The EU granted protection to 76,300 asylum seekers in 2008, according to statistics issued by the European Commission.
The largest group of beneficiaries of protection was Iraqis (16,600 people or 22 per cent of the total), followed by Somalis (9,500 or 12 per cent), Russians (7,400 or 10 per cent), Afghans (5,000 or seven per cent) and Eritreans (4,600 or six per cent). Nearly 30 per cent of asylum seekers were given a favorable decision the first time round.
Of the 76,300 people who were granted protection status, 40,000 were granted refugee status, 25,500 subsidiary protection and 10,800 were allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds. Two thirds of all grants of protection status were in France (11,500), followed by Germany (10,700), the UK (10,200), Italy (9,700), Sweden (8,700), the Netherlands (6,100) and Austria (5,700).

Galina Toktalieva for die Wiener Nachrichten

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Whenever I go to Main Square with idea to make good photo of a horse, the blinders – leather flaps of bridle to keep horse from seeing anything on both sides – abash me. They say horses need those blinders to drag carriage with tourists forward. They also say about folks who are not able to accept reality: people have their blinders on. However, to move steadily forward, one virtually needs to concentrate at target and ignore anything else around – to put blinders on. Photographers experimenting with image know that any occasional element included in frames suddenly gets quality of wholeness. Frames draw attention to detail retrieved from blurred zone of our perception. Can we really believe our eyes, if consider that eagles, cats or flies see the world differently? (more…)

Emigration creates stressful limit-situations when person loses his identification:work, friends, relatives, property, language, life and career prospects. Can you stand this collapse of identifications?
- Being 47, I must run around in Vienna as homeless dog looking for institutions, who would approve what I am doing. Feeling lucky to sell photo to newspaper once in season for 30 euros!
-You old enough to do what you consider right. Create your own newspaper!
- You are mad. I have nothing to cover my ass
- One doesn’t need much money to create electronic version (more…)

They_say the moments when airplane takes off and lands are most fascinating. There I was again – in the big belly of steel bird landing this time in Stockholm airport. High speed, vibration and awareness of certain risk- make perception especially sharp. In proximity of a few seconds you evaluate all your life. I was invited to Sweden by one of my pen-friends with whom I corresponded for 5 last years of my stay in Moscow. Nils often wrote me about his life. Swedish veterinarian of 50 years old – he would send me packs of stockings and roses in frosty Moscow. My life in Russia was not that easy. Only those of mixed race and nationality origin can possibly understand discriminative nuances of existence in post-soviet reconstructive environment. Chechnya war was going on; now and then I was stopped in the street by police officers who checked documents of all suspicious persons with non-Slavic appearances. By other words, like every other real nomad I was ready to fly and all my property could be packed in a single bag. Sweden- from emigration point of view could be good choice. But I had peculiar premonitions about it. Emigration means complete financial dependency on partner- so you must be sure you can stand it or dig out your own grave.

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Ambiguous, if intellectual and physical potential of humans is endless, so is potential to feel. Normal life hardly gives opportunity to use this potential in full strength. But everybody knows in his heart he could experience more intensive, pure and strong feelings, and everybody dreams about true love. We all have relationships with which are never completely satisfied. We drag these relationships on like inevitable bonds. We would persuade ourselves that we love those close to us but there are always dark streams of doubt in enormous depth of our heart. If it is love, why we are unhappy? Even proclaiming that we care for others, we have complicated and contradiction feelings, which we never reveal. Did you notice that you can never be fond of somebody completely? You feel blissful completeness and admiration only when you stay in significant distance from one of your adore. Whenever you make step closer – inevitable blemishes come into sight. You tend to like some segments and dislike others. (more…)

Wanderlust, after two years of mood zigzags and transfers from one universe to the other I start again writing in my diary. Why people write diaries at all? Who reads them on Internet? When you write your blog you must write it first of all for yourself, because as author you would never be understood or rewarded by special attention. Bust writing helps to realize many things.
Where I go? Why life can be so hard? What is satisfying relationship? And if we create our world ourselves, why we cannot make it be better?
Why I photograph, to start with, and what is good photography? How one can photograph people and get satisfaction from this activity? How to advance in this business, how to earn your living with photography? How to earn it in big city where you are stranger and don’t know anybody? How to earn your living with photography in big city where you are stranger and when you have no regular work and income? And when you are female?
And many other questions that till now stay without answers. Don’t exclaim: it is impossible! Come with me and look.