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Transnationalism of first-generation migrants, usually considered as a core element of their migratory projects, is nowadays taken somewhat for granted. Our aim in this paper is to examine empirically the relations of transnationalism with duration of residence and integration of Eastern European migrants in Italy, a country which evolved into a mass immigration one since the 1980s. Data come from the Integrometro survey 2008–2009, encompassing more than 4500 Eastern European migrants. We chose this group of migrants because East Europeans now constitute half of the foreign population in Italy and these nationalities have been overlooked by migration research on transnational topics. Our results show a positive relationship between migrants’ economic integration and transnationalism, suggesting that economic resources facilitate the maintenance and development of cross-border ties. Being more integrated socio-culturally, however, is accompanied with weaker transnational practices. Moreover, the level of transnational behaviour decreases the more years Eastern European migrants spend in Italy, which cannot be fully attributed to a higher level of socio-cultural integration.Keywordsmigration, transnationalism, integration, Eastern Europe, Italy

Albania is one of the countries with the youngest population in Europe, yet concerns for its elderly have rapidly taken centre-stage due to large-scale internal and international migration since 1990. Given that mobility in Albania was extremely limited during nearly half a century of communist rule, adjusting to the new post- communist reality has not been easy for this group. Yet the story of ‘orphan pensioners’ trapped in the vortex of rapid post-communist transformations has gradually made place for the emerging image of the ‘migrating grannies’ who feel rather at home as ‘transnational grandparents’. Drawing on narratives of older people collected during research in Albania over several years, this chapter seeks to examine the impact of transnational migration on their understandings and experiences of ‘home’, ‘home making’ and ageing. Notions of ‘home’ as a locus of intimate relations and multi-sitedness given meaning by emotions, practices and materialities will be discussed alongside politics of gender, class and intra-family relations.

This paper compares the interrelationships between gender, family structures and intra-family care arrangements during two markedly different periods of Albania’s recent history: the communist era dominated by the autocratic state- socialist regime of Enver Hoxha, and the post-communist period dominated by a kind of reactive free-for-all capitalism and high rates of both internal and international migration. Since 1990 Albania has accumulated a ‘stock’ of more than 1.4 million emigrants, mostly living in Greece and Italy. Families have been torn apart by this mass emigration – both husbands from their wives and children, and older generations left behind or ‘orphaned’ 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 compact and close proximity, but also a minimum of state welfare was available to support vulnerable and isolated individuals. However, internal migration was part of state economic and social planning, and some families which fell foul of the regime were split up and sent into internal exile. The paper provides a valuable lesson in historicising regimes of gender, family and care across dramatically contrasting social models.

This paper compares the interrelationships between gender, family structures and intra-family care arrangements during two markedly different periods of Albania’s recent history: the communist era dominated by the autocratic statesocialist regime of Enver Hoxha, and the post-communist period dominated by a kind of reactive free-for-all capitalism and high rates of both internal and international migration. Since 1990 Albania has accumulated a ‘stock’ of more than 1.4 million emigrants, mostly living in Greece and Italy. Families have been torn apart by this mass emigration – both husbands from their wives and children, and older generations left behind or ‘orphaned’ 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 compact and close proximity, but also a minimum of state welfare was available to support vulnerable and isolated individuals. However, internal migration was part of state economic and social planning, and some families which fell foul of the regime were split up and sent into internal exile. The paper provides a valuable lesson in historicising regimes of gender, family and care across dramatically contrasting social models.

Since the fall of communism in the early 1990s, Albania has experienced migrations of epic proportions: 17 years later almost one in four Albanians has emigrated and lives abroad, primarily in Greece and Italy. Albanian emigration has by and large represented a typically male-dominated model, whereby men have “led the way” and women have followed as family members. Despite the considerable participation of Albanian women in this migration, their roles and experiences remain under-researched. Based on in-depth interviews with rural migrant women and their families, as well as additional ethnographic material collected from 2004 to 2006 in Albania and Greece, this paper aims to fill this knowledge gap. The findings demonstrate the various ways in which Albanian rural women participate in the migratory process. They are often the most important pillar for supporting the family migration strategy through their productive and reproductive labour when remaining behind. They are also closely involved in decision-making about the migration of other family members. Furthermore, they have been among the pioneers of the early 1990s migration themselves, including taking the long and risky journeys across the mountains to Greece. Overall, their contribution to the migrant household is beyond their presumed reproductive role and includes a strong economic component.While some “traditional” norms and values persist and are reinforced during migration, change does take place, albeit at a slow and gradual pace. However, for the emancipatory benefits women could accrue through migration to be enhanced, immigration policies need adjusting to address their position as fully autonomous economic and social actors, thus reducing their dependency on male “bread-winners.”Albanian women’s particular migratory experiences, combined with their increasing numbers as migrants, make a compelling case for further attention from researchers and policymakers.

