I realize that everything I experience in Albania is through my own lens and my own lived experience. In this blog, I want to share an essay written by my new Albanian friend Brian. I asked him to talk about young people in Albania and this is his truly insightful response.
Something is not rotten in the state of Albania and that is the youth of this country. I consider myself very fortunate to remain in contact with students even after finishing my university studies. In my first year as an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Foreign Languages University of Tirana and the Faculty of Dentistry in University of Medicine Tirana I have had the luck to teach some 200 students, chiefly freshmen. What really impressed in my first year of work is how incredible students are.
What I believe makes Albanian students incredible is their will and power to study hard and succeed despite disappointments and obstacles they face daily. I will start with politics, the number one cause of demotivation among young people and not only. According to a recent study by Civic Resistance NGO, the vast majority of young people see themselves distanced from political parties, where 80% of them are neither members nor activists of a political party. The same study also revealed that only 17% of young people trust in political parties. I consider this to be one of the greatest blessings with today’s young people: they are (almost) totally free from political affiliations and they know that it is hard work which will make them go places.
Another issue they face is the uncertainty over their future. Imagine entering a new chapter of your life, being full of hopes and positive energy about a bright future and then you get told by the older people that there is no hope, degrees are useless, when you finish your studies you will end up either unemployed or employed with a minimal wage? It is like people are trying to shatter your dreams before you even fall asleep. Yet, Albanian students keep a stiff upper lip. Disappointments and society’s negative energy are the CO2 that they turn into oxygen, the driving force to push for change. Albanian youth consider themselves as the ones who will shape Albanian of tomorrow. And they are right.
What else makes Albanian youth incredible? Despite their difficulties and misfortunes, they prevail. There are thousands of Albanian students studying abroad, chiefly through scholarships they have earned thanks to their intelligence and commitment. Others who conclude their academic studies in Albania are hired in European countries, chiefly Germany, and US. What’s most amazing is not the fact that they succeed in the country they emigrate but the fact that despite the high brain drain Albania has suffered in the recent years, it still manages to meet demand of specialist of the country. I believe that if there is one thing that Albania exports that is human resources. And we are very good at it.
All in all, I consider Albanian youth able to make outstanding things. They are intelligent, committed and disappointed enough to induce a real change to Albania and bring it closer to where it belongs: Europe and the West.