In the second largest Austrian city live tens of thousands of people from the former Yugoslavia.
Graz represented a first contact point with abroad for many people in the former Yugoslavia. Today, Graz is still a city in which can be felt the charm of Europe. A large number of respectable diversities, art and prosperity are perfectly functioning here and conquering everyone who comes to this city in the Central Europe. There is also a large number of citizens from the area of former Yugoslavia. Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks, and others live without any problems.
How large is the number of people who are coming from the territory of the former Yugoslavia can be seen in the following data. Out of 73,726 registered foreigners, a total of 20,837 people are coming from the territory of former Yugoslavia.
Representatives of the migration councils were elected at local elections at the beginning of this year, including students from BiH, Adis Draganovic from Cazin and Adea Hadziabdic from Gornji Vakuf, who now represent the rights of foreigners in the municipal council. They noted that the city administration is giving great support to immigrants, especially those who are coming from the territory of former Yugoslavia.
“On this occasion, I would like to emphasize the good cooperation between Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs which results most probably from the fact that, when they come to an unknown place, they realize how important it is that somebody understands them. Another important fact is cooperation in a business sense. Here, the statement of Rambo Amadeus on the topic of salaries and nationalism goes from theory into practice. Because, when you have a job and a solid monthly salary, when the state provides you with healthcare and education, when you and your family can successfully plan the future, then nationalism and complicated topics like that lose their importance,” noted Draganovic.
“I believe that we are a good example of integration because we are composed of three different people living together in another country and trying to support each other,” stated Adea.
“Very few people from the Balkans are recorded as unemployed. They are appreciated in the market as hardworking employees who are committed to their work and they are known as well-integrated citizens as well. People who came to Graz in the past 10 years as students deserve particular appreciation. They showed that education is very important in the Balkans. After graduation, many of them stayed in Graz and occupied positions in the labor market,” said Ramiza Hasic, the consultant for the labor market at the Employment Service in Graz.
“Everything works very well here, unlike the interpersonal relations in the countries of the former Yugoslavia. We have more opportunities here and a higher standard of living, and there are fewer debates on the topic of nationalism and politics,” noted Nikola Petrovic, who came to Graz from Pale.
(Source: fokus.ba)
