By Arnas Ališauskas, LRT.lt.

Lithuania should continue to promote an active migration policy by attracting much-needed foreign workers, according to a recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the Lithuanian economy. However, many newcomers still face integration challenges and, four years after the country’s unprecedented migration crisis, continue to encounter poor institutional support and an almost unchanged government policy.

Noura Almawed, who came to Lithuania from southern Lebanon, says that when she arrived in Vilnius three years ago, her Lithuanian boyfriend and his family helped her adjust to her new surroundings – but much of the adaptation she had to manage on her own.

“I didn’t receive any support from official organisations. The biggest challenge was communication – the language barrier can sometimes feel very overwhelming,” she said.

Almawed believes that learning the language is a matter of respect for the country, so she took a month-long Lithuanian culture and language course at Vilnius University’s Faculty of Philosophy.

“Of course, I didn’t expect to become fluent, but I wanted to learn enough to handle everyday things – reading food labels, ordering meals or having short conversations without relying on Google Translate,” she explained.

Read more: LRT.LT