One year ago, Myrvet, his wife and their three children returned back to live in Albania after 16 years in Greece. Their children, two older daughters and a 3-year-old little boy arrived in Albania for the first time as they were all born in Greece.  Myrvet and his wife left Albania as part of great migration flow caused by the collapse of the Albanian institutions in  the  late  90’s.  Their return is imputable  to  the  crisis,  this  time  economic,  which  has  severely  affected Greece  in  the  latest  years.  Economic migrants and vulnerable groups have been particularly affected by the Greek economic recession.  Myrvet  and  his family,  which  are  both  Roma  and  migrants,  have  heavily  suffered from  it.

Myrvet  used  to  work  in  the  construction  sector,  but  he  remained  jobless  for long  periods.  He could find only occasional, unsafe and off-the-books jobs.  Without  a  regular  job  they  could  not  renew  the  permits  of  stay and were forced to live as irregular in the country they considered their home. "We tried hard  to  stay  in  Athens,  but  due  to  the  economic  situation,  being  regularly employed  became  almost  impossible.  This was the reason why we were forced to return to Albania. We rent from a relative a house in the suburbs of Elbasan and we started from scratch.  The support of IOM was indispensable for our integration: it gave us the first push to start again" Myrvet says.  IOM has supported the family to open a small business in the main market of Elbasan.  Myrvet obtained the license as a market vendor and purchased with IOM's support new and second-hand clothes to be sold. Such initial help enabled him to start a new income generating activity, allowing the family to successfully begin their social and economic reintegration in Albania.  The market opens at dawn and closes at 3 PM.  Myrvet and his wife organize their shifts  at  the  market  in  order  to  be  able  to  take  care  of  their  children  and  to perform some other occasional jobs.  Everything in this family house is a reminder of Greece.  The furniture, the carpets, the  mirror  in  which  family  photos  are  hung,  the  paintings,  the  set  of  glasses and  cups  of  coffee:  "All these  things  were  brought  from  Athens,  along  with memories, sorrows and regrets of not being able to stay there” says Myrvet. With  the  support  of  IOM  and  our  old  friends,  I  am  sure  that  we  will,  step  by step, feel at home here again, forget our melancholia and retain from our time in Greece just the many good memories”.

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