ID cards: "slavery" or a step forward?

06/02/2009

Albanian bloggers debate the pros and cons of their new identity documents.

By Balkanblog for Southeast European Times -- 06/02/09

A Tirana resident poses for his new ID card. [Gent Shkullaku/SETimes]

The credibility of past elections in Albania has suffered from disputes over the authenticity of identity documents and of voter registries. New identity cards, which the government promised to start distributing last week, will be a key element in implementing European standards for elections this summer.

Around 400 centres opened throughout the country on January 12th to take applications for the new cards. The process, however, has not always gone smoothly. Critics say authorities were not fully prepared for the massive numbers of people eager to obtain their new cards.

Albanian bloggers have widely varying opinions on the issue. Writing at Peshku pa ujë, for instance, Horus is convinced the ID cards are a form of slavery. "Why I am forced as a citizen to leave my personal information, such as fingerprints, in a state database?" he wants to know.

"Who is afraid of leaving fingerprints?" Cassandraa retorts. "Just those who leave fingerprints at a crime scene, no one else."

Lefti, meanwhile, finds the complaints irritating. "Now that the process is under way and the citizens are rushing in long lines to get new cards, the critics are continuing their simple job. Yes, it is very easy to be critical and find glitches here and there," he writes.

Many bloggers also commented on the interior ministry's decision to allow women to have their ID photo taken while wearing a headscarf -- though not a burka. The ministry implemented the policy after consultations with Albania's Muslim community.

"The hair is a basic identification element for any individual," writes shqiptario at Skyscrapercity-forums. "Insofar as we are a secular state, the rules should be applied the same way to everyone."

At Peshku pa ujë, as has a similar opinion. "The state is secular … no such symbolism should be permitted in the photographs," he insists. "And the state should provide a new legal framework for the ID photos."

Cassandraa, though, notes that some Western countries -- such as Canada -- permit the wearing of headscarves in ID photos, as long as only the hair is covered. "Since the person normally would be seen wearing a headscarf, I don't see the problem," she writes.

Last but not least, Suela recounts her own problem with the ID procedure. The 25-year-old blogger remains disabled from an accident 11 years ago. When she went to apply for her new card, she found the application office was on the second floor, with no elevator.

"There are many elderly and sick people waiting in these long lines," she says. "We are not all Tarzans … it's not fair to have to obtain a service in such an undignified way. Does the French firm [which won the tender for carrying out the process] provide service in this manner back in its country of origin?"