Living abroad on a temporary basis. The Romanians and the

Transcription

Fundatia pentru o Societate Deschisa
(Open Society Foundation)
LIVING ABROAD ON A TEMPORARY BASIS
THE ECONOMIC MIGRATION OF ROMANIANS: 1990-2006
Bucharest, November 2006
The research team involved in the preparation of the project “Living abroad on a
temporary basis” (LTS - LATB):
Dumitru Sandu
Ana Bleahu
Vlad Grigoraş
Alexandra Mihai
Cosmin Radu
Cerasela Radu
Monica Şerban
Alexandru Toth
Georgiana Toth
Simina Guga
Monica Jeler
Georgiana Păun
Mihaela Ştefănescu
Delia Bobîrsc
coordinator, professor, Univ. of Bucharest, Faculty of Sociology
and Social Care (UB-SSC)
doctoral candidate at UB-SAS
sociologist
sociologist, Rome City Council
social worker, PACT
sociologist, Program Coordinator at FSD (OSF), LTS (TLA)
Program Manager at FSD (OSF)
sociologist at MMT
Data gathering through national surveys (1,400 people) and micro-regional surveys (800
migrant households), during August 2006 – Gallup Organisation.
The authors of this research report are the only ones responsible for the analysis
and interpretation of the data. Their opinions are not necessarily those of the
funding entity.
The authors would like to thank Mr. Ovidiu Voicu, Program Manager at FSD (OSF), for the
idea of this research and for his efforts put into starting this project.
Table of contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1
Questions ........................................................................................................................... 1
Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 2
Their paths and our kaleidoscope ...................................................................................... 4
Structure ............................................................................................................................ 5
The Team........................................................................................................................... 6
Appendixes ........................................................................................................................ 6
Exploring Europe through work migrations:1990-2006...................................................... 13
How many?...................................................................................................................... 13
When?.............................................................................................................................. 14
Where from /where to? .................................................................................................... 15
Who, until now? .............................................................................................................. 16
Who, in the future? .......................................................................................................... 17
How do you get to work abroad?..................................................................................... 18
Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 19
Appendix: Technical details of data analysis .................................................................. 21
Tables and charts ............................................................................................................. 24
Consequences and plans ...................................................................................................... 41
Incomes and investments from migration ....................................................................... 41
Entrepreneurial orientation .............................................................................................. 47
Mentalities ....................................................................................................................... 54
Family relations ............................................................................................................... 63
Community aspects ......................................................................................................... 70
Medium-term plans of the Romanians (two to three years) ............................................ 75
Regional-community dimensions ........................................................................................ 82
Italy: Between informal and illegal, tolerated, but not legalized! ................................... 82
Case study: A Romanian in Italy..................................................................................... 89
Roman path of the romanies: from Craiova to Villa Troili ……………………………. 93
Case Study: Myth of foreign countries in Năneşti-Vrancea 1…………………………. 101
International Migration Routes to Spain……………………………………………… 117
Romanians Make European Money from Visas for the Serbs………………………... 125
Appendix: Opinions and Behaviours of Population by Types of Habitation Experience
Abroad 2…………………………………………………………………………………………. 143
1
The article is based on the interviews taken by the team made up of Ana Bleahu, Delia Bobîrsc,
Georgiana Păun, Mihaela Ştefănescu between 16-17 August in Nanesti Village, county of Vrancea.
Respondents are persons working in Italy and coming home on leave.
2
Tables built by Alexandru Toth. Details on the types of temporary habitation experiences abroad in
the chapter “Mentalities” by Dumitru Sandu in this volume.
Introduction
Dumitru Sandu
Questions
How many, who, how, where, what and when? These are the six major families of
interrogations in connection with the temporary work migration abroad. In this case, it is the
migration of Romanians. And not “in any times”, but after 1989. In other words, we are
interested in:
• their number – how many leave and how many come back;
• their social profile – who are those who leave or come back;
• the way of occurrence – the departure, the employment abroad and the integration
into that environment;
• the movement space – where from and where to;
• the motives and consequences – why they leave and with what consequences for
them, for the communities, the regions or the country of origin and of destination;
• the time – the variations on migration stages for all the aspects mentioned above.
In a simplifying version, we discuss about the causes and consequences of the work migration
abroad, after 1989. In order to approach the complexity of the phenomenon, we will have to
resort, however, to metaphors and multiple approaches. It seems to me that the explorer
metaphor, as the person who tries to enter an unknown world, is of great use. For most
Romanians, finding a job abroad, after 1989, has meant an exploration in the geographical
meaning, but especially in the social meaning of the term. It has involved strategies, risks,
accumulations and consumptions of resources in order penetrate a different world, which was
most often far and unknown. The process has been a search:
• through exploration of different national spaces from one time to another,
• by themselves or especially with the help of the close ones – relatives, friends,
acquaintances,
• in legal, illegal or semi-legal ways,
• with interruptions and returns,
• to identify certain work niches and economic and social success in the world abroad.
The failures and successes have a different meaning from one migrant to another, from one
stage to another, according to the own scale of the person who took on the search.
The migratory exploration does not have a different structure than that of the classic explorer.
Both imply motivation, strong will to arrive in a world in which you have never been before
and about which there is little information around you. For the migrant, at one extreme, there
is the situation in which there is only its desire to arrive to the “Promised Land”. At the other
extreme there is the situation in which, apart from desire, there are also material, social and
knowledge resources to reach the Promised Land. In this case, there is, in essence, much more
material gain, in a much shorter period of time than at home. The contrast is not between
poverty and wealth, but between what I have here and what I might have if, for a while, I
earned much more.
The reasons and consequences – for what was and for what will be – are the main interests at
the level of the current Romanian society. These are also the major perspectives of the
approach described in this paper.
In order to clear up why the migrant leaves and with what consequences, it is necessary to
draw maps and to re-create accounts of the migrants and their migrations. We are considering
both maps in the standard meaning of the word, namely that of spatial representation of the
phenomenon, but also mental maps that the population actually uses in its migration. The
accounts will be both individual, on cases, and collective, on communities or groups. The
correct identification of the consequences and the estimation of the future characteristics of
1
the phenomenon involve a detailed study of the trends already recorded, of the analysis of
temporary living abroad, on stages. This is what I shall undertake next.
Research, in general, considers work migration from the point of view of temporary living
abroad. From this point of view, we are not only interested in the economic aspect of
migration, but also in its social aspect, through its causes and consequences. These are much
better captured when we discuss living that also involves the occupation and consumption,
finding a house, the social interactions, the cultural frameworks of reference in different
localities.
Methodology
“Temporary living abroad” (LTS - TLA) is a complex research (Diagram 1) in which the data
about international migration has been collected:
• inside the country and abroad (Italy, Spain, Serbia),
• by national survey,
• by micro-regional research (Focsani-Vrancea, Alexandria-Teleorman, Banat –
Romania - Serbia),
• by qualitative research at the level of six communities in the country (Nanesti in
Vrancea, Nenciulesti in Teleorman, Eselnita, Turnu-Severin, Baile Herculane and
Orsova in Banat) and
• in four communities abroad (in Rome, Italy; in Madrid, Spain; and in Dusanovac and
Negotin, Serbia).
Through the national survey, data was gathered from 1,400 people of adult age (see appendix
1). Each person interviewed has given information about himself/herself and his/her
household. Consequently, in the analysis, we have been able to generate four data folders on:
• the people interviewed directly, based on a probabilistic, two stage selection, with
stratification in the first stage – 1,400 people (TLA-basic sample group);
• a total of 4,791 people on whom we requested data in the 1,400 households by means
of “the household form” (TLA, sample people within the households);
• departures for work abroad from the 1,400 households during 1990-2006 – 548
departures (TLA, sample departures for work abroad);
• people with intention to leave abroad from the 1,400 households – 280 people (TLA,
sample potential migrants).
Apart from the national sample of 1,400 people, there were also used two samples of 400
households each, selected from two micro-regions, Focsani in Vrancea and Alexandria in
Teleorman (see appendix 2). A micro-region is made up of the town-center of attraction and
its surrounding communes for which the minimum rural-urban distance is up to that town (for
details, see appendix 2). The Focsani micro-region was chosen for detailing the migration
towards Italy. The migration towards Spain was analyzed at community-regional level based
on the case of the Alexandria micro-region. Within each micro-region, we selected a village
for qualitative research – Nenciulesti in Teleorman and Necsesti in Vrancea.
The two micro-regions were chosen so as to be able to study in depth the original social status
for two of the major destinations of the Romanian emigration, Italy and Spain. The county of
Vrancea, with a migration predominantly oriented towards Italy, was, at the time of the
census of 2002, the county with the highest temporary emigration level in the whole country.
The county of Teleorman, having Spain as favourite destination, has a low level of temporary
emigration and, consequently, a population with a less structured migration experience. Given
the available research resources, we chose to cut out micro-regions from those counties.
2
research
level
national/transnational
type of
research
survey of a probabilistic
micro-regional survey or
sample of 1,400 people,
qualitative research
representative at national
level; documentary analysis
migration towards Italy
type of
migration
and place
of research
community at the
migration origin
micro-regional
community at the
migration destination
qualitative research –
qualitative research –
interviews and
interviews and observation
observation
Focsani-Vrancea micro-region,
semi-random sample of 400 Nanesti village, Nanesti
commune
migrant households
migration towards Spain
Alexandria-Teleorman microNenciulesti village,
region, semi-random sample of
Nenciulesti commune
400 migrant households
cross-border migration to
Serbia
Banat, Romania – Bor, Serbia
micro-region, qualitative
research – interviews and
systematic observation
Ieselnita village and the
towns of Orsova, TurnuSeverin and Baile
Herculane
Diagram 1. Research levels and components on temporary living abroad – FSD (OSF), 2006
3
Romanian communities
in Rome
Romanian communities
in Madrid
Dusanovac villageSerbia
town of Negotin-Serbia
The option is based on the hypothesis that temporary emigration is sustained not only by
community networks, but also by regional ones, not only by the problems of the village, but
also by those of the rural-urban micro-region to which the village belongs. Alexandria and
Focsani are the capital towns of the two counties selected. They form micro-regions together
with their surrounding communes. Within the micro-regions, the selection of the pilot villages
– Nenciulesti in Teleorman and Nanesti in Vrancea – was performed based on predominantly
pragmatic criteria. In the case of Nenciulesti, for example, there were previous field
experiences at the level of that village. Moreover, one of the researchers involved in this
project, Monica Şerban, comes from a family that is originally from that village. Finding a
sufficiently large number of migrant households so that we might have the chance to speak to
recent migrants, possibly returned home temporarily, was another objective that we
considered in both micro-regions.
The surveys of the micro-region and the in-depth interviews were carried out in August, the
time when migrants came back home on holidays. Thus, we were also able to obtain data
from migrants returned home on a temporary basis.
Data gathering in Rome and in Madrid was carried out through snowball selection, following
the paths opened by various migrant networks with which the researchers came into or were
already in contact.
A third micro-region was chosen so that we might also be able to study the small, crossborder migration. As the team had two specialists who had studied the migrant circulation
between Romania and Serbia (Cosmin Radu and Cerasela Radu), we decided to resume the
research on both banks of the Danube, in the Banat area, in localities such as Orsova, Esalnita,
Turnu-Severin, Baile Herculane and, on the Serb bank, in Dusanovac and Negotin. In this
micro-region we only worked qualitatively, without the costly component of the surveys.
The research carried out on multiple levels and branches is a consequence of the way in which
the field of temporary migration from Romania to foreign countries is structured. Although,
after 2001, the departures focus more and more towards Italy and Spain, the flows are still
unstable. The actors are numerous – individuals, families, communities, regional networks,
governments, NGOs etc. The rate of illegal migration is, probably, significant. At the
destination, individuals are still employed illegally to a large extent.
Their paths and our kaleidoscope
The same individual gives a different account of his/her own migration experience. At the
destination, in connection with the foreigners and with other migrants, there is a certain
account, and upon his/her return to the country there is another account. In the first case, there
is emphasis on his/her problems and on the tension of the interaction with the new living
environment. In the country, the emphasis is more often on success, on self-fulfilment through
migration, on status strengthening through discourse. The information obtained is so different,
the sides of the phenomenon are so mobile that you can no longer understand it unless you go
both to Focsani and to Rome, or both to Alexandria and to Madrid. It is still a mosaicmigration, a “jumble” migration that can only be read on multiple levels, both at the place of
origin and at the destination, both with survey data and with interview data, both with
community accounts and with individual accounts.
The national and micro-regional surveys are prepared according to the rule of statistical
representativeness, for the society in general, for the population in the micro-regions
considered. The life accounts, the interview sequences speak in logical terms of type of
situation and migration path. We reproduce them for illustrative purposes. The account of
Marius, for example (told by Mihaela), who arrived in Rome coming from Moldova, is
significant for the “descending-ascending” path, from deacon to “dweller” under a bridge in
Rome; and this would later lead to living in an apartment, even though it is not inhabited by a
single family, in a residential suburb of Rome, and especially to plans of having the home
4
both in Rome and in Romania, because “one can never know…” Is this a typical path?
Probably, yes. It certainly isn’t the only one. There are also the strictly ascending ones (“bad
in the country, but well at the destination”), the strictly descending ones (“acceptable in the
country – bad at the destination”) or the linear ones (“quite the same here and there”).
Usually, researching the Romanian emigration to foreign countries is still in a inevitablyexploratory stage. The research of the phenomenon at the destination, carried out by a team
that wants to establish a connection between the situation here and the situation there, the
migrants and the non-migrants, those who leave at present and those who left in the past, is a
unique project. It has its advantages and its risks. It is impossible to say, for example, what
are the percentages for the different types of migration paths. It is difficult to say how typical
are, for the Romanies (gypsies) in Romania, the facts, events and situations described by
Monica Jeler, about “the Roman path of the Romanies” in Craiova, arrived on the Villa Troili
Street; or those of the Romanian community, “La Fripta”, described by Ana in her account of
the Romanians’ transformations in Rome; or those of Petre from Esalnita, day labourer in
Dusanovac, Serbia, frequently mentioned by Cerasela and Cosmin.
With regard to the consequences of the temporary living abroad, it seems that there is a
prevailing opinion that the phenomenon “is good”, reduces poverty, leads to having a house,
possibly two, one here and another one in Rome/Madrid, to a car, to a better school for the
children, and possibly to a business. It even leads to favourably changing the mentalities –
with greater focus on work, but also acknowledging the risk, with new professional skills etc.
However, there also occur, more and more distinctly, family and community dysfunctions:
more frequent divorces, lonely children with all the risks involved by loneliness, increased
crime rate, traffic in human beings, drogues, aged villages, factories and regions where there
is no longer qualified personnel to be found etc.
All this world of good and bad, good for some and bad for others, good now and bad later or
vice versa, we attempt to examine under the microscope of the social, sociological and
anthropological observation; a microscope that must have multiple mirrors, to look at the
same minute fact of life in a kaleidoscopic manner.
The data collected is much richer than that analysed in this paper. It is highly unlikely that it
remain unused, given the challenge presented by the issue and the interest of the team who
collected it.
Structure
This paper is divided into four sections. The first section – “Exploring Europe through work
migrations” – is intended to be an overall descriptive approach – how many, who, where and
when they left and what they worked/work. It is a spatial perspective, at the place of origin
and at the destination, and a temporal one, from 1990 up to present. The reconstructions are
mostly carried out in terms of departures, not of those who left. We use national and regional
survey data – Vrancea, Teleorman, Italy. The survey numbers, as interpretation basis, are
supplemented with the official ones regarding the residence permits.
The second part deals with the consequences and the prospects associated with the migration.
This part is not comprehensive, but it still includes a great range – incomes and investments
from migration, enterprise, mentalities, family relations, community and life plans. The
approaches are predominantly quantitative, with national or micro-regional survey data.
In the third part, the research focuses on community-regional spaces – Vrancea and Rome,
Teleorman and Spain, Eselnita-Orsova-Negotin-Dusanovac. The case studies, especially with
regard to Italy and Serbia, are ample and elaborate. The dry description in the first part is
enhanced with very significant life accounts. We pass from migration to migrants, not as
identical entities, but as human beings, with prospects, resources, sufferings, plans, relations
etc.
5
In the final appendix, there are described essential parts of the questionnaire, filled in with
data, with the response frequencies. The tables are prepared so as to highlight the part of the
living abroad experience in setting apart behaviours and opinions.
The Team
For the field research at the level of the community/micro-region, in general, we fully resorted
to the continuity strategy, using experts who had already gathered qualitative information
about a certain place. Ana Bleahu had already been to Italy for social research purposes and
particularly in Rome. Monica Şerban had already dealt with a previous stage, in another
project, of research on Romanian migrants in Madrid. Alexandra Mihai, although she did not
have research experience in Madrid, she already had first hand experience of this country.
Simina Guga, although she was not part of the team that left for Madrid, she had also
previously done field research experience on the migration of Romanians to Spain. The Toths,
Ana Bleahu and Georgiana Păun had experience in Vrancea, from other research. Monica
Jeler, another former student, joined the project during its “Roman” period. Ana Bleahu and
Mihaela Stefanescu contacted her in Italy. Thus, we added a migrant-sociologist-cultural
mediator at Rome City Hall to the project team.
The migration at the Serbian border had been researched ever since 2002 by Cosmin Radu,
after he had previously dealt with the path of Adventist people of Crangeni, a village from
Teleorman, to Spain. Cerasela Radu, together with Cosmin, started to explore the migration
towards Serbia since 2004, experience preceded by the research of the migration of the
Romanies from Mures and Harghita towards Hungary.
With regard to the field research, Vlad Grigoras was “new” at Nenciuleşti. Vlad was not for
the first time in Teleorman. Together with Monica Serban, he had taken part in the research at
Dobrotesti, a part of the project that we had prepared with the help of the students at that time
- today’s doctoral candidates, in the micro-region Rosiori de Vede, at Crangeni and at
Dobrotesti. Delia Bobirsc – sociologist at Metro Media Transilvania, arrived in time to help
us – first came to Vrancea for this project. Also “new” in knowing Vrancea was Mihaela
Stefanescu.
Appendixes
Representativeness of the national sample
The sample of 1,400 people used for data gathering at national level was designed based on a
probabilistic, two stage pattern, with stratification in the first stage. The unit of selection in
the first stage was the voting station, and in the second stage, the person to interview.
For the stratification, we used a classification pattern, intersecting the cultural area with the
type of locality, rural-urban, and the low, average or high level of the temporary emigration
rate from the locality to foreign countries, in 2002 (18 areas*6 types of localities = 108 strata).
The data was gathered from 109 localities ( 63 communes and 46 towns), located in 31
counties.
The final selection was done, for three quarters of the total number of people interviewed
(74%), based on the voting lists. The others were selected through the random path method
(16%) or from other lists (10%).
The representativeness of the sample on criteria such as the degree of urbanization, the
location within historical regions, the cultural areas, the intensity of the temporary emigration
rate from the locality to foreign countries, is provided by the way in which the sample was
designed and selected.
The comparison between the structure of the data at the level of the sample and at the level of
the population (Table A1) indicates a good representativeness on gender, age and education
criteria. Observe that the deviations of the sample distributions compared to those of the
population are small, even when there is reporting on subpopulations simultaneously defined
by two criteria.
6
Table A1 Characteristics of the sample with regard to temporary living abroad (TLA)
and to the population from which the sample was extracted
% of women in the population aged 18+
% of women in the population aged 18+ from urban
% of women in the population aged 18+ from rural
% Magyars
% of people aged 18 to 29 in population aged 18+
% of people aged 30 to 59 in population aged 18+
% of people aged 60+ in population aged 18+
% high school graduates in pop. aged 18+
% high school graduates in rural pop. aged 18+
% university graduates in pop. aged 18+
individuals per household
individuals per household, in family households
% Magyars
Population*
51.95
52.75
51.02
6.6***
Sample TLA
53
54
52
4.8
24.0
51.1
24.9
24.7
13.7
8.1
22
48
30
25.4
18
9.7
2.92**
3.39**
6.6***
3.46
3.69
4.8
*Data at the census of 2002, the census of Population and Housing (CPH), the National Institute of
Statistics (NIS). **The family households are made up of at least two related individuals. *** in
population total, regardless of age, in 2002 and, at sample level, in the population aged 18+.
A under-representation of the old population may be connected to the selectivity of the
temporary migration, to the departure of young people for work or school, in the country or
abroad.
The most pronounced deficit is recorded in connection with the percentage of households
made up of a single individual - 8% in the sample, compared to 19% in the population (Table
A1). Implicitly, the average size of a household is considerably larger in the sample compared
to the household (3.46 compared to 2.92 individuals per household). The deficit is normal in
national surveys for several reasons: some of the households made up of a single individual
are outside housing, in homes for single people, which are not included in the selection; the
individuals living in households made up of a single individual are harder to find at home –
they are gone to work, if they are active, or to their children/relatives, if they are old 1; the
selection from voting lists favours the selection of individuals from family households.
Table A2 The distribution of the households in the sample, according to the number of
individuals, compared to the distribution in the population
number of individuals in
the household
Percentage of households in
population, 2002*
sample**
1
19
8
2
27
25
3
23
21
4
18
25
5
8
10
6+
6
11
100
100
*CPH ** The estimate for the sample was done by using the percentage variable, which enables the
reading of the data for each individual should they be collected at the level of the household
1
65% of the total number of households made up of a single individual was represented, at the time of
the census of 2002, by retired people.
7
(households/people in the household at the level of the locality from which the individual was selected,
according to the data of the CPH).
Designing samples on micro-regions
Key concepts
1. The target population – the households with TLA experience from the core of the microregion, at the level of the localities that, in 2002, were at least in the incipient phase of the
experience of temporary migration abroad 4. A household is considered to have temporary
migration abroad experience if at least one of its members – present or not at home at the
time of the survey – has lived for at least one month abroad, after 1989.
2. Micro-region – the reference town, with over 30 thousand inhabitants, together with the
communes which central villages have the maximum proximity to respective town. At
this level of delimitation, only the towns with over 30 thousand inhabitants are
considered, with the population estimate for 1998.
2.1. The core of the micro-region – the central town plus all the villages in the region, for
which the distance up to the nearest town, regardless of the latter’s size,
approximately equals or is shorter than the distance used to select the locality in the
micro-region.
2.2. For example, for the commune of Cervenia in Teleorman, Alexandria is the nearest
town with over 30 thousand inhabitants, located at a distance of 32 km. However,
the nearest small town, with approximately 12 thousand inhabitants, is Videle.
Consequently, we will consider the village of Cervenia as part of the peripheral area
of the Alexandria micro-region.
3. Type of sampling pattern – theoretical at the level of the locality, random and snowball
inside the locality. The stratification of the villages within the micro-region is achieved
based on the cultural type of village and of community experience with regard to TLA.
4. For the cultural classification of the villages, we used three categories – traditional
villages, cultural transition villages and modern villages. These types resulted from
regrouping the six categories of villages initially described in a previous paper 5.
4.1. Modern villages are those modern by education or by immigration.
4.2. The traditional villages include the poor ones by education and by remoteness.
4.3. The “transition” villages regroup what was initially called “villages of religious
diversity” and “villages of ethnic diversity”. The type of ethnic-religious diversity
exists especially in the provinces across the mountains. In the Old Kingdom, this
occurs more like an intermediate category between the traditional villages and the
modern villages. The education stock, for example, is minimum in the traditional
4
TLA is measured by the prevalence rate of temporary emigration abroad, calculated as the sum of the
people temporarily gone abroad for more than six months (the census of population and housing of
March 2002) and the people returned from abroad (community census on migration, December 2001,
IOM and the Ministry of Public Information and the Ministry of the Interior). Through the
recodification of the prevalence rates, four categories of villages were obtained:
o With no TLA experience - 20%,
o In the incipient phase of TLA experience - 27%,
o In the intermediate phase of experience - 26%,
o In the advanced phase of experience, with a high percentage of people who
worked or lived abroad or who were gone abroad at the time of the
recording - 17%.
5
Dumitru Sandu, Dezvoltare comunitară. Cercetare, practică, ideologie (Community Development.
Research, Practice, Ideology). Iaşi: POLIROM, 2005).
8
villages, maximum in the modern ones and of intermediate value in the “cultural
transition” 6 villages.
4.4. The use of the cultural typology of the villages as stratification factor is supported by
the fact that the temporary living abroad experience is, as identified by certain recent
surveys, strongly dependent on the category of village: 9% of the adults from the
traditional villages have worked or travelled abroad; the corresponding percentages
for the modern and cultural transition villages are 13% and, respectively 21% 7.
5. The bi-dimensional stratification pattern of the villages has nine possible categories:
Community
experience of
temporary living
abroad TLA
1. incipient
2. intermediate
3. advanced
village cultural type 8
1. traditional
2. transition
3. modern
11 traditional –
incipient TLA
12 traditional –
intermediate TLA
13 traditional –
advanced TLA
31 modern –
incipient TLA
32 modern –
intermediate TLA
32 modern –
advanced TLA
21 transition –
incipient TLA
22 transition –
intermediate TLA
23 transition –
advanced TLA
Sampling for the Alexandria micro-region, county of Teleorman
6. In accordance with the previously described procedure, it resulted that the Alexandria
micro-region is made up of 114 villages, of which 58 define the core of that area.
7. The villages from the core of the micro-region are stratified (Table A3) according to their
cultural type – traditional, ethnic/religious diversity or modern – and to the temporary
migration abroad experience between December 2001 and March 2002 (recodification of
the prevalence rate into four categories, using data for all the villages in Romania).
8. We shall consider two villages from each category where there are more than two cases
(excepting the villages with no migration experience). The selection of the village within
the stratum is performed randomly, with the exception of the pilot village, Nenciuleşti, in
the case of the Alexandria micro-region. According to the available resources and the
level of interest, in the pilot village, there will be created a subsample of 40 households,
and for the rest of the villages we shall work with subsamples of 30 migrant households.
6
In the villages of Vrancea, for example, the percentage of the population aged over 10 who finished
the primary school, at the most, was, in 2002, 48%, 45% and 35% for the traditional villages, the
transition villages, respectively the modern villages. In the villages of Teleorman, the corresponding
series of percentages was 59%, 54% and 42%. The three categories of villages are also hierarchically
organized, on country total, from maximum to minimum, for the overall fertility rate (demographic
traditionalism indicator), the distance to the nearest town or the percentage of the population who lives
in peripheral villages. The connection with the extralocal world is minimum in the traditional villages,
average in the transition ones and maximum in the modern ones. The percentage of commuters in 100
employees, for example, was, in 2002, 45% in the traditional villages, 50% in the transition villages
and 57% in the modern villages. The average number of employees in 1,000 inhabitants was, in 2002,
104 for the traditional villages, 170 for the cultural transition ones and 221 for the modern ones
(averages on village category, without weighting).
7
According to the data of the Rural Eurobarometer, FSD (OSF) – Gallup, 2005.
8
The terms “traditional” and “ modern” designating the villages must be taken in their meaning relative
to country and time. Thus, a village defined as “modern” is not modern in an absolute manner, or by
comparison with a village in Western Europe, but in the context of Romania of the years 2000.
9
Table A 1. The distribution of the villages from the core of the Alexandria-Teleorman microregion, according to the cultural type and the migration abroad experience
Temporary migration
abroad phase
village cultural type
traditional
transition
modern Total*
Incipient phase
13
14
3
30
Intermediate phase
1
8
9
Advanced phase
1
3
1
5
No circulatory migration
11
1
1
13
Total
26
26
5
57
* one of the villages from the core could not be classified due to lack of data.
The result of these operations is provided in the list of villages included in the sample.
The result of the operations is provided in Table A4.
Table A4 Subsamples within the Alexandria micro-region
type of village, cultural
dimension and TLA experience
11
traditional, incipient TLA
21
transition, incipient TLA
22
transition, intermediate TLA
23
transition, advanced TLA
31
modern, incipient TLA
commune
NECŞEŞTI
VIIŞOARA
CĂLINEŞTI
PIATRA
MAVRODIN
POROSCHIA
ŢIGĂNEŞTI
FURCULEŞTI
BĂBĂIŢA
DRĂGĂNEŞTIVLASCA
town/village
town of Alexandria
NECŞEŞTI
VIIŞOARA
CĂLINEŞTI
PIATRA
NENCIULEŞTI
POROSCHIA
ŢIGĂNEŞTI
FURCULEŞTI
CLĂNIŢA
DRĂGĂNEŞTIVLASCA
subsample
90
30
30
30
30
40
30
30
30
30
30
400
9. The selected villages have great differences between the characteristic profiles on cultural
category and migration experience (Table A5).
Table A5 The profile of the villages included in the sample
type of village
Village
transition,
intermediate TLA
cultural
transition,
incipient TLA
cultural
transition,
advanced TLA
traditional with
incipient TLA
modern, incipient
TLA
Nenciuleşti
Poroschia
Călineşti
Piatra
Ţigăneşti
Furculeşti
Necşeşti
Viişoara
Clăniţa
DrăgăneştiVlaşca
distance
villagetown
17
4
22
population
2002
2105
3513
1701
village
development
index, 2002
0.9
1.8
0.9
prevalence
rate 2002
‰
17.1
21.6
3.5
average age
2002
39.0
28.2
40.3
26
11
3861
5590
1.3
1.9
7.0
38.3
46.7
32.8
19
29
24
28
1393
787
2311
642
0.8
0.2
1.0
-0.1
146.4
1.3
5.2
3.1
39.7
53.1
49.0
33.0
21
3827
1.4
4.2
39.7
10
Total
20
2573
1.0
24.8
40.2
10. At the level of each locality, the first step is the selection of individuals from the voting
lists, according to the requirements in Table A6.
10.1.
If at the address in the list there is no migrant household, then the operator
identifies a neighbouring migrant household where he/she will carry out their survey
(the snowball method). We will replace a household where there are former or
current migrants, but where nobody was found at home after 2 visits.
10.2.
The preferred order for the interview within the migrant household is: 1. the
migrant returned temporarily from abroad, present at home, 2. the individual who
worked abroad and returned for quite some time now, 3. the individual who was
abroad for other reasons than work, 4. somebody else from the household.
10.3.
It will be filled in the questionnaire the method used to identify the
interviewee (list or “snowball”).
11. If the village does not have the necessary number of migrant household addresses, then
this will be supplemented with addresses from other villages in the micro-region that
belong to the same type of village.
12. If the randomly created lists on voting stations do not provide the requested volume
sample, the snowball method will be used.
Sampling for the Focşani- Vrancea micro-region
13. The sampling procedure to follow for the Focşani micro-region is the same as in the case
of Alexandria.
14. In Vrancea there are 324 villages, of which 228 can be considered as gravitating around
the town of Focşani. The core of this micro-region is made up of the town of Focşani and
the 74 villages that are exclusively attracted 9 by this town. According to the cultural type
and the temporary migration abroad experience, the villages from the core of the Focşani
micro-region are distributed according to the model in Table A7.
