Arjan Venari, 27, returned two years ago from Greece, where he had immigrated since he was 15. He left his school, the village he was born in, and hiked his to Greece, crossing the border mountains.
“My family took it badly. We went secretly, without telling them. We would meet as friends at the village center and decide to leave”, Venari says.
Now he is back to Selvie, a village in Elbasan, where he has started a café with the hope to build his future near his home.
“I have worked hard. I didn’t spend my money on fun stuff but put them aside to do something here in Albania. I invested my savings on this café that you see. Some boys keep returning to Greece but I have decided to stay”, Venari says.
The financial crisis in Greece forced many Albanian immigrants to lose their jobs and return home. The number of those who have returned is not recorded by any institution, but you can find them in every city and village.
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