VZCZCXRO3020
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHIK #0052/01 3341719
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301719Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0494
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS PRIORITY 0369
RUEHIK/AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI 0537

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