EUbserver wrote an article describing the path of the Albanian state after the 90s, regarding the economy, social conditions and the main reasons that force Albanian citizens to leave Albania.
The question raised by the Brussels media: why do 83% of Albanians want to leave Albania?
Last week, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama angrily rejected UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s mischaracterization of Albanians as illegal immigrants and criminals during his visit to London. Albanians flee their homeland because they are looking for a better life and have nothing to lose.
But the number of Albanian immigrants crossing the English Channel has skyrocketed. Albanians make up about a third of illegal immigrants seeking asylum in the UK.
In 2020, 50 arrived in small boats. In 2021, 800 passed. In 2022, 12,301 arrived. Many single, adult men. According to Eurostat, these figures represent about one percent of working-age men in Albania.
A Balkan Barometer study shows that 83 percent of Albanian citizens want to leave Albania. Almost 50 percent apply for work legally.
In fact, healthcare workers make up the largest portion of Albanians looking for a fresh start abroad. A medical student doing an internship abroad told us that she left Albania because she didn’t have the money to pay for her stay. She explained that it is simply impossible to live for eight years without income.
When autocracy collapsed in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, Albanians had high hopes that democracy and a free market economy would bring a better life. But Albania’s transition from dictatorship to democracy was uneven and incomplete.
Albania’s economy exploded in 1996 when the pyramid collapsed, wiping out personal savings overnight. Thousands of Albanians left for Italy; many perished at sea. The collapse of the pyramid dashed their hopes. Many Albanians are still struggling with the revolution’s rising expectations.
Albania’s economy seems to have recovered. The skyline of Tirana, the country’s capital, is filled with glass and chrome office towers. Despite the abundance of five-star restaurants, poverty is still widespread. Good restaurants are very out of reach for most Albanians working in the agricultural sector.
Many farmers grow hemp as a more profitable cash crop than watermelon. Criminal gangs are ubiquitous, exporting drugs to Western Europe. These groups also facilitate the travel of Albanians to Great Britain. Once in Britain, illegal immigrants are often trapped in a life of crime. Easy money from drug, arms and human trafficking has undermined the values of hard work and honesty that define Albanian character.
Hemp cultivation is particularly widespread in the stronghold of the ruling Socialist Party (SP).
Albania’s economic problems have been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, which has limited tourist revenue as well as foreign direct investment. The economic decline did not occur only in Albania. Middle-income countries were hit hardest by the pandemic.
Albania’s macroeconomic indicators are worrying due to rampant inflation and massive unemployment. Albania is increasingly turning into a country of rich and poor. Inequality is becoming more apparent with the huge gulf between the super rich and everyone else. Albanian officials boast of the country’s economic growth, citing increased exports and tax collections. But these numbers are misleading because they are the result of years of economic decline.
Tirana is full of wealthy people who can afford more and more imported goods, and many Albanian children suffer from malnutrition.
Many Albanians live on a few dollars a day. Disgruntled state employees and workers took to the streets to protest low wages. Many of them have to work two jobs to feed their children and get an education.
While the worsening situation is the main driver of illegal immigration, the UK’s post-Brexit dysfunction is also to blame. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is determined to control the situation. The UK has returned at least 500 illegal immigrants to Albania by 2023. Their repatriation deters others from coming, helping to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.
We know what prevents illegal immigration. Under the measures agreed at last week’s EU summit, the UK must adopt additional measures: strengthened border controls, including more security, security infrastructure, surveillance and border equipment. Additional agreements with third countries will also help to solve the problem.
Albania is a member of NATO, a candidate country for EU membership, and is at the center of efforts to combat violent Muslim extremism. The event can help Albania succeed through a partnership that focuses on prevention while helping to address the root causes of despair.
Economic cooperation is the starting point for strengthening democratic institutions and multiparty democracy in Albania.
The West can help Albania, but Albania must take the initiative to help itself.
This article was written by DAVID L. PHILLIPS AND BESSIRA MANAGE