Charity workers' mission to learn why Albanians make perilous journey to UK

01 April 2023 , 16:15

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Some 12,301 people from Albania crossed the channel on small boats last year (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Charity workers will visit Albania this week in a bid to learn why so many young people from the country make illegal crossings into the UK.

Researchers from the Sanctuary Foundation, led by Dr Krish Kandiah are set for a “fact-finding mission”, seeking to find ways of discouraging young people not to make the dangerous journey.

And 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.”

Some 12,301 people from Albania came to the UK on small boats across the channel last year, according to Government figures.

The researchers will meet with young Albanians to encourage them to see a future for themselves in the country (AP)

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.

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Dr Kandiah, who previously lived in Albania for three years, said he was hoping to “discover what civil society, faith groups and Sanctuary Foundation can do to encourage Albanian young men to stay safe in their country and live full lives rather than making dangerous journeys crossing the channel in small boats.“

The trip, to set off on Tuesday, will see Dr Kandiah host a roundtable discussion in Tirana with civil society and faith leaders, and meet with young people living in the capital.

Mikey Smith