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From Bologna to Luxembourg/ The story of the young Albanian working for the European Parliament

2025-08-05 16:54:00, Aktualitet CNA

From Bologna to Luxembourg/ The story of the young Albanian working for the

Eriseld Zeneli is a 33-year-old Albanian with an interesting story. From his early life in Bologna, Italy, fate and work led him to now be one of the employees of the European Parliament.

The Italian daily 'Corriere della Serra' has also published an article on this case today.

The article highlights his departure to Italy as the son of a truck driver and an Albanian housewife, to the job for which he studied only after leaving Italy.

Full article:

In 1992, his father boarded a boat to Albania in search of a future for his family. First, he landed in Puglia, then traveled to Savigno. His job, found by word of mouth, took him to the small village near Bologna. "My mother and I arrived in 1995, and I was not yet three years old. Italy and Bologna are my home, but to secure my future, I had to go abroad. Too many prejudices and too few opportunities for us young people. If they call it a 'brain drain,' there must be a reason."

He arrived in Savigno when he was not yet three years old.

The story of Eriseld Zeneli, 33, is the story of a double forced migration. From Albania to Bologna and from Bologna to Luxembourg, where she now works for the European Parliament. "I would like to give back to my country what it gave me in terms of education by staying in Bologna, but that was not possible. I am doing it now from Luxembourg, where I was hired to represent Italy."

When Zeneli talks about his country, he talks about Italy; Albania is a sense of belonging to his family roots, the sound of his native language, but he no longer has any connection to the country of his parents. He arrived in Savigno when he was not even three years old, where he attended primary and secondary school, then graduated from Rosa Luxemburg while his parents, with great sacrifices, bought a small apartment in Monteveglio.

Studies leading to a master's degree in Psychology

"I didn't follow a traditional path," Zeneli says, "after high school I went to work as an employee. My family is poor, I couldn't afford college." He saved some money and then, while still working, enrolled in Educational Sciences and soon after received a master's degree in Organizational Psychology. Top marks.

"At that point, I looked for another job and got hired as a train conductor for Trenitalia. I worked at Frecciarossa for three years and managed to buy a house in Bologna in 2021, but I realized I couldn't go any further."

Zeneli sums up his reasons in two sentences: "Italy doesn't retain its young talents. And with that name, surname and birthplace on my documents, many doors were closed to me."

Even in Bologna. "I was always seen as different, a foreigner, especially in the first years after arriving in Savigno. Things went better when I went to high school in the city, but when it came to looking for a job, as soon as they saw my name, they stigmatized me." Big prejudices. So much so that, when his brother was born in Bologna six years later, Zeneli insisted that his parents call him Giulio. "He would have had Bologna as his birthplace on his documents, an Italian name and a surname that could be disguised somehow. I didn't want him to go through what I went through."

In 2022, he knocks on the doors of the European Parliament

After several years of traveling to and from Italy as a train conductor, Zeneli decided to leave his permanent position. In 2022, he knocked on the doors of the European Parliament, which offers internships for those who graduate with honors. He took advantage of his master's degree.

"I was given a seven-month internship and then offered a permanent position. Today, I am responsible for personnel at the European Parliament in Luxembourg. In Italy, I would have had to deal with a low-paying and insecure job for a long time, maybe forever. Here, they pay well and allow you to climb the social ladder even without a background. I, the son of a truck driver and a housewife, who left Albania with only shoes, now work here and I don't face prejudice. I have never felt the burden of my origins in Luxembourg; I have stopped feeling like a foreigner. I am judged only for the work I do. If I do it well, I advance; if I do it badly, I fall behind." I would like to meet the mayor and tell him my story.

A post on social media, where he tells his story, with a photo of him as a child in Albania and another of him as a 33-year-old sitting in the European Parliament, is making the rounds in Italy and Europe. There, Zeneli talks about his redemption and encourages young people like him not to give up. To try.

But it also contains a bitter reflection on Italy: "This experience can honestly represent the experience of an entire generation that loves Italy but is often forced to go elsewhere to fulfill itself. A phenomenon that, although silent, represents a great cost for our country."

He puts it even better: "Italy trains very well. Abroad, they roll out the red carpet for us, but then they don't care, even though we would like to give something back of what they have given us." And Bologna? "I love it madly, but it's the same thing; it's not different from the country itself. I would like to meet Mayor Lepore and tell him my story to make a contribution, if he wants." /CNA