this is a story about two societies struggling to cope with the movement of people. in the uk, the arrivals of large numbers of young albanians has been called a crisis. in albania, the loss of another generation is seen as almost existential. so why is this happening and what can be done? we've come to the albanian capital, tirana, to meeta man with a very rare story. we're calling him artan, although that's not his real name. he's concerned about reprisals from the gangs. now, he is from this city, but not from the bright lights and the flashy bars of the centre, but from this tirana, an industrial city where people make just a few hundred dollars a month and that's the world he was trying to leave.

last month, he paid people—smugglers to make the dangerous and illegal journey across the channel to the uk, but what makes his story interesting is that within five days he was on a deportation flight back home, thousands of pounds in debt. like all albanians, artan was able to travel through europe to the french coast without a visa. that's where he took this footage. he's on his way to meet the people—smugglers he had paid for passage to dover. they were repeatedly threatening us, saying not to film anything and not even to smoke. the money had been agreed in advance via a uk whatsapp number. we paid £3,500 each. what you're about to see and hear is rare footage — from on board one of the small boats across the english channel, inflatables packed with dozens of people, and the testimony of someone who was on board.

translation: the journey - across the channel was torture. it was cold, stormy and incredibly scary. it took us almost an hour to get the dinghy going, by which time traffickers had all left. once the boats are at sea, the french police seemingly don't intercept them for safety reasons. artan witnessed the cooperation between the british and the french. translation: a french police boat appeared 20 i minutes into ourjourney. they accompanied us from a distance of maybe 200 meters, just observing, which reassured us. they stayed for three hours, maybe longer. then we crossed into uk waters and called the british police. they told us they were coming to get us, that we mustn't panic. they behaved well and seemed very welcoming and polite. wejumped to the uk police boat where we got life vests.

the numbers crossing have risen sharply over the past year. albanians now make up the single largest group arriving in small boats — 12,000 and counting. it's led to furious arguments, with the british home secretary calling it "an invasion", the opposition accusing the government of incompetence, and widespread coverage in the british media. good afternoon. it's feared scores of people may have died when... almost 20,000 refugees - commandeered ships and set sail. those who run the lucrative and dangerous traffic in human lives are rarely filmed, but the police were determined to make these two captured albanian smugglers... but those news reports you're hearing aren't from this week, this month, even this year. this is coverage of a previous exodus from albania, back in 1997. two in the �*90s, one in the early 2000s, and this one.

it's led to the extraordinary statistic that around a third of people born in albania now live overseas. so what is it that keeps driving albanians from their homes on uncertain and dangerous journeys? to try and understand, there is really only one place to start. we're travelling north to a region called kukes, just on the border with kosovo. this is the part of albania where many of the young men and women who've left for the uk have come from. indeed, so many have left from the region there are now real concerns around the population. you can see it at kukes' football team. the under—i7 teams have enough for a few sides. by the time they get to under—i9 there are barely 11 players left. in our country there are so many problems and so many can't follow their dream here, so they choose to go outside the country.

why do you feel that you want to leave this region? because this place is terrible. no future here. no future. translation: our youth here, all they think - about is one thing — leaving. maybe it's because they've lost all hope, i really don't know. i really don't know how to make sense of it all. for the team coach, the situation is personal. as well as losing many of his players, both of his children have travelled to the uk. translation: it's painful to talk about it. _ it touches us all straight in our hearts. it scratches our wounds. my own children have left. we are left alone here. it's a huge problem. we have to get beyond politics, as well. when i see what's happening, we used to have a good intake and now we can barely form a team. it really hurts.

the main reason people give for leaving is a lack of economic opportunity. average wages in albania are just over $500 a month. according to the opposition, corruption is also a huge problem, with government inaction to blame. so why do you think young people are leaving this country in such numbers? they believe that the system that exists is not fair. meritocracy does not exist. they don't have economic opportunities. it's very difficult for social mobility. if you are born poor in albania, you remain poor independently of how much you work. and we should acknowledge that, as politicians, it's linked with a high corruption, especially in the north of the country. it's linked with the lack of opportunities. and this is something up to the government. so this is kukes at night and, as you can see, it's pretty quiet. the few people that are in bars and restaurants are generally on the older side. you can see why all the young people

leaving this city is such a problem. the question is, what can be done about it? the current focus of the british government is law enforcement and deportations, something they say they are working closely on with the albanian authorities. but artan is one of a relatively small number of albanians to have actually been sent home. only 440 were returned in the first half of the year, and only a tiny proportion of them at short notice. translation: i was told, tomorrow l morning you will arrive in tirana. l at that moment i was so upset i can't describe it. i felt like my brain was exploding and i could do nothing about it all. there were three more policemen who stayed just with me while i was waiting on the bus. i told them, we haven't killed anybody, what's this all about? ok, you want to escort us, but we are not terrorists. i have never had any problems with the authorities.

