Refugee Stories Project - Czech Republic

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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.