Set within the broad debate on migration, development and remittances, this paper makes a comparative analysis of two migration-remittance corridors in contrasting regions of the world: Ecuador-USA and Albania-Greece. Operating mainly at the micro-level and based on two questionnaire surveys of remittance receiving households supported by in-depth interviews, we unpack the family dynamics of remittance transfers through an analysis of person-to-person dyads. We pay particular attention to gender relationships – how they both shape, and are shaped by, migration and remittances. We develop a typology of remittance uses – ‘drip- feeding’, debt repayment, ‘emergency’ money, gifts and in-kind transfers, collective remittances and social remittances – comparing results from the two studies. On the whole we find many similarities between the two studies, not only as regards the survey results but also in the way the remittance corridors are embedded within structural relationships of dependency at various levels.

Researchers and policy-makers have a limited understanding of the ways in which conflicts overseas are affecting communities in the UK, except when there are substantial flows of asylum seekers and migrants from conflict regions. Yet globalisation has intensified and changed the international connections of UK communities. This research studiedthe impact of conflict on communities in the UK from three areas: Afghanistan/Pakistan, the Great Lakes region (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda) and the western Balkans.The report:• looks at why some communities are affected more by overseas conflict than others;• examines six detailed case studies of communities affected by overseas conflict;• assesses how different communities challenge assumptions of mainstream society about particular conflicts; and• considers the ways in which service providers at national and local level can support communities affected by overseas conflict.

There are abundant literatures on linkages between migration, remittances and development, between gender and migration, and between gender and development. The missing link in this set of overlapping literatures is gender and remittances. Thus far, some studies have tried to determine whether female migrants are ‘better’ remitters than men: results are mixed. But this is not the right question. It is more important to explore how gender relations shape the sending, receipt and utilisation of remittances; and how, in turn, the remittance process reshapes gender relations. This paper takes the case of recent Albanian migration to neighbouring Greece – one of post-communist Europe’s largest cross-border migrations – to illustrate how the patriarchal nature of the sending society, Albania, fundamentally shapes both the gendered pattern of migration and its equally gendered corollary, remittances. Based on questionnaire survey (n=350) and in-depth interview (n=45) data from fieldwork in rural south-east Albania and the Greek city of Thessaloniki, it is shown that the male-structured process of migration hardly allows women to remit, even when they are earning in Greece. Typologies of household-to-household remittances are developed. Interview data reveals that migration to Greece, and its attendant remittance flows, does give, within limits, increased agency to women within both the migrant and residual households, but things are on the whole slow to change.

This working paper documents Albanian migration and its contribution to development through a review of the existing literature. The account is by no means exhaustive, particularly since the data for the pre-1945 period are limited. However, the purpose of the review is not only to analyse and explain various elements of the migrations, but also to highlight the importance of their historical (dis)continuities. This paper, being an original account, aspires to be a ‘state of the art’ on Albanian migrations, in the sense that it presents the most complete review of Albanian migration available to date, including substantial reference to Albanian-language sources. In addition, both international and internal migration are analysed together; previous accounts have described them as separate phenomena. The links between these two migrations have become more the rule than the exception in the Albanian context and their analysis needs therefore an integrated approach. Finally, the analysis is enriched by the author’s own direct knowledge and experience of the phenomena under study; she ‘lived through’ and had her own experience of Albanian emigration throughout the post-1990 years, and hence is able to nuance her analysis with this ‘insider’ knowledge.The paper starts with a brief background account of the country, in order to situate the understanding of Albanian migration on a wider geo-political platform; these elements are also present throughout the account. It then continues with a historical perspective on early Albanian international and internal migration until 1945. This is followed by a discussion of both these types of migration during the communist rule: 1945-1990. Contemporary international and internal migration are then discussed: this section is structured around migration statistics, typologies and patterns, as well as destinations, migrants’ profiles, their lives and experiences. In a subsequent section elements of these two types of migration are pulled together to analyse their links, dynamics and impacts with regard to development in Albania. In a final section the literature related to return migration is reviewed. The paper closes with some insights into the changing dynamics of Albanian migration and development through the diaspora and transnational activities.