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ties with their birthplace and natal country. According to the dual citizenship rules the
members of Greek minority in Albania (as well as in Turkey and Egypt) who lived and
worked in Greece at least for some years, are eligible to receive Greek pensions after they
retire. This system allowed the elderly people of Greek minority to apply for the Special
Identity Cards of Greek Descent, which according to the Albanian policy excluded the locals
of the Himarë/Himara area, to return to their natal country after their retirement. Most of them
live with their Albanian pensions (from 50 to 100 Euro) and partly from their Greek pensions
(218 Euro in total), while they invest the remaining of Greek pensions or their other savings
and remittances sent by their children working in Greece in repairing of old, decaying houses
or building of new ones. For this purpose they hire the constructors and other physical
workers who moved to the village after the end of communism.
Thus, for example, in 1998 when Dimitris approached his 65th year he returned to his natal
village of Dhërmi/Drimades. In 1990 he emigrated to Greece working there as a physical
worker in agriculture. In 1992 his wife, who also originates from Dhërmi/Drimades, and
children who were already married, joined him. A year later children emigrated to United
States. Since then Dimitris has lived together with his brother and his family in Ioannina. In
1998, upon retirement, he acquired the farmer’s pension from Greece as an Albanian refugee
of Greek descent working in agriculture, amounting to 218 Euro monthly, provided by the
Agricultural Insurance Organisation (OGA) in Greece. As a dual citizen Dimitris was allowed
to retain his Albanian citizenship. Therefore after his return to Albania he began to receive the
Albanian partial pension too, amounting to around 50 Euro per month. Back in the village he
decided to build a new house on the parcel of land situated next to his parents’ house. The
latter initially belonged to his brother who lives and works in Greece and visits the village
only in the summer months. During the months he was building this new house, he was living
in his brother’s house. Being on his own, he decided to hire a young family to take care of
him and to do the necessary housework. When querying around, he was told by his colleague
from Lushnja, with whom he worked in the cooperative, about a reliable and hard-working
couple living in Lushnja, who were searching for a job. Behar, originating from Shkodra, and
Ana, originating from Lushnja, responded to Dimitris’ query and came to Dhërmi/Drimades
in 1999. They moved in his partly constructed house which was built with the savings he
earned in Greece and remittances sent by his wife and children. He hired constructors from
Mirdita which were in that season living in Dhërmi/Drimades and constructing houses for
some other locals. He spent around 15.000 Euro to build the first floor (around 5.000 Euro he
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