More and more BiH of citizens leaves the country. The economic factor is not the only one. Migrations of the working-age population are also common in the international market. However, political instability affects all segments of society, due to which, in addition to difficult integration into the EU, many people are running out of patience.
Going to another country is a challenge for every individual. Going into the unknown and leaving a secure job and taking a family with you is even bigger and braver. Dared to do that. Azra Imširović. She left her position as director of the Health Center in Srebrenik and went to Slovenia. Out of three job offers – she chose Maribor. Not for economic reasons.
“Thirty years after the war, we are dealing with issues that should have been behind us a long time ago. We moved to Slovenia, to the beautiful city of Maribor, where I received excellent conditions as a doctor, and the children were very quickly integrated into the Slovenian education system”, Azra tells us.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are more and more people who have left or are about to leave. The economic factor is decisive, but not the only one. The cost of living is getting higher every day, and the consumer basket is lighter.
“We are facing a situation here in which the authorities did not dare to initiate certain reforms in terms of passing the Law on Contributions, the Law on Income Tax, the Law on Minimum Wage, and every day of delay in passing these laws will result in an increasing departure of the workforce . Taking into account the fact that the trade union consumer basket is 2,900 BAM, that the average salary in the Federation is 1,300 BAM, that the lowest salary is 619 BAM, it is quite clear that the workers are surviving”, says Adis Kečo, head of the Professional Service of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of BiH.
“We have a bad and incompetent government that only deals with political issues, not economic ones. People will come back to the extent that we improve the environment, stabilize the political situation and be able to pay them appropriately,” says Aziz Šunje, a professor at the Faculty of Economics in Sarajevo.
There are more people who leave on their own arrangements than others who, through the Agency for Labor and Employment, solve the existential issue outside Bosnia and Herzegovina’s border. Although that trend is also declining.
“In Germany in 2023, we mediated for 400 people. We had a period of the year where that figure reached about 1,100 people. On average 700-800. However, since the pandemic, inflation and onward, those numbers have been declining. As for Slovenia, 13,090 work permits were issued in 2023. In some previous years, it was up to 19,000 per year,” says Boris Pupić, spokesman for the BiH Agency for Labor and Employment.
The employment rate in the Western Balkans is 60 percent. Compared to others, Bosnia and Herzegovina leads the way in terms of population departure.
“It is worrying that more than 71 percent of young people from the region are ready to leave. This means that with depopulation, fewer births and young people leaving for studies or work, we are emptying our countries and our societies. We educate people and then they leave”, emphasizes Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Council for Regional Cooperation.
The Berlin process is aimed at regional cooperation, which is also reflected in the recognition of diplomas in the area of the Western Balkans and easier border crossing. Which is not fully implemented.
“The agreement on freedom of movement with an identity card implies that you can travel with an identity card in all countries in the region, except for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo,” explains Bregu.
While the population is leaving, in addition to the present political instability and economic regression in Bosnia and Herzegovina, depopulation is also inevitable.
“Returning to Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a realistic option in our case because the reasons for which we left Bosnia and Herzegovina will certainly not change in the relatively near future”, concludes Azra Imširović, BHRT writes.
