EU: Serbia ranks fifth in number of asylum seekers

The UN does not recognize Kosovo as an independent state so therefore, probably most if not all asylum seeking Serbs come from within Kosovo borders, and not Serbia proper.
How do I know this? Well I have first hand experience, my college roomate from University of Pittsburgh Pa, was from Serbia (Kosovo village of Pec) and this was in 2009. He stated they were considered refugee status of Serbia, not Kosovo. Though I did not look at the paperwork, so this may have changed since. But I know at least up to 2009 if someone seeked asylum whom came from Kosovo it was considered Serbia still to that point.

@ Luke Leffler

You only need to read B92 comments for one day and you will see that there is no chance someone from Kosovo would say he or she is from Serbia and Vice Versa, plus the report was done for Kosovo separately why would Europe hide numbers?

(Luke Leffler, 12 July 2012 13:37)

Luke if you seek asylum from Kosovo in EU or USA its considered Kosovo. You college roommate most likely was there with a scholarship given by Kosovo government. You can not get Asylum from Kosovo in USA especially Political or Economical. Same for EU that boat has skipped town long ago.

So UN has nothing to do with this its more with country records who gives this info to UN office.

This is really pathetic for a growing, European, country, hopefully your new government can address the issues that cause these peoples to seek asylum

Russia is second best. Good news for Russian lovers.

"You college roommate most likely was there with a scholarship given by Kosovo government."

Bilbao

Oh please, scholarship given by the "Kosovo government". I can tell you never went to school. You make it sound like the "Kosovo government" is controling thousands of oil wells to throw money around. A scholarship is most likely given by the school the student applies to. A loan is given by the government if a scholaship is to low or if there is none. Few countries in Europe grant full loans for studies abroud. Its to expensive, except for Kosovo who seems to have enough money to save Europe from its financial crisis.

New Zealander- you are right that certain issues need to be addressed by the incoming government with regard to those who leave to seek asylum but I would make two points, and do so as someone who worked on this issue in the Balkans for many years. Firstly, the majority of those who claim asylum from Serbia (and prior to their EU accession from Romania and Bulgaria too) are Roma. They tend to be itinerant and are denied many rights throughout Eastern Europe. Secondly, irrespective of the 'push' factors that lead a person to leave their own country to claim asylum, there are also the 'pull' factors of those countries to which they are drawn, not least economic issues. In summary, there is little that this new, or in fact any, government can do except to improve living standards for everyone and hope that they stay.

"You can not get Asylum from Kosovo in USA especially Political or Economical. Same for EU that boat has skipped town long ago. "
(Bilbao, 12 July 2012 15:03)

Well, there's even less chance to get asylum granted being from Serbia, and still people try it (often with the help of human traffickers). The original poster was not speaking about asylum, but about refugee status. There are still 10,000s of refugees from Kosovo living in the EU without being sent back home. Not only people from the Roma minority which are harassed in the democratic Kosovo, but people of Albanians ethnicity, too.

"You only need to read B92 comments for one day and you will see that there is no chance someone from Kosovo would say he or she is from Serbia and Vice Versa, plus the report was done for Kosovo separately why would Europe hide numbers?"
(Mendo, 12 July 2012 16:19)

Yes, there are no hidden numbers. If you read it, it's even more scary when some 10,000 people from the fly spot on the map called Kosovo with less than 2 millions of citizens apply for asylum - though it's a 'democratic and multi-ethnic state' created by the internationals. Serbia being #5 with some 13,000 asylum seekers is a much bigger country.

These numbers should show clearly that these 'asylum seekers' are mainly people who want to escape the economic misery, like 50% unemployment in Kosovo, and 20% in Serbia.

ladies and gentlemen please turn on brains before turning fingers. there are hundreds of thousands of internationally displaced serbian refugees from kosovo and croatia. they ran to serbia, but as we all know serbia can barly take care of what they already have (had as the case is), and the refugees are now leaving from serbia, as serbian who were ethnically cleansed from their homes. considering serbians were most heavily ethnicly cleansed in the balkans, and please review actual numbers from credible investigations and not at the moment figures provided by journalists before you wish to counter this fact with fantasy, it makes the most amount of sense. what i don't understand is bosniaks, croats and kosovars who seek asylum or leave their created paradises. they got what they wanted and now wish to go where the grass is greener.

First of all, 50% unemployment in Kosovo is not true. It's far less than that.
Secondly it's more than 20% unemployment in Serbia considering the fact that average income per month in Serbia is 350 Euros.

Kosovo just got their independence in 2008

How long has Serbia been independent?
Lets not forget Serbia is the reason why Kosovo had hard time to succeed.
Now that's all gone.

