Sad return for Serbia's failed asylum seekers

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By Mark Lowen Presevo, southern Serbia For some in Presevo, a bus ticket is a passport to a better life elsewhere

A white coach with Belgian number plates snakes its way into the cramped bus station in the southern Serbian town of Presevo.

Onboard is the first group of more than 900 mainly ethnic Albanians from Serbia and Macedonia who have tried - and failed - to claim asylum in Belgium since the start of the year.

Both Balkan countries were granted visa-free travel to most of the European Union last December, but the decision wasn't intended to lead to this.

The passengers are hounded by the local press and I manage to get a question to one man - Agron Zejnullahu.

"How does it feel to come back?"

"I didn't go in order to return," he replies.

And with that, he and the others leave, shying away from the media spotlight.

But as he heads off, we quietly arrange to go and see Agron later at home for an exclusive interview.

In his old stone house, built by his father, Agron tells me he used to work as a veterinary technician in Presevo, earning 160 euros ($219; £145) a month - half the average salary in Serbia.

Agron Zejnullahu says he and his family have no future in Serbia

But he lost his job four years ago.

Borrowing 600 euros from his brother, he and his family left for Belgium in search of a better life.

"We'd heard that Belgium had a liberal approach towards asylum seekers," Agron says, adding that there are several people from his village who have been there for years, often without papers.

"I thought we'd get social housing and opportunities to work because conditions in Western Europe are better.

"Here the majority of people have no prospects. Until the government in Belgrade makes an effort to improve life here, people will try to move."

'No future'

Agron claimed asylum in Brussels shortly after arriving, but was told he would have to wait for further interviews for an official response.

After running out of money and realising his application wouldn't be accepted, he left on the first bus back to Presevo.

As we speak, there is a power cut in his house.

He lights fresh candles and recalls his departure.

"It was very hard to leave everything behind here," he says.

"I thought that the centre of Europe - Brussels - would find us a solution.

"So I'm sad. I wanted to stay for at least five years and I failed."

Will he try again?

"I would leave tomorrow to Canada, the United States, anywhere with a better life than here because at the moment I don't have a future," he says.

Many travel agents here are believed to be operating illegally to Belgium, catering to the demands of customers like Agron even though they do not have the necessary licence.

Agron says he travelled to Belgium directly through a local travel agent, Mimoza.

So I paid a visit to the Mimoza office.

But the director, Kadria Nedzati, insists he operates lines only to Germany and Switzerland.

I tell him I've spoken to customers who say they took his bus to Brussels.

"They must make their own way there from Germany," he says. "We are totally legal."

The Presevo valley, as this region is called, is one of the poorest parts of Serbia, suffering from chronic underinvestment over the years and unemployment well above 50%.

But this Albanian-dominated area is also affected by the hostility between ethnic Serbs and Albanians in neighbouring Kosovo.

The Albanian majority there declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade calls the move illegal.

And so Albanians in Presevo find it hard to do business with their Kosovan counterparts and the ethnic tension in Kosovo has spilled over the border.

But despite the difficult political situation, the hundreds who fled to Belgium were deemed to be economic migrants, rather than legitimate political asylum-seekers.

Serbia and Macedonia - both EU applicants - are no longer seen as countries which engage in political persecution.

'European problem'

Denise de Hauwere, Belgium's ambassador to Serbia, says the sudden exodus is worrying.

"This is clearly not what was meant by visa liberalisation," she says.

"It's very bad for the European Union accession because how can you become a member of the EU if you have lots of people fleeing the country?

"This is a problem for all of Europe because from Belgium, these people can travel anywhere they like."

Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic agrees action is needed

But the Serbian government is trying not to overplay the issue, emphasising its commitment to invest in the south and punish those who encourage citizens to leave.

"There are no hordes of people about to invade Western Europe from here," says Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic.

"Several hundred thousand have travelled visa-free and we've had something like 1,000 problems.

"These isolated incidents are a call for action, but not a call for panic."

As Agron's wife continues to unpack the family suitcases, the neighbouring mosque issues its early evening call to prayer.

Presevo feels a world away from the sophistication of Belgrade.

But this episode has shone an uncomfortable light on the poverty here - and on the lengths to which some of its citizens will go to try to escape.