Albanian migrants in Greece are the biggest remittance contributors to Albania with around 46 percent of the total figure
TIRANA, Sept. 5 – Around 10 percent of Albanian migrants in Greece have left the neighbouring country to permanently settle in Albania– most of them coming in the past couple of years as Greece faces its worst financial crisis, Greek media report. “It is estimated that of the some 500,000 Albanians that lived in Greece, 50,000 have returned home since 2004.” Daily Kathimerini reports the biggest outflow among migrants has been noted among the Albanian community in Greece, which has felt the effect of the slump, especially in the construction sector. “Many have been thinking about moving back home since last year, but their children, many of whom go to Greek school and do not speak Albanian, are the reason why they’re hesitating,” one member of the community told Kathimerini. The Albanian government has responded to the influx of repatriations, according to Flutura Tafilaku, a member of the Union of Albanian Associations in Athens, with “policies encouraging them to return.” Most look forward to starting a business of their own or being self-employed as wages remain at very low levels in the neighboring country. According to Tafilaku, “there are large swathes of farmland in Albania that have been abandoned, but everyone wants to move into the city to start up a small business.” Some, adds Tzanetos Antypas, head of the non-governmental organization Praxis, have already laid the foundations for this. “Many Albanians have invested in the coastal area by building rooms to let and are now going back to run them and add to them,” said Antypas. “In Europe, Albanian seaside resorts have been heavilly promoted as a cheap tourist destination.” “A great percentage of our compatriots are planning to migrate West, to Canada or the USA,” noted journalist Frida Bedaj. Albanian migrants in Greece are the biggest remittance contributors to Albania with around 46 percent of the total. Albanian immigrants living in Greece have transferred some 2.2 billion euros home during the past eight years, Athens News reported this week. However, according to the Bank of Albania, Albania’s imports from Greece, the country’s second trade partner, from 2004 to 2010 were at 3 billion euros. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently warned Albania is particularly vulnerable to a serious Greek downturn mostly in the form of falling investment, lower remittances, higher costs for local subsidiaries of Greek banks and reduced trade flows. Albania has more than 500,000 immigrants in Greece, who make up 10 percent of the Greece’s total workforce. Greece is currently the top foreign investor and the second biggest trade partner after Italy since the early 90s. Greek businesses are present in almost every sector of the Albanian economy, including strategic ones such as telecommunications, banking system, energy, industry, construction, trade and tourism, significantly contributing to the country’s economic growth.
