Albanian Returned Asylum-Seekers: Failures, Successes and What Can Be Achieved in a Short Time

During the so-called ‘refugee and migration crisis’ of 2015–2016 and the opening of the Balkan route between Turkey and the EU, Albania played a marginal role. Instead, the mass emigration from Albania which had been continuous since the early 1990s, mainly directed towards Greece and Italy, suddenly developed a new outlet: the movement of tens of thousands of poor asylum-seekers to Germany. Considered through the dual lens of border studies and mobility studies, this movement evidences the small time-spaces of possibility that open up as asylum-seekers grasp opportunities yet at the same time struggle against constraints. As a form of migration, this was a short-term temporal event, with nearly all applicants failing to gain asylum and subsequently returning to Albania. Nevertheless, most of the returned asylum-seekers spoke warmly of their experience of being abroad, referring to the generosity of the German government and the good schooling opportunities for their children. Some asylum-seekers whom we interviewed were able to access employment, albeit precarious, and accumulated financial and social capital, which gave them options for the future. Once returned to Albania, most wanted to try their luck in Germany again, seeing little future for themselves and their families in Albania.