Paragon solicitor Aldijana Becirevic is featuring in a Red Cross campaign for Refugee Week

Imagine for a moment what it’s like having no home and no country. You’re not welcome in the place you were born, grew up and forged a life. It’s gone and with it so too has your identity. The only people who know who you really are, they’ve gone too. You’re on your own.

“Look Beyond the Label” is a Red Cross campaign to recognise the role that refugees play in our society. And one of the stars of Look Beyond the Label is Paragon Law’s Aldijana Becirevic. A refugee from the war in Bosnia, Aldijana came to the UK as a child with her family, and is now a successful solicitor, helping other refugees and asylum seekers.

To view Aldi’s video and show your support for the Red Cross campaign visit Look Beyond the Label.

This is Aldi’s story, in her own words. 

“I was born in the city of Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina (a republic of former Yugoslavia). I had a very happy childhood until the war started in Bosnia in 1991. I was nine years old and, because of my age at the time, I did not realize that my family’s life would change forever.

My family (my parents, my younger sister Marijana and I) remained in Bosnia for four years during the war. The first noticeable impact of the war was the loss of utilities and shortage of food and water. We had lived a comfortable life before the war but during the war we had to survive on basic rations, often going without food. Other impacts on our lives were feeling constantly under threat; hearing heavy artillery and small arms fire around the city and worrying about the safety of friends and family.

In 1995, we were forced to leave Banja Luka as a result of ethnic cleansing. We had little time to gather what we could carry. We were only allowed to carry two bags and essentially had to fit our entire lives into these two bags. We crossed the border into Croatia and were placed in a refugee camp where we stayed for four months. At the camp we had to share a tent with 30 other people and the camp felt like prison as it was surrounded with barbed wire. It was Winter when we were at the camp and I remember constantly feeling cold.

After four months, the British Red Cross organized for us to travel to the United Kingdom. Initially, we were housed in a reception centre in Rugby with 10 other Bosnian families.  We stayed at the reception centre for four months and were then moved to Nottingham, where my family and I still live. In terms of our immigration status, we were granted a six month visa after our arrival, which was followed by a two year visa. Before the two years expired the Government decided that it was not safe for us to return to Bosnia and we were allowed to apply for permanent status, which my family did. 

The first few years in the UK were difficult as we didn’t speak any English. When we arrived in Nottingham, I was placed in Forest Comprehensive School and later moved to Arnold Hill School where I took my GCSEs and ‘A’ levels. I had to work very hard as I was learning a new language and studying for exams at the same time. My efforts were rewarded when I achieved excellent results in my GCSEs and ‘A’ levels. However, I have to say that I would not have been able to achieve this if I did not have the support from my teachers who were remarkable and supported me all the way.
After completing my ‘A’ levels, I was offered a place at the Nottingham Trent University to study law. Due to my recent history, it seemed a natural choice to specialise in immigration law and help people in a similar situation to my family when we arrived in the UK.

I started work experience at Paragon Law one week after my final exams. Thalej Vasishta, MD of Paragon Law, had been my family’s immigration solicitor when he was at Berryman and we had met when I acted as interpreter for my parents. When I mentioned to him on one occasion that I was studying law, he asked me to send him my CV with a view to work experience. Thalej subsequently offered me a permanent role at Paragon Law and six months later I was offered a training contract.

I started a part-time Legal Practice Course at Nottingham Law School in 2005, whilst working full-time at Paragon. It’s been hard work over the past few years but it was all worth it when I finally became a qualified solicitor on 3 March 2009!

When I joined Paragon Law, the firm was only eight months old and it has been a pleasure watching the firm go from strength to strength over the last five years.  I continue to enjoy the work that I do at Paragon Law and find it incredibly rewarding. I look forward to my future at Paragon Law and developing further as an immigration solicitor.

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