Follow Your Dreams: The Migrant Story of a Young Macedonian
My name is Erlin; I am a 29-year-old woman from Macedonia who left my country of origin to achieve my professional goals. After acquiring my MA abroad, I came back to my country with the aim of starting my professional career and contributing to my society. My vigor and willingness to contribute were stifled soon after my arrival as I faced the difficulty of entering the job market. Six months of continuous job-hunting later, I was recruited. It wasn’t the career I had wished for, but I was told I should be happy that I have a job. I spent two years in my country. I learned and grew a lot professionally, but throughout it all, I felt that I shouldn’t settle down for less than I had aspired for. My experience in Macedonia is that young people’s capacities and motivation are, more often than not, undermined. Age, gender and most importantly your contacts still matter for where you are and how much you progress in your career stream. Soon after, I started applying for jobs abroad and landed my first position as expat for an international organization.
Living and working abroad brings panoply of challenges. I was far from my family and friends and what I had deemed as a comfort zone…but that is exactly where I found my professional as well as personal maturity. I was absent during the birthdays, weddings and celebrations of people close to me, but I was fulfilling my career goals and that kept me going. At present, I am based in Lebanon: a country that is hosting the largest number of refugees per capita in the world. The economic crisis and the presence of over a million Syrians in the country have resulted in mobilizing young people’s capacities and potential in the country’s response – at least in the humanitarian sector of which I am part of, and this has been a remarkable learning experience for me.
It’s crucial to distinguish my migratory experience from that of a person who left his/her country due to war or fear from persecution. But talking to numerous young refugees and migrants throughout my experience, I have come to acknowledge that our long-term goals and dreams have many common points. We all strive for self-actualization – in a safe and prosperous environment. My message to young people is: never stop working to achieve your goals, whatever they are. The universe has its way to reward those who don’t lose focus on their dreams. In my case, I was rewarded with the career I always wanted and working alongside people who have so much to teach about resilience.
This project was implemented by Legis with the support of the Capacity development for Selected actors working with asylum seekers in Serbia and Macedonia. The Capacity development for Selected actors working with asylum seekers in Serbia and Macedonia was established by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is managed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammmenarbeit (GIZ) GMBH.
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