Heidi Hoxha & Ramazan Dervishi
On 27th September, King’s College London hosted the “Breaking the Chains” event, a collaboration between the King’s College London Albanian Society, ALSA, and the Shpresa Programme. The event followed the lives ofAlbanian refugees who had fled Albania and bravely recounted their experiences with the British immigration system.
As Co-Presidents of the Albanian Society at KCL, we were influenced by many factors in deciding to host thisevent at our university. One significant reason was witnessing how British media and politics have demonisedAlbanians, portraying us all as criminals. We are both proud Albanians and refuse to feel ashamed of ouridentity due to these false accusations, which have generated so much hatred and prejudice toward ourcountry. Part of the misinformation about Albanians is fuelled by the UK Government’s classification ofAlbania as a safe country. However, the event provided insight into the real reasons Albanians are leavingand highlighted how flawed this assessment is.
Shpresa emphasised that the UK Government does not fully consider the long-lasting effects of thetumultuous communist period in Albania since 1991, nor the genocide that killed around 10,000 Albanians inKosovo. Albanians still feel overwhelmed by a political system riddled with corruption, an economic systemonly recently beginning to grow, and generational trauma that could take decades to heal. In an effort tocombat the ignorance directed at our community, we felt it was crucial to host this event.
Additionally, both of us were raised outside of Albania, and neither of us was fully aware of the hardships faced by those fleeing the country. Hosting this event was an opportunity for us to learn more about ourhomeland and the experiences of those who lived there. We wanted to amplify these voices within the Albanian community in London, with the hope of resonating with others who may have endured similar struggles. Supporting an Albanian-led charity was, we believed, the best way to assist our community andgain a deeper understanding of the lives of the Albanian diaspora.
The event’s producer, Shpresa Programme, is an Albanian-run charity in the UK. Its primary missions include promoting the integration of the Albanian-speaking community in the UK and assisting Albanians who maybe struggling with this process. To achieve these goals, the organization facilitates education and training and provides a community that Albanians can turn to in times of need. “Breaking the Chains” is one of Shpresa’s many projects and is run in collaboration with the Migrant and Refugee Children’s Legal Unit (MiCLU) atIslington Law Centre. The project was created to amplify the voices of children and young adults seeking asylum, emphasising the importance of listening to them. “Breaking the Chains” involves young adults becoming ‘Immigration Champions,’ advocating for their peers, training lawyers, speaking at high- profile public events, and more.The goal of the project is to influence policy and bring about changes in how the law addresses vulnerablechildren.
The event was an excellent way to raise awareness about the project and the issues at hand. TheImmigration Champions openly shared their inspiring stories, detailing the harsh conditions they faced bothduring their journey to the UK and their experiences since settling here. We are often reminded of how muchwe take for granted in our lives, a fact that was brought home to us during this event. A striking example wasthe issue of student finance. As university students, Student Finance is often the cornerstone of ourfinancial support while studying in the UK. While it may be guaranteed for us, many Albanian migrants in theUK are not granted this support and struggle to fund their university education, sometimes postponing ituntil they can afford it. For many, this could mean never returning to university, as they find themselvesworking in low-wage jobs just to make ends meet, while still hoping to one day pursue a degree that could improve their circumstances.
A key message that resonated from the event was a simple reminder: “We are human.” This message is oftenovershadowed by politicians and deliberately ignored to make immigration easier to address. But it is farfrom easy. The Immigration Champions reminded us that behind the statistics and headlines are real humanexperiences, many of which have left people traumatised and still suffering today.
We are very grateful to everyone involved in making this event possible. To the Immigration Champions, theShpresa Programme, and MiCLU—thank you for sharing your experiences and helping us better understand the challenges that Albanian migrants in the UK face. We hope to host more events like this in the future tocontinue bringing our community together.
As Co-Presidents of the Albanian Society at KCL, we were influenced by many factors in deciding to host this event at our university. One significant reason was witnessing how British media and politics have demonised Albanians, portraying us all as criminals. We are both proud Albanians and refuse to feel ashamed of our identity due to these false accusations, which have generated so much hatred and prejudice toward ourcountry. Part of the misinformation about Albanians is fuelled by the UK Government’s classification of Albania as a safe country. However, the event provided insight into the real reasons Albanians are leavingand highlighted how flawed this assessment is.
Shpresa emphasised that the UK Government does not fully consider the long-lasting effects of thetumultuous communist period in Albania since 1991, nor the genocide that killed around 10,000 Albanians inKosovo. Albanians still feel overwhelmed by a political system riddled with corruption, an economic systemonly recently beginning to grow, and generational trauma that could take decades to heal. In an effort tocombat the ignorance directed at our community, we felt it was crucial to host this event.
Additionally, both of us were raised outside of Albania, and neither of us was fully aware of the hardshipsfaced by those fleeing the country. Hosting this event was an opportunity for us to learn more about ourhomeland and the experiences of those who lived there. We wanted to amplify these voices within theAlbanian community in London, with the hope of resonating with others who may have endured similar struggles. Supporting an Albanian-led charity was, we believed, the best way to assist our community andgain a deeper understanding of the lives of the Albanian diaspora.
The event’s producer, Shpresa Programme, is an Albanian-run charity in the UK. Its primary missions includepromoting the integration of the Albanian-speaking community in the UK and assisting Albanians who maybe struggling with this process. To achieve these goals, the organization facilitates education and training andprovides a community that Albanians can turn to in times of need. “Breaking the Chains” is one of Shpresa’smany projects and is run in collaboration with the Migrant and Refugee Children’s Legal Unit (MiCLU) atIslington Law Centre. The project was created to amplify the voices of children and young adults seekingasylum, emphasising the importance of listening to them. “Breaking the Chains” involves young adults becoming ‘ImmigrationChampions,’ advocating for their peers, training lawyers, speaking at high- profile public events, and more.The goal of the project is to influence policy and bring about changes in how the law addresses vulnerable children.
The event was an excellent way to raise awareness about the project and the issues at hand. TheImmigration Champions openly shared their inspiring stories, detailing the harsh conditions they faced both during their journey to the UK and their experiences since settling here. We are often reminded of how muchwe take for granted in our lives, a fact that was brought home to us during this event. A striking example was the issue of student finance. As university students, Student Finance is often the cornerstone of ourfinancial support while studying in the UK. While it may be guaranteed for us, many Albanian migrants in theUK are not granted this support and struggle to fund their university education, sometimes postponing ituntil they can afford it. For many, this could mean never returning to university, as they find themselves working in low-wage jobs just to make ends meet, while still hoping to one day pursue a degree that could improve their circumstances.
A key message that resonated from the event was a simple reminder: “We are human.” This message is oftenovershadowed by politicians and deliberately ignored to make immigration easier to address. But it is far from easy. The Immigration Champions reminded us that behind the statistics and headlines are real human experiences, many of which have left people traumatised and still suffering today.
We are very grateful to everyone involved in making this event possible. To the Immigration Champions, theShpresa Programme, and MiCLU—thank you for sharing your experiences and helping us better understandthe challenges that Albanian migrants in the UK face. We hope to host more events like this in the future tocontinue bringing our community together.
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