Albania

Analysing the post-1990 Albanian migration to Italy, this text is a study of one of Europe's newest, most dramatic yet least understood migrations. It explores the dynamics of this migration and takes a look at migrants' employment, housing and social exclusion in the country, as well as the process of return migration to Albania.

The most detailed and up-to-date guidebook to Albania available.

Albania is a small country located in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula. The country is bounded by the Adriatic Sea to the west, Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south. Albania's history is rich and complex, reflecting its position as a crossroads between East and West, and its interactions with numerous empires and nations throughout the centuries. The country has a population of approximately 2.9 million people and covers an area of 28,748 square kilometers. Albania is known for its stunning natural beauty, breathtaking mountains, and clear turquoise waters. The country boasts a mix of traditional and modern influences, reflecting a rich cultural heritage that includes music, art, cuisine, and traditional crafts. Traditionally, the Albanian economy relied on agriculture, which remains an important sector to this day. However, other industries such as tourism, manufacturing, and services have grown in recent years, contributing to the country's economic diversification and growth. Despite challenges, such as political instability and corruption, Albania is slowly emerging as a potential travel destination and investment opportunity in the Balkans.

Although tiny in comparison with other European countries, Albania looms large in terms of its people, culture and history. Blessed by an abundance of natural resources, together with the resourcefulness of its people, it stands strong in the face of much larger countries that have tried to control it and subjugate its people. In the face of overwhelming odds, Albania stood firm, refusing to be subdued to others despite that dominant country remaining on its soil for centuries. Descendants from the ancient Illyrians, a relatively unknown group, together with an obscure language unlike any other in Europe, its people are a mystery and a conundrum in the face of larger and more powerful countries. The Ottoman Empire, for example, dominated Albania and the Balkans for five centuries, but were unable to subjugate these people. Albanian embers for independence were nurtured and kept alive until, in the end, it achieved its national aspirations. Its core identity remained unchanged and strong in the face of such challenge. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Albanian is the concept of besa, a term denoting a code of honor. Once given to another, whether an Albanian or a stranger, the Albanian would rather forfeit his life than violate this code and promise. It was due to this concept and code that Jews in Albania, were protected and every manner of succor was extended to them. Albania remains the only country in Nazi-occupied Europe when at the end of that world war there was an increase in its Jewish population rather than the reverse. The Nazis considered the Jewish population in Albania to be about 200 persons. In fact, by war’s end, 2,000 people emerged, relating tales of the extraordinary courage and heroism extended to them by either Muslim or Christian Albanians. To date the State of Israel’s Yad Vashem has recognized 75 Albanians for its prestigious award of Righteous Among the Nations. Ironically, the very same code of honor that protected Jews during World War Two is now used by Albanians to perpetrate criminality across the world. The Albanian Mafia controls a vast international enterprise, overseeing every form of crime. At its basest element, the clannish hallmark of its membership is based on familial connections, with the code of besa given to its leadership and other members. Thereby, all in the clan are considered family for whom the code connects and protects, demanding total unquestioned obedience. Efforts to infiltrate these clans has proven an impossible task because of the interconnected webs of duty and control exerted on all in that organization. Betrayal of the clan is a violation of family and community so that total obedience is a given at all times. Hence, the same nobility of besa is also used negatively, against society and normative social frameworks. In addition, Albania still retains the cultural phenomenon of the ‘third sex’ where women become ‘sworn virgins.’ They are released from their traditional feminine role and become a ‘man,’ doing so by a formal oath given to twelve elders in the community. Afterwards, none may remind this ‘man’ of a previous life as a woman. Though the number of sworn virgins in Albania is small, it is still present and any woman may assume this transformation despite modernity and its claims of equality. The Albanian diet reflects its Mediterranean culture, using olive oil and an array of vegetables that provides an abundance of health to its people. There is much to learn from this ancient society. I hope this book does justice to the many traditions and culture of this unique people.

Whilst young ladies in the Victorian and Edwardian eras were expected to have many creative accomplishments, they were not expected to travel unaccompanied, and certainly not to the remote corners of Southeast Europe, then part of the crumbling Ottoman Empire. But Edith Durham was no ordinary lady. In 1900, at the age of 37, Durham set sail for the Balkans for the first time. Her trip was intended as a means of recovering from a period of ill-health, and as a break from the stifling monotony of caring for her ailing mother. Her experiences on this trip were to change the course of her life, kindling a profound love for the region which saw her return frequently in the following decades. She became a confidante of the King of Montenegro, ran a hospital in Macedonia and, following the outbreak of the First Balkan War in 1912, became one of the world's first female war correspondents. Back in England, she was renowned as an expert on the region, writing the highly successful book High Albania and, along with other aficionados such as the MP Aubrey Herbert, becoming an advocate for the people of the Balkans in British political life and society. King Zog of Albania once said that before Durham visited the Balkans, Albania was but a geographical expression. By the time she left, he added, her championship of his compatriots' desire for freedom had helped add a new state to the map. Durham was tremendously popular in the region itself, earning her the affectionate title 'Queen of the Mountains' and an enduring legacy which continues unabated until this day. Yet she has been all but forgotten in the country of her birth. Marcus Tanner here tells the fascinating story of Durham's relationship with the Balkans, painting a vivid portrait of a remarkable, and sometimes formidable, woman, who was several decades ahead of her time.

The contributors to this study critically de-construct Albanian myths and offer insights into Albanian history and politics. They conclude with contemporary Albanian critiques of the origins and functions of Albanian politics and ideologies.