True story: ‘”Anything is possible because with a positive attitude and determination we can achieve our goals. Support from society is the key to the successful integration of immigrants” (Miryam from Peru, 45 years old)
The BODE project (#BrezOvirDoEnakosti) is committed to empowering people with a migrant background in the field of advocacy, as they often do not get the right opportunity to present their side of the story. This time, however, it is different – by sharing real stories, we are fighting against the prejudice that migrants are not educated or skilled enough to participate equally and qualitatively in the progress of Slovenian society.
In this context, we will share with you 10 true stories of people with migrant backgrounds in Slovenia.
This is a story from Miryam…
Miryam, who is from Peru, is married to a Slovenian and has been in Slovenia for 4 years. She has studied in Spain and Peru in three Master’s programs at the University of Barcelona, the University of Catalonia, and the University of San Marco – Lima. She has more than 15 years of professional experience and is trained in social psychology, social policy, development management, human resources, coaching, and family rights enforcement.
“One of the biggest challenges I have experienced in Slovenia is, of course, the language. I am a communicative person and it really bothered me that I couldn’t enjoy a good conversation. The amount of free Slovenian lessons available to foreigners is really too low. The language learning programs could very well be improved in terms of the quality of the content, and the continuity of the content of the programs”.
It helped Miryam a lot when she joined SILA IWCL (International Women’s Club of Ljubljana) in 2019, where she learned about other women’s experiences. She believes that support from society is key to the successful integration of immigrants.
‘Work and language are closely linked, so it was very important that I spoke Slovenian and was able to communicate properly, but it took a couple of years and I’m still learning the language. Anything is possible because with a positive attitude and determination you can achieve your goals. Personally, it has also helped me a lot that I found the Latin American Society. Through this association and SILA IWCL, I have had the opportunity to work with other immigrants in Slovenia who are going through the same process of adaptation, which has been a great psycho-social help for me,” said Mirjam.
Miryam concludes his story with the following thoughts: ‘One of my greatest achievements is my Slovenian and Peruvian family with a Latin heart, who fill my life with gratitude for the beautiful country of Slovenia.’
We fight stereotypes, discrimination, and prejudice. It is important to stand together for social justice, equal treatment, and opportunities for all members of our society. Let us be tolerant, friendly, and open to new faces, new acquaintances, and opportunities for people to surprise us positively as great employees, talented individuals, or just loyal friends. Although different, we are all equal.
For more on the stories and the project, see :
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Ministrstvo za notranje zadeve
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 “𝑩𝑶𝑫𝑬/𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒛 𝑶𝒗𝒊𝒓 𝑫𝒐 𝑬𝒏𝒂𝒌𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊” 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑪𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝑭𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 – 𝒕𝒐 𝑵𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐.
