We speak to some of those who have made the often perilous journey from Albania to Kent in an exclusive new documentary
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00:00Is it worth risking your life to come to the UK?
00:03That's a million-dollar question.
00:06Independence Day rallies and protests have brought the Albanian community together.
00:10Albania was closed to the rest of the world for 50 years.
00:16In 2022, 12,000 to 13,000 Albanians were coming to the UK through illegal means.
00:22I've arrived in Albania, somewhere I've loved visiting growing up,
00:26but this time, I'll be talking to people about their lives, society, and why they want to leave.
00:34We have a very poor life.
00:36We have no money, no clothes.
00:38But why England?
00:40There are other countries where you can work.
00:43Because it's the epicentre of these drugs.
00:47There are stories of people who come to the UK because of the life that is seen on social media,
00:51and organised criminal gangs use this to traffic young men to work in cannabis farms.
00:57How many times have you tried this?
01:00About 10 times, I've tried it from the moment I got here.
01:0410 times?
01:05It's the only thing I can do.
01:07I can't leave.
01:09I would leave any day.
01:12I don't see the point.
01:13I've come here and I've said to many young people,
01:19don't come here, because there are opportunities, and there are opportunities in Albania.
01:22I feel like I relearned everything that I previously knew.