Balkan refugees

Around 200,000 Serbian citizens currently live in Germany without residence permits or having applied for asylum. In the beginning they fled because of the civil war in former Yugoslavia, but as poverty and high levels of unemployment rose in their home country more people started to leave for financial reasons. Those who don't find jobs seek asylum and hope to stay by living off social benefits from the German government. The great majority of them, up to 90 percent, belong to the Roma ethnic group who are subjected to systemic and institutional discrimination, not to mention poverty.

Almost none of them will be allowed to stay. Germany has declared Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia as "safe countries of origin," thus ruling out any chance for refugees from those countries to obtain asylum there. According to the federal law guiding asylum procedures, the legal presumption in the case of these Balkan countries is that neither political prosecution, nor inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment occurs.

"Around 7,000 Serbian citizen have been sent back from Germany since 2008 in accordance with the readmission agreement. We are expecting that 2,000 more will be returned by the end of the year," Ivan Miskovic, a spokesman for Serbia's Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, told DW.

Facing a huge influx of migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa, authorities in Berlin have fewer options to positively respond to asylum applications from western Balkan migrants. Germany is likely to reject around 75,000 requests, mainly from Serbia, Kosovo and Albania, as it speeds up procedures and extraditions.

"There is a rise in number of people that have been returned from Germany this year, but we haven't seen that increase in the last few months," Miskovic explained. "Serbia adopted the strategy of reintegration of the returnees based on the readmission agreement. Also the state has provided 165,000 euros in 2015, mostly for housing programs, that will be realized through local institutions."

Inevitable return

After being sent back to Serbia, returnees are most likely to move back in with their families. Those who don't have anyone to turn to are accommodated in collective centers in Šabac and Bela Palanka. They are provided with food and a small room and receive help in getting personal documents, citizenship, health care, and information about their rights, obligations and opportunities.

Fikreta Kucevic, 63, is the most recent returnee housed in the collective center "Varna" in Šabac. She went to Germany with her son in 1992, looking for a better life. "My marriage fell apart. I had no job and no chance to provide my son a home. I didn't have much hope left. The war was underway, so I decided to leave Sjenica and seek asylum in Cologne," Fikreta told DW.

She adapted very quickly, got employed and worked at two jobs raising her son. Fifteen years later, after a serious illness, she had to rely on social benefits. Fikreta got through the difficulties by spending time with her son and his family. She took care of her grandchildren and lived the best years of her life. In 2011 she had to return to Serbia so she could keep the right to visit her son, who by then had become a German citizen.

"It was hard to leave them behind, but that was the only way if I wanted to see them in the future. I left Germany voluntarily hoping that I will be allowed to visit my family occasionally," she said, wiping away her tears.

Renewed hope

Upon her return, Fikreta faced a similar situation to the one she had left behind all those years ago. She was alone again, without family, friends, or a home. Arriving at Belgrade airport she didn't know what to expect. The Red Cross took her to a collective center and provided her with modest accommodation, three meals a day and occasional medical examinations. She got a small room with a bed, a couch and a TV on a wooden table. It is her new sanctuary. "I was depressed and didn't want to leave my room since I heard that Germany banned me from entering. Also I missed my son a lot," Fikreta explained.

Things changed when she started to socialize with her new neighbors. More than 80 people - mostly families with kids, who fled war in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo - live in the "Varna" center. Although they left their homes more than 20 years ago, a lot of them still believe in a brighter future and that optimism keeps Fikreta going. She enjoys watching the younger ones playing with local kids in the playground while their parents grow vegetables in nearby gardens. Others leave the center to work in the surrounding fields. They try to overcome their difficulties together, helping each other when needed. This resilience made Fikreta more determined to start a new life again.

"Then my son started to visit me with his family, giving me a lot more hope and will to continue to fight. Now we see each other twice a year. They will come soon, for my grandson's birthday this October," she told DW with a smile on her face.

And there is more good news. The Commissariat for Refugees and Migration plans to close the center in 2016 and provide permanent housings for her and her neighbors. The city of Šabac has provided four land plots in a good location and a number of NGOs will help with the the implementation of the project. By the end of this year Fikreta should have a new home and enough space to welcome her family.