Table A6 The distribution of the villages from the core of the Focşani-Vrancea micro-region,
according to the cultural type and the migration abroad experience,
village cultural type
Community experience of
cultural
temporary emigration abroad
traditional
transition
Incipient phase
6
Intermediate phase
8
Advanced phase
14
No circulatory migration
4
Total
32
* for 4 villages there was no typological data available
Total*
modern
6
1
2
29
6
32
7
10
49
4
70
For every category that has more than two cases, we randomly selected two villages (Table
A9). The exception is Năneşi village, from the commune with the same name 10, chosen as
pilot village by the regional team, due to the comparative research opportunities with the
temporary migrants community in Italy.
9
Meaning that Focşani is the biggest and nearest town from the respective villages.
Do not mistake it for Năneşti village, from the commune of Tănăsoaia, also located in the county of
Vrancea.
10
11
Table A7 Subsamples within the Focşani micro-region
type of village, cultural dimension
and TLA experience
11
traditional, incipient TLA
12
traditional, intermediate TLA
13
Traditional, advanced TLA
23
Transition, advanced TLA
33
modern, advanced TLA
commune
TĂNĂSOAIA
POIANA CRISTEI
GAROAFA
POIANA CRISTEI
VÂNĂTORI
NĂNEŞTI
SURAIA
GURA CALIŢEI
GOLEŞTI
CÂMPINEANCA
town/village
Town of Focşani
CĂLIMĂNEASA
PETREANU
STRĂJESCU
POIANA CRISTEI
RĂDULEŞTI
NĂNEŞTI
SURAIA
GURA CALIŢEI
GOLEŞTI
PIETROASA
subsample
15. The 400 addresses are chosen starting with the list in table A7 and in compliance with the
procedures described for the Alexandria micro-region.
In the actual collection of data, it was required to replace some villages, due to the insufficient
number of migrant households:
• Necşesti village, from the commune of Necşeşti-Teleorman, replaced with Lăceni
village, from the same commune;
• Călimăneasa village, from the commune of Tănăsoaia-Vrancea, replaced with Dealul
Cucului village from Poiana Cristii;
• Petreanu village, from the Focşani micro-region, replaced with Martineşti village
(commune of Tătărani).
All the three villages that needed to be replaced – Necşesti, Călimăneasa and Petreanu are
traditional villages – with incipient migration experience. The small number of migrants in
those villages confirms the analysis that led to the classification of the villages according to
the migration experience.
12
90
30
30
30
30
30
40
30
30
30
30
400
Exploring Europe through work migrations:1990-2006
Dumitru Sandu
This is a chapter about the structure, dynamics and action of the temporary migration from
Romania to foreign countries, after 1989.
The structure is given by the answers to the questions who, where from and where to. The
dynamics (but also the intensity) results from the confrontation with the questions how many,
when, who in the future. The structure and dynamics focus on the number, on grouping events
of the same type, on how many, where from, where to and when the temporary migration
departures occurred.
The action is seen as a migration act, but also as a reaction to this act. We shall discuss here
about “how do you get to work abroad”, what you work, if you work. The migration ideology
(“it is good or it is bad”) and the mentality changes bring us back to the subjectivity of the
migrants to what they think and to what people think about them. This is just an introduction
to the subject because the action aspects will be resumed throughout the paper, by reference to
plans, consequences, networks etc.
The structure and dynamics part resumes with completely different data what we have
previously done starting from the “community census on migration” of 2001 11. The basis for
reconstructing the recent history of the temporary migration abroad is no longer a census, but
a set of three surveys, one at national level, of 1,400 people, and two surveys of 400 subjects
from the rural-urban areas Alexandria-Teleorman and Focşani-Vrancea (for details, see the
methodology briefly described in the introduction and the appendixes to the introduction).
The subchapter on mentalities develops the approach that I started to develop by “the foreign
countries in urban mentalities” 12.
On the whole, it is an exploratory analysis focused on the description of the phenomena that
make up or are associated to the temporary living abroad of Romanians, after 1989.
How many?
The type of data gathered through survey does not allow for a valid estimate of the number of
people who left the country in search of work, at the time of the interview. The calculations
can only be done at the level of the households made up of at least two individuals. If the
household is made up of one individual, and he/she is out of the country, inevitably that case
could not be included in the survey sample 13. The people who actually left come from
households made up of one individual or bigger, with legal and illegal path (inevitably underreported in the survey). This is the reason why the interpretation will not emphasize how
many they are, But how many have been gone from the existing households in the country.
One third of the population’s households are made up of at least one individual who was or is
gone abroad, after 1989. In other words, approximately two million and a half of the country’s
households 14 have had the direct experience of foreign countries, by work or by travel.
11
Dumitru Sandu, ”Emerging Transnational Migration from Romanian Villages.” Current Sociology,
53 (4): 555-582, 2005.
12
Dumitru Sandu (coord.), Viaţa socială în România urbană (Social Life in Urban Romania), Iaşi :
POLIROM, 2006.
13
At the time of the survey, 10% of the households made up of at least two people had at least one
migrant gone to work abroad. As the total number of family households (made up of two or more
related individuals) is approximately 6 million (5,807,035 at the census of 2002 ) in Romania, it results
that the minimum number of family households that currently have migrants gone to work abroad is at
least 580 thousand. The average number of individuals gone to work per “household with migrants
abroad” is 1.34. From these numbers, it results that the number of people gone abroad would be
580,000*1.34=777,200. It is obviously a underdimensioning of the phenomenon, when the numbers
reported at the emigration destination are much greater.
14
The reporting number is that of the total number of households of the population related to the
census of population and housing of 2002, namely 7,320,202 households.
13
The households that have sent the most migrants abroad, mostly for work, are the big ones,
made up of more than three individuals.
The percentage of the people still alive, of adult age, who worked abroad in the past 17 years,
was, at the time of the survey, at least 10%. “At least” indicates a minimum level of the
estimate. It is likely that the real percentage of people who worked abroad is higher. 15
The choice to work abroad has had a considerable variation on population categories (Table
4):
• it is the young people, rather than the adults or the older people, who have gone to
work;
• the number of men was greater than the number of women in the work emigration;
• for the group of men aged 18 to 59, the most frequent departures have been from the
rural area.
• for women, the migration residential pattern is more different: the temporary
emigration abroad is stronger at young women aged 18 to 29 from the rural area than
in the case of the young women from the same age group, from the urban area; on the
other hand, the temporary emigration is stronger at women aged 30 to 59 from the
urban area compared to those from the rural one.
In conclusion, those who leave to work abroad are mostly
• men, compared to women,
• young people, compared to adults and older people,
• young women from the rural area compared to those from the urban area, and
• mature women from the urban area compared to those from the rural area.
When?
The departure to work abroad was something new, an innovation, in the context of Romania
after December 1989. Therefore, it followed the path of any social innovation, with a take-off
period, followed by a maximum of social “infectiousness”.
A first stage of the temporary work emigration abroad was that between 1990 and 1995. The
annual emigration rates during this period of time did not exceed 5‰. This was the period of
a first exploration of Europe by the Romanians in search of work, of a better living. The
second stage of the exploration of Europe by the Romanians, after 1989, is between 1996 and
2001. The temporary emigration rate reaches values of 6-7‰ during this period of time.
Following the access granted within the Schengen area, in January 2002, the process
intensifies. Working abroad becomes a mass phenomenon, with a temporary emigration rate
between 10‰ and 28‰ (Figure 1).
The three stages reconstructed through survey data are also found, with slightly different
limits, in the history of the Romanian migration to Italy, the country with the greatest
attraction capacity for Romanians at present (Figure 2). According to the number of
Romanians with a residence permit in Italy, the stages are 1990-1996, 1997-1999, 2000-.
Between 1999-2003, the annual average increase of people from Romania who obtain a
residence permit in Italy is of 15 thousand people. In 2004, the number of Romanian residents
in Italy doubles compared to the previous year, reaching approximately 300 thousand people
in 2005.
Initially, in the first stage, men were those who overwhelmingly left (88%). Later on (Figure
6), the process tends towards balancing the ratio of men to women, therefore, after 2001, the
percentage of men’s departures compared to that of women’s departures represents 55% and,
respectively 45%.
The three above-mentioned stages are also easily found in the history of the recent migration
from the two micro-regions subject to the research (Figure 11): the highest percentage of
15
The method through which we gathered the data, however, does not enable a more accurate estimate.
Why? For several reasons: the people from the households made up of one individual, gone to work
abroad, could not be included in the sample; due to the illegal migration, it is possible to underreport
the departures abroad; the selection procedure, from the voting lists, favours the representation of the
family households in the sample.
14
departures to work abroad, from the Focşani area and also from the Alexandria area, is
recorded between 2002 and 2006.
In accordance with the expectations that we had by designing the micro-regional samples, the
temporary work emigration abroad started much earlier in Vrancea than in Teleorman. The
intensity of the departures was higher in the towns than in the villages, during the initial
period.
Where from /where to?
The dominant migration direction has changed with time. In the beginning of the 90’s, Israel
and Turkey were the main centres of attraction for work. Italy, Germany and Hungary were
the secondary destinations. Almost one fifth of the work departures total, between 1990 and
1995 was towards Israel (Places of origin and destinations Table 1). Later on, in the 19962001 stage, Italy became the leader in attracting Romanians who wanted to work abroad.
Israel fell in second place in the order of preference during that period. In the third stage,
which has begun in 2002, the hierarchy has changed again. The maximum attraction is
towards Italy and Spain. The departures (not the people who left) for Italy, during this period,
are as high as 50%. The departures for Spain are at 25%.
The paths of the Romanians in search of work abroad (particularly in Europe) tend to
concentrate on a small number of countries, not in a linear way, but following a stage of
extension of the search:
• in the first stage, 1990 to 1995, there were five destinations with a share exceeding
7% of the departures total - Israel, Turkey, Italy, Hungary and Germany;
• in the second stage, 1996 to 2002, Canada and Spain were added to the five countries
from the first stage. The exploration was expanding towards the western limit of the
European continent and towards America.
• in the third stage, which has begun in 2002, there is a massive concentration of the
temporary work emigrations. After having tested the life and work conditions at
multiple destinations, the Romanians decide, in particular, on two Latin-language
countries, Italy and Spain. How much this decision has been influenced by the type of
labour force demand, the ease to pass from Romanian to the language of the country
of destination, and how much by the legislation and tolerance of the place of arrival,
it remains to be determined.
The changes occurred between these stages were not only with regard to the migration field.
The volume of departures also changed. In the pre-Schengen period, the intensity of the
phenomenon doubled compared to the 1990-1995 stage, and in the period after 2001,
compared to the previous one, the intensity of the phenomenon of work migration abroad has
tripled (Places of origin and destinations Table 1).
The departures to work abroad are strongly regionalized (Figure 3). In the pre-Schengen
period, 1996-2001, the temporary emigrations abroad had relatively equal intensities, from the
three major provinces of Romania (from Moldova, Muntenia and Transilvania). Later on, at
the same time with the liberalization of access to the Schengen area, after 2001, there has
been a strong regional variation in the temporary emigration. Moldova becomes by far the
biggest exporter of workers abroad, followed by Muntenia and Transilvania, with similar
intensity parameters of temporary emigration. The West and South-West areas of the country,
represented by Crişana-Maramureş, Banat and Oltenia, are in third place with regard to the
intensity of the temporary emigration abroad. Dobrogea and Bucharest have, regardless of the
stage, the lowest temporary emigration abroad.
The regionalization of the temporary emigration is not only indicated by the variations in the
intensity of the phenomenon, but also by the clear structuring of a system of flows, which
have specific places of origin and destinations. In the 1990-2001 period (Table 3):
• with regard to the temporary emigration, Moldova focused, in particular, on Italy and
Israel;
• Dobrogea had a partially similar orientation to that of Moldova, with strong
emigration towards Italy but also, specifically, towards Germany;
• Transilvania was overwhelmingly marked by the migration path towards Hungary;
15
•
•
•
The people from Muntenia chose especially Turkey;
Oltenia was, surprisingly, dominated by the flow towards Canada;
For the people from Bucharest, Greece seems to have been the most attractive
destination.
After 2001, the degree of regionalization of the temporary emigration considerably decreases
(Table 3). For seven of the eight historical regions of the country, Italy becomes the main
destination. The exception is Muntenia, with a still predominant orientation towards Spain.
Israel practically disappears as specific destination for the emigrants from Moldova and from
Crişana-Maramureş, as it had been in the previous stage.
Some specific secondary flows also remain after 2001. This is the case of the orientation of
the people in Transilvania towards Hungary, and of the people of Dobrogea towards
Germany.
Spain was not a secondary destination for any of the regional flows, between 1990 and 2001.
In the stage after 2001, it has established itself, in this respect, as destination for the
departures from Moldova, Oltenia and Crişana-Maramureş.
The analysis at the level of the micro-region enable a more accurate observation of the
dynamics of the flows of temporary work emigration abroad (Table 13):
• the temporary emigration from the Focşani micro-region was much more
concentrated than that from the Alexandria micro-region ever since the period 19901995. In the first case, more than 60% of the departures total during the respective
period were towards Italy, and in the second case only 20% were directed towards a
single country, Spain.
• There is a strong momentum and “infectiousness” of the phenomenon at the microregional level. The flow that was the most important in the beginning, becomes even
more important with time. The migration towards Italy increases from 63%, in the
first stage, to 85% in the last period, that after 2001. Similarly, the flow towards
Spain, which was dominant from the Alexandria area, increases from 20%, in the first
stage, to 86% in the current period, after 2001.
• In the process of concentration of the flows towards specific destinations, certain
countries disappear as target for the temporary emigration. Turkey, Libya and
Yugoslavia/Serbia, for example, cease to be destinations for those in search of work,
coming from Alexandria. France, Israel and Switzerland have a similar fate, with
regard to the emigrants from the Focşani area.
Who, until now?
The major trend regarding the social composition of the migrants is towards diversification. In
the beginning, the core of the departures was represented by married men, with vocational
education or high school, from the urban area (Table 5). Later on, the flows of the temporary
emigration abroad diversify. The percentage of women, for example, in the temporary
emigration abroad total triples, the villagers come to equal the townspeople in numbers, the
percentage of not married migrants more than quadruples, and that of the secondary school
graduates increases more than eight times. The percentage of the segments that have
provided, to a great extent, the source for the pioneers of the migration abroad reduces
considerably for the university graduates and for the Magyars.
The average residential age profile of the migrants has undergone considerable changes
(Table 6). In the temporary emigration “take-off” stage, the flow of townspeople aged 30 to
54 prevailed. They represented almost half of the flow total of temporary departures from the
country to work abroad. However, the percentage of this segment in that flow’s total reduces
to almost a quarter in the current period. On the other hand, both in the urban area, and in the
rural area, the category of migrants made up of young people aged 15 to 29 becomes more
and more apparent.
In comparison with the previously described pattern, existent at the national level, at regional
level there are considerable variations in the migrants’ profile on stages of departure (Table
16). In the Alexandria micro-region, for example, the pioneering stage, 1990-1995, was
16
characteristic to vocational school graduates from the urban area. In the Focşani micro-region,
the prevailing type of migrant was that of high school graduate, residing in the rural area.
The university graduates were present to a much greater extent in the flows from Teleorman
than in those from Vrancea, especially in the beginning of the 90’s. The intermediate stage,
between 1996 and 2001, was strongly marked in Alexandria by the migration of the NeoProtestants, high school graduates. In the Focşani area, the main change in the composition of
the flows of temporary work emigration occurred in connection with the age structure. By
comparison to the previous stage, the percentage of not married individuals increased more
than five times. A similar process has occurred in Alexandria, only in the third stage, after
2001.
In the third stage, the main structural changes in Alexandria resided in the increase in the
percentage of the Romany migrants, the decrease in the percentage of Neo-Protestants, and
the significant increase in the percentage of women.
Throughout the country, the pattern of the economic migration abroad seems to have followed
different dissemination patterns. In Vrancea, it starts from developed localities to less
developed localities.
Who, in the future?
Almost 11% of the Romanians aged 18 to 59 would like to leave to work abroad within the
following year. It results that over one million Romanians (1,400,000) would like to emigrate
temporarily in order to find work. We shall see shortly that the percentage of those actually
decided or of those who already have a structured departure plan is much smaller. For now,
let’s note that even the mere intention is strongly differentiated in the social world (Figure 7):
• the previous work experience abroad is the strongest stimulus to want this again.
Approximately 40% of those who have already worked abroad would like to leave
again.
• not only one’s own experience counts in stimulating the intention to emigrate for
work, but also that of one’s family.
• the most dynamic age segment is that of the young people aged 18 to 29. 18% of
them want to emigrate abroad temporarily, for work. For those aged over 40, this
intention is almost absent.
• the percentage of men inclined towards economic emigration, to work abroad, is
almost double compared to that of women.
• the difference between the intensity of the work emigration intention, in the urban
area compared to the rural area, is small – 12% in the communes compared to 10% in
the towns.
• on the other hand, within the same historical region, the differences of emigration
intentionality between the rural and urban areas are most often significant.
o In rural Moldova, for example, the percentage of people who would like to
leave temporarily to work abroad is 17% compared to only 12% at the level
of the towns from the same historical region.
o Similarly, the people living in the villages of Banat desire more than the
townspeople to emigrate for work (19% in the rural area compared to 13% in
the urban area).
o A maximum intensity difference is that between rural Dobrogea, with 14%
intentions towards economic emigration, and the urban Dobrogea, with only
3%.
o The people of Muntenia show an intensity under the country average in
affirming the intention to temporarily emigrate for work. However, the
propensity for temporary economic emigration of the people in the urban
areas seems to be somewhat greater than that of the people in the rural areas,
at the level of this region (10% in the urban area compared to 7% in the rural
area).
o Oltenia follows the same pattern, its townspeople are more inclined to leave
to work abroad, compared to the villagers ( 13% versus 6%).
17
o
For the villagers and the townspeople in Transilvania, the percentages in
question are similar.
The degree of structuring of the intention to leave is relatively low (Figure 9): almost one
third of those with intention to leave do not have any arrangements related to the project or do
not provide specifications on that subject; a quarter of them declares that they only have
plans, but no real arrangements; 17% of them have already solved the issues related to the
job; another quarter of them have other resources to leave – money, relations, accommodation
at the destination.
The people who only intend to leave to work abroad, but do not have a structured plan or have
not saved any resources for that action are predominantly young men from the urban area,
with incomes and relational capital higher than the average, who are dissatisfied, however,
with their financial status (Table A8, Table 7). Moreover, they can speak a little Italian. It is a
type of frustration migration, still not structured at the level of the projects. Those who show
it are not poor. They have a relatively good financial status, but a much higher level of
aspirations. For this reason, their frustrations are more stressed. The target of their migration
is mainly Italy.
The people who have begun to save resources for their departure – money, relations, securing
a job or accommodation at the destination – are also young people, with a good relational
capital. What is specific to them is the fact that they have previously worked abroad or they
are part of families with experience of migration abroad. They know either Italian, or Spanish.
Those who only have plans for their departure, but do not have arrangements in that respect,
are also young people who have worked abroad. Their resources to get by abroad are,
however, low – they do not know foreign languages and do not have special relations.
It results that the degree of structuring of the intention to leave to work abroad depends
decisively on relations and the knowledge of foreign languages. The previous migration
experiences are facilitating factors for knowing foreign languages and for accumulating
relational capital.
How do you get to work abroad?
How did people leave the country in the ‘90s and how do they leave after 2001? Who were
those who facilitated the departure? What about finding work abroad? How was the
integration phase at the destination? These are the main questions that I shall answer now. Of
course, the answers are limited by the nature of the survey data that I am working with.
In the first stage, 1990-1995, it prevailed the pattern of departure without support, without
assistance from anybody. Only 22% of those who left for work during that period received
help from someone (Table 8). As the number of departures and of the people left increases,
personal networks expand. 40% of the migrants received help for departure between 1996 and
2001, and after 2001, their percentage reached 60%.
At present, the relatives in the locality are those who facilitate the departure the most (for
23% of those who migrated for work between 2002 and 2006), followed by the friends in the
locality (16%) and by the acquaintances in the locality (5%). Most of the locals who offered
their help for the departure were, at that time when the help was given, in the country of
destination.
The departure for work with help from someone follows, in essence, the supply and demand
pattern. The request or the need for help is greater for the women with a low level of
education, residing in poor villages. The offer to help mostly comes from the regional
community migration networks. In regions with more experience of emigration abroad (such
as Vrancea, compared to Teleorman), the facilitations of the departures are better established
and, consequently, more accessible 16.
16
The statements in this paragraph are derived from the regularities of a logistic regression pattern
according to which the call for help for the departure, as a dependent variable, is put in connection with
predictors relative to age, education, gender, residence environment, departure year, micro-region and
the level of development of that locality. The data used for the calculations are 1,806 of the departures
18
Finding a job abroad was, in the beginning of the ‘90, achieved especially through labour
intermediation companies (for 22% of the migrants form that period) and through friends
(25%). Gradually, the companies lost their importance, decreasing to only 11% in the stage
after 2001. The percentage of people who found a job through the Office for Labour Force
Migration also declined. In exchange, the part played by the relatives who were already
abroad becomes more and more important. If, in the beginning, they were useful for only 7%
of the migrants in finding a job, at present, more than a quarter of the migrants find a job
through them. The solution of asking the employer directly maintains a relatively constant
part for approximately 15% of the work migrants.
According to the prevailing path to find a job at the destination, we can identify (Table 9) :
• “the kinship path”, specific to those who left to work in Spain,
• “the friends and relatives path”, specific to the departure for Italy,
• “the foreign friends path”, used especially for the departures towards nearby
countries, such as Turkey and Hungary,
• “the labour intermediation companies path” in Romania, with an essential part in the
migrations towards Germany, Israel and Greece.
Details about the changes in the way of finding jobs can be provided in connection with the
migration towards Italy and towards Spain, the main countries of attraction (Table 10).
The “kinship path” prevails when it comes to Spain. However, the percentage of those who
take this path is decreasing, from 50% between 1996 and 2001 to 30% after 2001. Asking
employers and friends directly seems to be a path that is more and more used.
On the way to work in Italy, the part played by kinship is increasing. The call for the friends’
help in finding employment is also more and more frequent on that path.
Most of the people who worked abroad, worked illegally (Table 11). If, in the 1990-1995
stage, the percentage of the people who worked illegally out of the work migrants total was
34%, after 2001, that percentage increases up to 53%. The attempts to legalize the status
throughout the period of departure have increased, but the percentage of people who declare
that they have failed in those attempts has also increased.
Employment abroad is mainly in constructions, for men, and in the household, for
housekeeping activities, for women (Table14). This kind of activity has seen a substantial
increase, from 7% between 1996 and 2001 up to 28% after 2001.
Those who more often work illegally are the housekeepers (78%) and the farmers (56%)
(Figure 10).
The Romanians have worked illegally in particular in Turkey and in Italy (Table 12). Illegal
employment is specific to those who have gone to Germany, Greece, Israel, Canada and the
United States. Employment in Spain has been predominantly illegal, but with a smaller
disparity between legal and illegal than in the case of those gone to Italy or Turkey.
Conclusions
Intensity of the phenomenon. More than a third of the country’s households, approximately
two million and a half, have had at least one member gone abroad after 1989. Approximately
one fifth of the Romanian households have had at least one member who has worked abroad.
The percentage of people aged 18 to 59 who have worked abroad after 1989 is at least 12%.
Stages. The temporary departures to work abroad have had a frequency of approximately 28
to 1,000 inhabitants aged 15 to 64. The intensity of the phenomenon has become more
pronounced particularly after 2002, at the same time with the liberalization of the circulation
of Romanians within the Schengen area. At present, the phenomenon of the temporary
departure to work abroad is approximately three times more intense than in 2002.
to work abroad from the Alexandria and Focşani micro-regions. For 297 departures, the values for all
the variables of the pattern were not available. The pattern enables the accurate prediction in 63% of
the cases and has associated a R2 Nagelkerke of 0.14.
19
In the recent history of the temporary migration of the Romanians to foreign countries, there
are three separate stages marked by the time intervals 1990-1995, 1996-2001, after 2001. The
maximum work emigration rates have been of 3‰ in the first period, 7‰ in the second one,
and 28‰ in the time interval after 2001. The three stages of the Romanian temporary
emigration are found, with very small time differences, in the Romanian residence history in
Italy (Figure 2): from a maximum of 14 thousand Romanian residents during the time interval
1990-1996, they reached a maximum of 34 thousand, and at the end of 2005 the number of
residence permits given to the Romanians in Italy reached 300 thousand.
When outlining the profile of the three stages, there are not only differences in the intensity,
but also in the structure of the phenomenon:
• The exploration of Europe by the Romanian migrants began between 1990 and 1995
especially with Israel, Turkey, Italy, Hungary and Germany. In the second stage, the
exploration area expanded especially towards Spain and other distant countries in
Europe or the American continent (USA and Canada). In the Schengen stage, the
work migration flows became more and more concentrated. Italy attracts half of the
departures of this stage, and Spain attracts a quarter. The third and fourth places
regarding the appeal are still occupied by Germany and Hungary.
• The intensity differences in the temporary work migration have not been significant
between the major historical provinces of Romania – Moldova, Muntenia and
Transilvania (Figure 6). Later on, after 2001, Moldova becomes the main emigration
source. Things occur as if the ancient flow from Moldova to Banat, Braşov and
Bucharest was interrupted in the beginning of the ‘90s so that it may shift towards
Italy after 2001.
Territorial differences. Moldova, Muntenia and Oltenia are the historical regions where the
temporary migration for work abroad has been more intense than that for tourism-visit. In
xchange, in Banat, Transilvania, Dobrogea and Bucharest, the temporary departures for
tourism-visit have been more frequent than those for work (Figure 4). Moldova is typical for
the departures for economic reasons, and Banatul is typical for the pattern of region where the
temporary departures for tourism prevail.
With time, the dominant features of the emigration for work change even within the same
historical region:
• Between 1990 and 2001, the people from Moldova left in relatively equal numbers to
work in Italy and in Israel. After 2001, the departures to Italy from this region
reached a total of 76% of the departures for work total (Table 2, Table 3).
• From Muntenia, by 2001, people left to work especially in Turkey. Later on, Spain
has become the dominant target.
• The people from Oltenia reorientate from Canada to Italy.
• For the people of Transilvania, the change of direction in the work migration involves
the replacement of Hungary, as preferred destination, with Italy.
• The people of Banat also replace Serbia and Sweden, as preferred destinations, with
Italy.
Socio-demographic differences. Initially, between 1990 and 1995, the departures for work
were very selective. The people who left were more men than women, more townspeople than
villagers, more mature people than young ones. Later on, after 2001, the flows have balanced
each other: the percentage of women who have left to work abroad has become close to that
of men (Table 5); the percentage of villagers has become almost equal to that of townspeople;
the percentage of those who have secondary education has increased in the departures total;
the young people tend to become dominant in the work emigration flows.
Departure. Between 1990 and 1995, the typical kind of departures was the pioneeringadventure kind. Later on, in particular after 2001, the departures “with someone’s help” have
become dominant. This someone is predominantly a relative who is already in the country of
destination (Table 8).
Work at the destination. The dominant pattern is that according to which the migrant in
search of a job already has a relative at the destination. The latter “arranges”, most of the
20
times illegally, a job for the relative in the country. The percentage of people who worked
illegally is increasing, from 34% between 1990 and 1995 up to 53% after 2001.
The constructions for men (98%), the housekeeping for women (88%), and the agriculture
(72% men and 28% women) are the main occupations of Romanians abroad (Table 11). The
percentage of housekeeping work tripled in the work total carried out by Romanians abroad,
between 1990 and 1995, and 2002 and 2006. The illegal practice of an occupation is very
common in the case of housekeeping and agricultural occupations in the country of
destination.
Generally, the illegal occupation has been much more common in Turkey and Italy, and the
legal one in Germany, Greece, Israel, Canada and the United States of America.
Intentions to leave for work. Much like the actual departures, the work emigration intentions
focus on destinations like Italy (34%) and Spain (20%). Germany and USA follow, very far
behind.
The percentage of people who would like to leave for work abroad within the following year,
out of the total of people aged 18 to 59, is approximately 11%. However, a quarter of them do
not have any kind of structuring of their departure plan. For another quarter of the potential
migrants, some departure plans are formulated. A percentage of approximately 40%
represents those who have already started to save resources or to make some departure
arrangements (Figure 9).
The strongest intentions to temporarily emigrate for work are those of young men from the
rural areas of Moldova and Banat. Among the factors that favour considerably the intention to
leave to work abroad, we mention the previous work experience abroad, the frustration related
to one’s own financial status, the knowledge of a foreign language (Italian, Spanish or
English, in particular), the existence of a good stock of personal-family relations, and being
part of a household where somebody has worked abroad before.
Appendix: Technical details of data analysis
Table A8 Predictors of the intention of temporarily emigrating to work abroad
Predictors
with intention but no
with resources saved for
with structured plan departure
structured plan
Exp(B) Sig.
Exp(B) Sig.
Exp(B)
Sig.
0.97
0.01
0.95
0.00
0.95
0.00
2.51
0.00
1.90
0.08
0.89
0.76
2.17
0.03
1.82
0.13
1.20
0.65
age
man*
lives in urban area*
personal income in the past
1.03
0.04
1.00
0.95
1.02
0.30
month
relational capital in the country
1.28
0.02
1.17
0.22
1.46
0.00
has worked abroad*
1.34
0.58
2.98
0.03
4.94
0.00
is part of a household where
someone lived/lives temporarily
1.09
0.80
1.61
0.23
3.12
0.01
abroad*
temporary emigration rate from
1.00
0.56
1.01
0.07
0.99
0.45
the locality 2002
mass media consumption index
1.02
0.90
1.64
0.03
0.95
0.80
speaks Spanish*
1.16
0.83
0.44
0.45
3.49
0.02
speaks Italian*
4.30
0.00
2.28
0.17
3.25
0.02
frustration index
1.13
0.02
1.06
0.34
1.12
0.07
Data source: TLA Survey, basic sample, people aged 18 to 59. The table shows the results of an
analysis by multinomial logistic regression. N=878. Reference category – people with no intention to
leave to work abroad. R2 Nagelkerke =0.26.
• Dichotomous variables where we put 1 for the existence of the attribute and 0 for its absence.
Table A9 Predictors of the opinion “the people who have worked abroad think differently”
21
do not think differently -1
dependent
variable threshold non response 0
years of school finished
age
household goods index
location variables
Personal income (ln)
(predictors)
migration experience
worked
travelled
with mig. intention
in mig. family
no mig. exper.*
gender
woman
man*
Data source: TLA Survey, basic sample R2 Nagelkerke=0.08.
