Julie Vullnetari

Gendered Relations and Filial Duties Along the Greek-Albanian Remittance Corridor

Abstract Remittances stand at the heart of the migration-development debate. However, they are overwhelmingly considered in financial and economic terms, neglecting important dimensions, such as gender and patriarchal family structures. This article contributes to rectifying this oversight by analyzing flows of remittances resulting from Albanian migration to neighboring Greece. We draw on a detailed questionnaire survey with 350 remittance-recipient households in rural southeast Albania and 45 in-depth interviews with a selection of these respondents and with remitters living in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. We found that gender is interlinked with generation and life-course stages within the context of Albanian patriarchal norms and that remittances are shaped accordingly. Although remitting to older parents is a filial duty for unmarried sons, upon marriage only the youngest son has this responsibility—other sons send small amounts as tokens of respect and love. Sending remittances is overwhelmingly seen as a “male thing.” Single young women rarely migrate on their own for work abroad. Meanwhile any remittances sent by married daughters to their parents are considered “unofficial,” referred to as “coffee money.” Within nuclear households, some increased power-sharing among husband remitters and wife recipients takes place. However, the latter are far from passive recipients, since they struggle to combine caring for children and the elderly with farmwork or day labor. We conclude that a deeper understanding of how remittances are gendered can be gained by placing their analysis within the migratory and sociocultural context into which they are embedded.

Albania on the move: links between internal and international migration

This academic and personal journey into Albania’s post-communist society examines the links between internal and international migration in one of Europe’s poorest countries. The author follows rural migrants to urban destinations both within Albania and in neighbouring Greece. Their lives and experiences are captured in150 interviews, alongside group discussions and ethnographic observations. This rich empirical material is analysed with reference to an extensive body of literature. The author’s own experience as a migrant and reflections as a researcher studying her own communities of origin add valuable insights. The result is a demonstration of the complexity of the links between internal and international migration, especially from a development perspective.

Albanian migration and its effects in comparative perspective

Albanian migration can be said to represent a unique profile not matched by any other country in the world. By assessing its scale, effects and wider implications, this paper takes stock of twenty years of mass migration which have profoundly changed the country and its citizens. Statistics are set in a regional and global comparative perspective, and the chronology and evolution of this phenomenon is outlined in detail. This is done by focusing on the way that the migration process has consolidated, changed and ‘matured’ over the past two decades. Particular attention is paid to remittances as the driving-force of migrations developmental impact on the countrys economy. Policy implications are hereby outlined. The paper finally introduces the four articles of this special issue on the theme of Twenty Years of Albanian Migration, by summarizing their key findings and conclusions.

Unpacking the ageing–migration nexus and challenging the vulnerability trope

ABSTRACT The nexus between ageing and migration throws up a variety of situations. In this paper, we map out the various circumstances in which ageing and migration fuse together as entwined trajectories to produce situations of vulnerability, coping, active ageing and variable well-being. The ageing process is seen to be socially constructed and culturally embedded; hence, place – at ‘home’ or ‘abroad’, or some transnational mix – becomes a paramount structuring variable. Different models of successful ageing compete as migrants move and age in different countries and different cultures; the Western model of individual self-reliance should not necessarily be imposed on ageing migrant populations. In the final part of the article we challenge the prevailing trope of vulnerability applied to the perceived double disadvantage of being both an older person and a migrant, and present four case-studies in which older migrants enact agency and independence to achieve a greater level of material and subjective well-being.

Migration, transnationalism and development on the Southeastern flank of Europe

The South-east Europe and Black Sea region presents a fertile terrain for examining recent international migration trends. A wide range of types of migration can be observed in this region: large-scale emigration in many countries, recent mass immigration in the case of Greece, return migration, internal migration, internal and external forced migration, irregular migration, brain drain etc. These migratory phenomena occur within the context of EU migration policies and EU accession for some countries. Yet within this shifting migration landscape of migrant stocks and flows, the fundamental economic geography of different wealth levels and work opportunities is what drives most migration, now as in the past. This paper sets the scene for the special issue in three ways: first, by defining the three key concepts of migration, transnationalism and development; second, by setting the geographical scene, with the aid of relevant statistics on the migration, development and remittance trends in the various countries of the region; and third, by summarizing the highlights of the papers in this issue of the journal, which range in their coverage from Ukraine and Moldova in the north, to Greece and Albania in the south.

