Albanian immigrants have returned to England, making headlines in the British media. Today, The Guardian has dedicated an article to young Albanians who, as it writes, "are being brutally exploited after arriving in Great Britain."
The newspaper cites a charity that says asylum seekers from Albania travel to Great Britain mainly due to poverty and corruption.
Staff at an Albanian charity in east London have recently begun helping a 16-year-old boy who was smuggled into the UK by boat last year. He was put up in a Home Office hotel upon arrival and then kidnapped by traffickers to work on a cannabis farm in Leeds.
Migration statistics show that Albanians accounted for 28% of small boat arrivals to the UK in 2022, the highest proportion of any nationality. Afghans followed (20%). Of the Albanians, 85% claimed asylum and around 12% said they were victims of modern slavery.
The increase in arrivals from Albania was partly what prompted Interior Minister Suela Braverman to talk about an “invasion of the southern coast” in November.
The British government's position is that, as a candidate country for EU membership, Albania is a safe nation and people living there face "no serious risk of persecution," The Guardian further writes.
“In 2015 people thought we were coming to find work or benefits. now People are saying we are all criminals,” said one young man, who was trafficked to the UK As a teenager.
"This is not the right time to be looking for a job if we have albanian On Our cV. we feel like we have been made scapegoats in britain's Political crisis over immigration."
“They see us as unreliable asylum seekers. People assume we have come for a better life. That is true for some – the people are poor, the country is corrupt and full of crime and hate, and there is no future for young people. But I came because my life was in danger,” he said.
