Czech Republic
The number of people claiming asylum in the Czech Republic has significantly decreased in the last four years. In 2004, legislation was passed to amend the Czech Asylum Act and transpose the EU Directive on Minimum Standards for the Reception of Asylum Seekers and the EU Directive implementing the Dublin Regulation. As of March 2006, all asylum seekers who have been in the asylum procedure for more than one year and are not living in refugee reception centres are entitled to social benefits.
Zoja
Zoja and her daughter escaped the Chechen-Russian conflict in 1994 and were granted asylum in the Czech Republic in 2003.
Natalia
Natalia sought asylum in the Czech Republic with her husband and two children in 2001, escaping the oppressive regime in Belarus.
Nadezda
Nadezda fled political persecution in Ukraine in 1996. She applied for asylum twice in the Czech Republic before finally being granted protection seven years after her original claim.
