The YOUMIG partner Maribor Development Agency in Slovenia has been talking to migrants as part of the ongoing research activities, conducting interviews with people in different situations. Some of them have come to Maribor from other countries, some have left the city to live abroad and some have returned home.

The interviews provided the researchers with an opportunity to speak with some very interesting people. They met a controller of cross-border programmes, who came to Maribor from Szombathely, Hungary; a young Polish entrepreneur, who started a business after staying in Maribor for just a month; a welder from Bosnia and Hercegovina, who worked in Germany and has now settled in Maribor, as well as a woman sent by her employer to Slovenia, where she found her life partner and decided to stay. In yet another story shared, a young man considering himself a jack-of-all-trades, explained why he decided to leave his hometown of Maribor and Slovenia in general, to only come back for occasional visits.

The interviews were conducted not only with individuals, but also organisations that are regularly in touch with people migrating in and out of the country, such as the regional branch of the Financial Office, National Health Insurance, Centre for Social Work, Office for Youth and Culture Maribor, University of Maribor, the private educational institution Academia, administrative staff, and experts from the employment services, among others.

All migrants shared the common experience of having to adjust in the new environment, where they were left more or less on their own, except for the support of family or co-workers. On the other hand, there are support offices at Maribor University or the private Academia, where staff try to reduce the stress of foreigners in the city as much as possible. After meeting all these different actors, we also encountered an employer that attracts highly-skilled people to Maribor, although we didn’t really consider them at the beginning of the project. This employer is the football club NK Maribor.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank NK Maribor for their help in setting up an interview with one of our most famous interviewees, Mr Jasmin Mešanović, striker for the team, who came from Bosnia and Hercegovina to Maribor only this year.

Photo: NK Maribor

His experience arriving to Slovenia was very different from what most other migrants told us. The club he came to play for actually has a very professional team that helps foreign players settle in to Maribor. They relieve the players of worries about formalities, such as paperwork, so they can concentrate fully on their athletic achievements.

Basically, the club handles the paperwork, so Jasmin and other foreign players can play for and live in Maribor. Naturally, Jasmin was involved in all parts of the process and had to sign documents in person, but he did not have to worry about forgetting to fill out a form, getting a translation for some paper, or similar bureaucratic requirements. The staff of the club knew exactly what he needs and how it has to be processed for a smooth experience with the city’s administrative unit. They also handled health insurance, work papers and helped with the apartment where Jasmin lives.

Jasmin is therefore very happy to tell us he had no worries about a place to stay, about travel documents both for staying in Slovenia or travelling to international matches. All of these are worries other migrants might encounter and find themselves in an unpleasant situation, because they were not able to find the right info at the right time, or have not fully understood the procedure that had to be undertaken.

We are very happy that Jasmin has had a pleasant experience and that he feels good in Maribor with his teammates, who have already showed him around the city. His club’s services have turned out to be really professional concerning the team, not only when they are out on the pitch, but also with the formalities that their talented foreigners would have to deal with.

Article by mag. Borut Jurišić, YOUMIG Maribor