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Josephina comes from Albania ; she was born in 1957 at Tirana and came in Greece for the first time in 1991. At the time of the interview her worked as a 'Domestic helper'.
Interview date: 18/01/2006
Researcher who did the interview: Raymond Alvanos
Subfield of the interview: Historical culture
Josefina was born in Tirana. Her father was a sweets peddler and her mother was a bus conductor. She has seven siblings. Her parents come from southern Albania. Her relation to Greek culture and language is of particular interest. Josefina wanted to study music, but she didn´t manage to get into university. For ten years she worked in a civil engineer´s office. In 1988 she got married and went to stay live with her husband´s family. When her son was born she and her husband decided to migrate in order to provide a better future for their child and for themselves. They obtained a visa and came to Greece legally. Josefina´s brother was already in Volos and so he helped them during their first period in their new country. Josefina started working as a domestic cleaner. Her daughter was born in Greece and she was baptized Greek Orthodox. Josefina had been baptized in Albania; yet, she does not feel connected to religion. She feels content in Greece and doesn´t plan to return to Albania. She notes that her children do not feel Albanian and, therefore, she doesn´t believe that they could ever live in Albania. In the interview she talks about the racist attitudes of her neighbors towards her. The family owns its own house and they also rent out a house to a Greek woman. She mostly socializes with members of her extended family. She tries to keep herself informed about developments in Albania by watching satellite channels. Every summer she visits her family in Albania.
