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New tendencies of Albanian immigration to Greece

2022-11-12 21:49:27Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA RAIMOND KOLA
New tendencies of Albanian immigration to Greece
New tendencies of Albanian immigration to Greece

In the 30 years after communism, the largest emigration of Albanians was towards neighboring Greece. But recently, the number of immigrants from Albania to Greece is showing a significant decrease due to the migration of the second generation to England and Northern Europe. The researchers estimate that the new migration trends also have an impact on many Albanian cross-border areas where migrants are no longer returning from Greece to Albania seasonally.

In Vrisera of Gjirokastra, a border area on the border with Greece, a handful of residents have gathered at a public hearing of the Municipality of Dropulli for the next year's budget. The life of the residents has become more difficult due to mass migration and the organization of services, especially for the elderly, is a challenge for local governments.

Mihal Kicaqi from Vriseraja talks about the challenges.

"In the area of ​​Vrisera of Upper Dropulli they have fled en masse and there are very few old people left here. A few houses in each village, a maximum of 30 houses with two or three inhabitants. And this creates many difficulties for health services in particular, transport and life in general."

Mr. Kicaqi further says that the recent departure from Greece of the second generation makes it more difficult to connect with families in Albania. He says that his son recently migrated to England and he did not want this second migration.

"I had a son who ran away from Greece, from Athens where he had a job, to England. This is because he had a low salary and could not meet his needs. They found better opportunities there and that's how many Albanian immigrants have fled from Greece as well. I didn't want a second marriage for my son, but now we're getting used to it," he says.

In Greece, there are still no clear statistics on the departure of Albanians to European countries and in England, since some of the second-generation Albanian migrants have left with documents or Greek citizenship.

Eda Gemi, a well-known researcher of Albanian immigration issues in Greece, talks about this phenomenon.

"It is estimated that around 2018-2020, around 55,000 to 60,000 second-generation Albanians have left for Great Britain, mainly. As for Greek immigrants aged 18-29, it is more or less 400 to 450 thousand.

Mrs. Gemi further says that a generation of well-qualified Albanians is leaving for Northern European countries or England.

The second generation of Albanians in Greece is highly qualified. They usually finished their studies in Greece and they invest this capital of knowledge in another country.

The immigration researcher says that despite the curves of the Albanian immigration movement in Greece, especially after the Greek economic crisis which pushed Albanians to leave Greece as a result of Greek government initiatives, there has been an easing of seasonal employment of Albanians in Greece.

"We have a kind of liberalization of the seasonal employment of Albanians in Greece. This started with the pandemic. It was exactly the year 2020, the needs for seasonal employment mainly in agriculture but also in livestock caused the Greek government to make the decision that Albanians go to Greece with passports without the need for seasonal visas.

Albanian emigration has been a great supporter for families in Albania not only through sending money but also through the seasonal contribution of families returning from Greece to work and live in Albania.

The new movements of Albanians from Greece, especially of younger families, have recently changed this movement trajectory, says Mrs. Gemi.

From the moment that a significant part of the Albanian emigration to Greece has moved to other countries, the Scandinavian ones, Great Britain or Continental Europe, including Belgium, Germany mainly, it has undoubtedly changed the trajectory of the movement of Albanian families, especially the younger ones in age.

Mrs. Gemi further says that Albania is not an attractive pole for Albanian emigration to Greece for a series of factors.

"From the moment that Albania is no longer an attractive pole for Albanians, if you see the curve of these trajectories of the movement of Albanian emigration after 2008, the first stop for Albanian emigrants who left Greece was Albania. It was the idea to reconsider returning to Albania for cope with the decline of the economy in Greece due to the financial crisis. But Albania has not given much to Albanians and still does not give much to them. There is a labor market that is segmented, it is not well organized, sectors of the economy are not structured and based on professional skills and relevant school degrees. But the Albanian community in Greece is the largest despite the decline and despite the new migratory currents. No other community has managed to replace Albanians in the labor market in Greece."

The official data published by the Greek Ministry of Emigration for September of this year show that there are 291,868 Albanian immigrants in Greece with valid residence permits, which make up about 61.4% of legal foreigners.

The number of Albanians with residence permits in September 2022 is significantly lower than in September of the previous year when 425,740 people with valid residence permits were registered, which constituted 63.% of foreigners in Greece.

The data of the Greek Ministry of Emigration are updated dynamically, and although immigrants from Albania make up the vast majority of foreigners with residence permits, their number is decreasing more and more. /VOA


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