SLOVENIA SENDING BOSNIANS BACK

Return of Refugees

AIM Sarajevo, 19 July, 1997

Based on a government decision of the Republic of Slovenia adopted in April 1997, citizens of B&H who are by origin from the territories where they are the majority population will be deprived of their refugee status on 31 July. After this date, according to calculations of the Slovenian government, about two thousand of our citizens will return to B&H. The exceptions will be the old and weakly persons, children who are at school, mixed couples, and those who in the meantime decide to go to a third country. As we learnt in the B&H embassy in Slovenia, there is a considerable number of them.

"The office for refugees of the Republic of Slovenia will not withdraw this decision for sure. The return will be continuous, starting in the beginning of August already and it will last at least two or three months. In the beginning, refugees will be returned who belong to the majority population in the regions where they are returning, while the return of minorities will begin in the end of the year according to the agreement between the two governments. It is assumed that Slovenia will financially assist returnees in the form of pecuniary aid to municipalities to which the refugees will be returning", says Ferhat Seta, charge d'affaires of the B&H Embassy in Slovenia.

The pecuniary aid of Slovenia, as we were able to learn in the embassy of this country in Sarajevo, will amount to at least 3.5 million dollars a year and it will last three years.

The bilateral agreement on return of B&H refugees between B&H and Slovenia is in the phase of detailed elaboration. Slovenia has offered aid, but a special commission of the government of Slovenia will decide about the manner in which it will be paid will be decided. The return is planned to be both organized and individual. Those who decide to return individually, will receive pecuniary aid of 150 US dollars per person. This is paid by UNHCR, as Jasminka Trklja, first secretary in the Embassy of Slovenia in Sarajevo, informs.

According to the data of the Office for Refugees of Slovenia, the Bosnians are highly interested to return. According to the words of Ms. Trklja, up to twenty requests for voluntary return arrive every day at the address of the Office, not only from the persons of B&H Federation, but also from the Serb entity. However, taught by experience of a large number of previous returns, we asked Ms. Trklja about the possibility of postponing the returns in case somebody expresses a wish to prolong their stay in Slovenia.

"Based on the decision of the Government of Slovenia reached in July this year, both categories of mentioned persons are entitled to file demands for temporary residence. The relevant administration agencies will decide about these requests", says Trklja.

Persons who come from regions where they belong to a minority will have to file their requests by 31 July, and refugees who have this status for special humanitarian reasons may prolong this deadline by the end of the year. The condition for acquiring this status is a valid passport, and for persons who do not have it, a certificate about citizenship, but under condition that they obtain a passport within six months form the day they file a request. Newly born children will have the status based on the evidence of existence of the status for one of the parents.

In the Republic of Slovenia, there are at the moment at least 7,202 persons (the number of registered persons) with the refugee status. Out of that number, 3200 are living in collective centres and the others are with their relatives. The number of unregistered refugees is not known by anyone. According to the opinion of Seta, charge d'affaires in Slovenia, it is assumed that the number of them is quite high.

"All this time, there have been people here who had a status with working and residential visas. There were also those who have in the meantime obtained Slovenian citizenship, but also those who had come to their relatives or friends and simply have not registered. Now when they need passports, they are trying to acquire the status of foreign citizens with residence in Slovenia", as Seta says.

According to his words, interest for return is divided. What they are interested in the most is the way of life in their homeland - whether they will have where to return, what are the chances for employment, possibilities of education and similar.

"A number of refugees wish to return, but under condition that they have something waiting for them over here. I think that they are in fact waiting for the situation to get back to normal, and then return when it is all over. The latest Law on Customs Policy also greatly influences their decision on return. They have all come by certain material property over here and would not at all like to leave it behind in Slovenia. And hardly anyone can afford to pay customs dues for it", says Seta.

Paying of customs dues or some other reasons nevertheless affect the decision of the Bosnians about departure over the ocean. According to what Seta says, various non-governmental organizations are responsible for their decision to go "further on", because they do their job very "professionally".

"Unfortunately, the number of those who decide to go to the third countries is big. However, this fact is skillfully concealed from us at the Embassy. In fact, it is impossible to find addresses of the agencies in the telephone directory. The problem is that best qualified experts are going abroad, those who this country needs the most", said Seta in the end.

The number of about 2000 refugees as many as the Government of Slovenia has planned to return to B&H, will most likely not be final. When those who will decide to have their refugee status changed, or to go across the ocean is subtracted, those who have nowhere else to go will return to Bosnia. If their number reaches half of this figure, it will have to be considered a success.

Zana Andrijevic

(AIM Sarajevo)