A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details 1 THE CHILDREN OF ALBANIAN MIGRANTS IN EUROPE: ETHNIC IDENTITY, TRANSNATIONAL TIES AND PATHWAYS OF INTEGRATION Zana Vathi DPhil in MIGRATION STUDIES School of Global Studies UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX July 2011 2 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature: .............................................. 3 To my family 4 UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX ZANA VATHI DPhil in MIGRATION STUDIES THE CHILDREN OF ALBANIAN MIGRANTS IN EUROPE: ETHNIC IDENTITY, TRANSNATIONAL TIES AND PATHWAYS OF INTEGRATION SUMMARY The study of the integration of the children of migrants—the so-called ‗second generation‘—is a recent trend in migration literature. Their integration is thought to be an important indicator of the degree of integration of immigrants in general into a specific society. This thesis is the first full-length comparative study of the Albanian second generation. Using a variety of field methods, it compares the ethnic identities, transnational ties and integration pathways of Albanian-origin teenagers in three European cities—London, Thessaloniki and Florence—by focusing on intergenerational transmission between the first and the second generation. Greece, Italy and the UK are, in that order, the three main European countries where Albanian migrants have settled during their short but intense migration experience of the past two decades. My study shifts the focus partly to the situation and developments in Southern Europe, where the awareness and interest in issues of the integration of the second generation are still at an initial phase. The research involved fieldwork in each of the above-named cities, where quota samples of three categories of informants were interviewed: parents, their second- generation teenage children, and teachers and other key informants within the host society. Findings show significant differences in the integration patterns of both generations, affected by sharp differences between the three contexts and the history of immigration in each context. They also point to important within- and inter-group differences, based on various socio-economic indicators. Intergenerational transmission appears as a dynamic process affected not only by context and the parents‘ socio- economic background, but also by parents‘ stage of integration. By studying a settling immigrant group and their descendants, the thesis takes a proactive approach towards the integration of ethnic minorities. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All research touches the lives of many people, and let us hope it also, in all cases, improves them. Since this research was an international multi-sited project, the number of people and institutions I have met and interacted with is even bigger. I thank them all, although probably I will not be able to do justice to their help in this note. I hope my work justifies their investment, time, effort and understanding. I am very grateful! I would like, however, to single out a few. First of all, I would like to thank my participants. I will be forever amazed by the whole experience of meeting them and getting to analyse and frame the experiences they shared with me. I am indebted because I know this has taken a lot of courage. My principal supervisor Prof. Russell King has been a great inspiration. I really thank him for trusting me throughout this study. I hope I have justified his belief in me. Dr Anastasia Christou, Prof. Janine Dahinden, and the late Prof. Michael Bommes have been of great support, too. I thank them for all they have contributed to my work. I would probably not have made it without my friends. I thank Julie Vullnetari, Shova Thapa, Nalu Binaisa and Simone Castellani for their wisdom and support; Jacques Enaudeau, Danesh Jajatilaka, Francesca Zampagni, Tanja Sinozic, Ana Porroche Escudero and Carlos Cuevas Coral for making the writing-up so much easier; the TIES junior and senior researchers for their social support and their intellectual contribution to my work; and Jenny Money for a crucial input at the final stage. This research would have been impossible without the sponsorship and assistance of many institutions. Due thanks go to the sponsors of this research: Marie Curie Actions of the European Commission and the Sussex Centre for Migration Research. In particular, I would like to thank Prof. Russell King and Dr Patrick Simon for their help and support with the complex administration of my grant. Other organisations, in no particular order, have been of great help: in London