They left Germany and Finland/ Two young people tell why they returned to Kosovo

2024-02-17 22:35:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Towards Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Finland... The flight of young people from Kosovo to the West has raised concerns that the "labor crisis" in the country will worsen.

However, the stories of fleeing from the place of birth are also accompanied by stories of young people who tried living outside of Kosovo and did not wait long until they bought a ticket to return home.

The exact number of people who have returned to Kosovo from Western countries is not known. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, during the October-December period of 2023, 90 people from different countries were re-admitted at the border points of Kosovo.

Meanwhile, the Statistics Agency of Kosovo (ASK) says that among the over ten thousand immigrants in Kosovo during 2022, returnees or repatriates are also included.

But, even though the exact number of them is not known, the narratives of the returnees in Kosovo bear some similarities: the longing for relatives, the life burdened by work and complaints about the expensive prices and taxes.

From Germany to Rahovec: "I listened to my heart"

Two successive surgical interventions forced Neki Hoti from the village of Ratkoc in Rahovec to think about a life he never wanted.

They left Germany and Finland/ Two young people tell why they returned to Kosovo

"The second operation cost me a lot. Fortunately, I survived. I never wanted to go live on the slopes. But then I applied for a work visa four times", recalls the 36-year-old.

Nekiu's fourth application was successful. On October 10, 2022, he traveled to Stuttgart, Germany, with a work contract. He would do the same work as in Kosovo: he would work on building facades.

But that day, despite all the preparations, has left a bitter taste in his mind.

"It left a bad impression on me the first day, because I left my parents and wife with three children here, without anyone's help. They were my right hand for everything", he confesses to Radio Free Europe.

Even though he had other family members in Germany around him, as well as other friends from his childhood in Rahovec, he started thinking about returning to Kosovo as early as five months later.

They left Germany and Finland/ Two young people tell why they returned to Kosovo

"In March, I started thinking about returning and I told the boss there, in Germany, that I am returning to Kosovo. To be honest, I also informed the former boss in Kosovo that I'm coming back", he recalls.

At that time, relatives convinced him to continue to stay in Germany. However, he did not last long and at the end of August he finally received his return ticket to his homeland.

"I have not regretted coming back. I came to my country, to my children, to my family. I simply listened to my heart where I was sleeping", says Nekiu.

He says that he is satisfied with the working conditions he does in Kosovo, as he says that he receives a good salary, due to his 17 years of experience in this profession.

"But, in fact, it's not worth it with this profession of mine that I have... it's not worth going [out] to mistreat yourself, to build your life from scratch," he says.

They left Germany and Finland/ Two young people tell why they returned to Kosovo

From Finland to South Mitrovica: "I wouldn't trade Kosovo for any country in the world"

Five years ago, a young man from South Mitrovica and his wife bought one-way tickets from Kosovo to Finland.

At just 21 years old, he started working installing ventilators while his wife stayed at home.

Over time, both of them gave up living outside of Kosovo. His wife returned about two years after moving to Finland, while the 26-year-old has been back to his hometown for about six months.

“[Outside working hours] I slept. I worked about 12-13 hours a day. I've experienced [what it's like] to go without food and everything. I know all the problems. If they tell me that you have a salary of ten thousand euros, I will not go anymore", says the resident of Mitrovica, who now works as a taxi driver.

He says that he made the decision to return because of the hard work and high tax prices in Finland, which left him without savings at the end of the month, and thus without the opportunity to buy a ticket to visit Kosovo.

"Do you know how many people have returned to Mitrovica? All of them are taxi drivers or work in construction. Here they don't know how it is there. You tell them, they say 'look, you're talking about anger,'" he says.

Among the main reasons that have encouraged Kosovars to emigrate, is employment, according to KAS, which in Kosovo reaches up to 12 percent.

The average salary in the country, according to the latest data from 2022, is 521 euros per month, significantly lower than in the developed countries of the European Union.

Meanwhile, in recent years - the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic and the launch of the Russian war in Ukraine - prices for many products and services have increased significantly.

Encouraged by these conditions, the man from Mitrovica tried to live in Germany, but he was again disappointed: he could not earn as much as he thought.