
Eva Dumani is now at home.
A journey that took 12 years to successfully complete, after the failure of several private and state attempts.
For former counter-terrorism director Gledis Nano, who has led previous operations to repatriate Eva and other Albanians from Syria, the latest operation was quite complex.
"In my opinion, it is a very difficult operation due to the period in which it was undertaken. The security situation in North-East Syria is very tense. And I think that Eva's uncle has the main weight for the success of this operation," Nano told TCH.
Eva's brother Endri was rescued from the hell of Al Hol camp in October 2020 in a rescue operation by Albanian authorities, while Eva was prevented from joining her family by camp radicals.
"They prevented her from returning. Emaniela Daci prevented her. She herself did not return, she refused to repatriate her children. She prevented everyone she could by moving them from where we were," said the former director of anti-terror.
Returning to her family is not the end. Eva will now begin a journey towards rehabilitation to live in freedom.
"A medical, mental health and psychological assessment will be conducted. The level of education will be seen and then a dedicated program will be started. This program will be maintained until experts in the field assess how much development this person has had," Nano said.
Data shows that since 2012, around 150 Albanians have gone to Syria and been radicalized to join ISIS. Currently, it is believed that only 30 of them remain in Syria.