* reference category
22
regression coefficient
-0.37
p
0.21
1.52
0.04
0.00
0.08
0.05
0.71
0.60
0.60
0.08
0.00
0.00
0
0.00
0.05
0.99
0.00
0.52
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.61
.
0.98
.
Table A10 Indices used in data analysis
type of migration experience
relational capital in the country
is part of a migrant household
1 has worked abroad, 2 has not worked but travelled for other
reasons, 3 has neither worked nor travelled but intends to leave to
work, 4 has no migration experience, nor intentions to leave but
lives in a household with former or current migrants abroad, 5 has
no migration experience abroad whatsoever (see Figure 18).
index for counting the institutions where the individual admits to
have ”connections that he/she can count on” – town hall, police,
business world, county institutions, court, for medical problems,
for getting a job
is part of a household where someone lived/lives temporarily
abroad
temporary emigration rate from the
gone temporarily abroad at the time of the census of 2002
locality 2002
mass media consumption index
factorial score with variables related to the frequency of reading
the newspapers, watching TV and listening to radio.
financial frustration index
index for counting the goods that the individual does not own
because he/she can not afford them – car, mobile phone, telephone
set, refrigerator, cable TV/satellite dish, colour TV, video, freezer,
washing machine, automatic washing machine, computer, access
to the Internet, Thermopane glass windows
23
Tables and charts
19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06
Stages
28.0
30.0
24.6
25.0
21.4
20.0
15.4
15.0
9.4
10.0
7.4
6.3
3.4 3.4 2.6 3.1
5.0 2.0 2.3
0.0 2.0 2.3 1.7
1.4 1.1 1.1
3.1 2.9
4.9
6.0
6.6
6.0
4.3
4.0
16.015.1
14.6
11.7
4.0
1.4 1.7
first departure
total departures
Figure 1 Temporary departures to work abroad in 1,000 inhabitants, 1990-2006
Data source: TLA, departures basic folder.
Example of data reading: in 2005, there were recorded approximately 28 temporary departures to
work abroad in 1,000 inhabitants aged 15 to 64. The chart does not refer to the number of migrants,
but to that of temporary migration acts. The figures in the chart represent temporary emigration
abroad rates for the population aged 15 to 64 from the 1,400 households in the sample. No events
associated with people who definitively left the household or with those who deceased can be
recorded.
Figure 2 Romanian residents in Italy, 1990-2003
(Data source: http://www.migrationinformation.org/GlobalData/countrydata/data.cfm Children under
18 who did not have their own residence permit and were mentioned in their parents’ permit are not
included. In 2004 and 2005, the number of Romanian residents in Italy is of 240,513 and, respectively
297,570 according to the data from ISTAT http://demo.istat.it/str2005/index_e.html, consulted in
October. These last two figures are not fully comparable to those of the period between 1990 and
2003.)
Places of origin and destinations
Table 1 Temporary departures to work abroad on countries and time periods (%)
Country of destination
Italy
1990-1995
8
Migration period
1996-2001
2002-2006
22
50
24
Total
40
Spain
Germany
Hungary
Israel
Turkey
Greece
Canada
Belgium
Russia
others
NR
2
7
8
18
10
2
9
6
9
17
7
4
7
1
24
18
5
5
4
5
0
6
1
3
2
2
1
2
5
0
1
5
0
1
21
10
9
11
15
8
3
5
%
100
100
100
100
Departures total N
61
107
360
528
People gone total
33
81
203
317
departures per migrant
1.84
1.32
1.77
1.66
Source: TLA Survey, folder of departures to work abroad between 1990 and 2006. N=528.
25
28.4
25.0
19.7
21.7
30.0
20.0
1.8
1.6
2.3
0.7
0.9
2.3
7.8
0.9
1.1
1.6
1.6
0.9
2.5
6.3
2.7
1.8
4.3
2.9
5.0
5.8
10.0
9.3
9.9
15.0
Bu
cu
re
st
i
ob
ro
ge
a
C
ris
D
O
Ba
na
t
lte
ni
a
es
an
aM
ar
am
ur
an
ia
Tr
an
si
lv
M
ol
do
va
M
un
te
ni
a
0.0
1990-1995
1996-2001
2002-2006
Figure 3 Temporary emigration abroad rate on historical regions and time periods (‰)
Source: TLA Survey, folder with adult people in households. N=3499.
Example of chart data reading: the rate of temporary departures to work from Moldova,
between 2002 and 2006, was of 28.4‰.
25
20
20
18
14
15
12
11
5
3
11
10
9
10
4
10
9
8
8
5
4
0
Moldova
Muntenia
percentage of departures for work
Oltenia
CrisanaMaramures
Bucuresti
Dobrogea
Transilvania
Banat
percentage of departures for other reasons beside work and commerce
Figure 4 Percentage of adult people, aged 18+, who have worked abroad before or have
temporarily left the country for other reasons than work or trade, on historical regions. 19902006
N= 3993. Reading example: 11% of the adult people in the households included in the survey,
from Moldova, have worked abroad between 1990 and 2006.
26
Israel
26
15
7
Italy
26
11
20
Hungary
3
Turkey
15
19
7
3
Spain
3
7
13
13
Germany
5
11
29
Canada
7
27
Greece
7
7
Belgium
4
20
Serbia
29
57
17
20
14
6
17
28
14
6
9
8
6
5
7
6
4
12
Sweden
NR
13
4
0
3
2
5
15
7
14
Austria
8
Total
15
3
others
Bucharest
Banat
CrişanaMaramureş
Transilvania
Dobrogea
Oltenia
Moldova
Muntenia
Table 2 Main destinations of temporary emigration on historical regions, 1990-2001
22
2
11
2
22
1
14
8
0
11
41
11
14
5
7
33
29
11
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Source: TLA Survey, folder with departures to work between 1990 and 2001. N=168.
Italy
76
21
62
Spain
14
54
21
1
8
Germany
75
13
Hungary
Greece
42
41
43
17
29
4
3
3
29
17
6
3
1
3
3
13
12
4
6
France
1
1
3
others
6
14
6
NR
2
3
6
13
75
50
24
5
4
18
13
2
2
7
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Source: TLA Survey, folder with departures to work between 2002 and 2006. N=360.
27
Total
Bucharest
Banat
Crişana Maramureş
Transilvania
Dobrogea
Oltenia
Muntenia
Moldova
Table 3 Main destinations of temporary emigration on historical regions, 2001-2006
13
10
3
100
100
Who left to work abroad
household with 6+ pers
household with 5 pers.
household with 3 pers
55
56
58
65
45
44
42
35
total households
67
33
20
15
80
85
0%
20%
40%
household without migrants
60%
80%
100%
household with migrants
Figure 5 Percentage of households with people who have worked abroad on gender, age and
residence categories
Data source: TLA Survey, basic folder, weighted for number of households. Example of data
reading: at least 35% of the current households made up of three individuals have had a direct
experience abroad through at least one individual who has worked or travelled abroad between
1990 and 2006.
Table 4 Percentage of people who have worked abroad on age, residential environments and
gender categories
age
18 to 29
left from
rural
urban
rural
urban
rural
urban
men
women
total
19.0
15.7
17.4
13.7
11.2
12.5
30 to 59
17.5
4.3
11.1
11.4
9.6
10.5
60+
0.4
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.5
0.5
Total
11.8
7.1
9.4
Source: TLA Survey, folder with adult people in households. N=3994. Reading: 19% of the young
people aged 18 to 29 from the rural area have worked abroad between 1990 and 2006. The data refers
to the age at the time of the survey and not to the age at the time of the departure abroad.
28
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
12
15
35
88
85
65
1990-1995
45
1996-2001
men
total 1990-2006
55
2002-2006
women
Figure 6 Departures to work abroad on stages and gender categories
From the total of temporary departures to work abroad, between 1990 and 1995, 88% were
departures of men. Source: TLA Survey, folder with departures to work abroad. N=525.
29
Table 5 Who left to work abroad (%)
stages
1990-1995
12
88
41
59
92
8
gender
Total
1996-2001
15
85
48
52
89
10
1
76
19
2002-2006
44
56
49
51
94
4
2
60
31
women
34
men
66
urban
rural
48
urban
52
nationality
Romanians
93
Magyars
6
others
1
Civil status
married
88
66
not married
7
26
others
(widow/widower,
divorced etc.)
5
6
10
7
education
primary
3
3
1
2
secondary
2
8
16
13
vocational and
high school
78
79
77
77
university/college
17
9
7
9
Data source: the TLA Survey, temporary departures to work, people aged 15 to 64. For each question
there are calculated the percentages during that stage, on columns. Example of reading: 56% of the
departures between 2002 and 2006 have been departures of men.
Table 6 Departures to work abroad on residential environments, age categories and stages
departures
from
rural
rural
rural
age category
15 to 29
30 to 54
55 to 64
urban
urban
urban
15 to 29
30 to 54
55 to 64
1990-1995
5
31
5
stages
1996-2001
12
33
3
total
2002-2006
26
23
12
22
49
39
27
10
1
2
100
100
100
Data source: the TLA Survey, temporary departures to work, people aged 15 to 64.
30
21
26
1
18
32
3
100
Intentions of migrating for work
3
Dobrogea urban
Crisana-Maram. urban
Oltenia rural
Muntenia rural
Bucharest
Crisana-Maram. rural
Muntenia urban
Moldova urban
Oltenia urban
Transilvania rural
Banat urban
Transilvania urban
Dobrogea rural
Moldova rural
Banat rural
6
6
women
men
7
8
9
10
12
13
13
13
14
14
7
2
50-59 years
40-49 years
30-39 years
18-29 years
17
19
15
9
13
household with migrant in the
household with migrant in the past
18
20
total sample
40
11
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Figure 7 Percentage of people who want to leave to work abroad within the following year
Data source: TLA Survey, basic sample, subsample of people aged 18 to 59. N=973. Example of
reading: 40% of the people aged 18 to 59, who have worked abroad, would like to leave again to
work outside the country within the following year.
26
unspecified
13
others
3
Germany
4
USA
20
Spain
34
Italy
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Figure 8 Countries where those with intentions to leave would like to work (%)
Data source: TLA Survey, basic sample, subsample of people with intention to leave to work abroad.
N=106. Example of reading: 20 % of the people aged 18 to 59, who would like to leave abroad to
work, within the following year, target Spain as place of destination .
31
5
NA
3
money
8
yes, accommodation
13
yes, connections
17
yes, a job
26
only plans
27
no
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Figure 9 “Do you have any arrangements made for the departure?”
Data source: TLA Survey, basic sample. The percentages are calculated from the total of those who
declared that they intended to leave to work abroad, within the following year, and who were aged 18
and 59. N=106. Although multiple answers were possible, the number of those who indicated several
choices is very low, therefore, we noted the percentages for those who provided a single answer.
Example of reading: 26% of those who declared that they intended to leave to work abroad, within the
following year, mentioned that they had not only plans to this end, they did not take any action.
Table 7 Profile of the people according to the degree of structuring of the intention to leave to
work abroad
with
no intention of with intention intention
emigrating
but no plan and plan
39
34
33
46
65
64
3
19
12
3
8
2
23
45
48
0.58
1.19
0.95
with intention
and resources
saved
30
48
28
19
37
1.54
total
average age (years old)
38
% men
48
% speak Italian
6
% speak Spanish
4
% speak English
26
relational capital index
0.69
percentage of people in
sample total
84
6
4
6
100
Data source: TLA Survey, basic sample, people aged 18 to 59
Example of reading: 28% of those who intend to leave to work abroad and have resources to this end
state that they can speak Italian.
32
Means for departure and for finding jobs
Table 8 How the migrant arrived abroad (%)
stages
19901995
22
69
8
5
7
3
15
69
0
19
3
0
78
0
10
he/she received help from
someone for departure
Total
19962001
40
56
4
16
6
3
20
56
0
16
15
4
60
6
7
20022006
60
38
2
23
16
5
18
38
1
13
39
5
40
3
3
yes
52
no
46
NR
3
Who helped him/her leave
local, relative
19
local, friend
13
local, acquaintance
4
others
18
not the case
46
NR
0
Where the person helping
in the country
14
him/her lived
in the country of destination
30
in another country
4
not specified
48
NR
3
How did you manage to get contracts mediated by the
4
a job abroad
labour force office
through labour intermediation
22
21
11
14
companies in Romania
through relatives abroad
7
13
27
22
through friends abroad
25
24
27
26
I asked the employer directly
17
13
15
15
others
12
10
12
12
NR
7
10
5
7
Data source: TLA Survey, temporary departures to work, people aged 15 to 64.
For each question there are calculated the percentages during that stage, on columns. Example of
reading: 69% of those who left to work between 1990 and 1995 did not receive special assistance from
an individual for departure.
33
Table 9 “How did you manage to find work abroad, through….?” (%)
country where he/she contracts through the
worked
labour force office
labour
relatives
intermediation abroad
companies in
Romania
friends
abroad
asking
employer
directly
others NR total
Spain
6
4
32
23
21
11
Italy
0
11
29
31
13
Hungary
3
3
27
40
Turkey
0
6
13
Germany
6
29
Israel
19
Canada
%
N
3
100
95
8
8
100
213
13
13
0
100
30
38
19
13
13
100
16
9
18
18
18
3
100
34
66
3
0
0
3
9
100
32
0
0
0
40
10
50
0
100
10
Greece
0
42
0
8
25
8
17
100
12
other countries
12
14
14
14
12
27
8
100
66
non-response
4
4
0
44
19
4
26
100
27
total
4
14
21
26
14
12
8
100
535
Data source: TLA Survey, temporary departures to work, people aged 15 to 64, 535 people who have
worked abroad in a total of 1,400 interviewed households.
Table 10 Ways to find a job in Italy and in Spain, on stages (%)
Time
period
contracts
labour
force office
companies in
Romania
friends
abroad
50
20
asking others
employer
directly
NR total
%
1996-2001
2
30
24
23
11
4
100
84
Italy
1996-2001
17
21
21
13
21
8
100
24
2002-2006
11
31
32
14
6
6
100 176
7
10
N
Spain
2002-2006
20
relatives
abroad
Data source: TLA Survey, temporary departures to work, people aged 15 to 64
34
100
10
Table 11 Where and how did the migrant work?
stages
total
1990199620021995
2001
2006
What fields did you work
agriculture
14
14
16
15
in?
constructions
41
42
28
32
housekeeping
0
7
28
20
others
44
32
26
29
NR
2
5
3
3
Did you work legally or
legally
53
57
31
39
illegally throughout this
illegally
34
31
53
46
departure?
both legally and illegally
8
7
9
8
NR
5
6
7
6
Did you legalize your
no, I didn’t even try
68
58
53
55
situation during that
no, although I tried
0
10
28
23
departure to work?
yes
12
28
13
15
NR
20
5
6
7
Data source: TLA Survey, temporary departures to work, people aged 15 to 64.
For each question there are calculated the percentages during that stage, on columns. Example of
reading: 41% of the departures to work between 1990 and 1995 were for construction work.
100%
0
3
6
5
6
8
both legal and clandestine
7
13
90%
9
DA
8
78
45
4
4
39
80%
26
70%
60%
56
40
clandestine
50%
78
40%
62
30%
20%
42
40
legal
10%
13
6
0%
agriculture
contruction
housekeeping
others
NA
all the areas
occupation
Figure 110 Status of the migrants abroad on occupations
Data source: TLA Survey, temporary departures to work, people aged 15 to 64. Example of reading:
56% of the total number of Romanians, who have worked in agriculture, have worked with illegal
status.
Table 12 How the migrants have worked abroad, on countries (%)
The migrants have worked abroad ….
both
illegally
illegally
legally and legally non-response
35
total
%
N
Turkey
75
25
0
0
100
16
Italy
60
22
10
9
100
213
Spain
45
28
15
12
100
95
Germany
38
50
0
12
100
34
Hungary
30
40
17
13
100
30
Greece
25
75
0
0
100
12
Israel
6
94
0
0
100
32
Canada
0
100
0
0
100
10
USA
0
100
0
0
100
9
other countries
37
47
4
12
100
57
non-response
37
56
0
7
100
27
countries total
45
39
8
9
100
535
Data source: TLA Survey, temporary departures to work, people aged 15 to 64. Example of reading:
60% of the total number of Romanians, who have worked in Italy, have worked with illegal status.
36
Focşani and Alexandria as contrasting micro-regions
100%
1
90%
DA
80%
49.5
70%
60%
61.6
77.3
82.3
50%
40%
stage
2002-2006
30%
20%
14.9
10%
14.9
2.8
stage
1996-2001
29.1
7.8
9.3
urban
rural
stage
1990-2006
36.3
14.2
0%
rural
urban
Focsani
Alexandria
Figure 11 Departures to work abroad on micro-regions, residential environments and stages
Data source: TLA Survey, micro-regions sample
Example of reading: 82.3% of the total number of departures to work abroad, from the rural
Alexandria-Teleorman micro-region, have been recorded between 2002 and 2006.
37
Table 13 Temporary departures to work abroad, on places of origin, destinations and time
periods (%)
Alexandria* micro-region
Focşani** micro-region
1990-1995 1996-2001
2002-2006
1990-1995 1996-2001 2002-2006
Spain
20.0
76.6
86.3
Italy
62.6
83.3
84.6
Germany
16.0
2.3
4.9
Turkey
12.1
3.0
0.4
Israel
12.0
3.4
Germany
5.5
0.7
1.0
USA
8.0
5.1
2.0
France
4.4
1.1
0.2
France
8.0
0.6
1.3
Israel
3.3
1.1
0.2
Turkey
8.0
0.6
Greece
3.3
4.1
2.3
Libya
6.0
0.6
Switzerland
3.3
0.4
Yugoslavia
6.0
0.6
Spain
2.2
1.9
3.3
Italy
2.9
2.7
Holland
2.9
0.4
others
16.0
4.6
1.5
others
3.3
3.0
5.6
non-response
0.9
non-response
1.9
2.1
Total %
100
100
100
Total %
100
100
100
N
50
175
968
N
91
269
518
Data source: TLA Survey, micro-regions sample. Example of reading: 84.6% of the total number of
departures to work from the Focşani-Vrancea micro-region, between 2002 and 2006, have had Italy as
destination. *AlexandriaTeleorman micro-region: Alexandria, Poroschia, Călineşti, Drăgăneşti-Vlaşca,
Furculeşti, Necşeşti(Lăceni), Piatra, Ţigăneşti, Viişoara, Nenciuleşti, Frăsinet. **Focşani-Vrancea
micro-region: Focşani, Câmpineanca, Goleşti, Garoafa, Gura Caliţei, Năneşti, Poiana Cristei, Suraia,
Tănăsoaia, Vânători. In each of the two micro-regions, we interviewed 400 people in households with
migration experience abroad (with people who have been or are gone abroad).
38
Table 14 How migrants leave and what occupations they have abroad, on micro-regions of
departure (%)
Alexandria-Teleroman
Focşani-Vrancea
micro-region
micro-region
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
35.5
57.7
56.6
69.0
61.5
39.2
43.2
25.4
2.9
3.1
0.2
5.6
100
100
100
100
Did someone help yes
you at departure? no
NR
How did you
manage to find
work on
departure?
What fields did
you work in?
contracts mediated by the labour
force office
companies in Romania
companies abroad
through relatives abroad
through friends abroad
I asked the employer directly
others
NR
agriculture
constructions
housekeeping
others
NR
Did you work
legally
legally or illegally illegally
throughout this
Both legally and illegally
departure?
NR
0.7
0.6
1.4
1.3
2.8
4.4
0.2
0.9
2.9
26.1
27.2
28.8
8.2
3.2
100
17.5
58.5
4.6
18.2
1.2
100
34.8
40.8
21.1
3.2
100
3.7
34.4
26.7
20.0
6.2
4.0
100
16.7
3.3
53.8
24.0
2.1
100
42.7
37.7
16.5
3.1
100
9.1
31.3
32.7
18.8
5.5
1.1
100
6.6
60.5
3.4
28.8
0.7
100
30.2
39.6
27.9
2.3
100
2.5
49.2
29.2
6.9
6.6
3.4
100
3.8
9.4
46.7
36.1
4.1
100
35.1
31.3
29.5
4.1
100
681
520
560
319
N (number of departures )
Data source: TLA Survey, micro-regions sample – departures to work.
Example of reading: 40.8% of the men’s departures from the Alexandria micro-region, men who have
worked abroad, have been associated with illegal work at the destination. The calculations are done by
comparison to the number of departures to work, between 1990 and 2006, for the 800 people
interviewed in the two micro-regions, and not to the number of people.
Table 15 Migration and development profile of the communities included in the micro-regional
surveys
Locality
Village
Percentage of departures to qlife
work abroad out of total,
between 1990 and 2006
1990-1995 1996- 20022001 2006
% Neo…. village Commuti
Protestants
ng rate
departures out
1990
of departures
total
Alexandria micro-region
ALEXANDRIA
FRĂSINET
VIIŞOARA
FRĂSINET
VIIŞOARA
.
7.8
14.9
77.3
5.3
14.4
13.6
8.7
13.6
19.6
72.9
71.7
.
140.7
0.0
2.2
39
37.7
central
peripheral
23.8
26.9
NECŞEŞTI
LĂCENI
7.9
19.7
72.4
117.6
0.0
peripheral
186.9
POROSCHIA
CALOMFIREŞTI
7.1
7.1
85.7
97.7
0.0
central
20.6
CĂLINEŞTI
CĂLINEŞTI
4.5
9.1
86.4
111.9
4.5
central
57.2
ŢIGĂNEŞTI
DRĂGĂNEŞTIVLAŞCA
ŢIGĂNEŞTI
DRĂGĂNEŞTI
VLASCA
2.6
26.5
70.9
118.0
60.7
central
18.3
1.3
8.0
90.7
98.0
0.0
central
122.4
POROSCHIA
POROSCHIA
0.0
10.0
90.0
97.7
3.3
central
12.9
FURCULEŞTI
FURCULEŞTI
0.0
6.2
93.8
-0.2
31.7
peripheral
15.7
NENCIULEŞTI
NENCIULEŞTI
0.0
13.6
86.4
.
48.1
central
11.7
PIATRA
PIATRA
0.0
7.1
92.9
25.2
2.4
14.2
36.3
49.5
92.8
0.0
Focşani micro-reg.
0.0
FOCŞANI
.
.
33.1
SURAIA
SURAIA
22.7
30.3
47.0
60.3
0.0
central
100.0
CÂMPINEANCA
CÂMPINEANCA
20.0
40.0
40.0
120.9
0.0
central
183.5
GOLEŞTI
GOLEŞTI
14.6
34.1
51.2
169.8
0.0
central
38.5
POIANA CRISTEI POIANA CRISTEI
11.8
26.5
61.8
-55.3
0.0
peripheral
11.2
GAROAFA
STRĂJESCU
10.2
18.6
71.2
76.3
0.0
peripheral
107.3
CÂMPINEANCA
PIETROASA
10.0
43.3
46.7
120.9
0.0
central
11.0
GURA CALIŢEI
GURA CALIŢEI
8.2
31.1
60.7
-93.4
0.0
peripheral
8.2
TĂNĂSOAIA
MARTINEŞTI
7.2
26.3
66.5
-77.0
0.0
central
20.3
NĂNEŞTI
DEALU
POIANA CRISTEI CUCULUI
5.3
37.9
56.8
-59.6
0.0
peripheral
33.6
3.1
12.5
84.4
-55.3
0.0
peripheral
34.2
VÂNĂTORI
0.0
25.5
74.5
116.7
0.0
peripheral
NĂNEŞTI
RĂDULEŞTI
Table 16 Migrants’ profile according to the time period and the micro-region of departure
Alexandria micro-region
Focşani micro-region
1990-1995 1996-2001 2001-2006 1990-1995 1996-2001 2001-2006
men *
84.0
62.9
54.1
75.8
66.2
60.2
not married*
8.0
8.6
16.1
3.3
16.4
22.0
Romany*
0.0
1.1
10.1
0.0
0.0
0.6
Neo-Protestants*
6.0
38.3
22.7
0.0
0.0
0.0
secondary ed. grad.*
22.0
4.0
18.4
4.4
4.5
11.6
vocational ed. grad.*
32.0
18.9
13.7
23.1
34.9
28.6
high school ed.
grad.*
20.0
36.6
36.0
49.5
48.7
40.0
university ed. grad.*
16.0
17.7
9.3
4.4
4.5
4.2
townspeople*
54.8
30.3
29.0
29.7
25.7
18.1
average
development level of
57
74
56
41
24
11
locality of departure
Data source: TLA Survey, micro-regions sample – departures to work.
* Dichotomous variables with code 1 for the existence of the attribute and 0 for its absence. Example of
reading:
40
Consequences and plans
Incomes and investments from migration
Vlad Grigoraş
International migration is seen, at discourse level, as one of the main engines of
change both in the life quality of individuals (by the substantial increase in the level of
income), and in their life style (by changes in their needs and expectations regarding the type
of consumption), after 1989. In this respect, more than 80% of the interviewees believe that
those who leave to work abroad have a higher level of well-being than other individuals (this
perception does not seem to be affected by the personal migration experience – Table 3 17).
To what extent is this perception confirmed by reality, in other words to what extent
does international (temporary) migration experience actually change the type of consumption?
How many households currently have income sources from migration, and how important are
these sources of income? Are the money from migration invested, and if yes, what would
individuals rather do with these incomes? These are some of the questions that this chapter
will attempt to answer.
Incomes from international migration
The strategies to “bring money into the country” are numerous (some individuals prefer to
save money for a longer period of time, in order to send it back to the country for investment,
others buy themselves durables from abroad or send money frequently) – which makes it
impossible to estimate the income flow from abroad, at present. However, we can estimate
what is the percentage of households that currently have money from abroad, as source of
income, by identifying the families with members who work abroad and the families with
former members who work abroad and who still send money and/or packages into the
country.
Thus, more than 5% of the interviewed households, at national level, currently have at
least one member gone to work abroad (Table 1). It is very likely that these households
receive money from the individuals abroad, all the more as over 50% of them include at least
one individual gone abroad, married to someone in the country. Apart from these migrant
households, another 2% have former members who are abroad and still send packages or
money.
Table 1 Households with members gone to work abroad or with former
members who send packages/money into the country, (%)
% households
Households with one member gone to work abroad
3.9
Households with 2 or more members gone to work abroad
1.4
Households with former members abroad, who send packages or money
2.1
Of course, apart from the individuals who can be easily identified as bringing money
to the households that they are or were part of, there are others who send money into the
country to relatives/friends, but their number is probably even lower. The existence of such
people is also confirmed by our data – from the 12 cases who declared that the most important
17
Nevertheless, we notice that those who do not have a migration experience were not able to estimate,
to a greater extent, whether those who work abroad are wealthier (about 12% of them answered NS/NR
compared to maximum 9%, in the case of the other respondents).
41
source of income in the past month came from “other people abroad”, five households have
no member or former member currently abroad 18.
Regardless of the source of the money, we can see that 5% of the individuals who
believe that their life, at present, is better than the one they had a few years ago, mention that
this change is mainly due to the money coming from migration.
Investments made with incomes from international migration
The current picture of the possible sources of income from migration is not enough
yet; it is important to also observe what is the amount of the resources brought into the
country in the course of so many years of international migration. The direct impact of the
migration abroad can be easily “counted” by analysing the investments made with the money
earned from working abroad. The analysis of the investments also allows us to observe to
what extent the households invest this money in activities that produce income or, on the
contrary, just in durables that do not produce income.
The national data show that, in the last five years, a significant part of the Romanians
invested in durables: 50% of the Romanians bought household appliances, 37% expanded
/modernized their home, and 16% bought cars, etc. (Table 4). However, regardless of the
goods purchased, about 10% of the investments were made with the help of the incomes from
migration (Table 5). If we narrow the analysis to just the individuals who purchased goods
with money from the migration abroad, we notice that more than 50% of them invested in
expanding/modernizing their home, and that the same percentage also invested in purchasing
household appliances. A significant percentage (about 21%) represents the households that, in
the last five years, spent money from migration in order to purchase one or several cars.
The regional data (by combining the information about the Alexandria micro-region
in Teleorman and the Focşani micro-region in Vrancea) allows us to analyse more accurately
how the individuals spend the money earned by working abroad, as, in this case, the migrants
sample is more substantial, and the number of those who purchased goods with money from
abroad is much higher. The regional sample provides also us with the possibility to
differentiate the consumption of the individuals according to their residential environment
(even though the urban environment is only represented by individuals who live in towns of
up to 200,000 inhabitants). The data in Table 2 allows us to draw our conclusions:
With regard to those who used, in the last 5 years, money from migration in order to
purchase goods or make other investments, 72% in the rural area and 84% in the urban
area have purchased/built houses or expanded/modernized their existing homes. Building
a house is a strategy widely spread among those who live in the rural area, compared to
those who live in the urban area, the latter preferring to improve the comfort of their
existing homes.
Almost three quarters of the individuals (with slight differences between the two
environments) bought household appliances with the money from migration.
Purchasing a car is one of the widely spread strategies of spending the money (about 30%
of the respondents who invested the money earned during their migration preferring it –
with slight differences between the urban and the rural areas).
With regard to the productive activities, we notice the existence of some clear differences
between the strategies of individuals from the urban area and those of the individuals
from the rural area – if, in the rural area, the households invest the money mainly in
agricultural activities (buying land or tending the lands they already own and buying
agricultural machines), in the urban area, the individuals have been interested to a greater
extent in investing in other types of business.
If we compare the two micro-regions (Alexandria and Focşani), we observe that, in
Focşani, the percentage of households with migration experience that made investments,
18
In this case, the number of cases is less relevant, what matters is only the fact that there are such
households in the sample.
42
in the last five years, with money from abroad, is much higher than in the Alexandria area
– 62% compared to 35%. Moreover, the structure of the expenses incurred with the
money from abroad varies a lot in the two micro-regions – which is probably explicable
in terms of the different migration experience. Thus, even though in Teleorman the
percentage of people who expanded/modernized their homes is higher than in Vrancea, in
the Focşani area, the individuals built houses for themselves, purchased lands, invested in
cars or in household appliances, etc. to a much greater extent (Table 8).
Table 2 Percentage of people who invested in various goods, in the total number of
people who invested with incomes from their migration abroad, on environments
Rural Urban
Rural Urban
area
area
area
area
Purchased house
11
17
Tended agricultural land
43
2
Built house
27
13
Bought agricultural machines
5
0
Expanded/modernized home
59
76
Set up a business
2
12
Purchased car
28
37
Bought household appliances
69
74
Bought lands for house building
8
4
Tourism
11
26
Bought lands for agriculture
14
1
Bought computer
13
34
Data source: TLA Survey, regional sample (Teleorman and Vrancea)
The number of cases in the urban area is 295, and that in the rural area is 93.
