Although a majority of refugees did not initially intend to stay in Croatia, many change their minds while waiting for asylum, the head of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), Tvrtko Barun, said in Zagreb on Wednesday.

Barun spoke at a news conference after JRS and the dean of the Croatian Catholic University, Zeljko Tanjic, signed a cooperation agreement to promote social, education, and science activities stemming from the two institutions’ missions.

He said that Croatia was not the target destination for most people who come to the country outside the EU and interior ministry programmes, but they decided to stay while waiting for a decision on their asylum application, which takes, on average, about five months.

“All those who are granted asylum want to stay if they can,” Barun said, adding that getting a job, housing and learning the language are the three main steps in the social integration of refugees.

Croatia does not have a refugee integration system, and coordination between government departments and different institutions is in early stages, Barun said. Major steps have been taken in recent months in organising Croatian language courses for refugees, he added.

Croatian employers are looking for workers among refugees, and the response is very good, Barun said, adding that the JRS was happy to act as a go-between for employers and refugees.

Some 350 asylum seekers are currently staying in Croatia, mostly in the refugee reception centres in Zagreb’s Dugave district and in the central Croatian town of Kutina. Since the asylum system was implemented in 2004, 560 people have been granted some form of international protection, and about 100 of them have left Croatia.

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