The UN does not recognize Kosovo as an independent state so therefore, probably most if not all asylum seeking Serbs come from within Kosovo borders, and not Serbia proper.
How do I know this? Well I have first hand experience, my college roomate from University of Pittsburgh Pa, was from Serbia (Kosovo village of Pec) and this was in 2009. He stated they were considered refugee status of Serbia, not Kosovo. Though I did not look at the paperwork, so this may have changed since. But I know at least up to 2009 if someone seeked asylum whom came from Kosovo it was considered Serbia still to that point.

ladies and gentlemen please turn on brains before turning fingers. there are hundreds of thousands of internationally displaced serbian refugees from kosovo and croatia. they ran to serbia, but as we all know serbia can barly take care of what they already have (had as the case is), and the refugees are now leaving from serbia, as serbian who were ethnically cleansed from their homes. considering serbians were most heavily ethnicly cleansed in the balkans, and please review actual numbers from credible investigations and not at the moment figures provided by journalists before you wish to counter this fact with fantasy, it makes the most amount of sense. what i don't understand is bosniaks, croats and kosovars who seek asylum or leave their created paradises. they got what they wanted and now wish to go where the grass is greener.

"You college roommate most likely was there with a scholarship given by Kosovo government."

Bilbao

Oh please, scholarship given by the "Kosovo government". I can tell you never went to school. You make it sound like the "Kosovo government" is controling thousands of oil wells to throw money around. A scholarship is most likely given by the school the student applies to. A loan is given by the government if a scholaship is to low or if there is none. Few countries in Europe grant full loans for studies abroud. Its to expensive, except for Kosovo who seems to have enough money to save Europe from its financial crisis.

(Luke Leffler, 12 July 2012 13:37)

Luke if you seek asylum from Kosovo in EU or USA its considered Kosovo. You college roommate most likely was there with a scholarship given by Kosovo government. You can not get Asylum from Kosovo in USA especially Political or Economical. Same for EU that boat has skipped town long ago.

So UN has nothing to do with this its more with country records who gives this info to UN office.

This is really pathetic for a growing, European, country, hopefully your new government can address the issues that cause these peoples to seek asylum

First of all, 50% unemployment in Kosovo is not true. It's far less than that.
Secondly it's more than 20% unemployment in Serbia considering the fact that average income per month in Serbia is 350 Euros.

Kosovo just got their independence in 2008

How long has Serbia been independent?
Lets not forget Serbia is the reason why Kosovo had hard time to succeed.
Now that's all gone.

@ Luke Leffler

You only need to read B92 comments for one day and you will see that there is no chance someone from Kosovo would say he or she is from Serbia and Vice Versa, plus the report was done for Kosovo separately why would Europe hide numbers?

Russia is second best. Good news for Russian lovers.

"You can not get Asylum from Kosovo in USA especially Political or Economical. Same for EU that boat has skipped town long ago. "
(Bilbao, 12 July 2012 15:03)

Well, there's even less chance to get asylum granted being from Serbia, and still people try it (often with the help of human traffickers). The original poster was not speaking about asylum, but about refugee status. There are still 10,000s of refugees from Kosovo living in the EU without being sent back home. Not only people from the Roma minority which are harassed in the democratic Kosovo, but people of Albanians ethnicity, too.

"You only need to read B92 comments for one day and you will see that there is no chance someone from Kosovo would say he or she is from Serbia and Vice Versa, plus the report was done for Kosovo separately why would Europe hide numbers?"
(Mendo, 12 July 2012 16:19)

Yes, there are no hidden numbers. If you read it, it's even more scary when some 10,000 people from the fly spot on the map called Kosovo with less than 2 millions of citizens apply for asylum - though it's a 'democratic and multi-ethnic state' created by the internationals. Serbia being #5 with some 13,000 asylum seekers is a much bigger country.

These numbers should show clearly that these 'asylum seekers' are mainly people who want to escape the economic misery, like 50% unemployment in Kosovo, and 20% in Serbia.

New Zealander- you are right that certain issues need to be addressed by the incoming government with regard to those who leave to seek asylum but I would make two points, and do so as someone who worked on this issue in the Balkans for many years. Firstly, the majority of those who claim asylum from Serbia (and prior to their EU accession from Romania and Bulgaria too) are Roma. They tend to be itinerant and are denied many rights throughout Eastern Europe. Secondly, irrespective of the 'push' factors that lead a person to leave their own country to claim asylum, there are also the 'pull' factors of those countries to which they are drawn, not least economic issues. In summary, there is little that this new, or in fact any, government can do except to improve living standards for everyone and hope that they stay.