A refugee in service of refugees

Yuliya, a 31-year-old mother of a 7-year-old boy from Ukraine, is currently staying at Asylum Center in Vranje. Yuliya is one of eight million Ukrainian refugees forced to leave their country and seek safety for themselves, their children and their parents due to the war.

Yuliya is a doctor. Before she left Ukraine, she worked as a doctor for five years.  She soon realized that nothing would ever be the same again. Nevertheless, she firmly says that she will always make sure to continue to practice her profession that she loves so much. To do that in Serbia, she worked on validating her diploma on her own so that she would be able to continue to practice her profession. Even in the face of enormous difficulties of being a refugee, she never gave up on her strong dedication to serve and heal people.

It has been now a little over six months that she has been working as a doctor at the small clinic in Vranje Asylum Center, where she is serving people who share the same destiny.

She says, “Being a refugee myself and serving other refugees from the same country is a special feeling since you understand their situation, culture, and language better than anyone else”.

Yuliya has established an excellent relationship with her colleagues in health institutions in Vranje and has improved her Serbian quite a lot, though she is still a bit shy to use it.  She no longer makes long terms plans but rather takes small but firm steps. As she was speaking to us, she was reading online about the steps needed to prepare for the State exam, which she hopes to take and pass soon.

Life has taught Yuliya that there will always be challenges, but she is not afraid to face them. And this helps her overcome them more easily.

Written by Ramiz Qerimi