Originally, Egzona had a completely different future in mind. She moved from Peja to study architecture at the University of Prishtina, but quit her studies shortly after so that she could begin working. She found out from some friends that working as a masseuse in Prishtina paid much more than her current job, so decided to try it out. Egzona admits that working in the massage parlors is not easy, and wants to move to Germany and work in any other industry to get away from it.
While sharing some uncomfortable moments from her first days as a masseuse, Egzona explained that she is secretive about her work because of the illegal activities occurring in some of these parlors. Despite regular inspection and a tough police response over the last few years, public institutions still deflect responsibility for the unlawful operation of the parlors.
At the end of , Kosovo Police shut down 30 premises offering massage services across the capital. The initiative, which aimed to identify potential victims of human trafficking and combat the phenomena, involved the Directorate for Investigation of Economic Crimes and Corruption and Directorate for Investigation of Trafficking in Human Beings.
Additionally, labor inspectors, inspectors from the Tax Administration of Kosovo and from the Municipality of Prishtina worked to identify other administrative and business-related irregularities during the inspection of the massage parlors. Two years later the initiative is still in force, yet the problems persist, say the Kosovo Police. Since , Kosovo Police have closed down 42 massage parlors, 10 of which were closed due to their criminal involvement in human trafficking and facilitating prostitution.
According to them, the other 32 parlors were closed down temporarily as a result of non-criminal irregularities in the daily work of the parlors, identified by the police during inspections. In the same period last year, there were 44 people [arrested]. The Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo states that the criminal offenses of facilitating or compelling prostitution and providing parlors for prostitution are punishable with between three and 25 years of imprisonment.