The departures abroad have had, it seems, a greater impact on the consumption of
durables than the data above-mentioned shows – from the respondents who had in their
household members who left abroad after 1989, more than 22% declared that someone’s
migration abroad brought transformations of the home and 31% that the experience abroad
led to changes in the goods purchased, in general (Table 9 and Table 11). These percentages
are much higher compared to the percentages of the households with migration experience
after 1989, which invested in various goods with money from abroad (Table 7). We observe
that, from those who declared that the departures abroad brought transformations of the home,
only 38% transformed their home (house purchasing/building or expansion/modernization)
with money from abroad, 32% with money from the country, and 29% did not make any
transformations at all, which supports the idea that the migration has not brought changes in
the life style just by means of the money earned from working abroad, but also by means of
the changes in values, expectations, needs.
The above-mentioned data shows us that the individuals who go abroad buy more
durables for comfort (cars, household appliances), and less goods that can be used in
productive activities. However, we wonder whether the tendency to invest in such goods is
just a characteristic of the migrants or it occurs to the same extent in other individuals with
similar socio-economic characteristics (education, incomes, residential environment, etc.).
The data in Table 12 indicates the following:

The most important predictors of the number of durables in the household are the
classical indicators that may provide an indirect picture of the level of a household’s
current or long-term incomes – the amount of expenses of the household, the number of
employed individuals, the maximum level of education of the adults and the residential
environment.
The indicators regarding the migration of the individuals forming the household are
statistically significant when comparing the households that have individuals who have
worked abroad, after 1989, or individuals involved in illegal trafficking, after 1989, to
similar households with respect to the other characteristics, but which did not have
migration experience.
Conclusions
1. About 7% of the households currently have incomes from international migration. 5% of
the households which mention that they live better at present, compared to the last few
years, also mention that this is due to the incomes from migration.
43
2. About 10% of the volume of each type of investment, in the last five years, is achieved
with the help of the incomes from international migration. With regard to the type of the
expenses – the most important are the investments in the house (expansion/modernization
but also construction or purchase), followed by the purchase of household appliances,
cars and other durables. The productive activities financed with money from migration
seem to vary, according to the residential environment – in the rural area, the money is
invested mainly in agricultural activities, while in the urban area the money is invested in
other types of business.
3. The migrant households seem to have a larger number of durables compared to the
households that have the same socio-economic profile, but no migration experience.
Appendix
Table 3 Percentage of people who believe that those who have worked abroad become
wealthier, according to the migration experience.
Yes
No
DK/NR
Total
Total N
work
travel
87
5
8
100
97
84
8
9
100
146
Migration experience
Migration
With
intention migrants
88
85
7
8
5
7
100
100
82
189
Without
migrants
82
7
12
100
886
Total
83
7
10
100
1400
Data source: TLA Survey, basic sample
Translator’s note: DK = don’t know
Table 4 Households that invested money in various goods in the past five years, (%)
Purchased house
Built house
Purchased car
%
5
8
37
16
4
3
Set up a business
Tourism
Bought computer
%
31
3
3
48
16
21
Table 5 Type of income for making various types of investments, (%)
Purchased house
Built house
Purchased car
Set up a business
Tourism
Bought computer
incomes earned
in the country
80
76
82
79
82
88
91
79
78
82
84
84
44
incomes earned
abroad
10
11
11
10
12
12
3
18
13
8
8
7
NR
Total
Total N
10
13
7
11
6
0
5
3
10
9
8
9
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
71
114
521
219
51
43
429
38
40
678
219
294
Table 6 Percentage of people who purchased various goods with money from migration
in the total number of people who invested with money from abroad, national data
(N=103)
%
%
Purchased house
7
14
Built house
12
7
53
Set up a business
5
Purchased car
21
Bought household appliances 54
6
Tourism
17
5
Bought computer
19
Table 7 Households that invested money in various goods, in the last five years, as
percentage in the total number of individuals who went abroad after 1989
No
Purchased house
Built house
Purchased car
Set up a business
Tourism
Bought computer
92
89
54
75
95
95
72
95
94
40
73
72
Yes, with
money from
the country
5
7
33
19
4
3
24
3
4
45
21
22
Yes, with
money from
abroad
2
3
10
5
1
1
3
1
1
11
4
4
Yes, NR
Total
Total N
1
1
3
2
0
0
1
0
1
4
2
2
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
461
461
460
461
461
461
461
460
460
461
461
460
Table 8 Percentage of people who invested in various goods, in the total number of
people who invested with incomes from migration abroad, on micro-regions
Teleorman Vrancea
Teleorman
Purchased house
12
13
23
Built house
13
30
5
70
60
Set up a business
4
Purchased car
21
35
57
2
10
Tourism
16
3
15
Bought computer
21
Data source: TLA Survey, regional sample (Teleorman and Vrancea)
The number of cases in Teleorman is 141, and that in Vrancea is 247.
Table 9 Percentage of people who declared that the migration abroad of someone in
their household brought transformations of the home - according to the number of
people who went to work abroad after 2000
Number of people in the household who
Did the fact that someone in the household went
went to work abroad after 2000
abroad bring transformations related to the home?
Yes
No
DK/NR
Total
Total N
no individual
13
68
19
100
329
one individual
42
47
11
100
111
two or more individuals
62
38
0
100
21
Total
22
62
16
100
461
45
Vrancea
39
4
5
78
14
16
Table 10 Individuals who invested, in the last five years, in their home and who believe
that the migration abroad brought transformations related to their home, (%)
The household invested in
the last five years in…
house purchase?
house building?
Yes
home expansion?
Any of the 3
house purchase?
house building?
No
home expansion?
Any of the 3
Did the fact that
someone in your
household went
abroad for some time
bring transformations
related to your home?
No
89
79
40
29
94
93
58
55
Yes, with
money from
the country
6
10
28
32
5
5
34
42
Yes, with money
from abroad
Yes, NR
Total
Total
N
0
2
2
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
103
103
102
99
284
284
284
276
5
10
29
38
1
1
6
3
1
1
2
Table 11 Percentage of people who declared that the migration abroad of someone in
their household had an impact on the goods purchased - according to the number of
people who went to work abroad after 2000
Did the fact that someone in the household went
number of people in the household who
abroad have impact on the goods purchased?
went to work abroad after 2000
Yes
No
DK/NR
Total
Total N
no individual
23
58
19
100
329
one individual
44
44
12
100
111
two or more individuals
90
10
0
100
21
31
52
16
100
461
Total
Table 12 Predictors of the number of durables in the household
Size of the household
Amount of expenses incurred in the last month, per member of household
Number of employed individuals forming the household
Town over 30,000 inhabitants versus village
Town under 30,000 inhabitants versus village
Maximum level of educ. of adults in household “vocational-post-high school”
versus “no school – secondary school”
Maximum level of educ. of adults in household “university and post-graduate”
versus “no school – secondary school”
Presence of members who worked abroad after 1989
Presence of members who did not work abroad after 1989 but were involved in
illegal trafficking
R^2
B
0.18
0.23
0.50
0.74
0.42
Beta
0.12
0.25
0.22
0.15
0.06
P
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.02
1.43
0.29
0.00
2.42
0.32
0.40
0.06
0.00
0.01
0.94
0.46
0.05
0.02
Data source: TLA Survey, basic sample. The dependent variable is an additive index of the goods that
the household owns (car, mobile phone, refrigerator, cable TV/satellite dish, colour TV, video, freezer,
automatic washing machine, computer, access to the Internet, Thermopane glass windows)
46
Entrepreneurial orientation
Alexandru Toth, Georgiana Toth
Both work migration and enterprise represent life strategies, solutions adopted by individuals
and households in order to cope with the economic challenges with which they are faced at a
certain moment in time. By means of the analysis in this chapter, we intend to provide an
answer to the question “what is the relation between migration and entrepreneurial orientation
in Romania of 2006?”.
Work migration generates a series of capitals, of which the economic capital is undoubtedly
the most important, but we should not forget the human capital and the social capital. The
money earned from working abroad contributes in most of the cases to an improvement in the
living conditions of the migrant households, being used – as this survey also shows (see
chapter “Incomes and investments from migration”) – to improve housing conditions and to
purchase durables. Nevertheless, the experience of working abroad may also lead to the
accumulation of new knowledge and skills, values, life styles, as well as to the development
of the social networks in which the migrant participates. All these resources theoretically have
great potential to be used for developing some economic activities on one’s own. On the other
hand, both the temporary emigration and the enterprise spirit imply taking risks that the
individual who chooses such life strategies lays himself/herself open to.
Valuing risk-taking is significantly associated only with the work experience abroad (figure
2). Thus, almost 90% of the people who worked abroad believe that, in order to succeed in
life, it is important and very important to know how to take risks, compared to 70% of the
people who share this opinion, but belong to the other categories of population.
69
TOTAL SAMPLE
89
Work
73
Travel
72
Intention
71
Household with migrant
Household without
migrant
65
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Figure 12 Distribution of the people who believe that today, in Romania, in order to succeed in
life, it is important for an individual to know how to take risks (combined % of the answers
“important” and “very important”)
The number of actual entrepreneurs is relatively low for the overall population. The survey
data shows that approximately 10% of the adult population is represented by entrepreneurs,
who started a business on their own, and by people who have a member of their household
with his/her own business. In general, business in non-agricultural fields prevails, in particular
trade and service provision. Among the people who worked or travelled abroad, the
percentage of entrepreneurs is significantly higher: 16%, respectively 23%.
47
Gest in agriculture
TOTAL SAMPLE
Gest in non-agriculture sector
Work
1
7
2
3
11
3
Travel
Both
1
19
2
10
Intention
Household without migrant
2
Teleorman
2
Vrancea
1
0
1
10
3
0.3
4
4
1
4
5
10
15
20
25
30
Figure 13 Percentage of people who opened a business or perform an independent activity - on
fields of activity (%)
The percentage of people who, in the last 5 years, invested money in setting up a business is
very low for the entire sample – just 3%, while 10% of the people who have work experience
abroad have made such investments. Also, this percentage is significantly higher for the
people who travelled abroad than for the households with no experience abroad. However, it
is very likely that the relation between business investments and the two types of experience
abroad 1 – work and travel – has different determinations 2. In the case of the work experience,
a part of the capital accumulated by working abroad was used for productive purposes, while
in the case of the travel experience, the relation is explicable in terms of the economic
resources that the entrepreneur has available, which also allowed him to travel abroad.
Figure 14 Percentage of people who, in the last 5 years, invested money in setting up a business
(%)
1
Significant relation for p=0.05, determined based on the analysis of the adjusted standardized
residuals.
2
The small number of cases in the sample does not enable an in-depth analysis, which would
statistically validate this statement, but intuitively this is a pertinent and very plausible hypothesis.
48
TOTAL SAMPLE
3
Work
10
Travel
9
Intention
1
2
1
Teleorman
2
Vrancea
4
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Apart from the entrepreneurial behaviour, we included, in the more general sphere of the
entrepreneurial orientation, the intention to develop a business and the willingness to set up a
business 1.
Among the short and medium-term life strategies, setting up a business is relatively seldom
identified at the level of the adult population of Romania – just 11% of the Romanians plan to
set up a business in the next 2 or 3 years (Figure 1). However, analysing this in terms of the
experience abroad, we notice that the people who worked abroad, as well as those who intend
to leave abroad, plan to set up a business more than the other categories of population. For
almost a quarter of the people who worked / intend to work abroad, the departure abroad
seems to be an intermediate stage of a plan aimed at setting up their own business.
Figure 15 Distribution of the people who plan to set up a business in the next 2 or 3 years (%)
TOTAL SAMPLE
11
Work
27
Travel
14
Intention
23
13
6
Teleorman
10
Vrancea
17
0
5
10
1
15
20
25
30
For an analysis on the types of entrepreneurial orientations, see D.Sandu, 1999, Spaţiul social al
tranziţiei (Social Environment of the Transition), Polirom, pp. 97-129
49
The intentions to develop a business in the next two years target more the non-agricultural
fields than the agriculture. Just like in the case of the question about plans to starting a
business, entrepreneurial intentions are associated with the work experience and with the
intention to leave abroad. 25% of the respondents who worked abroad and 22% of those who
wanted to leave abroad expressed their intention to set up a business in the next two years. At
the same time, just 5% of the people in households with no migration experience have
entrepreneurial intentions.
Figure 16 Percentage of people who intend to set up a business
TOTAL SAMPLE
8
3
Work
10
25
24
7
Travel
Intention
16
12
5
10
4
2
Teleorman
4
Vrancea
12
bussiness in general
5
non-agriculture
6
1
7
agriculture
13
4
0
22
18
6
5
10
14
15
20
25
30
The third type of entrepreneurial orientation was operationalized by the willingness of the
individual to set up a business if he/she had the necessary money. Like in the case of
entrepreneurial behaviour and intentions, the results of the survey reveal a significant relation
between the individual’s actual and intentional migration experience, and his/her desire to
invest a large sum of money in a business, if he/she had this money. If, in the entire national
sample, 21% of the respondents mentioned that they would invest the money in a business, at
the level of the people with work and travel experience abroad and of those who intend to go
abroad, the percentage of people who choose the entrepreneurial alternative instead of
consumption or saving is 33 to 35%.
Figure 17 Percentage of people who would invest in a business, if they win a large sum of money
(%)
TOTAL SAMPLE
21
Work
34
Travel
35
Intention
33
23
16
Teleorman
18
Vrancea
28
0
5
10
15
50
20
25
30
35
40
Comparing the data of the regional surveys, we notice significant differences between the two
regions in terms of the percentage of people who intend or are willing to set up a business.
Although the actual entrepreneurial behaviour is equally spread in Vrancea and in Teleorman,
the intentional entrepreneurship or the desirable entrepreneurship is found in a larger segment
in the county from Moldova than in the county located in Câmpia Română (the Romanian
Plane). A possible explanation of this discrepancy lies in the differences between the
characteristic features of the migration in Vrancea and in Teleorman 1. The number of
departures to work, from Vrancea, prior to 2002, was much higher in comparison with
Teleorman. This means that a greater number of migrants from Vrancea are at their second or
third departure, fact which also induces a higher level of the potential to invest in business, as
the consumption needs have been satisfied with the money earned in the first departures.
The relationship between the migration experience and the entrepreneurial orientation is an
important one, as shown in Table 1. The work experience abroad is in association with two of
the types of entrepreneurial orientations: the entrepreneurship by behaviour and that by
intention. The intention to start a business is also associated with the intention to leave
abroad, while the lack of migration experience is significantly associated with the category of
non-entrepreneurs.
Table 1 Association between the experience abroad and the entrepreneurial orientation (% of the
category defined by the type of experience)
1
See chapter D. Sandu, “Exploring Europe through work migrations:1990-2006” in this paper, the
Tables and charts section: “Focşani and Alexandria as contrasting micro-regions”.
51
Entrepreneurial orientation 1
Nonentrepreneur
National sample
70
Type of experience abroad
Work
53
Travel
52
Intention
56
Migrant household
65
Non-migrant household
78
Regional samples
Teleorman
79
Vrancea
64
By behaviour By intention
10
7
By willingness
/ desire
12
Total
100
18
22
10
13
7
19
11
18
9
4
11
15
16
13
12
100
100
100
100
100
6
6
5
13
11
18
100
100
Note: The grey cells show positive associations between the characteristic feature on that row and that on the column, resulted
following the analysis of the adjusted standardized residuals.
Analysing the factors that determine the entrepreneurial orientations by intention and by
willingness, we may state that (see Table 2): age is a factor that inversely affects both the
intention and the willingness to set up a business. In other words, the probability to have
entrepreneurial plans / willingness is greater for young people than for older people;
• Men are more willing to invest in a business than women are. The willingness to set
up a business is also directly influenced direct by the level of education. The
entrepreneur status is more desirable for the people with a higher level of education.
Education does not significantly affect the intention to start a business.
• The financial resources determine the intention to start a business, but not the
willingness / desire. This can be construed in terms of the hierarchy of needs pyramid,
meaning that the entrepreneurial orientation, clearly associated with the risk-taking, is
seen as a life strategy in the individuals’ field of possible choices, only after the basic
needs have been satisfied. Entrepreneurship is not a subsistence strategy, but a
development one.
• The relational capital that an individual has, positively affects the intentional
entrepreneurship. Otherwise put, the useful relations that an individual has, are of
decisive importance in starting a business.
• The ecological variables, such as the residential environment or the region, do not
seem to affect in a significant manner either the intention or the willingness to set up
a business.
• Keeping under control the other factors, work experience abroad is one of the most
important determining factors of the intention to set up a business, however, not of
the willingness towards entrepreneurship. The work experience abroad increases very
much the chances to have entrepreneurial intentions.
Table 2 Predictors of the entrepreneurial orientations
1
The four types of entrepreneurial orientations have the following meanings: “non-entrepreneur” –
people who do not currently own a business, do not intend to start one and nor would they be willing to
invest money in a business; “entrepreneurship by behaviour” – people who currently own a business;
“entrepreneurship by intention” – people who do not currently own a business, but they intend to start
one in the next two years; “entrepreneurship by willingness” – people who do not own a business, do
not intend to start one, but would invest a large sum of money in a business, if they won this money.
For further details, see D. Sandu, 1999, Spaţiul social al tranziţiei (Social Environment of the
Transition), Polirom, pp. 97-129.
52
Man (1 yes, 0 no)
Age
Years of schooling
Material equipment of the household
No. of investments in properties, durables in the last 5
years
Relational capital
Lives in the urban area (1 yes, 0 no)
Values risk-taking (1 yes, 0 no)
Lives in Transilvania (1 yes, 0 no)
Work experience abroad (1 yes, 0 no)
Nagelkerke R2
Intentional
entrepreneur
1.17
0.96
0.98
1.12
Willing / desirous
entrepreneur
1.72
0.98
1.12
1.01
1.24
1.10
0.86
1.11
0.91
2.45
22%
0.99
0.99
1.13
0.92
1.01
0.59
8%
The table shows the Exp(B) coefficients resulted following two logistic regression patterns, having as dependent variables the
intention to set up a business and the desire to start a business if the necessary money was available. The coefficients in grey are
very different from zero for p=0.05.
Conclusions
The work migration and the entrepreneurship are life strategies tightly interconnected. Work
experience abroad positively associates both with entrepreneurial behaviour, and with the
intentions to develop a business. As the migrant accumulates financial, human and relational
capital abroad and satisfies his/her basic needs, he/she tends to invest this capital in
productive activities, becoming an entrepreneur on his/her own. For an important part of the
Romanian migrants, working abroad represents an intermediate strategy before putting into
practice the entrepreneurial strategy, fact revealed by the strong connection between the work
experience abroad and the entrepreneurial orientation, both on a behaviour level, and on an
intentional level.
53
Mentalities
Dumitru Sandu
Types of temporary living abroad
According to the temporary living abroad experience (TLA), it is relevant to distinguish
between the people who:
have direct TLA experience
through work (work experience)
7%
only through travel (travel experience)
10%
have indirect TLA experience
intend to leave to work (plan experience)
6%
live in migrant households (family experience)
14%
do not have a migration neither direct, nor indirect (no experience)
63%
experience
The five categories of people have entirely different profiles, not only according to their
resources and socio-demographic status, but also with respect to some of the mentalities or
values that characterise them.
with no intention to leave abroad and from
household without migrant
63
14
only somebody else in the household
didn't worked but intent to
6
10
only travelled but didn't woeked abraod
7
worked abroad
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Figure 18 Types of living abroad experiences
At socio-demographic level (Table 17)
• the young people are those who plan on leaving to work, followed by those who have
already worked abroad;
• men are predominant in the category of the people who have worked (73%) or plan to
work abroad (57%), and women are predominant in the group of people who either
have no migration experience or only have travel experience;
• the level of knowledge is maximum at the people who travelled abroad, and minimum
at those with no migration experience at personal or family level;
• the financial status at the people with migration experience is better than at those with
no migration experience. Clearly, a better financial status can be both the determining
factor and the consequence of working abroad. A survey can not identify the causal
direction of that relation.
54
Table 17 Living abroad experience – according to the socio-demographic status
work
73+
36.5-
Living abroad experience through
migration
no
travel
intention
family experience
4057
37
46
43.832.146.353.6
total
% men
47
average age, years old
49.2
average number of finished
school years
11.2
11.9+
11.2
9.69.4
9.9
index of material goods in the
household
6.8
8.1+
6.6
6.6+
5.4
6.0
average personal income in the
7.4
6.9
5.2+
3.2
3.4
4.1
last month (mil. lei - ROL)
Data source: TLA Survey, basic sample. We marked with +/- the statistically significant relations for p
= 0.05 resulted from a multinomial logistic regression pattern where the predictors are the row
variables, and the dependent variable is a column variable. The income level was used by
logarithmation in the regression pattern.
Table 18 Living abroad experience (TLA) – according to the level of education (%)
Living abroad
experience
through work
through visits
through intention
through family
no experience
Total
primary
36
2
22
67+
100
Education level
vocational, high university/
secondary school, for foremen college
Total
813+
9
11
49
21+
9
3
3
2
3
24+
19
1319
61+
5655
58
100
100
100
100
Calculation basis, 3,466 people aged 15 to 64 in the 1,400 households of the sample. Reading example:
the percentage of people with primary education who only have a TLA experience characterized by
visits abroad is 6%. The corresponding percentage for the people with university/college education is
21%. The +/- signs indicate significant relations, which can be positive or negative, for the signification
level of 5%. The migration intention figures are probably underestimated because, in this version,
which is different from that in the previous table, the intentions of the household members who were
not included in the sample were taken from the respondents.
Do they think differently?
There are many reasons to state that the living abroad experience changes mentalities. The
statement refers to, I emphasize, the change of certain mentalities, not of the mentalities. Its
effect is not only indirect, by the change in the financial status, but also direct, by multiple
interactions with different environments and people, as bearers of different cultures. More
than one third of the interviewees (38%) consider that “those who have worked abroad think
differently”. Almost a fifth support the opposite viewpoint, stating that the migration and the
work abroad have not changed the Romanians. The indecisive individuals are the most
numerous, with a percentage of 41%.
The mentality change following the work migration is perceived to the highest degree (60%)
by the people who have actually worked abroad (compared to only 38% in sample total).
55
This observation is extremely important because it decisively argues in favour of those who
claim that the temporary living abroad positively contributes to the change of many
mentalities 1.
The less migration experience, the lowest the percentage of those who claim that the
migration changes the mentality (Table 19). The people who did not work abroad, do not
plan to leave the country and have nobody in their family with such experience support the
opinion that the migration changes the mentality in a percentage of only 31%.
Table 19 Role of the migration experience in formulating opinions on migration:
percentage of people who answer “yes” to the questions…
“In your opinion, the people who have
worked abroad …
Living abroad experience
through
work
no
through through through
visits intention family experience total
...become wealthier”
87
...get divorced easier”
51
...help each other abroad”
39
..help and get help (more) from the people
80
back home”
...think differently”
60
Reading example: 51% of the people who have worked
abroad get divorced easier
84
40
45
88
35
45
85
41
41
82
43
33
83
43
36
73
56
73
52
71
43
64
31
68
38
abroad claim that those who have worked
The regularity is also found with territorial data, in the comparison between the Focşani and
Alexandria micro-regions (Table 20). At Focşani, 58% of the interviewees in the migrant
households claim that “the people who have worked abroad think differently”, compared to
only 37%, the corresponding percentage in Alexandria. In both cases, the respondents are part
of migrant households. The difference lies, very likely, in the fact that the people from
Vrancea have a much greater migration experience than the people from Teleorman, and a
different educational filter, based on a higher average stock of education.
Table 20 “In your opinion, the people who have worked abroad... ?” (%)
Micro-regions
National level
no migrants in
with migrants
household
in household
82
85
43
43
33
42
Alexandria Focşani
...become wealthier”
89
90
...get divorced easier”
50
67
...help each other abroad”
37
34
77
83
65
74
back home”
...think differently”
37
58
32
52
Data source: TLA Survey, micro-regions and national sample. Reading example: 58% of the
interviewees from the migrant households in the Focşani micro-region believe that “the people who
have worked abroad think differently”.
Spheres of life. The idea that work migration changes the mentality is clearly supported by
the answers to the question on the importance of the different spheres of life (see appendix
1
Dumitru Sandu (coord.), Viaţa socială în România urbană (Social Life in Urban Romania), Iaşi:
POLIROM, 2006, pp.2-54 and Dumitru Sandu “Despre explorare în mentalităţile actuale” (“About
exploration in current mentalities”), in Sociologie Românească, 2/2006. For a different point of view,
see Cătălin Zamfir, „Este o problemă cu lirismul sociologic?” (“Is there a problem with the
sociological lyricism?), in Sociologie Românească, 2/2006.
56
with the answers from the questionnaire, according to the temporary migration abroad
experience):
• the people who have worked abroad say that friends are very important in their lives
(34% of those who have worked abroad compared to 25% in sample total);
• spare time is very important to 48% of the former workers abroad, compared to the
national average of only 28%;
• similarly, the individuals with direct work experience abroad think that politics is
very important in their lives (14% for those who have worked abroad compared to 5%
in sample total) 1.
It can be argued that, in fact, the opinion on the role of the migration in changing mentalities
is given not by one’s own migration experience but by the education, age or financial status of
the individual who has worked or travelled abroad. And the objection could be wellgrounded. The issue can be largely cleared up, if we compare groups with different TLA
experiences but with the same situation with respect to age, gender, education and financial
status. This is exactly what we did by means of some appropriate statistical tools (Table 19).
The conclusion fully supports the idea that it is not only the age-gender-education that
determines the migrant to think that “the work abroad changes his mentalities”, but also the
experience of work itself.
Regardless of their financial status, gender, age or education, the people who have worked
abroad claim that the migration changes a man. It is a kind of projective assessment. When
speaking about migrants and mentality in general, the former migrant projects in his/her
answer beliefs on his/her own transformations. However, not any kind of migration
experience leads to such beliefs. If the individual has travelled abroad or if he/she intends to
leave there to work, he/she will think in the same as the people who have already worked
abroad. The individuals who have only an indirect experience of foreign countries, mediated
through family talks with the people who have been abroad, are less convinced that the
migration changes one’s values.
The belief that TLA plays a part in changing mentalities is more supported by educated
people who also have an above average financial status, regardless of their personal migration
experience.
Tolerance. We performed similar analysis 2 to those above-mentioned in order to see whether
the migration experience affects the degree of tolerance. It resulted that working abroad has
no significant effects on ethnical tolerance. There is only a specific effect of the noneconomic migration abroad: the people who have had such experiences tend to be more
tolerant towards the Magyars. Also, TLA does not significantly affect religious tolerance.
There is only one kind of anticipatory socialization, through the intention to leave to work
abroad, which seems to favour an increased religious tolerance (towards Jehovah’s
Witnesses) 3.
Work. The people who have worked abroad are much more convinced than the rest of the
interviewees of the fact that work is important in one’s life: 61% of the former workers
abroad consider that work is very important in their life, compared to the average of 48% in
sample total. Is this an effect of the foreign experience or can we claim that the people who
went abroad to work already had the work motivation anyway? It seems to be also a specific
effect of working abroad. A first reason lies in the fact that a lower percentage of people who
only have the intention of going to work abroad claim that work is very important to them,
1
For all four fields – work, friendship, spare time and politics – the differences are statistically
significant between the people who have worked abroad and the percentages in sample total, at level p
= 0.05. Family life is very important to 87% of the people who have worked abroad. The percentage is
identical in sample total for the opinion on that aspect.
2
Using the multinomial logistic regression with predictors identical to those in Table A9 Predictors of
the opinion “the people who have worked abroad think differently”! Table A9 and taking as dependent
variables some indicators of tolerance towards the Jews, the Romany, the Magyars, the Arabs and the
Jehovah’s Witnesses.
3
It is possible that a better indication of the regression pattern, operating with several predictors, cancel
the effect of the TLA on the tolerance towards the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
57
namely 54%. A second reason is provided by the results of the analysis through methods that
enable the elimination of the effect given by associated factors, such as age, financial status,
education or gender. The result is the same – the people who have worked abroad affirm
much more than the others the importance of work in their lives. The foreign experience for
and through work also leads to the increase in the interest that people take in their spare time
(48% compared to an average of 28% in the sample total) 1.
Success in life is associated by the people who want to leave to work abroad in particular to
the fact of having relations (15% compared to 8%, which is the corresponding percentage in
the sample total). The individuals with no direct TLA experience, but who live within migrant
families consider risk-taking, in particular, as a solution to succeed in life (6% compared to
3% in the sample total). The individuals with no migration experience, coming from families
that have had no migrants, are particularly reluctant to the idea of risk-taking as necessary
element to succeed in life. For the individuals who have worked abroad, the key to success is
work, but not any kind of work: that performed abroad. This is yet another side of the impact
that working abroad has on mentalities 2.
Spatial identities. Working abroad favours a detachment from one’s own locality: only 29%
of the people who have worked abroad say that they are very attached to the town or village
they live in, compared to 37%, which is the corresponding percentage in the sample total. Is
this attitude an effect of the social composition of the people who have worked abroad or even
an effect of the migration experience? If we compared a group of work migrants and a group
with no such experience, but both with the same social composition (age, gender, education
and residential environment), then we would notice that still the people with work experience
abroad are less attached to their locality 3. This relation is natural if we take into consideration
the fact that economic migration occurs for community-family dissatisfaction reasons
(dissatisfaction with the chances of income, jobs etc.) and, in addition, the aspirations level of
the people who have also seen foreign countries is higher than that of the non-migrants. In
exchange, the work migrants have a much higher level of very strong attachment to Europe
(28%), compared to the average in the sample total, given by the percentage of 20%.
Voting intention. For the people who have worked abroad there is no specific, wellstructured voting orientation in connection with the political parties. In exchange, with regard
to electing the country’s president, the options seem to be a little more structured. The vote
for Traian Băsescu is the majority vote of the work migrants and of the non-migrants. As for
the rest, the data are unstable because the total number of people with work experience abroad
is quite small for the requirements of a detailed statistical analysis at national level.
In exchange, the regional data enable detailing, although it only refers to households with
migration experience. Traian Băsescu is preferred both in Teleorman and in Vrancea (Table
21), however, considerably more in Vrancea compared to Teleorman. In Alexandria, the
micro-region chosen in Teleorman, the options vary more. There are much higher percentages
than in the Focşani micro-region with respect to the options for C.V. Tudor, Becali and
Năstase. The difference between the vote in Teleorman and that in Vrancea is also related to
the political orientations specific to the migrants at the predominant destinations for the two
areas, Spain for the people of Teleorman, and Italy for the people of Vrancea.
Table 21 Voting intention for the president, on micro-regions (%)
Traian Băsescu
C.V.Tudor
George Becali
Adrian Năstase
Alexandria
15
8*
7*
4*
Focşani
28*
2
3
1
1
The entire paragraph is based on the results of the multinomial logistic analysis.
The pairs of percentages mentioned in this paragraph differ widely for p = 0.01.
