A young Albanian in Australia

By Viriana Zeneli

MELBOURNE - My name is Viriana Zeneli, I'm 19 years old. My family and I came to Melbourne in 1994. I am currently studying film and animation at RMIT university. I am interested in film culture, 20th century cinema and avantgarde art.

Albanians in Australia celebrate Albania’s Independence Day on November 28th, the day in 1912 when  Albania ceased to be part of the collapsing Ottoman Empire.

Albanian speaking people in Australia are from Kosovo, Macedonia and, of course, Albania; the recent Census puts their number at around 15,000 Australia-wide.

The first Albanians came to Australia after the WW1 in search of work.   The fall of communism in the 1990’s and the Balkan War that followed resulted in a new wave of Albanian immigrants.

What is it like to be a young Albanian person in Australia?  That is the question Viriana Zeneli decided to explore at the recent Independence Day celebration in Melbourne.  Viriana talked with young Albanian-Australians celebrating in Thomastown, a northern suburb of Melbourne.

Listen to views of young Albanian-Australians