JANEZ from Slovenia, 43: After the division of Yugoslavia this basketball-mad Slovenian got an offer from an Austrian association to play for the top league, and at the same time to work for a sponsor in the meat-processing industry. Since then the EU citizen has worked and lived in Austria during the week while he lives with his family at weekends.

I can’t imagine a life without basketball. I love the sport. Once upon a time my dream was to be able to live from playing basketball. Then when Yugoslavia got divided up the result for me was the opportunity in 1991 to play in the Austrian league. The association that got me into the team had a sponsor, a meat-processing company. I worked for it and that’s how I got a residence permit. I’m still at the company. With basketball I’m still a coach, I coach a junior team here.

 From Monday to Friday I work and live in Austria where I’ve registered a second home. At weekends I live with my family in Slovenia. I’m doing well here but it’s a shame my family live in Slovenia. My wife says she wouldn’t like to live here and I’m happy to be in Austria. So we live in two countries. But I see what my wife means. She can’t speak German and she’s scared she wouldn’t find such a skilled job in Austria. She’s an economist, has studied Economics, and doesn’t want to clean here or have to do any other sort of humble job.

Back then I took a step down in my career in sales. I was, as people so nicely say, young and stupid. Because for me it was all about playing basketball and not about a building a career. I dreamt that I could live from playing basketball. But I couldn’t. Maybe I wasn’t strong enough. But first and foremost, regarding the sport, I went to the wrong country; I should have gone to Germany or Italy where basketball has got a completely different status.

Professionally, I first trained as an electrician and later took another path. For four years I want to night school every day after work and finally took the state registered nurse examination. Unfortunately I’ve never worked as a nurse in Austria. My basketball association’s sponsor was the meat-processing company where I was working in production. There are lots of foreigners there because the work is hard. Now I’ve worked as a foreman for years my work’s a bit easier, but I still have to join in, not just check and look. In principle I know all about the trade, I just haven’t done the training. Maybe I will. My motto is that you have to learn your whole life long.

My wife and my children are the most important things in life for me. But they also know that I can’t really live without basketball. Alongside my work I spend a lot of time in the sports hall and coach a junior team. I can’t live off it, it’s my hobby. My reward is seeing young people happy. I’m not just interested in sport. I also want young people to learn from me how to live their own life. I try to do my best for them, to make them into good people.

After all these years my German still isn’t wonderful. I’ve got absolutely no talent as far as languages are concerned. Everything I’ve learnt I’ve picked up, I’ve never done a German course.

But I was accepted really quickly into the basketball association. I come from a team sport. I always see first what sort of team player the other person is and how he or she functions.  It’s only afterwards I maybe ask what country this person comes from. 90% of my experiences here have been positive. There are, to put it crudely, stupid people in every country but in my opinion Austrians are good people.

Back then I came here from Slovenia because I didn’t have any money.  But I want to support myself here. I don’t need any help from the state. I like working. That’s why I came. The local people shouldn’t worry about why a foreigner comes to their country, just figure it out. Unfortunately you hear a lot of insults: they don’t work, they exploit the system. But no group is all the same, foreigners aren’t and the local population isn’t either. Overall the local people should have more patience with foreigners who have just moved to the area. It just takes a while to settle in. I also expect foreigners to be proactive themselves, for example to learn the language and to get to know the country and its people.

If Slovenia hadn’t joined the EU I would definitely have Austrian citizenship. Because then you have fewer problems and you probably have the feeling: now this is my home.          2.12.2013