3
The reasons are based on the results of an ordinal regression pattern where the dependent variable is
the type of migration experience
2
58
Mircea Geoană
Others
Indecisive
3
2
2
2
63
63
100
100
Data source: TLA Survey, micro-region sample – departures to work.
* Significant positive associations determined by adjusted standardized residuals.
“Is this good or bad that they leave …?”
In order to observe how working abroad is seen by the public eye, we asked the people if “Is
this good or bad that some people leave to work abroad?” The perception is dominantly
positive. More than 50% of the adult individuals consider that this is good, and more than
20% consider that “this is both good and bad” (Figure 19). Of course, the people who are the
most thrilled with migration are those who intend to leave (79%) and those who have already
worked abroad (73%). In the families where there is neither experience nor intention to
migrate, the assessment is more reserved.
55
total sample
13
21
11
it's good
48
without migration experience
14
it's bad
travelled abroad
60
household with migrants
61
24
13
20
7
both good and bad
15
17
6
NA
9
16
1
73
worked abroad
79
intention
0%
14
20%
5
40%
60%
13
80%
2
100%
Figure 19 “Do you believe that it is good or bad that some people leave to work abroad?”
Reading example: 73% of the individuals who have worked abroad consider that “it is good that some
people leave to work abroad”
The main advantages of working abroad are those of financial-material nature, and the
disadvantages are especially perceived in connection with family problems:
Motives for “this is better”
%
Financial gain
70.7
Higher quality living conditions
7.8
Improvement of the family’s financial status
1.4
Guarantee of a better future
0.7
Better jobs
0.4
More opportunities
0.4
They have no jobs in Romania
2.8
They bring money/ foreign currency into the country
2.7
Change of mentality
1.4
Gaining experience
1.2
Broadening their knowledge
0.8
DK / NR
9.7
100
59
Motives for “this is worse”
%
They are far away from family/ home
33.0
Family separation
8.2
No longer see to children’s education
1.6
Suffering of those who stay in the country
1.4
They are not well paid here
5.6
They are badly treated by foreigners
4.4
They run risks
4.0
Hard working conditions
2.4
They work a lot
1.2
Some don’t get by
0.8
Work is inadequately paid
0.6
They don’t work to their level of
0.2
professional training
There are no jobs in Romania
5.6
Romania remains with no labour force
4.0
Disadvantages for Romania
There are opportunities in Romania, too
High-quality people leave the country
DK / NR
3.2
2.0
0.8
21.3
100.0
Nevertheless, there are also perceived advantages related to the change of mentality, the
broadening of one’s knowledge, the improvement in experience. The individuals who have
worked abroad “think differently”, state 38% of the interviewees (Figure 20).
38
...think differently
21
43
...get divorced easier
22
36
...help each other abroad
back home
41
35
33
31
68
10
83
...become wealthier
0%
20%
40%
YES
22
7 10
60%
NO
80%
100%
NA
Figure 20 “In your opinion, the people who have worked abroad... ?”
This “differently” is mainly positive. The people with work experience abroad are perceived
as being more dynamic, having a work ethics close to that from the West, being more
optimistic, more confident in their own strengths. The change is described by/ in terms of:
Change of mentality
Thinking for the better / Positive
Think freely / open
Wider/ changed perspective on life
Change of mentality on work
Think like Westerns
Think realistically
Become optimistic
Develop entrepreneurial spirit
Become more responsible / serious
Become more relaxed
Become more practical / organized
Become more confident in their own strengths
Change of mentality on money
Constructive thinking
%
11
11
8
7
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
60
Become more intelligent
Become more civilized
Become more pretentious / demanding
Modern thinking
Become more inventive / creative
Become more brave
Become more ambitious
Think with no more prejudices
Materialistic thinking
Become more selfish
Become conceited / arrogant
Become strangers / cold
Negative thinking
Become snob
Become pessimistic
DK / NR
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
9
3
2
1
1
0
0
17
100
The social norm seems to state that, if you have worked abroad, the money should be used,
first of all, to build or purchase a house, second of all, to set up a business and, thirdly, to
provide a better living for your family:
“On what do you believe that a person returning from work abroad should spend his/her
money?”
House construction/ purchase
Setting up a business
Satisfy family needs / provide better living
Car purchase
Real estate investments
Home renovation / modernization
Purchase of durables
Provide for the future of his/her children
Others
I don’t know what advice to give/NR
%
28
19
12
4
4
3
2
1
5
22
100 31
Setting up a business before purchasing a car or investing in real estate seems to be a change
in the hierarchy of preferences for spending the money from migration. The available data
show that the idea to use the money from migration in order to set up a business is of
maximum intensity at the individuals who intend to leave to work abroad (33%) and to those
who have travelled abroad (27%) 32.
The configuration of the survey data suggests the hypothesis that the new work migration
abroad, identifiable at the level of the potential departures, could be more closely related to
the intention to set up a business with the money from migration, than it was in the previous
waves. The grounds for this hypothesis lie in the much higher percentage of desire to invest
the money from migration in business, at the potential migrants compared to the former
migrants (33% at the potential migrants compared to 23% at the former workers abroad).
Conclusions
Opinions on migration. More than 50% of the interviewees state that work migration is
good. The social ideology is clearly in favour of working abroad. The advantages of working
abroad perceived are those related to the improvement in the financial status of the migrants,
but also to the change of their mentality for the better. The disadvantages are especially
related to the occurrence of some family problems associated with an increased chance of
divorce or with problems concerning the raising of the children. Observe that the migrants
themselves are those who consider that they become more dynamic, more modern in their
way of thinking, following the migration experience.
The dominant option still remains that of using the money from migration in order to build or
purchase houses. However, the new migration wave, identifiable at the level of the potential
migrants, seems to be strongly orientated towards using the money from migration in order to
start a business.
In the series of changes of mentality, it is worth mentioning that the work, friends, spare time
and politics are much more important in the mentality of the individuals who have worked
abroad, compared to the situation of the national average.
Mentalities. Values that serve as basis for the different types of choices or attitudes, they are
significantly changed by the migration experience.
31
32
Reporting is done on the total of the three possible choices.
Reporting is done on the first choice.
61
The best judge of the change in mentalities by TLA are the migrants themselves. From the
total number of work migrants, 60% agree with the statement that “the people who have
worked abroad think differently”, compared to only 38%, which is the corresponding
percentage in the sample total. Although the question is not about changes in their own way
of thinking, the answer can be considered to be a projective one, with the formulation of the
opinion according to their personal experience.
Almost 60% of the individuals who have worked abroad consider work to be very important
to them. The percentage is much higher than that recorded from the answers to the same
question, at national level (48%). Similarly, the individuals who have migrated for work
attached greater importance to their spare time and to politics than those who do not have this
experience.
Of course, there are entire mentality areas that remain unchanged. The best example is that
related to ethnical tolerance. Religious tolerance seems to go through a certain expansion of
its sphere due to the migration.
In communities, such as those in Teleorman, with massive migration to Spain, there also
exists a unique characteristic of the political orientation, with stronger options for C.V. Tudor
and Becali than in micro-regions such as Vrancea, which has Italy as dominant destination.
Temporary living abroad also contributes to the restructuring of spatial attachment links. The
former workers abroad have higher levels of aspirations in connection with community life,
and they tend to be less attached to their own locality. Moreover, by means of their new
relations, in a transnational life style, they also get attached to the communities where they
worked. In exchange, they also have a specific greater attachment to Europe than in the case
of the individuals who did not have work experience abroad.
62
Family relations
Alexandru Toth, Georgiana Toth
In most definitions, the nuclear family implies that the individuals who form it must live
together. The departure, even temporary, of an individual to work abroad implicitly represents
the restructuring of the functions that the other individuals in the family of that individual
fulfil. If working abroad can be considered a strategy of improvement in the economic
function at family level and can lead to an improvement in the living conditions of those who
stayed back home, what happens then with the other parts that the migrant used to play within
the household? The parts related to affectivity, sexuality, but also the educational and control
functions that the migrant used to fulfil before leaving the household, remain unfulfilled or
are assumed by somebody else who stayed back home. Thus, it is expected that some
dysfunctions occur within the family, beginning, for example, with the occurrence of some
smaller or greater dissensions in the couple or between the members who stayed back home,
and leading to an inadequate mental and physical development of a child whose
parent/parents are abroad, or even to divorce. Also, it is expected that the temporary absence
from the family affect the migrant, due to the fact that a part of his/her needs that his/her
family used to satisfy, remain unsatisfied.
Survey data reveals that, even at the level of common sense, the main negative consequences
of the temporary work migration are those which have impact on the family. Almost half
(46%) of the people who think that it is bad that people leave to work abroad support their
opinion with statements related to the family life. Being apart from the family, which is the
equivalent to a certain degree of deprivation with respect to the affective needs, is the most
frequently mentioned negative consequence of the departure to work abroad (35%). In the
same category of mentions, we can also add the statement about “family separation” (9% of
the negative consequences mentioned) and the “suffering of those who stay back home” (1%).
It is worth mentioning that the distribution of the opinions on these negative consequences
related to the family are not different in the case of people in households with migration
experience, from those in other households.
Table 3 Opinions on why it is bad that some people leave to work abroad (question with multiple
answer)
% of those who answered that it is bad,, that it is
good, and that it is „both good and bad” that
people leave to work abroad (National sample,
N=484)
are far away from family/ home
Family separation
There are no jobs in Romania
They are not well paid here
They are badly treated by foreigners
Romania remains with no labour force
They run risks
Disadvantages for Romania
Hard working conditions
There are opportunities in Romania, too
No longer see to children’s education
Suffering of those who stay in the country
The work a lot
Others
DK / NR
63
Household with
experience
abroad
non-migrant
household
Total
35
8
8
5
6
5
3
5
2
2
1
3
2
3
17
34
9
5
6
4
4
5
3
3
2
2
1
1
2
24
35
9
6
6
5
4
4
3
2
2
2
1
1
2
22
The question that we intend to answer in this chapter is “to what extent work experience
abroad affects the way in which the members of a family get on together, in general, and the
partners in a couple, in particular.
Most of the individuals in households with members who have been gone abroad do not feel
any change related to the children or family relations. However, there are differences between
the various categories of respondents. Thus, we notice that the individuals with work
experience abroad state, in a higher percentage than the others, that the experience abroad
generated certain changes with respect to family relations and children (see table 2). On the
other hand, the regional survey data reveal significant differences between the migrant
households in Teleorman and in Vrancea, with regard to the perception on the impact of the
foreign experience on their family. In the case of the households in Vrancea, the percentage of
people who say that the foreign experience has brought changes in their family is higher than
in the case of the households in Teleorman. The explanation of this difference is found, most
likely, not in the cultural differences between the two regions, but in the effects of economic
nature that work migration has generated at the level of the households in the two counties.
The data of the two surveys, regarding the investments in the last 5 years 33, shows a much
greater improvement in the living conditions, in the case of the migrant households in
Vrancea, than in the case of those in Teleorman. Practically, the assessments about the
changes in the family are perceived, in the case of the migrant households, by the changes
occurred in their living conditions.
Table 4 Percentage of people who mention changes in the family determined by the foreign
experience (%)
National sample
Type of foreign experience
Work
Travel
Intention
Migrant household
Regional samples
Teleorman
Vrancea
The fact that someone in your household has been abroad for a
while, has brought – for you – changes in …
...children
...family relations
11
18
17
8
5
13
30
11
14
18
12
19
15
29
What was yet the meaning of the changes in family perceived by the migrants? The
individuals who have worked abroad and who feel that their family relations have changed
following this experience, assess these changes as positive ones. The percentage of work
migrants who feel a worsening of their relations with their life partner or with the children is
very low, both at the level of the national sample, and at that of the regional samples (table 3)
33
A few comparative data on the investments in the last 5 years, in the case of the households in the 2
counties: purchase of household appliances: VN - 73%, TR – 41%, car purchase: VN – 30%, TR –
14%, house building: VN – 23%, TR – 7%. Also, 41% of the respondents from Vrancea consider that
their current life is better than it used to be a few years ago, compared to only 27% in the case of those
from Teleorman.
64
Table 5 Assessment of the changes in family relations din perspective work migrant
% of the respondents who
have worked abroad and have
a life partner or children.
National sample
Teleorman
Vrancea
How have your relations with.….. changed?
Your life partner
Your children
Other close relatives
for
for
for
for
for
for
in no
in no
in no
the
the
the
the
the
the
better
way
worse better
way
worse better
way
worse
30
54
3
27
54
3
23
62
1
35
62
1
27
64
3
22
72
4
50
45
2
40
52
2
30
62
4
Note: The calculation bases vary according to the individuals who have a life partner, children. Reading examples:
30% of the individuals with work experience abroad, at national level, consider that their relations with their life
partners have changed for the better, 40% of the work migrants in Vrancea, who have children assess that their
relations with the children have bettered.
Is the evolution of family relations in the last few years similar in the case of migrant and
non-migrant households? Most respondents, regardless of their migration experience, do not
feel an improvement or a worsening in the understanding in their family. The national survey
data, but also the regional survey data, does not indicate important differences regarding the
understanding in the family, between the two types of households, but there is a difference in
the case of migrant households from Vrancea, compared to those from Teleorman or those in
the national sample. The migrants from the Vrancea region assess, in a slightly greater
number, that the understanding in their family has recorded an evolution for the better in the
last few years (24% compared to 14% in Teleorman, and 18% of the migrant households at
national level).
Table 6 Evolution perceived of the understanding within the family in the last few years (%)
National sample
Work
Travel
Intention
Migrant household
Regional samples
Teleorman
Vrancea
How do you think that the understanding within the family
currently is compared to a few years ago?
Better
Same
Worse
DK/NR
Total
15
76
6
4
100
15
14
23
18
14
71
77
71
76
76
8
5
6
3
6
5
3
0
3
4
100
100
100
100
100
14
24
72
68
10
6
4
3
100
100
Narrowing the range of family relations only to the level of the couple, the data indicates the
fact that the individuals with work experience consider, in a slightly higher percentage, that
they do not get on too well or not at all with their life partner, compared to the other
categories of respondents: 11% compared to 3%, in the case of non-migrant households
(Table 5). The same situation is also revealed by the distribution of the interviewees’ answers
regarding the frequency of occurrence of issues within the couple. 19% of the individual with
work experience admit that there often are issues within the couple, while, at national level,
the percentage of the individuals who admit this is only 9%. At the level of the migrant
households in Vrancea and Teleorman, only 6-7% of the respondents state that there often are
issues within their couple (Table 6), but this is very likely caused by the fact that not all the
respondents from these families have worked abroad.
65
Table 7
National sample
Work
Travel
Intention
Migrant household
Regional samples
Teleorman
Vrancea
In general, how do you assess the way in which you get on with your
spouse / life partner? (%)
Not well at
Very well
Well
Not too well
NR Total
all
51
44
3
0
2
100
47
55
51
43
52
41
38
41
55
43
9
5
3
1
3
2
0
3
1
0
2
2
3
1
2
100
100
100
100
100
48
59
50
36
2
4
0
1
0
0
100
100
Table 1. Frequency of occurrence of issues in the life of the couple (%)
National sample
Work
Travel
Intention
Migrant household
Regional samples
Teleorman
Vrancea
Sometimes problems occur in the life of a couple. In your couple, how often
do these problems occur?
Never, very seldom Seldom
Often
Very often
DK/NR Total
48
40
8
1
3
100
33
47
51
45
51
47
35
41
44
39
13
14
3
9
6
6
0
3
1
1
2
4
3
1
4
100
100
100
100
100
47
49
44
43
7
4
0
2
2
2
100
100
What are the main sources of the problems that occur in the life of a couple? Regardless of
the foreign experience, the lack of money is the main source of conflicts within a couple. The
migrants in Vrancea and the individuals with foreign experience through travels mention, in a
much lower percentage, money as the source of the problems in a couple, fact which
represents an indicator for the better financial status of these households. Children’s
behaviour, as well as the relation with the parents or parents-in-law and the alcohol
consumption are secondary sources of conflicts occurring within a couple, in Romania. The
neglect of the family and being apart from the family are secondary sources of couple
problems, which are specific, in particular, to the group of the individuals with work
experience abroad, these causes being mentioned by approximately 10% of them.
Table 9 Source of the issues occurred in the life of the couple (%)
Lack of money
Children behaviour
Parents/parents-in-law
Alcohol consumption
Neglect of the family by
one of the partners
What is the main cause of these issues? (2 answers, combined)
NonMigrant
Total
Work
Travel Intention
TR
migrant
househ.
househ.
77
79
53
83
80
80
84
18
24
21
33
7
18
11
8
12
6
11
4
9
6
8
7
6
6
4
9
4
4
12
2
66
-
-
5
4
VN
59
17
12
12
2
One of the partners does
not bring money into the
house
Distance
Violence
Infidelity
Others
NR
3
2
-
-
7
3
23
5
3
2
2
13
8
10
2
10
5
2
23
21
6
11
6
11
11
9
7
4
14
6
1
2
2
11
7
4
2
4
4
15
8
2
2
12
25
Does the temporary departure to work abroad affect the life of a couple in terms of
understanding between the partners? The mere analysis of the distribution of the answers
does not take us to a unequivocal answer. However, analysing the relations between several
factors that could affect the good understanding in a couple, the answer to this question
becomes more substantial. The regression analysis shows that:
• the main factor that directly affects the understanding between the partners of a
couple is the financial status. A good financial status determines a good
understanding in a couple
• the work experience abroad negatively affects the understanding between the
partners. The fact that one of the partners has worked/works abroad reduces the
degree of understanding with the other individual of the couple
• women tend to assess “more negatively” the understanding with the life partner
• living in an urban area negatively affects the understanding within a couple
• the existence of a child in the household also negatively affects the understanding
between the life partners.
Table 10 Predictors of good understanding in the life of a couple 34
Predictors
Is a woman
Lives in urban area
Household with child under 18
Respondent has worked abroad
Years of schooling respondent
Size of the household
Material equipment
R2=0.06
Beta
-0.070
-0.098
-0.082
-0.118
0.070
-0.075
0.167
The table shows the results of a linear regression analysis, with couple understanding as dependent variable. All
coefficients marked with grey are significantly different from zero for p = 0.05. The final pattern was obtained
through the “backward elimination” method.
Table 11 Average values of the indicator of couple understanding
(Sub)Sample
Foreign experience through...
Work
Travel
Intention
Migrant household
Type of family
Nuclear family
Average
-36
-1
2
-10
6
12
34
The understanding in a couple is an indicator (type factorial score) obtained from the questions “In
general, how do you assess the way in which you get on with your spouse / life partner?” and “In your
couple, how often do these problems occur?”. The factorial score obtained was multiplied by -100 for
direct scaling and facilitation of the results reading.
67
-10
0
Enlarged nuclear family
National total
As shown in Table 9, the work experience abroad associates with significantly lower values
of the indicator of couple understanding. Even though, from the regression analysis, the size
of the household did not come out as a relevant predictor for couple understanding, this size
seems to vary according to the type of family. The couples within nuclear families have a
significantly higher degree of understanding than those within polynuclear families (enlarged
nuclear families, meaning that more than one generation live in the same household). At the
same time, it can be observed that the migrant households and the individuals with work
experience abroad significantly associate with enlarged nuclear families. 68% of the
individuals in households with migration experience live in enlarged families (Table 10). The
fact that several generations live under the same roof often associates with the occurrence of
conflicts between the members of that household, and the temporary departure to work abroad
of one of its members may even aggravate these conflicts.
68
Table 12 Foreign experience according to the type of family (%)
National sample
Work
Travel
Intention
Migrant household
Single people / old
people families
21
7(-)
20
7(-)
2(-)
29(+)
Type of family
Nuclear
Enlarged
families
nuclear families
31
44
32
38
46(+)
28
29
56(+)
40
40
68(+)
38(-)
another
situation
4
Total
5
3
6
3
4
Note: The +/- signs from the grey cells denote the association/rejection relation between the characteristic feature
on the column and that on the row, resulted following the analysis based on adjusted standardized residuals.
In conclusion, based on the analysis presented, we can affirm that:
• the actual influence of the departures to work abroad on family relations is quite low,
even though in terms of common sense, being apart from the family represents the
main negative aspect of the migration.
• Migrants tend to think that the foreign experience has a positive influence on family
relations and on the understanding with the life partner, as the money earned from
working abroad contributes to an improvement in the quality of life, in the migrant
households, and implicitly to an improvement in the relations within the family.
• The departure to work abroad affects, in some cases, the understanding in the
migrant’s relationship with his/her life partner.
• The economic status of a household is the main determining factor of the way in
which its members get on. As the lack of money is the main source of conflict inside
a family, the money earned from working abroad contributes to the reduction of the
potential of conflict between its members.
69
100
100
100
100
100
100
Community aspects
Ioana-Alexandra Mihai
The temporary work migration is a phenomenon, which effects and causes are particularly
discussed at national level: its main cause is identified as the lack of sufficiently attractive
jobs and, if we are referring to its effects, we particularly speak about economic effects at
macroeconomic level and about social effects at family level. An aspect of migration that is
less often mentioned in the public discourse on migration is its community aspect. What part
do community factors play in the migration? What are the important factors? What effects
does migration have at community level in the communities of origin and also in the host
communities?
We spoke about the dissatisfaction with the life that people have in the country, which pushes
them towards foreign countries. This dissatisfaction, or inadequacy of the conditions to
people’s needs, is found, first of all, at community level, but this would rather explain a
potential flow of internal migration, for this reason it can be considered that the rejection
factors are rather found at macroeconomic level. However, there is a factor of the migration
which is clearly related to the local community: the relationships that are built at this level.
For the qualitative and the quantitative data, it results that the main resource of assistance for
the departures abroad is represented by people from the same locality, either relatives or
acquaintances (see Table 8, chapter “Exploring Europe…”). The local community thus forms
in the environment in which the people have access to information and useful relations
regarding the migration, particularly because the latter has become common fact within the
communities that have a certain migratory experience.
“Were many people from here gone to Spain?
When we left [in 2002], many people had already gone, I think that we were among the last...
Now everybody is in Spain.”
(L.S., woman, aged 36, migrant in Spain, interview in Nenciuleşti)
Community participation
What are the implications of migration at community level? If people leave, at least
temporarily, their community, does this mean that they also break away from it socially?
The quantitative data show that migrants are less attached to the community they come from
(see chapter “Exploring Europe...”). However, from the interviews with migrants in Spain, it
results a desire, sometimes expressed as a plan, other times as a possibility that they do not
want to exclude: the desire to return to the country. It translates into investments, in houses
built or purchased in the country, often right in the community of origin. Nevertheless, the
sama people who invest in a house in Romania are those who buy houses in the country of
destination (sometimes the order is exactly the reverse: first, they buy a house in the country
of destination and only then one in Romania). However, what we must remember is that, at
least on the declarative level, not only is the possibility to return not excluded, but it is
actually seen as probable. In the case of these statements, it is hard to differentiate between
the attachment to the local community and the attachment to the country or that to the family
left back home.
“I don’t want to remain there, but as long as I think that it is good for me there, I will stay... I
shall not be able to resist there, it is better in your house, at home, in your country...”
(M.O., woman, aged 33, migrant in Spain, interview in Nenciuleşti)
“When I got married, I had to make a decision: should I marry a foreigner or a Romanian?...
Because if one of us wants to return, it is easier this way, it’s your country, it’s your
language...”
(D.A., woman, aged 30, settled in Spain since 1995, interview in San Fernando de Henares,
Madrid)
70
If migrants are less attached to the local community, what can we say about their community
participation? Are they more active migrants or quite the contrary?
The difference between the individuals who have been or are gone to work and the rest of the
population can not be statistically analysed, except for the data from the regional research,
considering that at this level we have a sufficiently large number of cases (39% of the
respondents to the questionnaire given at regional level have been gone to work abroad,
compared to only 7%, in the case of the national sample); this difference is shown in the
Appendix, Table 13. We notice that the community participation of the individuals who have
been gone to work is significantly lower compared to that found at the level of the entire
sample. An explanation of the lack of participation is pragmatic and refers to the absence of
those individuals from the community. However, it is interesting to observe that migrants
participate less although we are looking at the contributions in work and in money, in general
(we might think that they can compensate for their absence from the community, and
therefore their incapability to contribute by work, by means of contributions in money, a
resource that they generally have).
Social capital
The social networks are an important resource of the individuals who leave to work abroad. In
our qualitative research, we seldom met people who arrived abroad without having someone
there. This observation is also supported by the quantitative data, which shows that more than
half the number of migrants (58% of the migrants included on the migration form given at
national level) received help from another individual when they left the country for the first
time. In the category of the useful relations for migrants, in first place there are the relatives
from the same locality, and in second the friends, also from the same locality.
The information seems contradictory: on the one hand, Romanians arrive abroad with the help
of the connections they have, in a sort of pyramid-like development of the phenomenon, and
on the other hand, a very common type of discourse among the migrants is that about
Romanians who do not help each other and about the relations (both family and friendship
ones) destroyed abroad. We were able to observe an example of such contradiction when we
spent almost an entire day with a young couple (aged 26, respectively 32) from Nenciuleşti,
who had been in Spain for three years. On the one hand, they described the way the relations
between them and the friends or relatives, who were also in Spain, had cooled, on the other
hand, we had the chance to witness unexpected visits from some acquaintances or friends, as
well as some chance meetings with Romanians, who lived in the same area, and from all these
it resulted, however, that their social life was far from being poor.
A probable source of this contradiction is found in the difference between the spare time that
they used to have when they were still in the country, and the spare time that the people
working abroad had. In order to earn incomes that would allow them to have a quality of life,
which should justify the expenses incurred by being away from home, the Romanians in
Spain have a work schedule that does not allow them to spend too much time with friends. In
general, they prefer to use the little spare time they have to rest. In these conditions, the
relations between people become functional, for helping each other and for exchanging
information, rather than spending spare time together.
“If you get home at ten, you wash up and you go to sleep. How can you go out? As the next
day, you wake up at six.”
(man, aged 32, migrant Spain, interview in Madrid)
Another factor is the discrepancy between the expectations that newly arrived Romanians
have from the people who have promised to help them, and the actual help that they receive
from these people. On the one hand, old migrants had suffered many hardships until they
managed to have a relatively stable status, and they do not accept to spend too much of their
71
time, social capital and money resources (the first are scarce, and the last two have been
obtained with great efforts) in order to help the newcomers.
“It’s one thing to be the Romanian emigrant who left long ago, with much greater costs...has
more years behind, is more stable economically. You can not possibly skip certain stages, the
first is that of learning the language, which lasts about a year or so”
(migrant in Spain, interview in Getafe, Madrid)
“I came to a cousin of mine who had been here long...
And did they help you?
... They help you, but they forget how it also was for them in the beginning”
(AP, woman, aged 28, migrant in Spain since 2003, interview in Madrid)
A circumstance with high potential to generate conflicts results from cohabitation. The
apartments are often sublet by the leasehold tenants, thus there are situations when as much as
10 people live in a 3-room apartment. Besides the inevitable consequences that this fact has
on the life of the couple, conflicts arise between couples, respectively families, generated by
the need to share certain common utilities, such as the bathroom, the kitchen, the household
appliances or the terrace where the clothes are hung to dry, but also by the different habits of
each individual.
How this use of social networks for migration is reflected in people’s overall social relations?
Are the families of the people who migrate richer in relational capital than the others? The
data of the national quantitative research shows that the people who come from families with
foreign experience have a higher relational capital compared to the others. Yet, are these
social networks related to migration? If we compare the people, who come from families in
which at least one individual has been or is gone to work abroad, to the rest of the sample, we
notice that here there are significant differences statistically, only with regard to the relations
with people abroad and with people from whom the subject could borrow money (see Table
14). The quality of these relations (assessed by how much the subject considers that he/she
can rely on them) does not vary significantly unless in the case of those with people abroad.
Association in the country of destination
It is already a known fact that, in Spain, there is a large number of Romanians (estimated to
approximately 500,000 – 600,000), and that they are not uniformly scattered throughout the
whole country. They are concentrated in certain areas, one of these areas being the
Autonomous Community of Madrid. Here, the Romanians live especially in the localities
outside Madrid, on the Henares corridor (the town of Coslada is the most renowned for its
high concentration of Romanians: out of 70,000 inhabitants, 13,000 are Romanians), but also
in the southern part of the capital. The Romanians live in the same areas, go to the same
shops, use the same means of public transportation, go to the same churches (if any), meet in
all these places, spend spare time together (even though there is less spare time than in the
country). In the localities where the concentration of Romanians is high, it is as surprising to
hear a conversation in Romanian in the street, as it is to hear people speaking Spanish. In
these conditions, we can consider justified the discourse on Romanian communities.
If so, then there should be identified ways of organization for these communities. The most
visible organization of the Romanians is around the churches. The church is not only a place
where people come to pray or to take part in religious services. It is, at the same time, a
meeting place, a place where people can socialize and – very important to the people gone to
work abroad – exchange information.
The Adventist community in Coslada mobilized to bring a pastor from the country even since
1998. The Romanian orthodox church in Madrid had already functioned, long before the postDecember 1989 migrant wave. However, the communities of the Romanians who lived
around Madrid organized to create new parishes in the localities where they lived. In this
72
approach, they met with resistance from Mitropolia in Paris, institution to which any
Romanian orthodox parish in Spain would be subordinated, fact which proved even clearer
the way in which those communities managed to get organized.
In the last few years, there is also a tendency towards formal association, reflected in a
relatively large number of associations. Thus, in the localities where many Romanians live,
there are even up to 4-5 associations. In 2005, there was set up a federation of the Romanian
associations in Spain – FEDROM, to which 14 associations from all around Spain are
affiliated. One of the activities of the federation is to support the creation of associations
wherever the Romanians live.
The associations are financed in particular by the Spanish authorities (at the level of locality
or autonomous community). We may classify their activities into the following types:
• Cultural and sports activities and trips in which there are involved either just
Romanians, or Romanians and people of other nationalities
• The organization of events such as concerts, exhibits, fares
• The organization of Spanish classes
• The organization of Romanian classes for the migrants’ children (it is a type of
activity that several associations intend to have, but which, at the time of the research
was just in the project stage)
• The establishment of Romanian orthodox parishes
• Provision of information
• Job intermediation
• Legal consultation
• Translations of documents
The last two activities are often services for which the individual who goes to the
“association” must pay, therefore the associations are seen with distrust. In addition, even
those which do not provide such paid services are very little known, and the general
impression is that Romanians are not associating.
“What do you do?
Well, the first thing that I have to do now is to advertise as much as possible, so that people
find out about me.”
(association president, interview in Madrid)
Besides this, there is competition between the associations, the people managing them make
negative statements about or even accusations against the others.
