A country of shocks
The legacy of the communist past still weighs heavily on Albania. For over 40 years, the people lived under the totalitarian dictator Enva Hoxha, who led the country further and further into isolation. To this day, around 200,000 bunkers, which Hoxha had built all over the country as protection against external enemies, serve as silent memorials to this time. The regime was overthrown in 1990, but corruption, nepotism and organised crime have so far prevented the country from recovering. Albania remains one of the poorest countries in Europe. Many young people in particular leave their homeland in search of work.
The political upheavals were finally followed by a natural one: On 26 November 2019, the earth shook in Albania, killing 51 people, destroying public facilities and roads, and tens of thousands losing their homes. Many people have been struggling with trauma and even greater financial problems ever since. They lack the money to make a new start.