Poverty, fake promises and family ties lure Albanians to the UK

Situated at a crossroads between Greeks, Turks and Slavs, Albanians have a tradition of outward migration that dates back centuries. More recently, a generation took to the road in the 1990s after decades of extreme poverty and isolation under the Communist regime of Enver Hoxha.

“The situation in Kukës is at a watershed,” he explains. “Institutions crumble. Schools built for 300 kids now have 50. Jobs disappear, as do family safety nets. Tirana University closed its local branch. There is no career coaching, no vision for life locally.” Once an expensive procedure costing up to £20,000, involving fake documents, border bribes and flights or trips in box trucks, this year the cost of a UK trip has dropped to about £5,000 as smugglers instead use North African small boat operators in the Channel, widening the appeal of the route.

Albanian prime minister Edi Rama disputes British estimates of the numbers of Albanians crossing the channel. Photograph: Jens Schlueter/AFP via Getty Images

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