Data from the British government shows that some 4729 Albanians sought asylum in the UK between January-June 2022, with some 2165 arriving illegally via boats while a further 9,500 did so in EU member states.
British media has been ablaze in recent weeks over the high number of Albanians crossing the channel to seek asylum in the UK. Fuelled by a right-wing anti-migrant and often xenophobic rhetoric, the coverage has failed to address many real reasons why people are driven to leave the country.
“The number of Albanians coming in small boats has increased significantly during the last quarter, April – June 2022. Before this period, Albanians usually did not use small boats. There were 2,165 arrivals between January and June 2022, compared to just 23 detected in the same period a year earlier (January to June 2021),” Britain’s Ministry of Defense reported.
But a real uptick in the number of boat crossings took place in July and August meaning figures for the whole year will be considerably higher.
The amount of Albanians seeking refuge in the UK is much higher than in countries that are currently at war or in the conflict, including Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria. Albanians even dwarf the number of Ukrainian citizens entering the country.
In total, some 30,000 Albanians have sought asylum in the UK since 2011, but there are expected to be many more illegal migrants as many would not have sought to declare their status.
This also does not consider the many thousands more that leave for work, study, and family reunification.
Many factors driving the mass exodus include rising inflation and increasing pressure on already struggling families. Albania is one of Europe’s poorest countries, and often large families will rely on the income of one or two individuals. Other issues such as lack of infrastructure, healthcare and education opportunities, well-paid jobs, and political and social troubles are also part of the reason.
Criminal gangs have taken advantage of this situation and sought to capitalise through advertising their services via social media platforms. Some are so desperate to support their families that they take the drastic measure of handing over life savings and risking their lives to reach the UK.
Of the thousands of asylum claims, several hundred are granted yearly for reasons such as domestic violence, the fallout of sex and labour trafficking, organised crime persecution, blood feuds, and escaping loan sharks.
