Community history

Kosova and Albania are amongst the European countries most intensely affected by emigration over the past 17 years. Albania remains the poorest country in Europe with almost one fifth of the population living in poverty and 3% actually unable to meet basic food requirements. Kosova was also the most deprived area of former Yugoslavia and even now has unemployment of 60%, and 20% of children were unable to access secondary education last year due to lack of school places.

Despite significant progress since transition from a communist regime to a market based economy, both countries still face considerable challenges. As a result, they are highly reliant on migrant workers’ remittances from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, America, Italy and Greece.

Remittances are the key to survival for those who remain – mainly older people, plus some younger women and children. A proportion of Albanian speakers in the UK have used their migration to support their families back home by sending remittances. These funds are used for day-to-day survival. However, increasingly families are being established in the UK, comprised of those who have brought their families back to the UK, or who have married here, resulting in a number of cross cultural marriages.

Today

There are approximately 50,000 Kosovar refugees in the UK and an estimated 80,000 migrant Albanians in the UK. Over 60% are based in London.

Kosovars arrived as refugees fleeing political persecution and war. At that time there was huge public sympathy for the thousands of refugees entering the UK to escape the atrocities in their homeland. Today there is little public interest and yet the impact continues to be felt strongly by the people themselves.