i have never broken the law. although, presumably at that point, you realised you had committed a crime because you'd entered the uk illegally? yes, that's understandable and, ultimately, that's why they deported us. but nevertheless, we had hoped that they might show us some compassion. but for many, this is the problem. backlogs mean thatjust claiming asylum is essentially a ticket to stay in the uk. the british government claims the system is widely abused. their opponents say it is their failures that are to blame. in albania, there are calls for more safe and legal routes. law enforcement does not work. policies do not work. border control does not work. there should be a legal system, like a normal way for these people not to oblige to do so. there should be a fast track in terms of procedures, as we have with other eu countries. we did ask the albanian government for an interview,

but no one was available. many authorities here should be doing more to encourage people to stay in places like kukes. for its part, the uk government has set up a project, costing £8 million overfour years, designed to help. that scheme has only been running a couple of months, so is yet to show results, but we can see the sort of thing they're hoping to emulate. this is an agro—tourism operation set up by two brothers who themselves crossed to italy in small boats in the 1990s, returning years later with money to start a business. step by step we invested what we have profits here, and in 12 years we made it what you see. now, it is famous throughout albania. what is the solution to this problem, as far as you see it? translation: | don't think. the solution will come quickly. this will be a slow process. it starts with improving our education system and making economic development fair.

albania's problems will not be solved by businessmen building skyscrapers, petrol stations or malls. i believe we can stop the haemorrhaging of our young people by developing our rural areas and building a sustainable tourism industry. this is undoubtedly a huge albanian success story. 115,000 euros made in italy, brought back here and turned into a business employing hundreds, maybe more than 1,000 people, and turning over three euros million a year. the question, though, is can something like this be replicated across this country in a way that makes young albanians want to stay here? it is a real challenge for tirana, where everyone knows corruption is a big problem, but one that is incredibly hard to tackle. as for the british government, as long as asylum applications are taking years to process, no amount of tough talk will stop the gangs.

what would your message be to other young albanians thinking of following in your footsteps, of doing what you did? translation: i'd tell them if they are not sure - where they are going, if they don't have a proper way of moving abroad, it would be betterfor them not to leave at all. i would not recommend taking small boats to anyone. it was an unimaginable terror. for certain, i'd say, don't choose the dinghy. if there is a legal way with a visa, then yes, leave. but please never think about leaving on a dinghy. tirana can experience the most astonishing thunderstorms, an analogy maybe for this whole debate. the situation is leaving albanian towns and villages hollowed out, robbed of their youth. it is also making already fractious british politics more tempestuous still. the only thing all sides can really

agree on is that the current situation isn't working for anyone except the people smugglers making huge profits risking other people's lives. hello. the week ahead will bring something drier and a bit colder. also some issues with the lingering fog. this afternoon we've had issues with lingering rain, plenty of showers for western areas, heavy and thundery for north—west scotland. this large swathe of cloud is attached to a frontal system which has been very slow to clear from east anglia and south—east england. this is the earlier rainfall. you can also see the showers pushing in to western areas, and it's these two areas that will keep seeing some rain as we head through the overnight period. eventually it will start to clear away from south—east england and east anglia. plenty of showers, though, pushing into western areas.

in between, some clearer skies, but where we've got lighter winds, that will encourage some fog to form, particularly across north—east england. the winds generally lighter for most, but could still be fairly gusty for the western isles of scotland and some irish sea coasts, and particularly gusty in association with any showers. slightly colder night than recently. temperatures could get low enough for a touch of frost across parts of north—east scotland, maybe north—east england, where the skies do stay clear. so, for the week ahead it's looking much drier across the uk, but with lighter winds that could bring some issues with the lingering fog, and it will gradually start to turn colder, as well. monday, for many, starts mainly dry with some sunshine, but still with some showers around. it will start to fade across scotland, northern ireland and north west england, but will keep some going through parts of wales, south—west england and also some southern coastal counties and the channel islands. could see that fog lingering across parts of north—east scotland. for many, though, it's a dry day with some sunshine. feeling a little cooler compared to the weekend. so, 9—12 celsius the top temperature, and with light winds on tuesday that overnight mist

and fog once again could be slow to clear. there will be some bright or sunny spells, those best placed will be through parts of south—west england, wales, northern ireland and northern scotland, but some places could sit under the low cloud, mist and fog all day, and where we do, of course, that will have an impact on the temperatures. as we head through wednesday, thursday and friday, we start to see this dominant area of high pressure across eastern europe, starting to exert its influence across the uk. we pick up more of an east or south easterly wind, and so gradually we will start to see some colder air heading ourway. at this stage, not very cold, but it will be feeling colder than it has done recently. so, for the week ahead, for many it's looking mainly dry. not lots of sunshine, there will be a lot of cloud around, some lingering fog, but those temperature slowly starting to come down.

this is bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm nancy kacungira. our headlines. anti—government protests in china against strict covid restrictions are spreading, with some demonstrators calling for the country's leader, president xi, to go. rescue efforts are underway to find survivors after a mudslide rescue efforts are under way to find survivors after a mudslide triggered by heavy rains swept away homes on the italian island of ischia. with rail workers and nurses among the public sector workers voting to take strike action in the run—up to christmas, politicians are coming under pressure to promise pay deals which match the cost of living. and coming up in sport — another shock at the world cup as morocoo win 2—0 against belgium

in the latest upset in doha. as morocco win 2—0 against belgium in the latest upset in doha.