The path to visibility for those who are undocumented in Montenegro, especially war displaced persons, is difficult and thorny, and bureaucracy makes obtaining personal documents even more difficult. This was shown by the case Lendite Bisljimi-Berisha from Sutomore who, with the help of friends, authorities and the Civic Alliance, is still unable to exercise her right to a passport until she changes her last name.
Bisljimi fled Kosovo and Metohija in the late 1990s and has lived in Sutomore ever since. She and her children survived a fire that broke out in a former children's resort two years ago and have been homeless ever since. She is a single mother and widow, and has been fighting for her and her children's visibility for several years.
When she came to Montenegro in the late 1990s, she was registered as Ljendita Bisljimi, after the surname of her children's father, with whom she never formally married, and her maiden name was Beriša.
She didn't have any documents, so... Danijela Bojovic, who occasionally resides in Sutomore and has been helping Ljendita's family for many years, found her information through the Registry Office in Niš and sent her Birth Certificate and Certificate of Serbian Citizenship.
Her birth certificate does not include a personal identification number (JMBG), and Bojović was informed by the Serbian Ministry of Interior that they would issue her a JMBG later when they work on her passport. The Serbian Consulate in Podgorica issued passports for Ljendita's four children based on the citizenship of their father, Ljendita's late partner with whom she lived in a common-law relationship.
However, the procedure for her to obtain a passport was not that easy. As Bojović told "Vijesti", the Consulate in Podgorica first requested that a notary in Bar verify Bisljima's identity with two witnesses with Serbian passports, which they did.
When she went to apply for a passport at the Consulate, she was told that she had to bring three witnesses with Serbian passports on the day of the passport application. She did so, but was rejected, so the Consulate demanded that she change her last name to Bisljimi, which is 25 years old in Montenegro, and revert to her last name, Beriša.
"They are asking for this because Ljendita's husband Batir Bisljimi died in February 2019, and he and Ljendita were not married in the Municipality of Bar, because she did not have documents. Ljendita gave birth to Batir in Bar, seven children, all of whom have Serbian passports and their birth certificates state that their parents are Batir Bisljimi and Ljendita. The Ministry of Interior of Montenegro and the Center for Social Work from Bar registered Ljendita under the surname of her unmarried husband Bisljimi, and she has had that identity for 25 years in Montenegro and is registered in all possible services as Ljendita Bisljimi," Bojović told "Vijesti".
The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Podgorica did not respond to the newspaper's questions about this case, the conditions and method for exercising the right to a passport for Ljendita Bisljimi-Berisa.
Ljendita's attempt to change her last name, as she herself said, is hindered by the fact that the Social Welfare Center in Bar told her that she would lose social assistance and child allowance if she changed her last name from Bisljimi to her maiden name at the Ministry of Interior. The state service told "Vijesti" that they cannot share information about the personal and family circumstances of users in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
Bojović wrote to the Mayor of Bar about the case of Ljendita Bisljima and the problems she faces. Dušan Raičević and the President of the Roma Council of Montenegro Mensur ShalajaShe asked them to intervene at the Consulate so that they would not ask Ljendita to change her last name, but to this day she has not received a response.
Through further research and consultations with lawyers in Belgrade, she learned that changing her surname was the only legal way for Ljenidita to exercise her right to a passport, since she was registered in institutions in Serbia under the surname Beriša.
The case of Lendita and her family was also dealt with by Radomir Djokic from the Civic Alliance who managed to secure passports for Ljendita's children through cooperation with the Consulate. She got stuck, he said, and the main problem is that she is registered in Montenegro and Serbia under two different surnames.
As he told "Vijesti", the biggest obstacle was that they demanded a personal document with a photo and the surname Berisha, which Ljendita did not have. This is not a rare case when it comes to refugees from Kosovo and Metohija, members of the Roma community...
As she explains, she was recorded as Ljendita Bisljimi on her displaced person's ID card, even though she and her partner were living in an extramarital relationship. This, Đokić claims, was the first mistake, and the problem is that she did not have a single document or paper to confirm her identity.
"At the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia, it was not enough for her to have a birth certificate, they also asked for an ID card, or a document with a photo. For people from Kosovo, this is usually the displaced person's documentation that she already has, but the problem is that her ID card says Bisljimi, while the certificate says Berisha," he explains.
In this way, a bureaucratic image is created as if these are two different people. He calls all of this inevitable bureaucratic obstacles, but that there is probably a possibility of changing the surname in the Montenegrin Ministry of Internal Affairs.
This will, however, create new obligations and paperwork problems because her displaced person identification will have to be changed, as will other documents and papers from state agencies and services in which she is registered as Bisljimi.
When she arrived in Montenegro in the late 1990s, she was registered as Ljendita Bisljimi, after the surname of her children's father, to whom she was never formally married, and her maiden name was Beriša. She and her children survived a fire that broke out in a former children's resort two years ago and have been homeless ever since. She is a single mother and widow, and has been fighting for her and her children's visibility for several years.
Since Ljendita was frightened by the hint from the Center for Social Work that she would lose financial assistance if she changed her last name, Đokić dealt with it and received unofficial information from the Center for Social Work in Bar that this right could not be taken away from her after changing her last name.
However, Ljendita is suspicious, considering that, as she claims, she lost these rights after the death of her partner and the father of her children, and only regained them after some time, with a lot of help.
As all the interviewees conclude, if it is unequivocally confirmed that she will continue to receive social and financial assistance on which her existence depends even after changing her last name, she will enter the process of changing her last name, which she hopes will result in obtaining a passport.
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