Međimurje, the ‘land between the waters’, is a region in northern Croatia bordering Slovenia and Hungary and defined by its two major rivers, Drava and Mura. The region is a combination of water-rich lowlands in the North and East, and hills with vineyards and forests in the South. The largest city, Čakovec (population 27,000), is the centre of the region and the capital of Međimurje County, the second smallest county in Croatia. The majority of the population identifies as ethnic Croatian, with distinct Roma, Hungarian, Slovenian and Albanian communities. Međimurje is famous for its distinct Kajkavian dialect rich with German and Hungarian loanwords. Its foods, traditional clothes, dances, and customs are sometimes shared with those in Slovenia, Hungary or Austria.

Traditionally known as Hortus Croatiae (‘Croatian Garden’) due to its famous flowerbeds, Međimurje today is also known as ‘little Switzerland’. The later name alludes to the industrious spirit of the people, with the region’s large number of manufacturing businesses, as well as to the high rate of labour migration to Switzerland. Migration from the region dates back to the Austro-Hungarian period but has intensified since the 1960s. Besides Switzerland, a favourite destination, people from Međimurje have also migrated to Germany and Austria. The migrations to Austria were particularly impressive as, due to the relative proximity, many workers managed to return home on a weekly basis and more closely organise family life at home. Following Croatia’s independence, this trend intensified. While there are almost no households without a history of work abroad, the context of labour migration has changed for many young people from Međimurje employed in Slovenia or Austria today. They no longer see their weekly commute between the two homes the same way their parents’ generation did, but just as one of the available options.

Labour migration from Podravina started in the early 1960s through informal channels and intensified after the agreements with Austria (1966) and Germany (1968). As one of the most prosperous regions in former Yugoslavia, labour migration in Podravina was less intense, but affected more intensely in rural areas, with whole villages moving abroad. In the big migration waves of the 1960s and early 1970s, parents left their children behind with their grandparents, to join later after the parents were able to organise better living conditions. The move of entire families to Austria and Germany affected their return, as those families whose children moved were also less likely to return and invest in life back in their hometowns and villages. While there are some households with retired returnees, there are just as many families who do not consider returning and numerous young individuals preparing to depart.

The mass departures of young men and women created a variety of new family arrangements. The conventional situations where males went abroad for work and women stayed at home to take care of the children and the household were reversing. Women were increasingly travelling alone to work abroad, followed by a growing number of parents leaving children behind with their grandparents. As most of the early migrants were living in conditions unsuitable for children, leaving the children behind was a painful but more practical solution to create space for more appropriate living conditions. In return, split families created less fixed life paths for the children, who either joined their families abroad after they became young adults, or organised their lives at home independent of their parents. Through the research, a number of the migrants interviewed reported remaining to live in these split-family arrangements.

Even when early migrants’ stay abroad had ended and they managed to build homes in the villages and towns of their birth, many of their children remained to live abroad. The new realities now create seasonal movements for retired migrants, now grandparents themselves, spending parts of the year back in their home communities in Croatia and the rest elsewhere with their children and grandchildren. The movement is additionally motivated by integration in the welfare systems of the host societies. Use of social and health care networks abroad remains the preference among the retired migrants interviewed, even after a partial return and retirement back home.

Ganga is a style of folk singing typical in Imotska krajina and larger regions of Dalmatia and Lika in Croatia, Herzegovina and western Montenegro. Ganga songs are performed as a combination of solos and chorus lines, where the soloist begins the verse and is joined by the chorus at the end. While the style may resemble wailing for first-time listeners, ganga songs are traditionally performed for a range of occasions (weddings, village gatherings and celebrations, departures). The lyrics are flexible and modified to fit the strict rhyme scheme. They are mainly about love and love troubles, but often address other issues of importance for the singers. There is a strict division between male and female songs, and traditionally men and women do not perform together. The increasing number of men moving to Germany for work has impacted the local ganga songs of Imotska krajina. Carried by freestyle lyrics, there are a number of songs describing the experience of separation and migration, informally known as Gastarbajteri ganga [gastarbajterska ganga].

