Refugee Stories Project - Russia, Belarus, Ukraine

Zoja

editor — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 15:59:06 +0000

Summary

Zoja and her daughter escaped the Chechen-Russian conflict in 1994 and were granted asylum in the Czech Republic in 2003.

Body

Zoja left Chechnya in December 1994 only days before Russian troops occupied Grozny. After five years of temporary refuge in the neighbouring Russian republic and several months in the United Arab Emirates, she finally sought asylum in the Czech Republic. Zoja and her youngest daughter were granted refugee status after three and a half years of uncertainty.

She now speaks fluent Czech, works part-time in a museum and is actively involved in volunteering.She describes "the matters of adaptation" and barriers to integration she has encountered over the years.

Links 5

Natalia

editor — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 17:28:50 +0000

Summary

Natalia sought asylum in the Czech Republic with her husband and two children in 2001, escaping the oppressive regime in Belarus.

Body

Natalia and her family left Belarus because of the authoritarian regime, which persists to this day. Together with her husband and two children Natalia sought asylum in the Czech Republic where the family were granted refugee status and are now settled. Five years after their arrival, Natalia is studying while her husband works and children attend school.

Natalia believes that integration is about making the most of the opportunities and support offered by the host society. She has not felt the need to change her own culture, and considers herself integrated.

“.. integration for me is that I feel good here, that I’m not afraid of going outside, not afraid of talking to someone. It is simply the feeling of peace. I am not a useless cell in society, but I fit into it.”

Links 1

reception and integration

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Nadezda

editor — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 17:26:17 +0000

Summary

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.

Body

Nadezda fled the Ukraine in 1996 to seek asylum in the Czech Republic, following threats made to her husband who was the chairman of the local opposition party. She and her husband hoped to find sanctuary in the Czech Republic until the political situation improved and they could return. But the authorities in the Czech Republic considered Ukraine a safe country of origin and their asylum application was turned down.

"They said there were democratic changes and a democratic state. So we believed that and returned."

On their return to Ukraine, Nadezda was accused of attempting to illegally smuggle their second child - born in a Czech refugee camp - into the country and she was imprisoned. The family escaped once more to the Czech Republic in the back of a truck.

Links 1

safe country concept

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asylum procedures

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Ali

editor — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:53:45 +0000

Summary

Ali is a qualified engineer from Chechnya who fled to Poland with his family in 2003. He was granted tolerated status, but feels insecure and alienated from Polish society.

Body

Ali is an engineer from Chechnya, now living in Poland. He became caught up in the Chechen – Russian conflict and escaped with his family in 2003, after he had been detained and interrogated three times by the Russian security services. He has since heard from relatives that rumours are circulating in Chechnya accusing him of betraying his own people and he is fearful of revenge attacks.

Ali cannot return home but does not feel safe or settled in Poland. His application for refugee status was rejected and he was granted tolerated status, leaving him without support while he struggles to overcome discrimination on the labour market.

“I don’t feel safe here, so I would like to leave this country. I don’t care about myself, just about my son.”

Links 1

ECRE Chechen Guidelines

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subsidiary protection

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Memorial report: situation of Chechens in Russian Federation

Maia

editor — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 14:40:17 +0000

Summary

Maia lives in Spain with her son and has begun to rebuild her life after the tragic death of her husband, following the family's transfer from the Netherlands under the Dublin Regulation.

Body

Fleeing the Ukranian mafia, Maia and her family became entangled in Dublin II restrictions as they tried to reach a safe country in Europe where they could rebuild their lives. The family was deported to Spain after managing to settle in the Netherlands. Maia's husband was suffering from depression, but the lack of medical attention he received on arrival in Spain left him unable to cope with such dramatic change and he committed suicide.

Maia survived the desolation and forced herself to settle down to a new life in Spain so that her son at least could have a better future.

"I wanted a better life for my son. Yes, I wanted to live well, without worries, to work, to study like everybody wants."

Links 1

ECRE on Dublin

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Dublin Regulation

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Roza

Admin — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 11:45:14 +0000

Summary

Roza fled the Chechen-Russian conflict and was granted refugee status in Poland. In spite of the anxious period she spent appealing the rejection of her asylum claim, she was determined to integrate into Polish society and now works as a doctor at a local school.

Body

In September 1999, Roza was working on her PHd in her hometown of Grozny, in Chechnya, when Russian bombs began to fall once again on the capital. For Roza, this signalled the start of the second Chechen war, and she fled to Poland and asked for asylum.

"I realised it was the next phase of the war and decided to rescue my children..... I was thinking about the shelter we -me and my children - would receive, about safety. This was my only dream..."

Roza's application for asylum was initially refused and she had to leave the state-run reception centre where she had been learning Polish. Roza prefers not to talk about this anxious period in her life, but focuses instead on her family's adaptation to life in Poland.