“The Romanians are not associating. They say that there are many associations, but in fact
they are created just for one project. They are just delinquents, two or three people together
with their wives, brothers, children, who take money for a single project”
(association president, interview in Madrid)
Conclusions
Let’s summarize, drawing the main conclusions from the facts described in this chapter:
• Migrants are less involved in solving the problems of the community of origin
• Migration uses especially social networks at the level of the community of affiliation
• Romanians’ relations abroad change, on the one hand, the frequency of the
interactions between people decreases, on the other hand, old relations are broken off
and new relations are born
• The associative phenomenon among Romanians in Spain is still in an incipient stage,
with many, very small associations, with reduced activity, which compete against
each other
73
Appendix
Table 13 Participation experience (percentage of people who answered “yes”, compared to the
number of valid cases; the fields where there are significant differences from the rest of the
sample are marked)
National
sample
total
Has voluntarily contributed with
work or money to solving some
local problems
Has participated in any public
meeting on community/block of
flats problems
Has informed the authorities about
common issues that should be
solved
Has donated to the church
Has helped someone in need
Someone in the
household has
foreign
experience
(national)
Someone in
household
has been
gone to work
abroad
(national)
Subject
was gone
to work
abroad
(regional)
Regional
sample
total
24
28
25
21
16
21
23
18
16
12
18
53
66
22
52
71
16
49
67
15
64
72
14
57
71
Table 14 Useful relations (percentage of people who answered “yes”, compared to the number of
valid cases; the fields where there are significant differences from the rest of the sample are
marked)
Do you have relations on whom you
can count on …
in case of illness for consultation,
treatment, surgical procedure
in court, notary public, lawyer
in the town hall
in the police
in getting a job
in the business world
in county institutions
abroad, through relatives settled
there
abroad, through acquaintances
to lend you a large sum of money
Someone in
the
household
has foreign
experience
(national)
National
sample
total
74
Someone in
household has
been gone to
work abroad
(national)
Regional
sample
total
Subject
was gone
to work
abroad
(regional)
22
6
12
9
5
4
3
29
10
16
13
9
8
6
20
6
14
11
8
6
5
15
5
12
10
6
4
2
16
7
12
9
6
5
3
14
10
14
26
20
23
26
21
21
24
16
19
27
22
23
Medium-term plans of the Romanians (two to three years)
Delia Bobîrsc
The plans for the future, our intentions to set goals for a shorter or longer period of
time, represent a component of motivation nature in everyday life. But the desire alone to
reach certain pre-determined goals is not enough in order to make plans. The daily life
provides a first conditioning of the plans we make, namely that of assessing our needs,
establishing their hierarchy and setting priorities among certain relevant aspects, to which we
give special meaning, aspects of intrinsic or symbolic value. From this point of view, the
plans represent both the personal dimension, of satisfying certain needs, and the social
dimension, of publicly expressing our own personality.
Another level of conditioning derives from the experience accumulated throughout
our life, and it is represented by the adaptation of our goals to the existing resources or to the
resources that we consider accessible and, therefore, we shall be able to attract in the intended
time period. Without evaluating these resources, the goals become much harder to achieve
and, therefore, the plans for the future would be nothing but mere verbalizations of certain
desires.
By comparison to these instructions, we have attempted to outline the Romanians’
intentions for the future, using the quantitative data collected at national level, based on a
questionnaire, and the qualitative data (interviews taken in Năneşti, Vrancea).
The question “For the next two-three years, you plan...?” had 13 answer variants,
considered to represent main and relevant targets/goals that the Romanians set, at present
(Figure 1), to each of these, the respondents could answer “yes” or “no”.
1
to move to another locality-commune
2
to move in a smaller suite
5
to move of another locality-city
10
to buy a plot of land
11
to start a business
13
to build a house
14
to continue their education
16
to move in a better house
17
to change your lifestyle
19
to spend a holiday abroad
23
to look for a job /another job
29
to increase your income by working overtime
40
to improve the house/suite where you live
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Figure 1 Main plans for the future of the Romanians derived from the answers to the
question “For the next two-three years, you plan...?”
The figures in the chart indicate the percentage of subjects who answered that they had a plan related to that aspect.
The choices are not exclusive, the same person may have several plans.
The data collected indicates the fact that the first priority of the Romanians is aimed
at improving their living conditions, the investment in the house or apartment where they
stay/live. This intention characterizes to a greater extent the young people and adults from
Muntenia and Transilvania. The diversification of the investment plans represents a common
strategy, in particular in the case of the families that have at least one member gone to work
abroad or in the case of the individuals who intend to migrate. Building a new house or
moving into a better house, together with the intention to purchase lands or opening a
business are some of the current investment practices of the Romanian migrants. The
75
intention to increase the incomes by working overtime or by looking for a new/another job
comes first in the plans of the people who intend to migrate in the near future (the next two
years). This intention is mainly observed in men, young people and adults, inhabitants of
Crişana and Maramureş.
”Most changes in the commune are made with money brought from abroad. Most people invest in
houses. The houses are much more modern than before, and looking at them and having the idea from
abroad, it can be seen that they have brought the idea from abroad, that they have come with another
mentality. The houses are built higher, wells are being dug for running water, bathrooms are built into
the houses.” (businessman, Năneşti)
Besides the analysis of these investment strategies, we were also interested in the
plans regarding the accumulation of educational capital and the investments in leisure
activities. Thus, the townspeople who have travelled abroad before want more to spend their
holidays outside the country. And the orientation towards continuation of studies is mainly
observed in young people, in people with higher education, who wish to migrate or who
already have migration experience through travels outside the country.
A small part of the Romanians (also) intend to have a entrepreneurial career, to set up
a business. Who are those who have such plans? A profile of the Romanian entrepreneur can
be outlined as follows: man, aged 18 to 29, high school and higher education, with no income
or with an income that exceeds 6 million lei (ROL) per month, with medium and higher level
occupations, from the urban area, with living abroad experience (either for work, or for
tourism) or with the intention to migrate.
Another interesting aspect is considered to be the business fields that attract the
entrepreneurs. The development of an agricultural farm seems to be a profitable business for
3% of the people who plan, in the next two years, to invest in a business, while 8% would
orientate towards a business that does not target the agriculture. From the discussions with
Romanian migrants, we noticed that they too no longer want to revitalize the agricultural
activities, their investments being mainly orientated towards the service provision area, the
real estate field, the purchase of houses and lands (from the people who have worked abroad
and would start their own business, 7% would develop an agricultural farm, and 24% would
start a non-agricultural business).
Table 1 Option to set up a business according to the migration abroad experience
Within the next 2 years, do
you or someone else in your
family intend...?
To develop an agricultural farm
/ facility
To start your own firm/business
Work
Travel
Intention
Migrant
household
Nonmigrant
household
Total
7%
5%
6%
4%
2%
3%
24%
12%
18%
10%
4%
8%
The data in the table represents the percentage of individuals who answered “Yes”
With regard to the obstacles in the path of the “entrepreneurial road”, many of the
interviewees declared that they could not set up a business either for lack of financial capital,
or lack of experience or interest. Apart from these obstacles, there are others, some of the
subjects considering that business in Romania is risky due to the bureaucracy and the high
level of corruption.
In our research, we identified former migrants who started a transport firm upon their
return from Italy. A small part of the migrants returned home invested the money earned in
construction companies. An example of investment in a small business of manufacturing
prefabricated blocks for constructions is in Năneşti village, from the county of Vrancea. A
former migrant, with a great work experience in Italy (over 10 years), upon his return to the
country, decided to invest in a business, in partnership with an Italian, on the Italian model.
The investment is considered successful, adjusted to the European requirements and with
great chances to resist on the European market. This reveals the fact that Romanian migrants
76
become more and more potential agents of change, of development. Private transfers
determine social development both at a personal, family level, and at community level.
”Since 1997, I had this business idea in my head, of a prefabricated blocks factory, but I did not have
financial power, I trued to open a disco, I lost some of the money there, now I am in partnership with
an Italian, friend of mine, who helped me with some of the money to buy machines. All the machines
are brought from Italy, everything is taken from there: the work method, the preparation formulae.”
(businessman, Năneşti)
77
The diversity of the intentions for the future is quantitatively captured in the chart
below (Figure 2). Almost 4 out of ten Romanians do not intend to undertake any of the
activities mentioned as possible answer variants (the 13 variants shown in Figure 1). Form the
individuals who answer “yes” to at least one variant of those suggested, 64% choose to
improve their home.
40
38
35
30
25
20
17
15
13
10
9
8
6
5
4
2
0
no
plan
2
1
0
one 2 plans
3 4 plans 5 plans 6 plans 7 plans 8 plans 9 plans 10
plan
plans
plans
0
11
plans
0
12
plans
Figure 2. Diversity of plans (number of intentions expressed)
What makes Romanians think of more plans? The analysis of the data indicates that
the number of plans is greater at the same time with the increase in educational and financial
capital, but also in the case of the people who intend to migrate. It decreases as the individuals
grow old, and it is smaller at the people from Moldova and at the people who come from
localities with a high prevalence rate (the temporary departures to which we add the number
of people returned from abroad, per one thousand inhabitants). 35
These plans for the future can be grouped into three categories of projective strategies 36:
• Change, meaning a leap in the quality of life by making significant improvements to
the house, the increase in the incomes by working overtime, by looking for a
(another) job, the change in the way of living.
• Accumulation – meaning the purchase of resources (especially goods) and their
orientation towards a well established goal, such as moving into a better house,
building a house, setting up a business, purchasing land, spending the holidays
abroad.
• Studies, representing a status leap for the young man who wants to continue his
studies, to move to the town, in a smaller apartment.
Who are the people orientated towards these future models?
• The orientation towards the accumulation of resources is more stressed in men,
those aged 18 to 59, with a low level of income or even with no income, from the
urban area, from Muntenia, who intend to migrate.
35
According to a regression pattern, where the independent variable is the number of plans, and we
chose as explanatory variables the subject’s age, last school graduated, income in July 2006, residence,
migration experience, prevalence rate on 2002, R2 adj = 44,5%.
36
Grouping of the 12 plans was generated by PCA- Varimax factorial analysis, 3 factors resulted,
KMO=0,838.
78
•
•
The people who want a change, either by improving their living conditions, or by
changing their occupation status, are young, with higher occupations, who work or
have worked abroad before.
As expected, the people orientated towards the accumulation of educational capital
are mainly young, who intend to migrate, resident in Transilvania.
What is relevant to this analysis is the orientation towards investments in a business,
towards consumption or saving. Analysing the answers to the question “If you won a large
sum of money, say 100 thousand Euros, what would you do with most of this money?” We
notice that, in essence, the aspirations of the Romanians go towards consumption and
accumulation (50% would spend money on various needs, 13% would deposit it with a bank)
and less Romanians are orientated towards entrepreneurship (21%). As expected,
entrepreneurial orientation is observed at the people who have worked, travelled, or intend to
migrate to another country. Non-migrants, those who never left and do not intend to leave,
want to spend the money on satisfying various needs or save it at banks. (Table 2)
Table 2. Intentions to use a large sum of money according to the migration experience
If you won a large sum of money,
Nonsay 100 thousand Euros, what
Migrant
Work Travel Intention
migrant
household
would you do with most of this
household
money?
Total
I would invest it in a business
34%
35%
33%
23%
16%
21%
I would spend it for various needs
(house, car, trips)
51%
47%
52%
47%
51%
50%
8%
1%
7%
0%
10%
0%
13%
2%
16%
1%
13%
1%
0%
6%
2%
5%
8%
6%
2%
0%
1%
3%
0%
1%
0%
1%
0%
2%
0%
1%
2%
1%
0%
2%
1%
0%
I would deposit it with a bank
Something else
I would give it to the children
(grandchildren)/I would help my
children (grandchildren)
I would donate it to poor people
I would donate it to the church
I would emigrate
The data in the table represents the percentage of individuals who answered “Yes”
Another aspect targeted by our analysis is the answer to the question “How much do
the plans for the future affect the purchases?” If we shift from the projective plan to the
concrete one, of putting the plans into practice, we notice a focus of the economic policies
more on consumption and less on investments. An analysis of the expenses in the last 5 years
shows that the Romanians orientated, first of all, towards purchasing household appliances
(48%), then towards the expansion, modernization of the house (37%), tending the
agricultural land (31%). They invested less in purchasing houses (5%), lands (4%), setting up
a business (3%). The people who invested in setting up a business or in real estate (houses,
lands) were mostly those who have worked abroad, compared to the non-migrants. (Table 3)
Table 3. Expenses in the last 5 years according to the migration experience
Work
Travel
Intention
Migrant
household
Purchasing a house
10%
12%
6%
3%
Nonmigrant
household
4%
Building a house
14%
13%
12%
6%
7%
8%
Expanding/modernizing the home
45%
59%
45%
37%
32%
37%
Purchasing a car
26%
5%
33%
8%
16%
4%
20%
4%
11%
3%
16%
4%
In the last 5 years, did you spend
money for...?
Buying lands for house building
79
Total
5%
Buying lands for agriculture
Tending agricultural land
3%
6%
4%
5%
2%
3%
20%
22%
30%
35%
32%
31%
Buying agricultural machines
4%
5%
1%
5%
2%
3%
Setting up a business
10%
9%
1%
2%
1%
3%
Buying household appliances
60%
64%
61%
56%
42%
48%
Tourism
25%
44%
26%
16%
9%
16%
Buying computer
32%
36%
21%
20%
18%
21%
The data in the table represents the percentage of people who incurred such expenses in the last 5 years
Also, following the discussions with the migrants who currently work abroad, it
resulted that the main fields in which they invested money were: household appliances,
modernization/improvement of living conditions.
“I invested the money in the house and in the car.” (migrant, Năneşti)
“I bought household appliances for my home, washing machine.” (migrant Năneşti)
“I spent the money on daily needs, for the children.” (migrant, Năneşti)
“With the money I sent from Italy, my parents paid an instalment on a refrigerator and bought what
they needed in everyday life.” (migrant Năneşti, woman)
“It is not about our daily living, because from what I and my husband earned, we managed to provide
for our daily living, but if you want to do something...I came for the girls, because years go by and I
will wake up on day, a few years from now, that I will have to pay I don’t know how many tens of
million and I won’t have this kind of money. We are saving for school. This year, I managed to send
them to the seaside, if I had been at home, they wouldn’t have gone, because we wouldn’t have had
money. I would like to change my car, because I have a Dacia.” (migrant, woman)
Plans for temporary or definitive migration?
Working abroad is, in most cases, a temporary strategy. Most people who intend to migrate in
the next two years, do this for work on a set period of time, choosing to accumulate financial
resources, which they would then invest in the country. We can say that, in particular, the
migrants from the rural communities see the countries of destination as places where they can
make money, not as countries where they could spend the rest of their life. The key part in
their plans to return home is played by “emotional motivation”, despite the discrepancies
between the level of the earnings abroad and that in the country.
“We want a house here, not there. I like it there, too, but here I feel closer to my native places, where I
spent my childhood. There is something that draws me here, the family, the places.” (migrant, woman,
Năneşti)
Although, on the declarative level, the migrants’ plans are not to settle in the countries
of destination, they have started to purchase goods and even houses there, their children learn
at the schools in those countries and adopt the customs there.
“I feel something for Romania, I have land, parents, the school I used to attend, but the child is born in
Italy, he will study in Italy, we want to give him a brother. Maybe things will change in Romania, too. I
bought a studio apartment in Italy, next year I want to sell this one and buy a bigger apartment.”
(migrant Italy, man).
Conclusions
•
Analysing this data, we observe that the investment strategies of the Romanians are
limited. The money is directed towards improving life standards and contributes to the
local development by the improvement in the condition of the houses. The villages are
being reconstructed rather by reaching a degree of individual prosperity than by
collective actions aimed at obtaining common benefits, the funds invested by the
migrants contributing to modernization and comfort, especially in their own households.
80
•
The share left for investments in a business is very small because of the lack of financial
resources, but also because of the insufficient development of the market infrastructure,
especially in the rural areas, from where many migrants come.
•
Romanian migrants become more and more potential agents of change, of development.
Private transfers determine social development both at a personal, family level, and at
community level.
•
The Romanians’ economic policies focused more on consumption and less on
investments. In the past 5 years, The Romanians orientated towards purchasing
household appliances, expanding, modernizing their house, and less towards purchasing
houses, lands, setting up a business.
81
Regional-community dimensions
Italy: Between informal and illegal, tolerated, but not legalized!
Ana Bleahu
“If you have blisters on your hands,
even if you are illegal, nobody will do anything!”
(Romanian emigrant) 37
The migration of Romanians to Italy is characterized by two essential aspects: 1) it is
mostly an informal, illegal, clandestine migration that 2) has the tendency to turn into a semipermanent, long time migration. We shall attempt to capture the main implications of these
two essential dimensions in everyday life, but especially on the labour market. It is a strictly
empirical material, which will describe the “La Fripta” community and the work “depots”.
This material is based exclusively on the analysis of the qualitative data 38: interviews
with emigrants, taken in the country, interviews with emigrants taken in Italy, interviews with
members of the families with emigrants. Dozens of migration accounts, dozens of life stories,
from which we shall attempt to pinpoint the specific features of the phenomenon of Romanian
emigration to Italy.
The interviews were taken in Romania, in the Vrancea area, and in Italy, in Rome and
its surroundings. Surroundings mean independent localities, such as: San Cesario
La Dispoli, Tivoli or in the forests of the Mala Grota area.
Some of the interviews were recorded, others written down, and some were just
spontaneous discussions (in particular, those who did not have residence or work papers
refused to be recorded).
“Here, your brother is no longer your brother”: about the seclusion of
the Romanian emigrant
Non-official statistics 39 show that, in Italy, there are approximately one million
Romanians. The leaders of the Romanian associations say that they are more than one million
and a half. The perception of the Romanians there about themselves is that they are
“millions... everywhere around Rome, you can hear someone speaking Romanian. And in
37
We would like to thank all the emigrants who shared their experiences with us: Adrian, Marius, Paul,
Mihaela, Augustin, Ioan, Ciprian, Gheorghe, Florica, Marieta, Ovidiu and many others. We also
express many thanks to Bălăucă, the orthodox priest, and to Carlo, the Benedictine monk, who
mediated many of the interviews taken.
38
I would like to specify that all the quotes used are from interviews taken by Ana Bleahu and Mihaela
Stefanescu.
39
Global News, http://www.rgnpress.ro/content/view/18002//, November 10, 2006
82
Torino, I won’t even say it, we will become the majority there. In rest, in every town in Italy, it
is impossible not to find Romanians”(migrant, aged 28).
From these, only approximately 300,000 have official papers (permessi di soggiorno
anuali or permanenti). The number of Romanian citizens who are illegally in Italy, according
to the data published in October 2006, by the National Institute of Statistics in Italy, is
297,570 people, namely more than 10% of the total number of 2,670,514 foreign residents in
Italy. In 2004, according to the data of the Italian Ministry of the Interior, the number was
243,793 people (compared to 237,010 people, in 2003).
In the last 20 years, the different Italian governments tried to cope with the new
challenges of the immigration in Italy. A series of laws were elaborated (the Martelli Law no.
39 of 1990, the Turco-Napolitano Law no. 40 of 1998, the Bossi Fini Law no. 189 of 2002),
but the management of this phenomenon remains inadequate, and it is often used only as point
of attraction in the public discourses of the politicians 40.
Thus, there are different levels of illegality or informality of the Romanian emigrants
in Italy: some have expired residence or work papers that they still use, received “permesso de
sogiorno” for a limited period of time, others have requested and are awaiting the resolution
of their legal status (according to the Bossi-Fini law), and others have not even submitted the
papers.
One million and a half Romanians is a great number compared to 300,000 Romanians
what are staying legally. The calculation is very simple. The ration is one legal Romanian
who supports other four illegal Romanians. Fact proven true by the field experience in Italy.
How did the house rental market and the labour market absorb such a great number
of Romanians? Where are these immigrants? 41 The Romanians that go to Italy find it easy to
“guess” other Romanians in the street, for us they have maximum visibility, they seem to be
everywhere, but the whole answer to this question is: some of them live crowded in legally
rented apartments, where only one has legal papers, all other 4, 6 or 10 are there illegally,
therefore, at a simple calculation, apart from the 300,000 who stay there legally, we have
another minimum 600,000 who are there illegally. There is also the category of the “badante”
or the women who work in Italian families. There are others who live in the most different
places possible: the “metronomii” are those who walk through subways or peripheral train
stations with a small rucksack on their back, they wear rubber slippers “because we are
saving the tennis shoes for the days when we find work”; in the “scrapyards” where “the
guards let us in, but only after it gets dark...and we leave on the dark, we go straight to the
depots”, or in the forests around Rome, where they live in “huts covered in plastic”.
The kinship, neighbourhood networks, as well as the fact of belonging to the same
community (village, neighbourhood) in Romania represent an important point in increasing
the number of illegal emigrants to Italy.
Many Romanians leave to Italy carrying the telephone numbers of as many friends or
relatives as possible. And there are more and more stories about the mobile phones that stay
turned off after people previously promised to offer their help.
What exactly does a migration network mean? The cores of these networks were the
old emigrants. These are the people who arrived among the first in Italy, invested sums of
money and time (sometimes, they even put their lives in danger for this) (see case study).
Case study
“I left Romania in 1997, I left with a guide. The guide was a friend of mine. I crossed the
border at Arad. I crossed to the Hungarians, to the Slovaks, in Croatia then in Austria and
Italy. We crossed the border by bus as far as Hungary.
I paid a total of 1,000 dollars to this friend of mine. We were four people, all friends, we knew
each other. The guide in Romania worked for someone else. Someone else was the boss that
40
Colombo, A şi Sciortino, 2004, Gli immigranti in Italia
at one of the international seminars in which I participated, the question, otherwise correct, of a
participant was: “there probably are 1.5 million Romanians, but where are they?”
41
83
we did not know, but we trusted the person in Romania. We had a guide as far as Slovenia.
Then, the guide who was Romanian returned home. From Slovenia, we went on foot through
woods and vineyards...for a whole night. In the beginning, we didn’t know that we had to go
on foot. We stayed for five weeks in a hotel until we managed to cross on foot. We were only
four and we had to wait for other people, so as to pass all at the same time. They paid for the
hotel and all the expenses. Practically, there occurred some mix-ups because we weren’t
supposed to wait that long. They were our friends. The people from the hotel did not have
anything to do with us. The people with whom we crossed on foot were Romanians from
Moldova and Ukraine. In these five weeks, we permanently kept in touch with them. We spoke
on the phone or one of them came to the hotel and visited us. We paid for our food. But after
two weeks, we ran out of money and they brought us food.
When we crossed the border, we were about 20 people, in a file one behind the other, boys,
women, girls, some from Romania, others from Moldova. Before crossing the border on foot,
they had tried four times to send us by train. They didn’t even know where to send us. They
said that they would send us to Austria by train, and from there someone with a car was
supposed to pick us up. But I didn’t want to do that because it was very uncertain. It was like
going directly to the police. And... we didn’t want to risk it.
They took us by car to the train four times. They thought that maybe they would persuade us.
Once they took us in the field where the train was supposed to stop and left us there. We
completely froze because it was a hard winter. It was February. There were soldiers with
dogs. But we stayed hidden down on the field, in the bushes... we only had few clothes to
change...We left on January 28 and we arrived in Italy on March 12. It was so cold...we only
kept warm by running....we crowded into each other...
There were women who got sick, we had to help them... we couldn’t stop. We had to go on....
For the most part we passed through vineyards. There were many wires, we had to keep quiet,
it was hard for the women. When we arrived in Italy, we slept for one night in the woods, we
crowded into each other, then we spent the entire day in the woods. We ate together, those
who came after us still had money from home. And they gave us food, too. Even if we didn’t
know each other. We ate canned food...
The first time we arrived in Venice. From the woods, they took us by car to Venice. There we
split up. Each where he/she had to go. I took the train to Rome. I had a cousin and an uncle
who had been there for a year or so, I only stayed at my cousin for one night, because they
were many, too, about 6-7, men, family. Then, I went to my uncle who let me stay for three
days and then he spoke to the employer. He didn’t tell the employer that I had already
arrived. Therefore, I had to stay locked in a closet, in the dark, for three days, for the
employer not to see me. The employer didn’t want me... he told me that there are
checks...police, and he could not help me.
Then I wanted to go to England. My friends in England told me that they would send me
money to go to them. But, in the end, through some friends of my uncle, I found a job here.”
After 2002, after the “opening of the borders”, the number of Romanian emigrants in
Italy increased very much. These emigrants who were equal in terms of migration experience,
work experience, living experience, could not help each other. Thus, most emigrants choose
to separate. They go on their own to solve their own problems. Migration becomes, for most
of them, a strictly individual experience in which the solutions to the problems are found at
random, by and by, every emigrant on his/her own.
If, in the beginning of the migration, these networks represented an actual and
essential support factor for the emigrants, as their number increased, they became more
restrictive, less permeable and less efficient. Thus, we are witnessing the reduction in and the
dissolution of the networks by their oversizing and oversaturation.
84
“It depends on your luck” seems to be the basic rule for the success or failure of an
attempt to migrate. The stories of the new migrants begin to look the same. The loneliness,
hunger, fear of the authorities, uncertain jobs, employers who do not give the money on time
or even at all, appear in everybody’s discourse in different accents.
The emigrants seem to be the most acutely affected by the phenomenon of
fragmentation of family relations. On the one hand, the relations between spouses deteriorate,
resulting in the increase in the number of divorces, and on the other hand, the destructuring of
the relations between brothers, children and parents.
“There is phenomenon which is a catastrophe for all here. Divorces! I myself have translated
hundreds of divorce sentences. There are tens of thousand divorces. Many families were
destroyed. Either the men left the children, or the women left the men. The betrayal of the
family is one of the plagues that we are fighting. The distance, the needs, the stress make this
generation a generation of sacrifice.” (Bălăucă, priest)
“Here everybody runs from everybody. If you bring your wife, you become jealous of the
Italians, because they have money, if you bring your brother, there are discussions that he has
found a job and you haven’t... Everything happens because of the money. They return home
even for a week and they become friends again...then here they fight...they get separated.”
(migrant, aged 25)
Informal communities of the Romanian migrants
The basic support for the informal emigration of the Romanians to Italy is thus, on the
one hand, the legal migration, and on the other hand, certain ad hoc hierarchical structures,
based on the free association or power, blackmail, violence.
As specified, the lack of documents means the lack of a normal life: you can not rent
a house, you work only on the black market, you are not entitled to healthcare services, you
live in a state of constant fear of the authorities, of others in your situation, etc.
“we slept on fields, we were surrounded by wires, alarms, for fear of being attacked, like in
the Rambo movies...all are like that on the field, with traps in which you can break your neck
if you enter their shack, with trap beer cans...here we had a sleeping bag and a pillow outside
on the field...we had no luggage...” (migrant, aged 25)
In this context there appear certain semi-organized communities, based on informal
hierarchical structures; a new phenomenon is emerging, which we could call “the life under a
bridge”, “on the field” or “the life in the woods”.
A house is essential for the success of a migration attempt. The people who do not
have residence or work papers, can not enter into lease contracts. The first thing when you
arrive in a foreign country is to have a place to live. The friends or relatives who help you
provide you first with a place to stay. If they do not help you “stick to other Romanians just
like you, if you’re lucky to come from the same area as them it is very good, if not, things are
eventually solved, maybe you pay more if they do not like your face...” (migrant aged 25)
Case study: La Fripta
We get down at Mala Grota, in a normal bus station. To the right there is the locality. We
walk along the road until we go into the “bushes”. We jump over a small ditch and we enter
85
the woods. In the woods, the path that leads to “La Fripta” starts. La Fripta is a community of
Romanians, which is already almost 4 years old.
“Before we had the huts on the bank of the river, it was easier, we had non-stop water, but the
“carabinieri” [Translator’s note: the Italian police] came with the bulldozers and tore them
down. Here they can not enter with the bulldozers because this is a forest, and the
“carabinieri” are not in the mood to come and tear down our huts. Some of them are chained
to the trees. There is someone who knits the structure from thicker branches. Then we put
nylon sheets, tarpaulins... It’s better here, because we are well hidden, only the
“carabininieri” know about us being here... for so many years that we’ve been here, they
know almost every one of us, they know everything... Italian employers who come to take us to
work also know”.
Photo: La Fripta
In these places where the Romanians built shacks in the woods, some people have lived for
years. The “carabinieri” only enter with dogs and pistols. Some of the Romanians do not even
have Romanian passports. They are grouped together according to the area from which they
come Oltenia, Maramureş, Moldova etc.
“ To the right there is the path that leads to the people from Oltenia, they are more on a hill
side, only 20 or so, in the valley there are the people from Moldova, they are about 40, and
here are we, the people from Satu-Mare, we are the most numerous, we are about 100 people.
The youngest is 4 months old, Crina’s child... her man left with another woman and she came
here to her parents... and the oldest is 64 years old, he doesn’t even work, he spends his time
around here and sometimes guards the huts when we go to work.”
Photo. Structure of a hut: “We make them strong...if the “carabinieri” try to pull them down
they shouldn’t be able to ruin them...” (migrant, La Fripta)
They have a kind of boss, the only one with residence or work papers, and who is also
the main negotiator in the relations with the local authorities. The “Boss” has been in Italy for
14 years. He has all the documents. He knows all and they all know him. It is from him that
they find out exactly in what days the “carabinieri” come in inspection. “they usually come in
the morning, at about 6-7. They know for sure that then they will find only those who do not
have a job. Those who work and those who are looking for work leave for the depots at about
5 AM. They know that we do not steal. As criterion of inspection, the “carabinieri” check our
hands: “if you have blisters, they leave you alone!”
“The Romanians are very organized. They are not united, but they are well
organized”. They are the only minority that got organized in this manner, ad-hoc, near Rome.
The huts can be rented. “The rent is 50 Euros per month”. Apart from the rent, there are also
protection fees that vary according to the level of danger of the migrant in question. “If you
have a “colourful” past, you pay more to be accepted. No one can move in with us without
the consent of several people. In principle, someone has to recommend you. If you just come
here and stay around here... you have to pay anyway”
86
The information circulates orally, from one man to another. “The Romanians have
taken their orality with them!” (orthodox priest). Everything is done from one man to another.
In their huts, almost all of them have mobile phones.
„you can say anything, but you can not be without a phone, you can’t resist, you
don’t find jobs, you don’t find out this or that, the first thing when you arrive in Italy is to buy
a telephone. Then you can make calls and wait for people to call you.”
The depots
The expansion of the networks has led to the weakening of the intensity of the
support and assistance relations for finding a job. “We are too many already, we can no
longer hep each other much, because work is no longer easy to find.”
Apart from this relative saturation of the unskilled labour market, the lack of formal
institutions of the labour market, but also the seasonal nature of the work in agriculture and in
constructions have led to the creation of the informal job market: the so-called “depots”.
The depots are places where the Romanian emigrants in search of work. They are
work depots for constructions or agriculture.
The “depots” for construction work (Catel de Guido, La Storta, Ponta Roma) are
usually located close to certain stores-depots, that sell construction material (from where this
denomination came). Thus, the Italian employers who come and buy construction material
may also choose people for that work in a simple and efficient manner.