the Albanian organisations, especially ‗Ardhmëria‘, Globalb, Shpresa. In Thessaloniki the Albanian organisations, especially ‗Mother Tereza‘, and Valbona Hystuna, SEERC, the ‗Organisation of Albanians of Thessaloniki‘, the Antiracist Initiative of Thesaloniki, particularly Nikos Glarnetagis. I also thank Emmanouil Pratsinakis, Julie Vullnetari and Panos Hatziprokopiou for their help with my fieldwork in Greece. In Florence, the Department of Educational Sciences at the University of Florence and Prof. Giovana Campani for hosting me during my fieldwork; various Italian schools; and Giulia Martini, Gerta Zaimi and Tonine Pllumbi. My greatest thanks and gratitude go to my family. This thesis is dedicated to them. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IV APPENDICES VII List of vignettes VIII List of tables VIII List of figures VIII List of photos VIII Abbreviations IX Chapter 1. RATIONALE 1 1.1 Research context 1 1.2 The Albanian second generation 3 1.3 The current study 6 1.4 Research questions 11 1.5 Thesis outline 13 Chapter 2. CONTEXT 17 2.1 Introduction to Albanian identity 17 2.2 Britain 22 2.2.1 Immigration policies and ethnic relations 22 2.2.2 London 26 2.3 Greece 28 2.3.1 Immigration policies and ethnic relations 28 2.3.2 Thessaloniki 32 2.4 Italy 35 2.4.1 Immigration policies and ethnic relations 35 2.4.2 Florence 38 2.5 Conclusion 39 Chapter 3. METHODOLOGY 41 3.1 Research design 41 3.1.1 Epistemological approach 41 3.1.2 The multi-sited comparative case-study approach 43 3.1.3 Fieldwork logistics and sampling 45 3.1.3.1 General strategy 45 3.1.3.2 Participant groups 49 3.1.3.3 Sampling and interview settings 51 3.2 Methods and analysis 54 3.2.1 Interviews 56 3.2.2 Group discussions 58 3.2.3 Observations and ‘occasional ethnography’ 59 3.2.4 Data analysis 61 3.3 Ethics and positionality 63 3.3.1 Ethics 63 7 3.3.2 Positionality 68 V Chapter 4: THEORY 73 Ethnic identity, integration and transnational ties: the case of the second generation 4.1 Key concepts and theories 73 4.1.1 Ethnic identity 74 4.1.2 Integration 80 4.1.3 Transnational ties 86 4.1.4 Intergenerational transmission 91 4.1.5 Interactions between ethnic identity, integration and transnationalism 93 4.2 The ‘second generation’ 95 4.2.1 Theories on the integration of the second generation 95 4.2.2 The European second generation 102 4.3 Conclusion 104 Chapter 5. IDENTITIES 106 5.1 The first generation 107 5.1.1 Migrant identity 107 5.1.2 The parental identity 111 5.1.3 Gender 112 5.1.4 Religious identity 114 5.1.5 The role of ethnicity 118 5.2 The second generation 120 5.2.1 Teenagers and young people 120 5.2.2. Gender 123 5.2.3 Religious identity 124 5.2.4 The role of ethnicity 127 5.3 Intergeneration transmission of identity 137 5.3.1 Transmitting ‘Albanianness’ 137 5.3.2 Language 142 5.3.3 Ethnicity at a micro level: the family 145 5.3.4 Life-style values and cross-generation tensions 146 5.3.5 Migrant identity and the communist past 148 5.4 Conclusion 151 Chapter 6. INTEGRATION 154 6.1 The first generation 154 6.1.1 Structural integration 154 6.1.1.1 Regularisation and interaction with institutions 154 6.1.1.2 Integration in the labour market 158 6.1.2 Social integration 162 6.1.2.1 History of immigration and impact on social integration 162 6.1.2.2 Cultural similarity and difference 164 6.1.2.3 Immigrant and ethnic organisations 166 6.1.3 Gender 170 6.1.4 Discrimination 172 6.2 The second generation 177 8 6.2.1 Structural integration 177 6.2.1.1 Educational experience and performance 177 6.2.1.2 Future employment plans and transition to the labour market 182 6.2.1.3 Attitudes towards citizenship 184 6.2.1.4 References to the city and locality 186 6.2.2 Socialisation and integration 189 6.2.2.1 Social integration in schools 189 6.2.2.2 The role of the peer group 192 6.2.2.3 Immigrant and ethnic organisations 195 6.2.3 Discrimination 198 6.3 Intergenerational transmission of integration 201 6.3.1 Parents’ settlement and impact on children’s integration 201 6.3.2 Transmission of the migration project 204 6.4. Conclusion 207 Chapter 7. TRANSNATIONAL TIES 210 7.1 The first generation 210 7.1.1 Return visits 210 7.1.2 Transnational ties through ICTs 218 7.1.3 Remittances 220 7.1.4 Attitudes towards return 225 7.2 The second generation 228 7.2.1 Return visits 228 7.2.2 Transnational ties through ICTs 235 7.2.3 Attitudes towards return 238 7.3 Intergenerational transmission of transnational ties 242 7.3.1 General patterns 242 7.3.2 Intergenerational transmission of attitudes towards visits 245 7.3.3 Intergenerational transmission of attitudes towards return 247 7.4 Conclusions 249 Chapter 8.