“The guests are four of many others who live and work in Albania, regardless of the fact they come from foreign countries, near or far, rich or even richer, or Albanians who have returned and who continue to return even though the number of those who leave is higher than the number of those who return, but those who return, carry with them a story, an experience and above all, reasons, which are really worth being shared and heard,” said Rama.

Speaking about UNUM and the impact it has had in Albania, Rama emphasized that this year there are 20 thousand participants in this international festival.

The director of “UNUM Festival” announced that this year it drew people from as far as Malaysia, Mexico, Qatar, and elsewhere.

“For me, the idea behind this is to strive and open Albania to everyone, but the point is that it is already headed on this direction. There is no need to rush. People who come to Albania find it hard to go back to their country and say: “I swear to God they have thrilling excitement. Your country is the future of Europe, that’s for sure. People are clueless about your culture, about the Illyrians, about what you have been and what you will be in the future. Personally, I am quite touched by your hospitality”, he said, while adding that the more time I stay here, the more difficult it is for me to leave Albania.”
Meanwhile, the prime minister said that “Albania becomes some sort of dependence after staying here for some time.”

“I have seen many people, for example, foreigners with whom I stay in touch for the sake of my work, ambassadors, who were not enthusiastic upon their arrival in our country, to put it mildly, but I have never seen anyone feel happy or excited when the time comes for them to leave the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, the other three guests on Podcast, Warda (Albania), Owen (USA) and Martin (Argentina) are three young people who have decided to open “Hana Corner Coffee”, in Tirana which offers a blend of Albanian-American-Argentinian cultures.

Warda, who was born in Fier and lives in Germany, shares her experience of returning to Albania, after many years of emigration to Germany.

While Martin, born in Argentina, said that he does not feel like a stranger in Albania.

“It’s more like a family place, like a little Buenos Aires, as I said before, but I think, also, that the sense of safety you get here is very important to me. Where I come from, especially in these times, you never know what will happen when you go out on the streets at night, for example. So, feeling safe is what brought me here first and foremost,” he added.

“Yes, Albania is one of the safest countries in Europe”, added Rama.

While Owen said that he enjoys the outdoors and the wonderful nature appeals to him.

“Tirana is the capital city and within one hour you can find freezing cold spring water, you can be in a beautiful forest, you can be at a wonderful beach, you can be at a river or canyon and find a massive cave. The possibilities are quite endless, and when you get out in nature, it’s not saturated with construction and overpopulated. You meet friendly, extremely welcoming and down-to-earth people who invite you in for raki or coffee, or give you fruit from their trees and, yes, to pick out one of those experiences it would be leaving the city and going camping, swimming, cooking your meal and being at peace with all the beauty that surrounds you all the time here,” he said.

“These were the happy refugees and I am really very inspired every time I meet people like Warda, like Martin, like Owen, like Musa who have deep inside that gift of “joy of life” and have found their place in Albania where their “gift” can be multiplied,” said Rama.
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