Remittances, return, diaspora: framing the debate in the context of Albania and Kosova

This paper is an introduction to the special issue and is in five parts. The first part provides a brief overview of post‐1990 migration from Albania as a route out of poverty and a quest for freedom and self‐realization for Albanians. The Kosovan migration has a different history: labour migration in the 1960s and early 1970s, refugee flight in the 1990s. Then the authors outline a theoretical framework for migration’s contribution to development. Third, this framework is applied to the cases of Albania and Kosova, drawing on findings from the papers in this issue and other literature. The fourth section of the paper revisits the migration–development nexus from a policy perspective, examining in turn remittances, return migration and host‐ and home‐country government responsibilities. Finally, we speculate on the global economic crisis that started in mid‐2008 and its impact on the region and its migrants.

Migration, development, gender and the ‘black box’ of remittances: comparative findings from Albania and Ecuador

Set within the growing literature on migration and development, this paper has two interlinked objectives. First, it examines remittances, a key element of the migration-development nexus, from a gendered perspective. Second it does so in a comparative empirical perspective, focusing on remittance behaviour in two contrasting settings, Albania and Ecuador. Both countries have experienced mass emigration in recent decades. Research is based on household surveys with remittance receivers in selected rural areas of both countries, supplemented by in-depth interviews with both senders and receivers of remittances. By using the concept of ‘remittance dyads’ — person-to-person transfers of money and gifts — we examine the gendered mechanics of conveying and managing remittances to see if they have the potential to reshape gender relations in these migrant households. They do, but the effects are limited.

Migration and development in transition economies of Southeastern Europe

This paper introduces an issue of Eastern European Economics on migration in Kosovo and Albania. It consists of four main parts. In the first two, we sketch the background to the large-scale emigration flows: from Kosovo since the 1960s, and from Albania since 1990. We also note the equally large-scale internal migration within Albania since 1990. Next, we highlight the key findings of the three papers that compose this special issue, noting how they both support and challenge conventional wisdom on the economic rationales for migration. Finally, we make some general and speculative observations about current and future migration trends in the Kosovo-Albania region.

‘Washing men's feet’: gender, care and migration in Albania during and after communism

This article compares the interrelationships between gender, family structures and intra-family care arrangements during two markedly different periods of Albanias recent history. The first of these, the communist era, was dominated by the autocratic state-socialist regime of Enver Hoxha. In contrast, the post-communist period that followed was characterised by a kind of reactive free-for-all capitalism and high rates of both internal and international migration, the latter mostly to Greece and Italy. Families have been torn apart by this mass emigration, resulting in husbands separated from their wives and children, and older generations left behind by their migrant children. All this contrasts with family, residential and care arrangements during the communist period when not only were families generally living in close proximity, but also state welfare was available to support vulnerable and isolated individuals. Across these periods, however, the burden of care responsibilities fell almost wholly on women, despite the egalitarian ideology of the socialist era and the potentially modernising and empowering effects of post-socialist migration on the agency of women. The article provides a valuable lesson in historicising regimes of gender, family and care across dramatically contrasting social models.

Beyond choice or force: Roma mobility in Albania and the mixed migration paradigm

One of the dichotomies which has affected migration studies for some time is that between ‘forced’ and ‘voluntary’ movements. Yet there is a growing realisation of the importance of understanding how the two overlap. Focusing on the Albanian Roma, this paper adds weight to the argument that a ‘mixed migration’ approach is necessary to understand a number of migratory situations which do not neatly fit the forced/voluntary categorisation. The paper draws on empirical material collected through household questionnaires, in-depth interviews, group discussions and ethnographic observation during 2007–08 within the framework of a broader study on gender, remittances and development in Albania.