Recent European History Question

[redfiona99]

Because I presume someone here might know.

Did a lot of Albanian/Kosovo Albanian refugees and other emigrants end up in Switzerland? And if they did was there any particular reason?

Asking just because of the number of Swiss footballers of Albanian/Kosovo Albanian heritage. I was wondering if it was just a coincidence or if there was a historical reason behind it (like the number of footballers of Croatian heritage that played for Austria in the late-90s to mid-00s.)

Comments

[nwhyte]

Yep. There was already a tradition of ethnic Albanian Gastarbeiter from the former Yugoslavia; when the breakup happened, Switzerland gave political asylum to a lot of Kosovars. Many people in Pristina who speak French or German do so with a Swiss accent.

[redfiona99.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I suspected there would be a reason but hadn't considered Gastarbeiter.