The “depots” for work in agriculture are located outside Rome, close to important bus
stations or in a place where several buses interconnect. This is where the people who live in
the nearby woods, in the “scrapyards”, “on the field” usually gather (Mallagota) In the smaller
towns close to Rome, the “depots” are usually located in the centre of the towns (La Dispoli,
San Cesario)
The way in which these informal institutions operate is simple. At 5,30 each morning,
the Romanians come and wait outside, in the open air, until around 12. They smoke, they
gather in small groups, they laugh, they talk, they exchange information. Most of them are
men, but you can also see women: “why should I go and prostitute, I’d rather stay here and
maybe find some work” (woman migrant).
Photo: “Malagrota depot” at 11 AM!
The idea of belonging to one region or another is kept. It is a known fact that at Ponta Roma
you find those from Bacău, and at La Storca there are the people from Oltenia: “we are
transntţional but regional”.
The climax is the appearance of an Italian employer. Some come with large vehicles:
“..they get us on and they take us where they need us, they make some of us get down...we
climb on as many as possible, then he gets us down...
“But how do they choose you? What are the criteria?
It depends, if they come in a smaller car, it matters who is the closest when they stop the car,
or who opens the door of the car first. When big employers come, they usually know us and
say to one of us how many people they need. And then we choose among us, because we know
each other, you bring someone you trust so as not to work for him, too...It is the worst when
you have a Romanian employer, they exploit you... or they pay you late, sometimes he doesn’t
give you any money at all, and threatens you, and if you do not have relations... that’s that,
you lose the money!...
87
If two of us go together it’s still something... But if only one goes by himself, you never know.
I heard about a Romanian who tried to beat up an Italian employer because he did not want
to give him the money after having worked for him for a week. And they said that the Italian
killed him and buried him... it was written in the Romanian newspaper. ”
These places are well known by the authorities, they are tolerated by the “carabinieri”. In
these places, the visibility of the Romanian emigrants is maximum: “we are easy to hunt
here, if there is an inspection, they would immediately give us a “via slip” 42 to all of us. If you
have Romanian papers and blisters on your palms they don’t give you a “via slip”. They
know that we, who stay here, do not steal, we just want to work.”
At the crossroads between two worlds
“Here you are a slave, you are Romanian therefore you are a slave, you are not their
equal...but you enjoy their civilized world together with them” (migrant, aged 23)
It is hard to remain in Italy, but it is also hard to leave Italy. The rejection factors of
the Romanian society weigh just as much as those of attraction to the new world. “Once you
forged yourself in Italy, it is hard to come back to Romania with no regrets”.
This “crossroads” situation is characteristic to the informal, semi-permanent
migration that defines the Romanians’ migration to Italy and, to a certain extent, to Spain. By
comparison, the circulatory migration for work to Germania does not pose such problems.
The lack of legal regulations distorts the possible positive effects of work migration.
The legislative permissiveness combined with the inadequacy of the legislation to the
emigrational movement, based on supply and demand, may lead to lack of balance both in the
countries of destination, and in those of origin, affecting the profound weave of social
relations: “people loose themselves. They can not go home, because they are not convinced
that they will have the opportunity to return some day, and... they can not stay here quietly
because they do not have residence or work papers”.
42
the road slip is a document by which illegal immigrants are warned that, after a set period of time,
they should leave Italy. Some of the interviewees had received several “via slip”, but they did not
comply with the request.
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Case study: A Romanian in Italy
I left together with my colleague to Roma, in September 2006, to speak to Romanians
gone there to work. We did not have to look for them much. When we arrived at the airport in
Rome, Mărioara helped us find the bus that took us to the center of the city. When we arrived
at the hotel, Mihaela helped us check in, considering that the people who worked in the hotel
were all Romanians. When we went out for a coffee, we shared our table with two Romanian
workers (because the place was very crowded). This is Rome, during the 14 days that we
stayed there, we met and spoke to many Romanians, we both heard many stories in Rome and
we saw what it means to work abroad.
The first stop that we made in Rome was at a Romanian church. We had heard from
Romania about priest Bălăucă, a priest who has been in Rome for 12 years, and who set up
one of the first Romanian parishes in Italy: the “Parohia Naşterii Maicii Domnului”. The
priest Bălăucă has held services for seven years now at the ”Nativita del nostro Signore Gesu
Cristo” Church, on via Gallia, 162 where, through the good offices of the parish priest there,
he rented the projection room of the church. The entrance is somewhat to the right side of the
church, and there we found a room full of people, a few hundred Romanians who come every
Sunday to the service. Priest Bălăucă told us that there the people come to the church for more
than the Sunday service, people come for help, to find a job or an apartment with a good rent,
and they come especially in order to meet with other Romanians, in order to be informed and
to feel a little more at home in a foreign country.
“People who come to Italy do not come here to look for the Church, they come for money. But
coming here, they suddenly find themselves in an entirely different world compared to the
world at home. Some go through crises, after a few months’ work, they stay most of the time
inside, women in particular, who have ”fix” jobs, many of them do not know their rights, so
they come to the Church. Here at the Church there is a permanent information point with
regard to the legislation, the rights, the points where you can go to, whom you can speak to....
sometimes we provide them with forms...” (Priest Bălăucă, Italy)
Here, at the Church, I met Marius. A young man of 26 who sings at the Romanian
Church on via Gallia, 162. I will tell you Marius’s story because it is the usual story of a
Romanian in Italy, in his story we find the usual path (from the last 3 years – after the free
access to the European Union) of a Romanian who searches for a better life abroad.
Marius is a graduate of the “Şcolii de cântăreţi bisericeşti” (“School for Psalm
Readers”) in Buzău. In Romania, he used to sing at a parish in his home town, Adjud. At the
parish in Adjud, he worked “on the black market” and had an income of 3 million ROL. He
decided to leave to Italy to work, because he could not find a decent job, because his low
income did not allow him to live a decent life, and especially because he felt that in Romania
he could never afford to start a family or buy a house.
He chose Italy because he had friends there who promised that they would help him find a job
close to Rome.
“Several friends of mine promised, come, we’ll bring you here, we’ll help you, well, when I
left, there was initially only one friend but I left with several other connections, too. When I
got here, all the telephones were turned off, here it is something common, here a brother
would skin another brother. Here it is all about the money.” (Marius, aged 26, Rome, Italy)
He had 100 Euros in his pocket that his father had given him, he wasn’t even able to pay for
his bus fare, he went with a friend from a bus company who let him come on condition he
would pay him after earning some money in Italy.
“I came here. I was equipped with a nylon sheet from home, from Romania, because I also
took into consideration the case in which I would stay in the bushes. You know how it is in
winter, if you stay under a nylon sheet, no matter how cold it is, it is a little warmer. Fact
which actually happened. On the bus, a friend, someone who stayed near Adjud, from a
village, a commune nearby, asked me: ”do you know …… from your town?” I know him.
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”Well, I’ll take you to them under a bridge in Rome.” We stayed under the bridge, shacks,
rats, where we paid.
To whom did you pay?
To someone who lived around there. Because he was the first to come here.
What if you refused to pay?
Well, I didn’t, because when you arrived there, you didn’t stay wherever you wanted to. In the
beginning you had to speak to them. They bullied you, who you are, what are you doing
there...? you couldn’t just enter like you were at home. Finally, I was lucky that I knew this
man’s grandchildren. I paid 10 Euros per week. The last time I was paying 15 Euro per week,
then I found out that others were paying even up to 20 Euros per week.”
How long did you live under the bridge?
I stayed there for some months, I ate out of the garbage container, I was going to ”mercato”
(“the market”) and did the shopping for the guys, I wanted to do that, because I had no
money, and some people dropped 10 cents, 20, 50.
I usually went where there was a market nearby, 2 bus stations away, where they sold meat.
The Italians, when they cut the hen, pig, no matter what, throw away the intestines, the
grease, they throw it in the container, I took it out of the container and I brought it home,
because that was my home, and I cooked. I want to tell you that it was even a very tasty
food.” (Marius, aged 26, Rome, Italy)
He tried, after a few days’ stay in Italy, to go to a friend from his childhood, in Sicily, who
had promised, as the ones before her had, that she would help him, and just like those before
her, once arrived in Sicily, this friend turned off her telephone and he found himself alone
again and confused in a strange place, where he could speak to no one, because he didn’t
know the language, had nowhere to sleep and nothing to eat.
“After four days of staying in Italy, someone called me to Sicily, come, I have work to give
you, it was someone I grew up with in my town.
Did you have a mobile phone or were you talking again to your friends?
Yes, I bought a mobile phone. Well, I didn’t buy a mobile phone at first, in the first day, I
bought telephone cards for public payphones. Finally, they called me to Sicily, 13 hours by
train, 894 km from Termini station.
How much was it?
About 45 Euros, but I did not have them all, I had spent it because I had paid my host (under
the bridge), I also paid here and there for food, in order to be better for me, I bought a little
something to the boss there. I only had about 25 Euros, the grandson of the person under the
bridge, whom I knew from Romania, he took me there, God bless him!, he took me on a
scooter, with this scooter he took me as far as Termini, we traveled for 3 hours. We looked
around there and he helped me because I didn’t know the language, anything. He bought me
a ticket, and enough food for lunch to eat on the train. Meanwhile, I called the girl 10 times
see girl, I hope ….... No, Marius, I wouldn’t do that to you, come here, you’ll also sleep here,
eat here...I said look how Sf. Peter placed his hands on my head. Finally, this boy saw me off,
bought me a ticket from the special machines, because I didn’t know how to do it. I arrived
there, when I arrived the telephone was turned off.
But, why?
Maybe because this is the latest fashion here.
Have you spoken to her since?
Yes, I left here in the evening and I arrived there around noon, I found her telephone turned
on. I told her, girl, I want you to realize something: I have nothing to eat, not even 1 Euro to
return, I have nothing, nothing... look, I am outside the town... she hung up and I realized that
it was all a bluff. I tried to speak a phrase or two in English, one in French, but I couldn’t. I
started to cry, I arrived in a hotel and I tried to find lavoro (work in Italian). And I left there
hungry, I went and looked on the board, just like it is in Romania, to see what time was the
train leaving and I got on the train. At the first stop, the person who checks the tickets came
and got me off the train because I had no ticket And just like that, I took a slower train, then I
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took the wrong train, I was either going back or in the right direction and just like that I
arrived in Rome. I took the boat from Sicily and a guy taught me how to get onboard that
ship.
I arrived Tuesday evening in Rome Termini and I returned under the bridge.” (Marius, aged
26, Rome, Italy)
“And then I started my life.” Marius, helped by a “neighbour” from where he stayed, under
the bridge” and then found work as dish washer in a restaurant, where he earned 500 Euros
per month, accommodation and meal. Meal means the rests off the table, which he served by
himself because he cleaned the dishes and, as he said “the hen eats where it roots”. And the
accommodation was arranged in a container like those that the workers have, with no heat or
hot water. He did not last there long because he was working 18/20 hours/day and even 24 in
the busiest days.
“I returned under the bridge. Again. I was eating at Caritas canteens, I got some clothes, I
took new clothes, clothes from the associations that help the poor and when they soiled, I
threw them away. I worked as much as I could, I worked as day labourer, I went there close
to the bridge, there was a sort of deposit, from there they took you to work. Anyways, this
area is called Lazio, and here people work “on the black market”, even if they have
documents.” (Marius, aged 26, Rome, Italy)
He found a normal job only after a year. He took a job as gardener, constructions worker and
so on. Then he worked for a year at a sports’ centre, earning 35 Euro per day, “there I did a
little bit of everything, I swept, I tended the tennis and football courts, etc.” (Marius, aged 26 ,
Rome, Italy)
Now he works with a constructions company and he is called to work on project, he is happy
here, he earns quite well and has an 8-hour work schedule. He lives in a two-room apartment
outside of Rome, somewhere at the seaside, near Ostia, which he shares with his wife and
another couple. For this apartment they pay 600 Euro, namely 300 Euro per couple.
Marius has been in Italy for 3 years now, he speaks perfect Italian and has plenty of
experience so as to know how to find a job and a house, and, in general, how to get by in
Italy. “I had 10/15 jobs. The Romanian is very inventive, where there is money to earn, that’s
where he goes.”
Marius is staying illegally in Italy, just a few months ago he submitted his papers to receive a
residence and work permit, he doesn’t know yet whether the response is positive, according to
the Bosi-Fini Law 43. Being an illegal immigrant in Italy means not having job certainty or the
certainty that you will receive the income promised, at the end of the month, it also means
that finding a house with a reasonable rent is very hard, and most importantly it means that
you have to hide from the “carabinieri”, because you can be deported at any time.
Marius earns here much more than he would earn in Romania with his training, money that
allows him to have a decent life, a house and to start a family. It is here that he also found a
(Romanian) wife. His wife has been here for 6 years, she has residence papers and works “on
an hourly basis”, as a housekeeper in Italian homes.
“How did you meet your wife?
In the most crowded place in the whole Italy, in Termini, where you punch your ticket. At
noon, on June 18. I knew her sister, her sister was visiting her. I saw her sister and I stood
there thinking for a while whether to go and say “hi” to her. And I said “hi” and look what
came out of it. We exchanged telephone numbers there, she left to Romania. We spoke on the
telephone.”
43
The Bosi-Fini Law is the Italian law that regulates the residence permits and work in Italy.
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With regard to the plans for the future, Marius has not decided yet. He would like to return to
Romania, but only if things are going to change here.
“What are your plans for the future?
First of all, to return to Romania, but not in today’s Romania. I would rather live under the
bridge than to come back in today’s Romania. We (Marius and his wife) agree to stay here.”
Marius is sick of Romania because, as he says, in Romania everybody wants bribe: at
customs, at the doctor, even at the Town Hall for the civil wedding.
Marius together with his wife are saving money, now that they can think about the future and
no longer worry for tomorrow. They are saving money to buy a house, for the beginning, an
apartment in Romania just to be sure that they have a place to retire “in case things go wrong
in Italy”, then they also want to buy an apartment in Italy, because they can easily get a credit
and that would be a good investment.
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In 2000, another part of the Romanies who had lived on Casilina find an abandoned
house in Rome, in the Tor Carbone area, and they move in there. From their descriptions, it
results that this was a huge house, but had no running water, nor electricity, and the filth and
degradation became a habit.
After about one year, in the summer of 2001, as a result of the alarm signals received
from Caritas and other associations, the prefect of Rome decided to transfer the people from
Tor Carbone in the former barracks of “Bellosguardo”, located on Via di Villa Troili, their
current residence. From that moment on, their situation improved gradually: the new campus
had electricity, running water, showers and bathrooms. In the beginning, their stay is legalized
by the distribution of trailers from the Town Hall. Following the project of the “Assessorat”
for Social Policies, a real campus is built: containers are installed, the area is asphalt-paved,
the electrical wiring and the water plumbing are fixed.
At present, the living area includes 30 wagon-type containers, a house with 14 rooms,
30 tents, 19 microbuses and two trailers.
Peoples, waves and shelters
The Romanies in this community are all from Craiova, but they come from different
peoples: “caramidari” - brick makers (come from traditional families of brick makers),
“ursari” - “bear leaders” (the people who travelled the country promoting the folk custom of
the “Bear”), “tismănari” (half-Romanian gypsies, come from families in which one of the
parents is Romanian and the other is Romany), gypsies from gypsy tribes (come from nomad
families, who moved periodically with their caravans; they say about themselves that only
they are the true Romanies). Even the neighbourhoods of origin, in Craiova, are different
according to the Romany people. “Cărămidarii” (brick makers) and “ursarii” (“bear-leaders”)
come from the Mofleni neighbourhood, “tismănarii” from Sineasca, George Enescu,
Dorobănţie and Dăneşti, and the gypsies from gypsy tribes lived in the Faţa Luncii
neighbourhood.
From Dorobănţie there are especially “lăutarii” (gypsy musicians), from Dăneşti,
“papucarii” (“shoe makers”) (are absent from the campus in Roma), but also “tismănarii”.
The Romanies from the Faţa Luncii neighbourhood call themselves (among them) “thief
gypsies” 1, as they were those who went through the towns in Romania and stole. These gypsy
people was the first who emigrated, shortly after the Revolution, even since 1990. Most of
them emigrated to England, Ireland, New Zeeland, America and Canada. We met relatives of
these “thief gypsies” within the community, who told me in particular about the case of
England and that of Ireland (this is a single enlarged family of gypsies from gypsy tribes, who
lives in the Villa Troili campus). They say that, once arrived there, the Romanies requested
political asylum and most of them were granted political asylum. Apart from the political
asylum, in England and in Ireland, the State also gave them a house and, for those who had
children, it provided an allowance that amounts to about 2,500 – 3,000 pounds. From the
statements of the relatives on Villa Troili, we found out that many of those who were granted
political asylum gave up stealing and only go begging to make money.
The gypsies from gypsy tribes are the largest Romany people in Craiova and they are
considered among those “with character”, among those who succeeded in what they set their
mind to, being considered ten years ahead of the other Romany groups (taking into account
that they emigrated since 1990), due to the fact that “they have seen the world and they have
become civilized”.
It seems that the “thief gypsies” marginalized, back in Craiova, the “cărămidari” and
the “ursari”, because they were the poorest and the lee educated in schools. “Cărămidarii” and
“ursarii” lived in Mofleni, a neighbourhood in the proximity of the garbage dump of the town.
For this reason, the other groups say about them that they are used to living in dirt. In Rome,
1
In the conversations between them and in their direct relations, Romanies mutually use the appellative
“ţigan” (gypsy). In exchange, in their relations with those from outside the community, they use and
request that the term “Romany” be used for their own ethnic group.
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the gypsies from gypsy tribes live in another ghetto on Candone Street, a campus very well
arranged by the Town Hall, where there live about 700 Romanian Romanies. In Rome, the
conflict between them, the “cărămidari” and the “ursari” still exists, and the latter are not
welcomed in the campus on Candone.
At institutional level, we can speak about the birth of a complex project, which
produced significant results, especially due to the diligent work of many associations, such as:
Tre Febbraio Rom (among the first social subjects who got involved in the social defence of
this community), Arci – which distinguished itself by its perseverance in working on a
schooling project for the children in the community -, the catholic parishes in the area.
The Romany community on Villa Troili was the protagonist in many cultural
initiatives, such as concerts, parties, football games, meetings, public debates.
Over the years, a series of projects were developed within the community, some of
them suggested and financed by Caritas Rome, others financed by the Town Halll, but also
projects financed from European funds. The Department for Communications within Caritas
got involved in participating to the meetings with the local authorities and with the
neighbourhood committees; work and coordination meetings have been organized, and it
started the publication of a periodical information paper called Villa Troili, distributed in
parishes and schools. The Migration Department opened an office for consultancy and
assistance in legal matters, especially for the applications for a residence permit and for
political asylum, helping the Romanies move easily within the bureaucratic system. Finally,
The Health Department has made constant efforts to bring Romanies closer to the public
healthcare structures and suggested and prepared a project for children vaccination.
The beginning of the experience on Villa Troili showed that Romany integration was
possible.
The problems that occurred and became very pronounced beginning with 2002, at the
same time with the opening of the borders and the elimination of visas for entering the
countries of the European Union.
The conflicts with the wider proximity are more and more pronounced, following the
fact that the inhabitants of the neighbourhood feel their daily personal safety threatened, and
due to the perception of the danger in the fact that the public utilities (here, we may include
electricity, running water, public transportation means etc.) bear an increasing consumption
pressure.
The second migration wave of the Romanies in Craiova, beginning with 2002, also
brought significant problems in the community. The first Romanies settled in the community
called their relatives in Romania and thus, kinship networks were formed, and, at the same
time, their number increased very much. The Romanies continue to come to Rome and this
fact is proven by the census that we carried out in the community on Villa Troili, in the
summer of this year. According to this census, it results that there are approximately 480
people present in the community, unlike the lists existing at the Town Hall of Rome, on which
there are recorded between 165 and 200 people. The number of those who settle in the
community increases daily. I can give an example. On October 5, 2006, when we finished the
census, there were 14 microbuses in the community, in which people lived; three weeks later,
on October 26, there were already 19 microbuses of this type. I would also like to mention
that, in the beginning, people only lived in containers obtained from the Town Hall, now they
live in buses and tents.
This migration wave of the Romanies brought, first of all, in the community a
structural delinquency, represented by illegal living and illegal access to services such as
electricity, running water, sanitation. We need to mention here that: the inhabitants of the
Villa Troili community, including those who have papers on the house from the Town Hall,
do not pay for electricity and maintenance. There is a single direct connexion to the highvoltage pole, and all the others connect from their neighbours.
The first members of the community, who came shortly after the elimination of the
visas, now live in tents. When they got here, they tried to build shacks outside the campus; but
in February 2005, the police raid, motivating that it is not possible to expand the inhabited
area, resulted in the destruction of these shacks. Consequently, the inhabitants of the shacks
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all moved inside the campus and put up tents. From that moment on, this tension between the
Romanies and the authorities, with regard to the expansion of the area, persisted.
The situation at the tents is a dramatic one, especially for the children aged one month
to two years, both because of the cold, and especially because of the existing sanitary
conditions.
There are conflicts inside the community, too, between those who live in tents and
those who live in containers and rooms. Their type ranges from verbal violence to physical
violence (seldom, however). Physical violence occurs in particular between the men in the
community, when there are betrayal suspicions in the family, but also among women, arguing
on the cleanliness of the cohabitation area, on resources such as running water, showers,
bathrooms, electricity, and last but not least, on children protection. Those who have lived for
more than one year in difficult conditions in the tents feel marginalized, excluded and are the
first who are not willing to comply with any authority structure of the community.
Spokesperson
The spokesperson for the community is one of the few Romanies from the
“tismănari” group with a valid residence and work permit in Italy. He has no job outside the
community. However, he managed to prepare the necessary documentation for obtaining the
residence and work permit, due to the help received from an Italian social cooperative (the
term “social cooperative” does not exist as such in Romanian; its meaning would be that of
form of institutionalised cooperation). His insertion into this cooperative, as spokesperson for
the community and collaborator with the Italian authorities, also gave him the opportunity to
obtain a residence permit. The spokesperson, together with several counsellors whom he
chose from inside the community, mediates the relation between the authorities and the
community. Currently, there is no owners’ association legally constituted. The spokesperson
chose his counsellors from among his friends, based on understanding and interest
preservation, not at all based on the representativeness of the entire community. This fact led
to the separation of the community into different groups, which do not collaborate between
them. The place where they sleep has somewhat become the definition of the group: those in
the containers, those in the rooms, those in the tents, those in the microbuses.
The spokesperson for the community came to occupy this position in the beginning of
2006, and, at the same time with this position, he also received from the former leader two
large rooms, in which he opened a bar and a projection room and a computer games room.
People say that he bought these rooms with a lot of money (about 10 thousand Euros).The
inhabitants also state that he has all the interest in receiving those who are coming these
months and settle into the campus, even if they may cause the evacuation of the entire
campus, due to the too large number of inhabitants reached. According to the statement of an
inhabitant of the tents, “those who are coming now are those who buy from his bar and bring
him profit”. In the bar, the entire family of the leader works. The Romanies can buy a warm
Romanian meal for three Euros and any other food and household products, cheaper than
from the Italian shops. However, it is equally true that the opening of this bar has boosted the
community, as it is also a place of meeting and conversation, in the evening.
In the discussions with the people we found out that the former leader “was much
clever and more of a businessman, but at the same time he was more affectionate, including
with the poor people in the community”. Now he has returned to Romania with his entire
family, but the people still remember the parties that he used to organize, to which he invited,
it seems, friends of his, who had a high status within the Italian authorities. The main guest to
these parties was the musician Neluţă Neagu, who has lived in Rome for many years. He
requested very much money in order to sing until the morning, but he was considered one of
the most praised Romanian musicians who sang gypsy music: “He wasn’t the teacher of
Adrian Copilu’ Minune, of Vali Vijelie and of Ştefan de la Bărbuleşti for nothing”, an
inhabitant of the microbuses tells us.
The last migration wave is that of the people who live in the microbuses. They arrived
in Italy throughout 2006. The microbuses are located outside the campus, therefore outside
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the living area legally established by the Town Hall. This fact causes problems in the relations
with the wider proximity of the neighbourhood, and with the authorities. The protection of
these people is only represented by the fact that they are related to the people who live inside
the campus, therefore the spokesperson can not afford to cast them away. The provisional
state worries very much the inhabitants of the microbuses, but they continue to live in these
conditions (as long as the authorities do not make another raid), because they make quite a lot
of money with no expenses, including money from begging, money that they would not be
able to make in Romania, in the same conditions.
What are the gypsies’ subsistence means?
As we mentioned above, the inhabitants of the community do not pay anything, rent
or any king of invoice; more than that, they can afford to waste the water and the electric
power resources.
Before they number become unsupported, the projects proposed by different
associations with the support of the town hall were working. Romanies were often invited to
parties to sing and dance and were paid depending on the project funds. They were also very
appreciated as musicians. Currently, most persons of the community are earning their living
by singing in the subways (especially “tismanarii”) or begging at the junctions with traffic
lights or in different public places (especially brickmakers). The men, brickmakers are taken
care of by the women and children who beg.
In community there are very likely several other types for earning a living –
purchasing and selling cars, speculation, thefts, prostitution – yet our role of social operators
is enough limited in this sense, considering that the risks may be quite serious.
A last illustration in this sense, leaving space for reflection of those who will read
this article, is the case Porta Portese. Very many Romany women, but also few men may be
seen on every Sunday very early leaving the campus with huge and overloaded, raffia and
plastic bags. I found out that they were all going to Porta Portese, the greatest fair downtown
Rome, in the area Trastevere, where they sell products whatsoever. Where are these products
coming from?
In Rome, as in most Italian towns, the association Caritas placed dumpsters for
differentiated waste collection of products that are no longer used. As there are dumpsters for
plastic and paper containers, different from the garbage bins, there are also dumpsters for
products – especially clothes – that are no longer used. These dumpsters for differentiated
waste collection are closed and located in all neighborhoods of Rome. Romanies have learned
to recover the products from these areas, wash and sell them on the market. In a way, it is
about the same phenomenon that happened in Romania in the communist era when Romanies
with other poorer persons were collecting, washing and then selling bottles in villages or even
towns.
Who are the people who buy these products? As sellers state, most buyers are Italians
who are ashamed to go and ask them free of charge from the office Caritas. They would rather
buy them cheaply, but away from the analyzing eyes of those around. Could this be a paradox
of consumer society? It is a subject on which I am also reasoning: how much from the reality
we live is built image? How much is fantasy? How is the myth of the developed society born
and maintained in the mind of the persons who live in developing countries, such as
Romania?
As soon as Romania enters the European Union, it remains to be seen what will
happen and what will be the emigration dynamics from Romania to the Western countries.
Craiova – Roma Microbus
Romanies communicate with those within the country by means of private
microbuses coming directly from Craiova and load packages and money to send them to the
families of origin. The drivers of microbuses are also people of Craiova and they are not all
Romanies. I personally met two drivers, a Romanian and a Romany driver. Transportation is
expensive, but the Romanies are glad that the drivers are reliable and do not open the
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packages. The transportation of a package amounts to two euros per kilo and a 5% fee is
charged in case money is sent to relatives. For passenger transportation, a person pays
between Э300 and Э400 when coming from Romania and Э150 when returning to the
country. It is very expensive, considering that a return air-travel ticket Rome-Bucharest may
reach Э150. But as most Romanies have problems with documents, they would rather travel
by microbuses, as the driver is a mediator between them and the customs officers in all
countries. I find very interesting to point out that not all drivers have public transport licenses
and they however succeed in crossing the border and making this goods and passenger traffic.
In campus there are persons who do not have even a legal passport, or whose passport has
expired. The ones without a passport crossed the border in air-tight trucks and paid huge
amounts of money to arrive in Rome. Such transportation may reach Э2 000 as fee. This
money are not charged once, the drivers provide them with the possibility of also paying in
installments, that is “they are waited them with the money” as Romanies say.
Problems and projects
There are approximately 7 – 8 ghettos of Romanies of different ethnic groups
recognized by the City Hall of Rome, but in Rome, there are very many illegally and
spontaneously formed campuses of Romanies. Most of these ghettos are inhabited by
Romanian Romanies. According to Caritas investigations for 2005, it is impossible to take a
census of all Romany communities in Rome, as their number is continuously increasing, the
persons who set the ghettos illegally settle down in Italy, so that a valid statistics may not be
obtained.
For the Romanian Romanies, it remains to be seen what will happen as of 1 January
2007. As far as the locals and local mass-media are concerned, their situation has become
incontrollable even as of 2002, when the borders were opened.
Politically speaking, the situation stands as follows: the Municipality and City
Security Guards (it is about two forms of Italian institutionalized authority) are trying to
“freeze” the situation, in order to evacuate the community (evacuation promised by the mayor
of Rome, Valter Veltroni, as a result of the requests from ASL – Azienda Sanitaria Locale – a
public sanitary system protection institution and from the Municipality XIV, department
under which there is the neighborhood Pisana and, consequently, Villa Troili street)
However, the City Hall does not know where all the people in this community could
be transferred, because here the situation had been first legalized by the City Hall and the
campus had already been arranged. This means that the Romanies on Villa Troili may not be
treated in the same way as those leaving on the former riverbed of the Tiber, in forests or
under bridges. As Villa Troili is a partly legal community, we need an alternative solution,
which currently lacks.
Villa Troili is now in a difficult situation, not as much because the living conditions
within the community – conditions that are not worse or better than in other groups of nomads
– but because of the political battle on several fronts (even extremely different), which have a
common point: not to be responsible for the needs of these community, considering that the
Municipality XVI is already facing the serious problem of another group of Romanian
immigrants, the ones in Malagrotta neighborhood 1.
Within this context, in Italy, most socio-cultural and sanitary intervention projects
related immigrants are managed by NGOs, volunteer associations, cultural associations, social
cooperatives.
The solutions considered by the associations and foundations with which the city hall
is cooperating consist in helping Romanies to integrate into the society and community. It
remains to analyze the degree of tolerance of the Italian society as to emigration and the deep
effects produced especially by the clandestine emigration, in Italy.
1
I mention that Malagrotta is one of the neighborhoods that raises the most problems for local
administration due to the presence here of the main garbage dump of Rome.
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Myself, as cultural mediator
The objectives proposed by the association for which I work Opera Nomadi, are as
follows:
1. To identify the work experiences already practiced by the Romanies in the
community, motivate and support them.
2. To reconvert the traditional trades in productive work forms in the Italian
economic system.
3. To support the course of legalization for the access to the rights of citizen,
including: stay permit, legal counseling, community information on the current
operational norms in terms of emigration and bureaucratic practices.
4. To propose modules of cultural adaptation favoring the full accomplishment of
the right to citizenship and basic professional modules so that the Romanies could
professionally undertake profitable activities.
