Through the MENTBEST project, Albanian women living in Greece came together to share experiences, build connections, and discuss mental well-being, resilience, and community support.

As part of the MENTBEST project, on the 26^th of April 2025, SEERC and the NGO JETA co-organized a community event where first-generation Albanian women living in Greece had the opportunity to share their migration stories, experiences, and perspectives. The women’s personal narratives revealed several key themes that lie at the heart of the MENTBEST project, including mental well-being, social inclusion, community support and resilience. 

Resilience is the dynamic process of positive adaptation to adversity, involving the ability to recover from or adapt to stressful experiences^(1,2). Higher resilience is a significant predictor of reduced depressive symptoms, anxiety, and perceived stress, thus acting as a protective factor against mental disorders⁽³⁾. While resilience starts with the individual, it is significantly strengthened by the relationships built within a community^(4,5). 

In migrant populations, resilience is frequently described as a process of adaptation that links social support systems to improved psychological health⁽⁶⁾. By bringing the voices of these women to the forefront, the event reinforced the importance of creating inclusive and supportive spaces where lived experiences can be shared openly. Listening to these stories helps foster understanding, strengthen community connections, and reminds us that promoting mental wellbeing begins with ensuring that every voice has the opportunity to be heard.

Participants reflected on the challenges they encountered while adapting to life in a new country while trying to preserve their identity, integrating into a new system, building meaningful relationships, and supporting one another. Their experiences highlighted not only the difficulties of migration but also the role of community support, social connections, and personal strengths in fostering resilience.

Migration: a process of loss and transformation

One of the strongest themes emerging from the discussion was migration as both loss and transformation. Many women described leaving behind their homes, professions, dreams, extended families, and social networks, often under difficult economic or personal circumstances. Several women spoke about migration as a form of grief, mourning not only the people they left behind but also the lives they had imagined for themselves. The emotional impact of this transition was profound, with feelings of loneliness, uncertainty, and fear accompanying the first years of settlement.

As one woman described it, “We experienced the grief of migration because we left behind our dreams, our friends, our home—our whole life.” Another reflected that migration meant “mourning the life we left behind, while trying to build a new one.”

Resilience is not the absence of hardship

However, their stories also demonstrated that resilience does not mean the absence of hardship. Instead, it involves adapting, finding new meaning, personal growth and gradually rebuilding one’s life despite adversity. Over time, many women described creating stable families, establishing careers, supporting their children’s education, and developing a renewed sense of purpose. Their experiences reflected resilience not as returning to a previous state but as growing through adversity and creating new opportunities.

One woman, who arrived in Greece as a university graduate but worked for years as a cleaner, shared a perspective that resonated with many women: “No job is shameful. Whatever work you do, do it with dignity and love.” Despite rebuilding her life from the beginning, she explained that this mindset helped her earn respect and eventually feel at home in Greece.

Another participant described arriving in Greece after crossing the mountains on foot with her two young children. She remembered being told by an employer that her Albanian name was “too difficult,” leading her to introduce herself as Eleni for many years. Looking back, she reflected: “The greatest investment we can make is in ourselves.” Through years of psychotherapy, self-development, and perseverance, she rebuilt her confidence and proudly reclaimed her own name after years of introducing herself with a different Greek name to avoid discrimination. “Now I finally say: my name is M…i. I have done the work on myself, and I have the confidence to say my own name.”

Identity and belonging

Identity and belonging also emerged as central aspects of resilience. Many women recalled the challenges of integrating into Greek society, including language difficulties, discrimination, and, in some cases, pressure to modify aspects of their identity, such as changing their names, in order to gain greater social acceptance. These experiences illustrate how migration often requires continuous negotiation between maintaining one’s cultural heritage and adapting to a new environment.

Despite these barriers, women frequently described Greece—and particularly Thessaloniki—as their second homeland. Rather than viewing their identities as divided, many embraced a dual sense of belonging, feeling both Albanian and Greek. For several women, belonging developed gradually. One woman shared, “Today, every Greek family I visit feels like my own family.” Another described Thessaloniki simply as “a second homeland” explaining that despite never forgetting Albania, the city had become the place where she had built her life and community.

This bicultural identity became a source of strength, enabling them to draw upon the values, traditions, and support systems of both cultures. Their experiences demonstrate how belonging is not determined solely by nationality but is built through relationships, participation, and acceptance within the community.

The importance of  family & active copying

The discussion further highlighted resilience through everyday acts of empowerment. Women shared stories of accepting employment well below their qualifications, learning new skills, caring for their families while navigating unfamiliar systems, overcoming health challenges, and continuously adapting to changing circumstances. Many described investing in their children’s education as one of their greatest motivations, seeing their children’s achievements as both a personal success and evidence that their sacrifices had meaning.

One mother recalled how painful it was to watch her eldest son leave home to study: “Every night I cried from one until five in the morning.” Yet she consciously chose to redirect her energy. “I told myself: he has to follow his dreams. I started travelling, reading, embroidery, feeding stray animals—anything that nourished my soul so I wouldn’t fall into depression.”

Stigma and help-seeking behavior 

Mental health was another prominent topic throughout the event. Women openly discussed the psychological burden associated with migration, including experiences of depression, anxiety, chronic stress, and social isolation. While these challenges were widely recognized, many women also acknowledged that discussing mental health remains difficult within parts of the Albanian migrant community, particularly among first-generation migrants, where psychological distress is often accompanied by stigma. One woman spoke openly about seeking professional support after experiencing depression: “I went through depression. I received treatment. I still have periods of melancholy, and I asked for help from a specialist.”

The discussion itself demonstrated the importance of creating culturally sensitive spaces where individuals feel safe to share their experiences without fear of judgment. As women encouraged one another to “dare to speak,” storytelling became a mechanism for reducing stigma, normalizing emotional struggles, and strengthening interpersonal connections. Simply hearing others describe similar experiences helped many women feel less isolated and more understood.

The power of community support

Perhaps the most significant lesson from the discussion was the power of community itself. The women repeatedly emphasized that resilience became possible because they did not face adversity alone. One woman noted, “What helps us endure all these difficulties is staying close to one another.” Another added that “a kind word and a smile can remind someone that they are not alone.” Through collective reflection, individual struggles became shared experiences, reinforcing the idea that resilience is strengthened through relationships rather than achieved in isolation.

Closing Remarks 

The experiences shared by Albanian women in Greece illustrate that resilience is neither extraordinary nor unattainable. It is built through countless everyday decisions: seeking support, maintaining hope, preserving cultural identity while embracing new opportunities, investing in future generations, and finding strength through connection with others. As communities across Europe continue to become increasingly diverse, promoting resilience requires more than individual interventions. It requires creating inclusive environments where people feel they belong, have equitable access to resources, and can openly discuss their experiences without stigma. Community-based initiatives such as those developed through the MENTBEST project demonstrate how meaningful dialogue can strengthen social cohesion while promoting mental well-being. Ultimately, resilience grows where communities grow together. By listening to lived experiences, creating safe spaces for connection, and supporting individuals through collective action, we move beyond simply helping people cope with adversity—we create conditions where they can thrive. The voices of these Albanian women remind us that vulnerability and resilience are not opposing concepts but complementary aspects of the human experience and resilience is not only surviving difficult experiences but also about transforming them into opportunities for connection, empowerment, and hope.

Authors:
Christina Katsoridou, Junior Research Officer
Evgenia Dandi, PhD, MSc

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