Success Stories of Return and Integration in Albania: Alma's Story

Alma is very busy all day long.  She wakes up early in the morning and goes to a professional culinary class.  In the afternoon she does an internship in a restaurant serving traditional Albanian food, while in the evening and in her spare time she looks for a job.  She lives in Tirana and  lives in a two room apartment, kept in perfect order.  Alma started a new life few months ago, with good perspectives of studying and working as a cook, which has always been her dream.  The reintegration support given by IOM and the help of “Different and Equal” NGO have allowed her to start up again, after the big decision to leave her family’s home in a remote village in Vlora region and the great disappointment of her migration experience to Italy that followed.

Alma’s father is a farmer and her mother helps him plotting their land.  Her brother, aged 22, is deaf-mute since birth and is unemployed.  Alma completed the compulsory school cycle, and although she would have liked to pursue her studies, she was forced to drop out as her family had no means to afford her studies.  While at home, she helped her mother with the housework but the family relations were always tense.

Alma left Albania in March 2015 and migrated to Italy in order to study and build her own future, for her own and her brother’s sake , towards whom she displays great affection.  She traveled to her aunt who lived in Genoa hoping she could live with her.  Unfortunately, the aunt was not able to take care of her since her husband has been diagnosed with cancer.  Alma did not have any other relative who could help her and she was hosted at a reception structure for minors.  During almost 6 months of her permanence there, she established good relations with her peers and the social workers.  Today, she carefully keeps few letters she received from them after she left.  Alma would have liked to stay in Italy but she was aware this was not an option anymore. She therefore accepted the possibility of an assisted voluntary return option in July 2015.  IOM has supported her return by covering her culinary class, supporting her internship in the restaurant and part of the rental fees. "I hope I can find soon a job in a restaurant, so that I can be independent; I can continue my study and be able to fulfill my dream of becoming a professional cook. This dream seemed impossible to me few months ago. Now, thanks to the help received by IOM, it seems an exciting challenge ", she says.