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More than four years ago, Yuliya found herself in Slovakia without accommodation, money, a residence permit or any other prospects. She could not and did not want to stay in Slovakia in this situation, so she approached the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with a request for help with her return home. She successfully returned to Ukraine and decided to begin a new life in the capital. You can read about it in her older story. We visited her after a couple of years and we were curious how her story has continued since.

Faisal fled Afghanistan when he was 14 years old. His family faced threats and decided to send their son to a safe place, hoping for his better life in Europe. The travel through Iran and Turkey was not easy for him and he had to earn money for further journey. Therefore, he spent more than two years working on farms in Turkey.

Kata left Serbia when she was 21 years old. Back at home, she lived with her mother and studied law. She tried to earn some extra money through various part-time jobs, but it was not enough. Her mother could not support her either, as she was taking care of the entire household by herself.

Mrs Phuong left her native Ha Tinh Province, belonging to one of the poorest provinces in Vietnam due to harsh environment. Rugged topography in this part of country combined with cold winters and very hot summers force many, especially younger inhabitants, to search for a source of income abroad.

Mr. Ahmad Abassi started his high school at the time of his adolescence. While trying to get money for his studies, he began working in a shoe store as a part-time assistant. However, his income was not enough to cover his studies and the family could not afford to finance his education either.

Emre´s story from Georgia begins in 2015, when he received scholarship at the university in Bratislava. After his arrival to Slovakia he started to learn Slovak language and prepare for his study.

Samer Hasani found himself in a difficult personal situation in Iraq. He decided to go to Europe. He was saving money for this travel for a long time. He managed to leave Iraq, but without his residence permit he was apprehended and detained in Slovakia. Here, this young and strong-willed man was deciding what to do next. He considered several options, finally turned to the IOM and asked for help in returning home. IOM arranged for a substitute travel document as well as his flight tickets to return home.

“We feel good here, we have a place to sleep, food to eat and we are safe – what else can we wish for?“ This is how young Amin from Somalia describes his temporary stay in Slovakia. Amin is one of the refugees whom Slovakia provided a temporary shelter on its territory. Together with his mother and siblings, he was included in the resettlement programme of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) transferred them to Slovakia. They are accommodated in the Emergency Transit Centre (ETC) in Humenne.

Yuliya left her home in Ukraine when she was 20 years old. The motivation behind leaving Ukraine were family reasons, desire to become independent and to make more money. She spent 10 years abroad in various countries but most of the time she lived in Slovakia where she managed to work as an occasional helper.

Marika lived with her family in very poor conditions. With a little child and unfinished education she could not find a job that would help her to improve her bad social situation. When the neighbour Jozef came with the job offer in the United Kingdom, she started to think about leaving Slovakia. She hesitated for a while since the job condition was not to take the child with her. However, the vision of a better life and sufficient amount of money for the family convinced her to go.