WHY I STAYED: Asylum, Integration, and Futures in Serbia Through the Eyes of 13 Refugees
We are excited to share the report Why I Stayed: Asylum, Integration, and Futures in Serbia Through the Eyes of 13 Refugees, the result of a year-long project undertaken by 2021-2022 Fulbright grantee Zachary Goodwin and sponsored by the NGOs Refugee Aid Serbia and KlikAktiv - Center for Development of Social Policies.
Why I Stayed presents a collection of first-person narratives constructed through a collaborative interviewing and editing process with 13 refugees who have received asylum or are applying for asylum in Serbia. Through these testimonies, refugees express, in their own words, why they left their home countries, why they’ve so far stayed in Serbia, and what challenges and opportunities mark their lives in the country. Bringing these testimonies together, the report offers a cohesive history of the Serbian asylum system, including its intersections with European border violence, Serbia’s EU accession campaign, and the legacy of Yugoslav dissolution and the Non-Aligned Movement.
While many of the project’s participants tied remaining in Serbia to the deterrent effects of EU border militarization, many also provided more intrinsic reasons for staying, including safety, education, social support, and cultural similarities. The report thus challenges discourses that present Serbia solely as a transit country.
All participants expressed that the most challenging aspect of life in Serbia is the state’s refusal to issue travel documents or citizenship to asylum grantees. This de facto policy contradicts laws and precedents already in place and maintains refugees’ second-class status in perpetuity. The report argues that a viable path to passports and naturalization for refugees would be the greatest policy change to help fight discrimination and promote refugees’ inclusion.
You can read the full text of the report at this link. Readers can also find a summary of the main findings of the project and the testimonies at this link.