Returnees to Kosovo from former Islamic State territory in Syria and Iraq face slim prospects of finding work and only limited support from the state.
Within days of returning to her native Kosovo, N was racked by fear of the challenges that awaited her and her son – fear of financial uncertainty and of how her community would greet her.
N, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, was among 121 citizens of Kosovo repatriated from areas of Syria and Iraq once part of a self-declared caliphate of the Islamic State.
“When we returned to Kosovo, they asked me if I would go to university or pursue any training. I told them, ‘I want to attend a tailoring course’,” N recalled. She completed the course three years ago, but has still to find a job. N lives with her son in a rented apartment paid for by the state.
“I applied in several places as a tailor, but they told me that I need experience, and I don’t have the experience.”
Joblessness is widespread in Kosovo, but it is a particular burden on efforts to reintegrate returnees like N. Prejudice is another factor.
Critics say Kosovo has yet to create a sustainable framework for the long-term rehabilitation and reintegration of returnees from conflict zones.
“In general, there is a lack of an institutionalised approach to the treatment of this category by the institutions in Kosovo,” said Shpat Balaj, a researcher at the Kosovo Centre for Security Studies, KCSS. “Even those actions that are undertaken are more ad-hoc and are related to projects of organisations or small grants from the central level.”
How long will state support last?
With an unemployment rate of 25.8 per cent, rising to 50 per cent among young people, Kosovo is the poorest country in the region.
Lack of work and the prospect of financial stability is a major obstacle to the reintegration of returnees. The government’s own Strategy for the Prevent of Violent Extremism and Radicalisation recognises the need for improvement.
“Despite the efforts of state institutions to address all these challenges, mainly economic and social, there is still space for the development of factors that lead to violent extremism,” it states.
Currently, those repatriated from the Middle East have their accommodation costs covered and help with other basic needs. Assistance is also available for children to ensure they are included in the educational system, while women are offered small grants to encourage training and unemployment. But for how long?
N said that her rent and social security benefits are safe for another six months, but she fears for the future.
“What will happen to us when the state no longer pays for the apartment and when we are no longer part of the welfare schemes?”
On returning to Kosovo, such families automatically qualify for welfare support of between 50 and 150 euros, but even this modest help can be cut off once a family beings reintegrating into the community.
For N, however, the biggest problem is “permanent accommodation.”
Lack of long-term institutional programmes
In total, 121 people have been repatriated in an organised way from Syria and Iraq since 2019, 33 of them women, 10 men and 78 children. Another 123 men, six women and six children have returned of their own accord.
According to answers from the labour ministry, none of these people has since found work in the public sector; Very few work in the private sector, though some are self-employed.
Besides a number of ad-hoc initiatives by non-governmental organisations, BIRN has identified a hole in terms of long-term institutional programmes that would secure work for returnees.
Returnees may be registered as jobseekers in the database of the Employment Agency, but agency staff members have no way of identifying them for special support and training.
Balaj said that, according to KCSS findings, communication between municipal employment offices and the ministry of labour on the issue of returnees “is completely missing.”
The Employment Agency told BIRN it had no data on the number of returnees employed in the public and private sectors. It did not respond to questions concerning the training and job support available for returnees from Syria and Iraq.
Prejudice a barrier to employment
Besides the lack of jobs, returnees also face prejudice when seeking employment.
Balaj cited one case in which an employer wanted to fire a returnee “after realising his past.”
“It took the intervention of the police to guarantee that everything was in order.”
The interior ministry told BIRN that returnees frequently face difficulties finding work in the public sector because they are unable to provide court or police confirmation that they have no criminal conviction or because they choose to dress in a way that violates rules for public sector employees.
“Until now, we are in talks with two companies from the private sector for the employment of 12 women who have completed professional training and are ready to contribute to the labour market required by the companies,” the ministry said.
The focus, however, is on encouraging self-employment, particularly for families living in rural areas. So far, the interior ministry has issued 58 small grants mainly for the opening of small businesses.
Lack of staff, training
Kosovo’s Strategy for the Prevention of Violent Extremism and Radicalisation outlines three means of facilitating reintegration – providing “psychological and religious counselling for prisoners concerning illegal activities related to extremism”; “social support for their families”; and “developing programmes on employment or other methods of reintegration of de-radicalised individuals into society.”
But authorities have long been faulted for dragging their feet on implementation.
The two bodies charged with the central role in implementing the strategy are the Kosovo Correctional Service, SKS, and the Kosovo Probation Service, ShSK, both of which operate under the justice ministry.
According to a December 2021 report by KCSS, the ShSK, in particular, lacks trained staff and a specific budget for reintegrating returnees.
“The Probation Service faces a lack of staff to carry out work according to the legal mandate,” KCSS said in the report. “This limits the possibilities for individuals convicted of terrorism to be treated professionally by the [Probation Service], due to the lack of specialised staff for these cases.”
The report found that an increased ShSK workload in recent years had not been matched by increased staff numbers, despite government promises.
The ShSK did not respond to a request for comment for the story.
For its part, the SKS has created a special unit with staff trained to deal with returnees who are in prison. Forty-six staff members went through the special training last year and 41 this year.
Programs offered include general rehabilitation, “anger management”, development of cognitive skills, vocational secondary school and professional training in various fields such as carpentry, plumbing and graphic design, the SKS told BIRN.
Weak role of municipalities
To Balaj, Kosovo’s problem lies in the tendency of institutions to approach the issue of returnees as one of security more than rehabilitation and reintegration.
Even the strategy document, he said, “foresees little reintegration and is more focused on preventing extremism and fighting extremism.”
Balaj said that the issue required the involvement of a range of municipal bodies and community initiatives, yet only Ferizaj/Urosevac municipality has a psychologist.
Even staff members at the Centre for Social Work, the local welfare offices, lack special training and in many cases are unaware when an individual seeking support is in fact a returnee.
Balaj said that Municipal Councils for Community Security, KKSB, should be the “first hand” offered by the community.
“The solution is in the community,” he told BIRN.