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

Ilir knows how to make a good espresso.  He helps his father at the café and feels comfortable at the coffee machine.  Together they run a coffee bar in the outskirts of Fier, in the southern part of Albania.  The place has recently re-opened and is spacious enough.  Customers are still not many, but the number is increasing every day.  Ilir and his father also run a nice football field next to the bar.  In the mornings children from the nearby school do sport activities while in the afternoons and evenings amateur players often use it. When the field is empty and in the bar there are few costumers, Ilir takes the ball and goes for some shooting at the goal. He is almost 18 and attends high school in the mornings.

The suburbs of the Albanian cities grew dramatically in the 90's due to a large internal migration from the mountainous and remote areas of Albania. In most cases, suburban areas developed irregularly without proper planning or adequate services.  Increasingly populated and affected by a very high unemployment rate among the youth, those areas are fertile grounds for emigration.

Ilir has a younger sister, a very young mother and a strong and protective father. They live in a one-storey house, with a single room with kitchenette, which turns into Ilir and his sister’s bedroom after dinner.  The mother takes care of the housework, while his father used to work occasionally hardly affording the family’s basic needs.  Ilir’s migration experience was short and negative.  When only 17 he decided to look for a better future and support his family by irregularly migrating to Norway in search for a job and remit money home. But soon he realized he could not remain there and that the voluntary return through IOM assistance was the only option.  He has not brought anything with him from Norway.  The only thing that reminds him of his migration experience is the suitcase, which he departed and returned with.

IOM has helped Ilir and his family to open and manage a coffee bar through the payment of the rent and the purchase of some furniture.  After the start-up period, the income is now sufficient to cover the café’s operating expenses and ensure a fix and solid revenue to the family.  “When I was abroad I missed a lot my family.  IOM’s support permitted me to archive the goal I set for myself before departure and in the meanwhile allowed me to stay close to the family”.