Rishi Sunak’s ‘stop the boats’ threats sparked a ‘now or never’ rush of young Albanians making the perilous journey across the channel, researchers have been told.
Criminal gangs are said to have piled pressure on youngsters to come to the UK before the crackdown takes effect.
And they also used the death of the Queen and the ousting of Boris Johnson to offer young men “once in a lifetime” special deals to cross the channel, claiming the journey would be safer while UK politicians were distracted by major events.
Dr Krish Kandiah of the Sanctuary Foundation last week visited the country on a “fact-finding mission”, seeking to find ways of discouraging young people not to make the dangerous journey.
He warned many more young people will make the dangerous crossing unless more is done to open legal routes and reduce poverty in the country.
They want to find ways to target help and aid to the poorer parts of the country, so youngsters “will see a future for themselves.”
Dr Kandiah said poverty was a major “push factor” behind young people leaving Albania for the UK.
“When I was last in Albania in the 1990s it was officially the poorest country in Europe with more people travelling by horse and carts than cars,” he said.
“Yet while the cities have modernised quickly, there are parts of the country that have been left behind by the development.”
And he warned another factor was “ironically, Britain’s threats to stop the small boats.”
“Just as the talk of lack of toilet roll in the pandemic caused a rush on the supermarkets, so some young Albanians sense the “now or never” pressure,” he explained.
“The gangs capitalise on this, offering special deals, suggesting the Queen’s death or the resignation of Boris Johnson provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for safer crossing.”
Interviewing a group of nine youngsters in Kamza, a town near the capital of Tirana, Dr Kandiah found all of them had a close family member who had travelled to England in a small boat.
He said: “They had gone for "fast money" most had gone to work in the grey economy - in the car washes and building trade.”
Dr Kandiah told this newspaper criminal gangs are proficient in social media, tempting youngsters to make the crossing with the promise of luxury lifestyles and fast cars.
Some 12,301 people from Albania came to the UK on small boats across the channel last year, according to Government figures.
And of the thousands who have gone on to enter the government’s referral system, 90% are found to have “reasonable grounds” that they were victims of modern slavery.
Dr Kandiah said the factors encouraging young people to leave were “decades in the making” - but said there were solutions.
“UK aid funding has already begun to tackle some of the inequalities in Albania.
“But, most critically, safe, legal routes can be provided for young Albanians to alleviate our job shortage areas without the need to first risk drowning in the English Channel or getting caught farming cannabis.”
One student, 22-year-old Ervin, said his dream was to be a hotel manager.
He told researchers young men in Albania “lose patients and they want to make money quickly.”
But he said he wouldn’t make the crossing himself because he’s not “interested in money”, adding: “History has shown that that kind of money comes with a lot of hardships.”
He said: “Life is difficult everywhere, and we are not the only ones who have gone.
“It is difficult, which is why we ought to follow the proper procedure instead of risking the crossing illegally.”
All these factors have been decades in the making. They need serious time and investment into undoing. But there are solutions.
By Dr Krish Kandiah
Crystal clear sea, breathtaking mountain views, fascinating historical sites, delicious food and friendly, welcoming people. All at a fraction of the cost of the rest of Europe.
While many savvy holidaymakers are heading to Albania, thousands of young Albanians are coming in the opposite direction, many of them via dangerous small boat crossings.
Why? There is no war in Albania, no state-sponsored persecution of minorities, no significant human rights violations. Yet last year over 12,000 Albanians risked their lives to make this dangerous journey to the UK – an increase on the previous year of an incredible 1500%.
I wanted to find out what was driving the exodus of young Albanians, why so many were becoming criminalised as they travelled across Europe, and if anything could be done to stop it.
My factfinding mission to Albania uncovered 3 main push factors and 3 main pull factors.
The first push factor I encountered was economic poverty. When I was last in Albania in the 1990s it was officially the poorest country in Europe with more people travelling by horse and carts than cars. Yet while the cities have modernised quickly, there are parts of the country that have been left behind by the development. Global price increases has made the divide even more pronounced, leaving many families poorer and more desperate than ever before.
The second push factor is opportunity poverty. A classroom of year 9 students in the village of Kamez, explained to me the relative advantages of small boats over articulated lorries, and how they could earn twice as much on a building site in the UK than any job they could imagine getting in Albania. “There is simply nothing here for us,” they said.
The third push factor is the mushroom effect. The more Albanians who leave, the more who follow. In this age of global migration, most Albanians leave through legal routes. Those who are highly educated and skilled take up opportunities to study or work overseas. Doctors have been snapped up in Germany. Financiers have been enticed to America. With this national exodus, young Albanians with no legal routes gamble on being smuggled to England to work in the grey economy – working cash in hand in a car wash, for example.
The pull factors are just as strong. The first and most obvious is the pull from organised criminal gangs who capitalise on the growing inequalities in Albania, and the resulting frustrations. They provide aspiration to those living without hope and opportunity, promising cheap and easy crossings from Calais. The £3000 upfront cost can be repaid on arrival through work, they tell them. They do not tell them that they might end up working in cannabis grow houses, with high risk of getting caught and imprisoned.
The second pull factor is Britain’s reputation. Albanians have heard there are labour shortages in the UK, in the building trade for example. They have the impression that Britain, with its Asian Prime Minister and Home Secretary, is less racist than other European countries. Every day they see the incredible role the UK plays in the music, TV and film industries. Our strong reputation for democracy and freedom and justice seems to override the anti-immigration headlines.
The third pull factor is, ironically, Britain’s threats to stop the small boats. Just as the talk of lack of toilet roll in the pandemic caused a rush on the supermarkets, so some young Albanians sense the “now or never” pressure. The gangs capitalise on this, offering special deals, suggesting the Queen’s death or the resignation of Boris Johnson provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for safer crossing.
All these factors have been decades in the making. They need serious time and investment into undoing. But there are solutions. UKAID regeneration funding has already begun to tackle some of the inequalities in Albania. But, most critically, safe, legal routes can be provided for young Albanians to alleviate our job shortage areas without the need to first risk drowning in the English Channel or getting caught farming cannabis.
