Rifat Bećković’s Ties to Župa Village Highlight Serbian Diaspora Life in Luxembourg

Rifat Bećković has lived in Luxembourg for more than three decades after leaving his native Sandžak region in 1990, first staying in Germany before moving to Luxembourg. Although his professional life is based abroad, he regularly returns to his birth village of Župa near Tutin in Serbia, joining other members of the Serbian diaspora during both summer and winter holidays.

Bećković describes the community as tightly knit, with around twenty families maintaining close relationships, helping each other, and sharing responsibilities. Many families, including his own, maintain homes in both Luxembourg and Župa, moving between the two places throughout the year. He emphasizes that children raised abroad are brought to Župa to experience their heritage, fostering a lasting bond to the village. He notes the emotional difficulty of leaving the village, saying the more they invest in and love the place, the harder it becomes to depart.

The story illustrates the broader pattern of Sandžak migrants who, while building lives overseas, sustain strong cultural and familial ties to their Serbian roots.