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“So long as this country does not offer real opportunities for work and personal growth, the Albanian people will tend to seek better living conditions abroad”, says Sofia Mosca. Sister Sofia, who has headed Caritas in Tirana for the last year, was interviewed by SIR, following the recent tragedy at sea in which 20 Albanian refugees were killed when their boat capsized and a further seven are still missing. “Up till 1992, under the former regime, people lived in the villages explains Sister Sofia no one dared rebel or seek a better life elsewhere. People cultivated small vegetable gardens; albeit in poverty, everyone ate. Now, on the other hand, the situation has changed. Those who can no longer find a livelihood in their own rural areas move to the cities in search of better conditions. In Tirana, for example, you can now find everything, as in any Italian city, but at prices few can afford. Poverty has increased tremendously; it is, I can say, on a huge scale”. According to Sister Sofia, who belongs to the congregation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Giovanna Antida, “Albanians do not come to Italy for the fun of it, but just as our parents moved from Southern to Northern Italy in search of work in the Fifties and Sixties, so they seek to reach other European countries in search of greater dignity of life”. Caritas in Tirana has received significant aid from various Church-run bodies in Italy, including the Italian Bishops’ Conference, and the dioceses of Vicenza and Padua. A hostel for street children has recently been opened. In surrounding villages courses in sewing and needlework for girls have been begun, to enable them to earn a living as dressmakers.
