE 2010 SECRETARY'S AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL
WOMAN OF COURAGE

REF: (A) STATE 00111471, (B) STATE 016553


A. FULL NAME OF NOMINEE: VALBONA HYSTUNA




B. JOB TITLE/ASSOCIATION: SOCIAL INVESTIGATOR / FAMILY
COUNSELOR, "ARSIS" - SECONDARY EDUCATION TEACHER, GREEK /
ALBANIAN




C. DATE OF BIRTH: JANUARY 14, 1972 (01/14/72)




D. COUNTRY OF BIRTH: ALBANIA




E. CITIZENSHIP: ALBANIAN




F. PASSPORT NUMBER: Z1131411




G. HOME ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE: 21, MADITOU STR., 56727,
THESSALONIKI. TEL: (+30) 693 285 5699




H. STATEMENT BY POST:

Post nominates Mrs. Valbona Hystuna for the Secretary's Award
for International Women of Courage (IWOC.)

Mrs. Hystuna is a woman who arrived in Greece with her husband
and little daughter thirteen years ago with literally no
possessions, no knowledge of the language and no other family or
social connections. After being occupied in different forms of
manual work for a short while, she began working for the NGO
Arsis as a social investigator -"street worker"- for trafficked
children, identifying them on the streets and referring them to
the appropriate authorities, so that a proper care plan could be
devised for them. In cases of need for services that Arsis
could provide, Mrs. Hystuna herself offered the necessary
support. Also, she visited detention centers where minors were
held, coordinated their repatriation process and, in cases of
Albanian minors, occasionally accompanied them herself to the
border to ensure their safe arrival and reunification with their
families and/or social state representatives. She has been
working in this field for about ten years now and has become an
almost emblematic figure, due to her persistence, consistency
and the positive results she has had so far.



Her activities have, of course, angered child traffickers and
exploiting parents who have repeatedly targeted and threatened
her but she has remained unfazed and has continued with added
determination and zest.



Another aspect of her work is that with the Albanian community.
For the last three years, she has been working as a teacher in
multicultural schools, teaching young Albanians modern Greek and
also, through the Albanian Immigrants Association "Mother
Teresa," she has been teaching Albanian to children of
immigrants that were born in Greece and are looking to establish
a connection with their parental roots. Lastly, she recently
received a scholarship to study for an MBA at Anatolia College
Thessaloniki (she holds a BA in Literature and Languages.)



This year's nominee is someone who arrived in a foreign land
literally on foot and managed to carry out for a number of years
the bulk of the field work of the fight against child
trafficking in Thessaloniki. Additionally, she has been helping
the integration of the 200-plus members of the Albanian
community - mainly women - who participate in her classes, also
providing them with psycho-social, as well as practical support.
Her work has had important and documented results, she has
repeatedly featured in the local press and is a regular
interlocutor of post.



THESSALONI 00000052 002 OF 003



In post's opinion, this is an important nomination as Mrs.
Hystuna epitomizes the virtues of a selfless and courageous
anti-trafficking worker operating in the face of danger and
intimidation. Likewise, she has demonstrated the will to
survive and to make a positive contribution to the environment
of the immigrant. By awarding her, not only do we celebrate her
character and personality but, in her face, we highlight the
plight of child trafficking, as well as the efforts of the
usually unsung immigrant women to make a new start, often in
particularly adverse circumstances.




I. PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN THE U.S.:

None




J. WORK EXPERIENCE:

2003-Present: Social Investigator / Family Counselor in the
Thessaloniki NGO "Arsis"

Nominee's duties included searching for and approaching of
street children, referral of the children to the appropriate
institutions, follow-up of progress for many years on occasions.
Also, for children referred to "Arsis," the nominee herself
provided part of the services offered, such as family
counseling, psychological support and evening tuition for the
children. Finally, she regularly visited detention centers for
Albanian minors, coordinated their safe repatriation and
occasionally accompanied them personally to the Greek-Albanian
border.



2006-2008: Secondary Education Teacher of Modern Greek

Part-time position, in the context of the project "Integration
of Alien and Repatriated Children into the Secondary Education
System", Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious
Affairs.



2003-2004: Primary Education Teacher of Modern Greek

Part-time position, in the context of the project "Strengthened
Tuition in Modern Greek for Alien and Repatriated Children",
Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs.



1994-1995: Secondary Education Teacher of Albanian

Part-time position, Albanian state education system.






K. EDUCATION:

1990-1994: BA in Albanian Literature, School of Social Sciences,
University of Shkodra, Albania



2009-ongoing: MBA candidate, Anatolia College Thessaloniki
(ACT),Greece





L.SEMINARS/CONFERENCES:

- Ittre, Belgium, October 19-23, 2009. Conference, "Social
Street Work - Training for Trainers". Nominee's presentation was
on the "Influence of Stereotypes on Closed Communities".



- Struga, Republic of Macedonia, July 23-25, 2008. Seminar, "New
Options for Teaching the Albanian Language to the (Albanian)
Diaspora". Organized by the Albanian and Kosovo Ministries of
Education.

THESSALONI 00000052 003 OF 003





- Thessaloniki, Greece, May 03, 2007. Conference, "Proposals and
Good Practices for the Integration of Immigrants". Nominee's
presentation was entitled "Aims and Objectives of the
Association of Albanian Immigrants Mother Teresa".



-Thessaloniki, Greece, October 11, 2006. Seminar, "Ombudsmen for
Children's Rights in SouthEastern Europe" .Organized by the
Greek Ombudsman with the support of NGO ARSIS and the Bar
Association of Thessaloniki.



-Tirana, Albania, September 18-20, 2006. Second Regional
Roundtable (SouthEastern and Central Europe),"Making Prevention
of Trafficking in Human Beings Effective: Building Regional and
Local Capacity of Roma Communities". Nominee's presentation was
on " The Nature of Trafficking: Aspects of the Phenomenon that
Affect the Roma Communities". Organized by the Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR),in
co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania.



-Athens, Greece, May 17, 2005. Seminar, "Prevention and Fighting
of Human Trafficking in the Mediterranean Region - International
Co-operation". Organized by the IOM with the support of the
Greek Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Health, as well as the
Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



-Thessaloniki, Greece, February 15, 2005. Seminar, "Trafficking
in Human Beings: Law Enforcement and Transnational
Co-operation". Organized by the Stability Pact for SouthEastern
Europe with the support of the US Consulate General in
Thessaloniki.



-Tirana, Albania, February 2-5, 2004. Seminar, "Child Protection
Procedures and Support Materials". Organized by the Swiss NGO
Terre des Hommes.



Candidate was notified of the nomination and is willing to
accept the award if chosen.






A. POST ACTION OFFICER:



Consul General Catherine E. Kay, email: Kayce@state.gov
KAY