In April 2022, Exit.al published an open letter to Prime Minister Edi Rama from Ton Daans, a retired Dutch prison governor, who from 2018 to 2020 served as a foeign advisor to Albania’s Minister of Justice on penitentiary reform.
He wrote the letter after a fall on a broken pavement in Tirana, which landed him in the University Trauma Hospital. The letter listed a string of failures in his treatment. Staff diagnosed a fracture that a Dutch specialist later found did not exist. He was a head-injury patient on blood thinners, yet he was declared “fit to fly” without any neurological examination. He used his case to argue that Albania’s public healthcare falls far short of European standards.
Daans says what followed was telling. The letter was raised in parliament, where Rama blamed the opposition for the state of the system. The hospital disclosed his medical file. The Ministry of Justice quietly ended talks about a new assignment for him.
Now, four and a half years later, months of protests have been met by a harsh police response, and school and university students have joined them in the past week. Daans has written to the Prime Minister again. He argues that the pattern hasn’t changed: criticism gets shifted onto others, there is no capacity for self-reflection, and the “dialogue” on offer means reprisals in practice.
We publish his second letter in full below. The headline and illustration are by Exit.al.
Open Letter to Prime Minister Edi Rama
Prime Minister,
In the spring of 2022, I wrote an open letter to you after receiving treatment at the Trauma University Hospital for injuries sustained from a fall in Tirana.
That open letter garnered significant publicity and even prompted a parliamentary debate in the Albanian Parliament.
In the letter, I expressed my concerns regarding the quality of healthcare in your country—an issue that, alongside concerns about the quality of education and corruption, weighs heavily on many citizens.
I never received a (direct) response from you. What I did observe in the journalistic reports of the parliamentary debate, however, was that you chose to cast blame on the political opposition. Instead of critical self-reflection, there was an accusation directed at the opposition, claiming they had saddled you with an incredibly negative legacy. In other words, my poor treatment was not due to your policies but rather to the actions of your predecessors in government.
In effect, you failed to listen to my critical observations—which were, in fact, shared by many citizens—and it became clear to me that you and your government were entirely incapable of self-reflection.
Above that, you were ‘punishing’ me. The discussions that were underway at that time regarding a new assignment were halted by the Ministry of Justice without any notification, and I have not received any further assignments since then.
Moreover, I was completely flabbergasted and shocked when the hospital management disclosed my medical file without the slightest sense of shame.
I was seriously offended and insulted by the (indirect) reactions after entering into a dialogue about my concerns with you with positive intentions.
Now, we have reached the autumn of 2026.
For months, your citizens have been demonstrating peacefully against various plans you have proposed and against your government’s policies. Over the past week, school and university students have joined these protests, which have since seen outbursts of violence, accompanied by an unprecedentedly harsh and disproportionate response from the police force.
Once again, the protesting citizens accuse you of failing to hear their critical concerns—of not listening to them. Once again, you are quick to cast blame on others, while showing no capacity for self-reflection. It’s an identical pattern as in 2022.
The ‘dialogue’ you call for consists, in practice, of reprisals, severe penal and administrative measures, and heavy-handed police intervention. The violence carried out on behalf of your government cannot be considered as a sincere invitation for a well-balanced dialogue. The images circulating on social media have drawn international condemnation and revulsion.
It is, therefore, no surprise that the chairs you set out for the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday, October 20, remained empty. People were even destroying the chairs, a metaphorical way of showing that they don’t want to talk with you. It’s clear to everyone, and therefore it has to be clear to you, that the people of Albania don’t want a dialogue with you and the ruling political class.
A government in a democratic state exists to serve its people. The people should never have to face unbridled, extraordinary outbursts of rage from the state apparatus; on the contrary, they ought to be protected from such violence.
You have a social contract with your people. You are violating this social contract in a grave manner, and, judging by your reactions, it appears you are living in your own ‘outer-space’ universe—your own bubble in which you are creating your own reality—having lost all connection with your citizens. That is a sobering realization.
I urge you to put an end to the violence directed at your citizens—both adults and minors—and to respect national and international standards regarding the rule of law.
Your own political career and your personal well-being do not take precedence over the well-being of your people. You hold office to serve them and not otherwise …….. the Albanians do not exist to serve you.
From the perspective of your people, you are the problem; therefore, it’s completely impossible that you are a part of the solution.
Be smart. Listen to your people and avoid violence and bloodshed.
The people desire a new Albania; grant your people a new Albania.
Ton Daans
International Penitentiary Advisor and former advisor of the Albanian Minister of Justice
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
October 21, 2026
Shpërndaje te miqtë
