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Friday 7, June 2013
BUDAPEST, 7 June (UNHCR) – It is an ironic fate that few refugees or asylum-seekers ever considered possible.
Fleeing oppression in the land of their birth, asylum-seekers journey to Poland, Bulgaria, and Slovakia only to find that achieving refugee status and citizenship does not guarantee a basic dwelling or a chance to establish a livelihood, according to independent research sponsored by the UNHCR.
In a series of reports entitled Where is my home?, researchers have uncovered how shortcomings in the way the three countries treat asylum-seekers and refugees limit their ability to find residences, jobs, and establish normal lives.
“There should be a safety net for asylum-seekers and refugees,” said Roland François-Weil, UNHCR Representative in Bulgaria. “Refugees are often forced to flee with nothing more than the clothes on their back.”
According to the reports, a disturbingly large number of these people have fled persecution in their old home only to face homelessness, destitution, and desperation in their new one.
“All I wanted was to be free,” declared Mahdi, a 24-year-old Moroccan who is now living in a derelict building in the Bulgarian capital.
Mahdi’s journey from hopeful asylum-seeker to vagrant underscores critical shortcomings in the way Bulgaria processes asylum-seekers.
Like many others, Mahdi grew so desperate after spending weeks in detention, he lied to authorities and claimed he had a private residence and independent financial support just to win release.
Once free, Mahdi realized that signing the declaration made him ineligible to receive state assistance or lodging. When his savings ran out, he was on the street.
To assist people like Mahdi, the report suggests asylum-seekers in Bulgaria be allowed to secure a job before the end of the refugee-application process, and that the government cooperate with private charities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide assistance if necessary.
The report also recommends that Bulgaria offer a more comprehensive integration program to help recognized refugees learn the local language, and pick up marketable job skills.
But Bulgaria is not the only country with a refugee housing crisis. Forty percent of the refugee population of Poland are either homeless or languishing in temporary or inadequate housing.
“The integration process has not helped us, “ declared Ruslan Nukhayev, a Chechen refugee in Poland who has been unable to find permanent work since his arrival in 2007. “You can’t learn Polish well, and finding work and accommodation is just a vicious circle. To find [a] legal job, you need to have a permanent residence. And where can I find a permanent residence without work?”
Research reveals that getting refugees on their feet as quickly as possible is in the best interests of all involved. According to the study, asylum-seekers who live outside of organized reception centres have greater success at integrating once they are recognized refugees.
“Refugees without a ‘centre past’ integrate faster and better,” the report stated.
In Slovakia, the number of foreigners on the street was found to be small, a positive statistic that is not necessarily linked to efficient policies.
“[A low incidence of ‘rooflessness’] may rather reflect the fact in the Slovak Republic the total number of persons granted international protection is very low,” stated the report Where is my home? Slovakia.
According to data provided by the Slovak Migration Office, an average of 15 people per year were granted asylum over the past decade. In 2011, out of a total of 491 asylum applications, only 12 people were granted asylum and only seven given Slovak citizenship. These figures increased the next year, according to information provided by the Slovak Ministry of Interior. In 2012, 32 foreigners were granted asylum out of 732 applications. Subsidiary protection was granted to 104 people, but no refugees achieved Slovak citizenship last year.
But after finding a home in Slovakia, these successful applicants may not find a permanent dwelling in which to live. According to the report, there is a scarcity of affordable housing across the country.
Only three percent of rental flats are state-owned and subject to rent controls, and waiting lists for these apartments are long. To secure a roof over their heads, asylum-seekers and refugees must seek private housing among landlords who are proving reluctant to rent to foreigners.
Foreigners in Poland face a similar dilemma. “We wanted to rent a flat, but how?” asked Asyat Nukhayev. “No one will rent a flat to a foreigner without a security deposit. And where are we supposed to take it from?”
Clearly, the cause and nature of homelessness among-asylum seekers and refugees differ slightly in the countries investigated, but the common denominator is desperation, and it is on the rise.
NOTE: The Where is my home? reports for Poland, Bulgaria, and the Slovak Republic were conducted by independent researchers commissioned and sponsored by the UNHCR. Similar research is currently underway in Romania, Slovenia, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and will be released in the coming months.
Where is my home? reports:
Where is my home? – Homelessness among asylum-seekers and refugees in Bulgaria – 2013
Where is my home? – Homelessness among asylum-seekers and refugees in Poland – 2013
Where is my home? – Homelessness among asylum-seekers and refugees in Slovakia – 2013
Photo essay on homeless refugees and asylum-seekers in Bulgaria:
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