For Nanik Lestari and her husband Yanto Serbia has been a place they have called home for more than three years, where they hoped to find decent job opportunities and offer the skill set and the work habits acquired in their homeland, Indonesia.

​​​​

“Leaving our two boys back in Sukadana was not easy, shared Nanik, but we were driven by the prospects to offer them a better, more secure future.”

They led a regular life in the Lampung region of Indonesia, the roles somewhat traditionally divided, where Yanto was farming and Nanik was taking care of children while helping her husband.

“Everyday life was OK, but when you have two children, you wish more than just OK for them, no matter the cost,” explains Nanik.

The couple embarked on what they believed to be a safe, regular journey with two dozen other Indonesian nationals, promised a well-paid job in Serbia through an agency recommended to them. 

“It was very difficult, Nanik recalls, we were told to get to Bali where we waited for nine months before we finally made it to Serbia. The agency kept postponing, despite a lot of money we paid in advance.”

Once in Serbia, the agency representative transported the group to the town of Gornji Milanovac where their supposed jobs were arranged. It turned out that there was no work at the time. Everyone from the group decided to leave Serbia, expect for this determined, strong, and resilient couple.

“After three months, we started working at a wood processing factory. The salary was three times less than promised in Indonesia, the working hours exhausting, with just a few days off”, explains Yanto.  

They spent a couple of months at this job before deciding to look for a less demanding and better paid alternative. By this time, the representative of the agency also left the country, so they searched for jobs themselves. The couple moved to Pancevo to work at a plastic warehouse. Again, without work permits.

At the end, the desire to reunite with their children and the rest of the family was bigger than the decision to stay and seek better opportunities. Nanik’s father’s health condition worsened, and they needed to be there for him. They also missed the Indonesian weather, the “slow living”, the spicy Indonesian food. All this was a reason more to pack their bags.

The idea of the family reunion and the prospect of rebuilding their life back home gives them a glimpse of hope and joy.

“We want to make a goat farm, grow crops, and do what we know best: farming.”

We were glad to contribute to a safe, dignified return home for this hard working, brave couple. 

Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) remains the preferred return modality for all the migrants unable or unwilling to stay in Serbia.

In 2025, we will continue to enable efficient, innovative and responsive channels for regular migration through the establishment, enhancement and expanding of regular migration pathways with the particular focus on labour mobility.