The first generation of migrants intended to work abroad for some time in order to make a living for themselves and their children. They saved to raise their standard of living, but most of all to invest in their children’s future. They wanted to provide them with a good education or starting capital for a small business. The new house they built back home was always to be the centre of their entire family.

Abroad, the migrants lived simply and set aside all they could for the family. The faster they reached their savings goal, the sooner they could return home. Working overtime brought them even closer to their goal. The extremely humble and cramped quarters in which they lived normally did not leave any space for their children to join them. Therefore, they had to leave their children behind with their parents, as hard as it was. They saw their growing children only ever sporadically during company holidays. Gifts of all kinds (money, toys, clothes, the newest gadgets, etc.) were given to make the separation and the waiting between visits more bearable. As soon as the parents’ work hours and living conditions allowed, their children moved abroad to join them and continue their schooling there.

Other children stayed in their home country, finished their education, began work and started a family. Their jobs there are often only temporary, however, and salaries low. Even additional income from farming is usually not enough to provide for their families. Thus, many young families in Serbia still depend on their parents’ financial support from abroad.

When Yugoslavia legalised temporary work abroad for its citizens in the early 1960s, the state was expecting a number of positive outcomes: domestic unemployment would decrease, and then the migrants would invest in their home economy after their return. This, in turn, largely suited the migrants’ own interests. They planned to open businesses or modernise their farming tools and methods after returning.

Back at home, they then used their savings to start a company or import farming equipment. Enthusiasm increasingly gave way to disappointment, however. The state offered no reintegration programs, and no funding for fledgling companies. On the contrary. Legal restrictions made private investments difficult. An instable economic situation and corruption both played their part in the failure of many new businesses.

Real estate seemed to be the only safe investment, an insurance for old age and an inheritance for their children. That is why the migrants constructed new houses and rebuilt farmyards. They also acquired homes in the foreign countries in which they had worked for so many years, though. Still today, many migrants feel more secure retiring there than in Serbia, due to the more reliable social and healthcare systems.

Returning migrants frequently purchase an apartment for their retirement in one of the larger cities, because in some areas of the countryside the infrastructure just cannot meet their daily needs. Villages become depopulated; once-prestigious houses are for sale. Their value has sunk to a fraction of their original cost. The younger generation shows no interest in the houses, or even in country life at all.

Christmas and Easter are not the only occasions for the whole family to reunite in the homeland every year. Important life events such as baptisms, birthdays, weddings and funerals are also celebrated within the family, in Serbia when possible. On the local level, this includes Zavetina, a holiday dedicated to each village’s patron saint, and on the family level Krsna Slava, a holiday for each home’s patron saint. In recent times, quite a few migrants have started to celebrate where the majority of their family live, even if some relatives must leave Serbia to join the gathering. Either way, the festivities are always celebrated outside the home in restaurants or halls. They are also good opportunities to demonstrate acquired wealth. The newest technologies are welcome here: drones with cameras guarantee spectacular pictures of the event.

Pomane is a holiday to remember the deceased, which is celebrated at pre-appointed times over multiple years. For a few years now, an unusual rite of anticipation has spread throughout eastern Serbia, known for its distinct death-oriented culture: the living celebrate their own Pomane. It is perhaps a kind of ‘test,’ due as well to the uncertainty whether one’s loved ones will be able to come to Serbia every year for the Pomane. If they die outside of Serbia, the majority of migrants are returned to their homeland and buried there.

Memorial statues can sometimes be seen in the front yard, or engraved marble plaques set into the wall of the house, honouring the deceased. A special kind of rivalry has developed in the cemeteries: ornately decorated houses are constructed for the deceased, complete with furniture and material comforts. This new form of mausoleum opens up another dimension for demonstrating wealth and prestige – beyond death.