5. To also promote the social integration at the workplace.
6. To promote a way to integrate in the Italian space.
7. To favor the creation of a Romany social cooperative (a form of institutionalized
cooperation), that would support the social and lucrative integration.
8. To support the re-socialization processes for ex-convicts in order to involve them
in useful social works, community works.
9. Sanitary prevention and education in the field of health and consented maternity.
10. To support schooling for children in the campus.
Romanies’ very precarious social situation and their social marginality condition lead
to a very difficult integration in the Italian society. Many times, the Occident is seen as
hostile, which results in a lack of the desire to speak and get informed, but also in a tacit
acceptance of the situations of constant decrease in their social and economic rights.
The most sensitive aspects as to my experience of cultural mediator in the community
on Villa Troili are represented by:
• perception of form of legal control and order authority, which Romanies assign
me;
• my status of woman in a position of responsibility.
On the one hand, this leads them to forms of mistrust and fear, as for them my
position in Italy is a legal one and, more than that, I work for the city hall in Rome, institution
that decides their destiny. On the other hand, my effort to communicate with the campus
spokesman, but also with his advisors, has to be constant, given that they perceive women as
without a social role.
It is very hard to explain and promote a project in favor of the community to persons
marked by their individual condition, running from their own country, getting in tough with
illegal organizations that organize their trip and brig them into the country of “hope” in
exchange for huge amounts of money.
Winning a role of real speakers and mediators among Romanies and local authorities
is also a matter of time. It is not enough to propose serious and practical solutions to the
related institutions, but we also have to explain and then support them within the community
of immigrants.
We have found that the problem of communicating with Romanies on Villa Troiliis a
real one. My colleagues from Opera Nomadi, who have been working in the Ghettos of
Romanies for many years, were telling me that this community was one with the most
problems, from this point of view. Opera Nomadi applied projects in countless gypsy
communities - Sinti, Khorakhané, Camminanti, Romanies etc. – the cooperation and
availability of these groups being much more pronounced than for the community on Villa
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Troili. 1 It may be also about that Opera Nomadi took over the project for supporting the
community Villa Troili in a very difficult time, dominated by the tension (possibility) of
evacuation and the anxiety of survival.
These aspects are the most difficult. Beyond all these, there is the mystery
surrounding the lives of these persons. The vitality and warm they offer seem to be excerpted
from a Borgesian novel or used in the composition of a scenario for a Vittorio de Sica movie.
For the project Opera Nomadi is trying to apply in the Romany community on Villa
Troili, serious improvements were made: decrease in the police raids, the support granted for
access to education and health, cleaning the garbage accumulated in the community and
people’s education for this purpose. All these solutions provide short-term positive results.
But they will have to be integrated with long-term solutions. In order to find and develop
these solutions, it is very important a common effort of collective action. An action that
depends on the authorities’ capability to analyze the normative acts of the Italian state, but
also to adapt to the proposals of the European Union to normalize the living (authorities still
consider the evacuation of clandestine people as possible development solution). It also
depends on the ability of the associations to support the projects all the way, mediate between
locals and authorities, but also emigrants’ cooperation ability.
1
I am using here the term „gypsies” because in Italy, they belong to zingari ethnic group, that is
gypsies; instead, the terms Sinti, Khorakhané, Camminanti, Romanies are used for different groups in
the zingara ethnic group, that is the gypsy ethnic group.
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Case Study: Myth of foreign countries in Năneşti-Vrancea 1
Georgiana Păun
Transition brought several social changes. A series of basic aspects of the social life
before 1989 substantially changed, other are still tributary to the patters formed and
crystallized before 1989. A series of social changes generated changes on the labor market
and of the behavioral models, entrepreneurial practices and system of values reported to this
field. On their turn, transformations occurred on the labor market generated social changes in
several scopes. In this sense, the example of migration is eloquent, more precisely migration
of Romanians abroad (both legal and illegal). When trying to explain this phenomenon – who
has greatly developed lately – we could start from answering to a series of key questions:
What motivates Romanians to work abroad? What are the structural factors determining them
to work abroad? What are the dominant departures: those generated by the insecurity of
revenues in the country or those generated by the professional dissatisfaction? Is working
abroad a feasible alternative for Romanian in their trial to ensure for themselves and their
families a decent living? How is their success appreciated? What about failure? What are the
success/failure generating factors? Are they content with the work/work conditions and
remuneration abroad? How are they treated abroad and what is their perception? What are the
dominant types of activities/works provided by Romanians abroad? Is working abroad a
myth, a mirage for most Romanian? What are the difficulties faced by Romanians once
arrived abroad? What are the solutions chosen by Romanians to overcome the problems
abroad? These are only few questions this article tries to answer. The article is based on the
interviews taken with a team of researches and presents the life stories of the locals that
choose to work in Italy.
Nanesti village is located on the European road E85 connecting Focsani, Galati and
Braila. Along this road you expect to be welcomed by the Romanian specific rural landscape.
Nanesti village belongs to the category of poor villages in Vrancea but with a very high rate
of the departures for work abroad (see chapter ”Exploring Europe through Migration…”
Appendix 2, in this volume)
The most frequent attributes used to describe the village are: floods, poverty,
demographic ageing and massive departures in Italy: “Our commune is poor, the main
problems faced by Nanesti are: massive departures, house reconstruction, as because of
floods, the entire commune is destroyed and population ageing. Only old men of 60 years old
and above, remained in the village” (secretary of the City Hall, Mayor’s wife).
The history of Năneşti as to migration is relatively reach and has recent but strong
roots during the communist era when the commutation phenomenon was significant.
Industrial migration especially aimed at towns such as Focşani and Galaţi, as a result of the
accessible distance; the ones who chose faraway towns (Timişoara, Cluj, Bucharest) moved
for good in those towns. The causes of the circulatory migration from Nanesti abroad are
1
The article is based on the interviews taken by the team made up of Ana Bleahu, Delia Bobîrsc,
Georgiana Păun, Mihaela Ştefănescu between 16-17 August in Nanesti Village, county of Vrancea.
Respondents are persons working in Italy and coming home on leave.
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complex: precarious socio-economic situation of the household, decrease in commutation,
lack of a well paid workplace, decreased supply of jobs are only few factors that helped to the
decision of temporary migrating to Italy. Most inhabitant of Nanesti, upon departure practiced
subsistence agriculture. Their revenues were supplemented by the “work on an hourly basis”
of a family member and/or the revenues from commutation, for those working in Focsani or
Galati. All those interviewed stated that these revenues were not enough to satisfy the
minimum decent needs. Under these circumstances, for most inhabitants of Nanesti,
temporary migration in Italy was the only strategy for survival.
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„Why din you leave from Năneşti to Italy?”
„We had no place to work. My husband used to work at MAVROM in Galaţi, but the Serbs
bombed the bridges and we had to separate from each other...[...]...I graduated the
Agricultural College in Odobeşti, and in Ceauşescu’s time I worked at the Agricultural
Production Cooperative as farm accountant, afterwards I was laid-off and got a job in a beer
company in our commune. It went bankrupt as well and I was, one more time, out of job…My
husband was the first to leave to help our financial situation, it stayed there for two years and
returned to Romania, since there’s no place like home…He found a job here, but, at one
point, we were in July and he hadn’t been paid since January …so it was as if he didn’t have
a job at all…therefore he had to leave again” (FM, female, 42).
„Why shouldn’t we leave? We couldn’t find work here… and even if you did, we couldn’t
make a living out of it. Job were only available on Focsani and for low salaries, and there
was nothing to do here in the village …but to farm …or work by the day in hoeing …and how
much we could have earned? … but in winter time, what we were supposed to do in then?
(LM, female, 26).
„From a job that provided me with little money, certainly not enough…You buy a color
TV…my little girl used to go to our neighbor, she had a color TV, we had an old one that
needed to be punched to work. We couldn’t afford one, so we bought one on an installment
plan from a store, but the refrigerator broke down …again no money available so another
installments plan …[…] Life here is quite hard, a bottle of juice is 22 thousands lei…so if you
give your child every day pocket-money for a bottle of juice and a croissant, here goes 50
thousands every day for school, multiply this by 30 days… quite an amount. O top, some
notebooks for school….lots of money just fly away…And we had the bank loan as well, the
refrigerator…”(VF, female, 41)
Why shouldn’t I leave? I graduated the University in Bucharest …and how much do I make?
After I pay the rent I barely have money for bread. It is sad, but this is what happens in this
country, you cannot afford anything, and being young makes it even tougher …how many
young people in Romania can afford to buy a house, an apartment?” (TB, male, 30)
In case of households with more than one child, most of them said that they
experienced problems with sending kids to school in the 80s. However, the degree of
education didn’t represent itself a key factor able to influence the migration decision: both
higher-education and high-school graduates chose to work in Italy for a while.
„A attended eight grades here, afterwards I went to a vocational school in Focşani, where I
studied only one semester, but when the second one started I had to quit. I had to pay for my
boarding school, I had another sister in the final year and she couldn’t have quitted, so I had
to do it and get a job in a cake-shop in Focşani” (LM, female, 26).
„I only graduated the first two years of high-school and then I got a job to be able to support
ourselves since my younger sisters wanted to go to school too and where could we get the
money from…when we barely had enough money to pay for the food” (SD, female, 30).
„…Light Industry High-School – Clothes manufacturing, Knitwear, Filature... my husband
used to work as a furniture carpenter, not in a factory, but at home (CE, female, 28).
„I graduated the Polytechnic University in Bucharest” (TB, male, 30”)
How did they decide to leave
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The temporary migration decision varies from the final migration one since the first
type is featured by a change that affects the person for short to medium term, he /she being
left with the option of opting between returning to the origin community or extending or
making the temporary staying permanent, while the second category means a complete life
restructuring in the destination country. Most of the respondents made the migration decision
within the family. A key factor that triggered the decision was the information “pollution”
experienced in the 2nd and 3rd wave of migration to Italy:
„I made my decision together with my husband. We decided for him to leave fir
st, and, if the case, I’d followed him, and it was the case” (FM, female, 42).
„My mother didn’t know, I sent her a letter from there”. (LM, female, 26)
„It’s best to make this decision alone. When I left for the first time I didn’t ask anyone. After I
got married, I decided together with my wife for her to come as well and …this is different…
any problem you may have you share it with the other one” (SR, male, 30)
Italy was selected as destination because the costs incurred by improper information
on the housing and first job are covered. Most of the respondents have relatives or friends in
Italy that facilitated them their first job and accommodated them for a short period of time.
The key destination city if Rome since there is no thorough control there compared to the
severe regulations applicable in Northern Italy. Respondents that had had a previous
migration experience had rather expand their outlooks. Italy, Rome and Rome’s surroundings
in particular, still lead in the desired destinations top for Năneşti inhabitants.
„I had somebody there. My wife’s brother helped me with a place to stay since he had been
living there since 1999. I was afraid to go in a foreign country where I knew nobody, it is
quite difficult to be by yourself, know nobody and have to place to crash…” (VM, male, 30).
„My sister, who had been living in Italy for three years, helped me leave and find me a
fulltime job, namely housekeeping and taking care of an old man, which is good because you
don’t have to pay the rent or for the utilities…” (LI, female, 35).
„I left for Greece first, and afterwards to Italy. I choose Greece because my husband, then my
boyfriend, had been to Italy and we wanted to make a comparison…eventually we ended up
again in Italy because it is easier to find work and know somebody there since almost
everybody has left already…” (LM, female, 26).
„O knew nothing of Italy”
The information on Italy, and especially on how to get a job and employment
conditions in Italy, were quite ambiguous when the decision was made. Most of the
respondents declared that they hadn’t had enough information on the hardship they would
have encountered prior getting to Italy. There was a clear perception difference between the
desired and real Italy.
„I knew nothing of Italy. Italy seems beautiful seen from Romania because all you can think
of is money and what can you do with it when you return back home. But you learn the truth
as soon as you get there and feel as smashing your head against the walls because you don’t
even know how to buy a bread …until you learn the language you are as good as dead or
paralyzed” (female, 28).
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„ I knew nothing of Italy. When I arrived in Rome I realized that it wasn’t as easy as I
imagined it would be…Italy looks better from Romania, easier, wealthier …but once you get
there you see for yourself that money is not running on the streets” (VM, male, 30)
How they left initially varies according to the period of time chosen: migration
trailblazers crossed the borders illegally helped by guides, displaying a high risk appetite.
Starting with 2002, most of them used a 5-day vacation as a mean of crossing the border.
„I went to Greece for the first time …fraudulently. I used a newspaper advertisement…they
were all over the place… you paid 1200 DM to get to the Serbs, then you had to walk through
woods, cross Macedonia and eventually reached Greece (LM, female, 26).
„...I really needed the money, 1400 euro to leave. I didn’t have this money; my friends from
Italy lent it to me” (SD, female, 30).
„First time I left for a 5-day trip and stayed for 3-4 months” (VM, male, 30).
„People from Năneşti started to leave for Italy back in 1990-1991, however you needed up to
1400-1500 USD for this. I tried to leave in 2000 with a contract, but the one that handled the
contracts it was actually forging them …it was a company from Galaţi. I lost the money and
everything else, 200 USD and 45 DM.” (SR, male, 30).
Poor or no knowledge of Italian did not prevent them in choosing Italy as destination.
Most of the respondents learned Italian by interacting with the others:
„I only knew hot to say „gratie, bonasera şi bongiorno”....[...]... I learned the
language from the old lady I was attending… she taught me how to speak and cook in the
Italian way, namely „cucina italiana”, she and only she taught me everything. „Fa cosi, fa
cosi, fa cosi”, meaning do like this, do like this ...this is how you say this and that. She taught
me everything, I had a dictionary and I learned like a child does it in school.” (GN, female,
41).
„At first I stayed at…”
The experience of the first living place varies according to the amount of money
owned by each of the respondents. The pioneers of migration and those with a low relations
capital have lived in improvised shelters or even under heavier conditions than in Romania.
The experience of the first dwelling was not as harsh for the holders of a good migration share
capital. Most of the respondents said that for a period ranging between one week and three
months they stayed at relatives or friends:
„First time I lived on a cropping land …there was no house around for 30-40 kilometers
there…We found a hut, improvised a kitchen and when it rained, we covered the holes in the
roof and ceiling with cellophane. We also used cellophane to wrap-up our clothes …any
cubical was shared by three people, there was dirt and rats… we brought in cats to help us
get rid of the rats. We stayed there for seven weeks, without any running water or
electricity…afterwards I changed six houses….now I live with my wife in a 1-bedroom
apartment for which we pay three hundred euro per month as rent…” (SR, male, 30)
„My wife’s brother provided me with accommodation for the first week…then I found a place
to stay, assisted by some friends from the village, 50 kilometers away from Rome, but I had to
share it with too many others …there was only one common bathroom …this is how I lived for
twelve days, then I found a “host” and lived there with my wife and two other guys. My sister
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moved in and she’s currently living with us as well... my wife and I manage ourselves
separately.” (VM, male, 30).
„In Greece I live in a stable for two months, it’s a “reception place” for any illegal
newcomer... In my first trip to Italy I lived in a metal barrack, we had electricity and
water…it was thirty kilometers away from Rome, next to another house where all the
Romanians coming to Italy stop by…initially there was no room for us there so we had to live
in the barrack for three months and only afterwards move into the house. However, couldn’t
have stayed there too long since, you see, that house had the bathroom like we have it back
home, meaning to be used jointly by all the tenants, and there you are not allowed with a
common bathroom… you risk fining if you get caught” (LM, female, 26)
.
„I used to stay with the family that helped me get there… we shared the rent, the utilities –
heating and water – it’s similar like in Romania. You were not allowed to share rooms subject
to fining if you got caught …everybody has to have his/her own room …however, if you had
your child with you were allowed to share the room with somebody else. I was sharing the
room with another girl. Also, there was couple, husband and wife, sharing another room
there. I was sharing the room with their daughter.” (SD, female, 30).
„I shared an attic with another girl, provided with all that we need for a decent living. We
paid 120 euro as rent. Then I moved in with one of my sisters for three months, my husband
came and it became impossible for the three of us to continue sharing the same room… We
moved out and rented a place for 300 euro per month”. (MT, female, 35)
First job
The first job is highly reference-based. There are two fields where Romanians get employed:
man usually work in constructions, while women basically in housekeeping. Most of the
female respondents said that they work “under the counter”, on an hourly fee, for several
families. Those that have already been issued the working permit look into other employment
opportunities able to ensure them the economic and social statute. The key issues faced by the
Romanians that work under the counter are: no compensation for the work done, finding a job
/jobs to support themselves in the first place, integration into a different system, Romanians
image among the Italians.
„I only stayed for three months in Greece, out of which the last one I worked in farming
cropping peppers and tomatoes. We were paid on a kilogram-basis ... I was making
approximately 1200 drachms per day, when there was a demand …this did not happen
everyday. I left with a friend and my husband, my boyfriend back then … at point we met
some other Romanians that offered us jobs in a sweets-shop, but took us to a place where we
supposed to prostitute ourselves …we managed to get ourselves out of this messy
situation…they thought that myself and my girlfriend would go for it and in time they would
be able to get rid of my boyfriend....[...]... After we came back from Greece, my boyfriend
stayed for two more months in the country and left for Italy…two months later I followed
him…my first job in Italy was found by a Romanian girl, coming from the same village as my
husband. I was supposed to work for an old lady one day and one night and took the next day
and night off. I did this only for four months because afterwards they wanted me to move in,
sleep and eat there, and I wasn’t sure that I was able to do it since I was with my husband and
consequently I quit. Later on, the girl that found me my first job came back to Romania and
left me with her job with a family. In my firs job I was making 500 DM, while the second one
provided me with 1200 DM per month. I worked under the counter all this period, but not
problems with the police have occurred. If you mind your own business there, nobody picks
on you for any reason. My next job was with a doctors family, a great family where I worked
106
for one year before coming back home for two months. When I returned to Italy I worked for
a House of Cure …it was terrible, far away from home, it took me two and a half, almost
three hours only to get there …when I was coming back in the evening I was all thumbs.
Moreover, the owner of the House was a psychopath… even it was sparkling-clean, you had
to clean it over and over again, sweep…so the 1300-1400 euro I made every month didn’t
seem so much anymore, providing that I didn’t have enough time to sleep and get some rest
…I obtained a legal status in 2003 with the issuance of the „sogiorno” for reuniting the
family… my husband had already had it…ever since it hasn’t been so difficult to find a decent
job … I work for a plates manufacturing factory ..I work from 5 AM till half past one,
however in peak production times we can stay even till five o’clock in the evening. These over
time is extraordinarily well compensated …now I can say that I’m pleased, I have free time,
time for myself and for my husband, a good salary, my own doctor, I can apply for a loan if
want to, I’m like them… I have another status; I’m being perceived differently…”...” (LM,
female, 26 de an).
„My first job was a fixed one...[...]...I spent only a couple of days there because I didn’t speak
the language and nobody hires you under these circumstances, I was out of job for two weeks,
then I went to my sister that was working for a family. She left and I replaced her. Two
months later I found work with a clothes manufacturing factory. I made six hundred euro per
month working for that family, while in the factory I was working from 8.30 to 17.30 and
made 1100 euro per month. I was also doing some housekeeping for an old lady and got 40
euro on Saturday and 40 euro on Sunday.” (LI, female, 35).
„My first job? … A friend advised me, he heard of someone living for Spain and called me
when the job opened… but let me tell you…it’s one think to be called to work and another one
to keep that job, meaning you have to do what it takes to be called again …I stayed there a
year, afterwards I went to my brother-in-law because it was very hard, the owner still owned
me 300 euro....[…]…I don’t think that there is any Romanian that doesn’t work under the
counter and whose salary is not delayed … the one that claims that he has always received
his money on time lies …I was lucky, I was only two or three weeks behind … I still had to be
paid 200-300 euro, but my friend from Măicăneşti had to recuperate 2000 euro… The owner
paid him only to cover minimum needs, like food, and kept postponing him with the rest …he
didn’t leave that job at the right time too because it comes very difficult to leave when you
know they still owe you money …it took my friend three years to leave and even assisted by a
lawyer he didn’t manage to get any money from of the owner, he couldn’t do anything
...[...]...let me tell you, the ones that work legally are protected from such experiences … there
are two different worlds, the law held them to pay you, but when you work under the counter
anything and everything can happen to you since nobody can force them to pay without any
document in your hand….My first job was as carpenter for a Romanian company, not as their
employee, but of the owner… this is how I started as carpenter… after my first week I had
fever so high that I didn’t know the time of the day … being the latest-comer it was normal for
me to work more…. The summer of 2003 was the hottest in the last 100 years, we started
building a house that we finished on 31July … I haven’t seen a drop of rain all this period…
it was very difficult … I knew nothing of constructions when I left Romania…but even if you
had attended a school in the country or had experience in constructions, when you get there
you start from scratch because the work style is different and if you want to do a god job, you
have to dance as they play …I’m a driver now, but I also do some assembling work
…altogether between four and twelve hours a day… I make approximately 1200 euro a month
(VM, male, 30).
„My first job…let me remember… cleaning an office…wherever that was work available I
went. Then I found a safer job in an assembling factory ... I worked for a while there, I put my
paper and legal situation in order …but the factory closed down and I moved to another
one…my friends helped me get my first job. A friend from Italy spoke with his employer that
had been using Romanians before…he liked how they worked; if you work, then you work,
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nobody has you there if you don’t do your job right, they don’t just neglect this… I adjusted
rapidly there …I learned the language a little bit …it’s difficult …I waited five month to find a
job because this does not happen overnight …and under the counter it’s even more difficult if
you don’t know …it was the same with the factory… there are times when they demand
workforce and times when they don’t…it’s not like they would call you, a foreigner, to work
for them when there is little activity and fire one of them …they call you only when there are
overloaded, isn’t it? I was making 800-900 euro, in lire back then, but I believe this is the
equivalent value...[...]...I didn’t work in the city, only in the village” (SD, female, 30).
.
„I arrived in Italy in December 2004 and worked for a 94 years old lady...[...]...A friend
helped me get the job. I was living, eating there ....[…]…Then I met another Romanian … I
stayed with him almost three month, unemployed. Afterwards, the same friend that had plenty
of information since she was working “by the hour” for Italian ladies kept hearing “I need a
girl for a fixed job, I have a friend that need a “fixed”… and so on and so forth. This is how I
ended up with the second family that I’m still working for now. I had worked for two weeks
before the law with the documents was passed, I applied ...[...]… for „badante” , as we, the
ones that do housekeeping for families, are called here. I’m waiting for „sogiorno” now ...
”(FV, female, 41)
„My first job was in constructions and I found it myself…there is a cross-roads where all
people looking for a job met …they come and pick you up…for starters you work only a
couple of hours… it was very hard…you need more than a couple of hours to get through”
(SR, male, 30)
„Under the counter, illegally, Miss! This is how I work now too. I’m waiting to be issued the
„sogiorno”, hopefully it would be in September. No reference equals no job here. References
from friends, then they recommend you amongst them. I do housekeeping “by hour”, since
nobody else has you, especially if you work under the counter. Nobody comes to check you if
you work in the house, if you create no problems or scandals...” (FM, female, 42).
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„If You Mind Your Own Business, You Shall Stay Out of Trouble...”
Most of the interviewed people have declared that they did not get into any trouble
with the Police from Italy because of moonlighting. They stated that the Police highly
tolerates the immigrants when these latter display an attitude that properly conforms with the
Italian values. When they returned to Romania, they encountered no issues with the customs
authorities, because – as most of the inhabitants admitted – they have bribed not only the
clerks at the customs, but also the staff of other check out points:
„When I came back from Greece, I paid a fee at the customs in the amount of fifty drachmas.
There are no troubles with the ‚carabinieri’ in Italy if you mind your own business and if you
travel in this part of Italy, towards Rome...but if you go to the North, towards Florence...you
cannot travel without any documents on you; it wasn’t possible back then in 1998, as it is not
possible now.. As for the customs, there are no troubles, because they ask you for
money...When we came back in August, the wife of the person who accompanied us home by
car did not have the 'sogiorno' type of pass, so the Austrians asked them to pay one hundred,
but they only paid fifty; the Hungarians asked for the same amount and they only paid half
and in Romania, before they came to take the passports away we stopped and we said that we
are 'part of the luggage staff’. We gave them twenty Euros and they said they expected us to
give them another twenty Euros when they came to take the passports. When the guy took the
passport and opened it he said to us: „this is it?”. They let us pass and they told us to do the
same when we came back.............how should I put that....even if you have a 'sogiorno' type of
visa and everything is right, they still find out something wrong and you have to give them
money... It happened the same when I came by car with my husband. He had his address from
Rome on his passport, because his passport had expired and he had to go to the Consulate
from Rome. I had a Romanian address on my passport. They said that there is something
wrong, because we had different addresses. They wanted to know why I had a Romanian
address on my passport since I was working and living in Italy... They only let me go only
after I paid them fifty Euros.” (LM, female, 26 year old)
„I had no serious troubles with the street police, even if I was moonlighting...[...]... Though,
there was an Inspection at the factory where I was working then...out of twenty one workers,
who were all moonlighting, sixteen were Romanians and the rest of them were
Italians...[…]…I was so afraid, I wanted to jump out of the window, but the boss wouldn't let
me...I was so afraid because I did not know what was going to happen to me...They took us to
the Police section, but they did not beat us, as I thought they would. They gave us mineral
water , sandwiches...they did not do us any harm ....I only have to observe the ban – to stay
five years out of Italy” (LI, female, 30 year old”).
„If you mind your own business, you get into no troubles with the „carabinieri”. They
stopped me a couple of times when I was walking down the street, but they left me alone. They
leave you alone if you do not steal, if you do not drink, if you do not get involved in any
scandal. They asked me: „What house are you building?”. I told them, but they did not
believe me and they took me at that house. When they saw what the house was, they asked me:
”Why didn’t you tell us that you were working for the house of that lawyer?” and they drove
me back to the station. They stopped me again, some other time, on the street and they asked
me if I had any papers on me. Then, they looked at my hands and they left me alone. When I
came back to my country I had no problems at all; I am still moonlighting and every time I
came back I had no problems whatsoever. Why is that so? Don’t ask me, because I don’t
know.” (RM, male, 40 year old).
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What About Leisure?
Leisure represents an indicator of the quality of the performed work. Most of the
interviewed people enjoy their leisure next to their family, doing trips around Italy, following
a one to five year long period. For most of the immigrants, leisure means resting.
„Now that I can work legally, I have some free time and of course, I spend most of such time
with my husband. I offer my free time to my family. I also have some rest, I relax a lot... we
have friends who accompany us to dinner, at the restaurant... when that is possible, we go to
the seaside with our friends, especially since we got a car..” (LM, female, 26 year old).
„I work even on Sundays and if I don’t work, my husband works, so I do not go out alone for
a walk…mainly because I do not work legally...I have been in Italy for four years and a half
and I don’t even know where the Vatican is...I pass by it daily, but I never found some spare
time to visit...when you are very tired, all you can think of is how you can get to bed
quickly....” (CE, female, 28 year old).
„My leisure….I spend it with my friends, at a barbecue…On Holydays, we go to the square,
generally in group of friends...I do not go at the disco, because they traffic drugs in there and
shotguns and I don’t want to get involved in something like that....” (NO, male, 27 year old).
„I do not have any free time... On Sundays, from time to time I go out for a walk….. twice a
year I managed to go at the restaurant....I could have some free time, but when you get home
tired, especially on weekends…you’d rather stay home with your wife and relax....” (SR,
male, 30 year old).
„At the beginning, I used to have some free time. I usually spent it at home, because I used to
work a lot. When I was working for an Italian manager, my first working schedule was from
7:00-12:00 a.m., then I had a lunch break, from 12:00 a.m. – 01:00 p.m. that we had to
observe. We could not skip the lunch break, as you can do in Romania. Then, from 01:00 p.m.
we had to work until 04:00 p.m.....When I worked for Romanians, we had a lunch break from
01:00 – 01:15 that no one would observe. Actually, they tried to work you out from morning
till evening….Now, since I got a car, we go out. There is an entertainment park nearby and
we go out there...We go out together with our Italian boss and with our families. We go out
for dinner and recently, we have visited Verona together with our families....” (VM, male, 30
year old).
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‚Romanians are thought to be so and so’
Italians perceive Romanians in a negative way, considering the criminal
deeds the latter have been involved into. Romanian women are highly regarded
for their qualities, while Romanian men are looked down upon for alcohol
consumption.
′Italians feel pity for us...they say we work a lifetime for a house, sometimes a
lifetime cannot be long enough to get the house we really want. One day,
disaster strikes, floodings most of the time, and, in an instant, a lifetime’s work
goes down the drain, our children having to start all over again’. (RG, female,
30 years).
′Italians don’t think highly of Romanians at all because they break into houses,
steal. Right before coming back home, they caught a gang of Romanians who
had broken into luxury houses. People also think we work hard and, if you see
to your work dilligently, people can’t help appraising you. However, people
think bad of us. In 2000, theAlbanians were regarded as the worst, whereas
now the Romanians are.’ (LM, female, 26 years).
′Romanians are thought to be so and so, they are both good and bad. The bad
ones steal (there are many gypsies where I live). The bad things they say about
us? First, that Romanians are thieves, the Romanian men are drunkards. On
the other hand, they are sometimes regarded as skillful as, unlike others, they
do the job they are asked to do.’ (CE, female, 28 years).
′Some treat us nicely, others see us as intruders in their country. Some
Romanians break into houses, others steal. On TV, there is some bad news
about Romanians each evening. Some think very low about the Romanians,
they say we are a little better off than the Africans and they speak disparaginly
about us.’ (SV, female, 35 years)
′Weak points... the Romanians drink too much, some of them drink more and
work less. No one would like an employee who smells of booze or sweat. Still,
there a people who have been working for ten years for the same employer and
both the employee and the employer are happy. Like everywhere else, there is
no wood without dry wood. The Romanian women are considered good
housewives, they are generally considered hardworking, as their great majority
work as housemaids.’ (VM, male, 30 years)
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The Priest
For immigrants, the priest is a source of information about possible
employment. The church is the place where there is always a shelter for those
working illegally in Italy, Rome, in particualr, be they Romanians or other
nationalities.
′The priest can help you with a job, a house, in case he knows of. One goes to
church and tells the priest:’Father, if you happen to hear about a job or
someone who needs help’. Let’s say the priest is a sort of middleman.’ (VM,
male, 30 years)
′There is an Orthodox Church and a charitable one where the poor go, all the
needy foreigners, for they can have three meals a day, are given clothes and, in
case they don’t have a shelter, can also sleep overnight. There are many
Romanians who go there, but not only Romanians. Italians and others. The
Church helps. I’ve found a job for a 27-year-old woman who didn’t have a job.
There is a priest from Vrancea, who has a parish over there and he told us to
talk to him whenever we need help.’ (NO, male, 27 years)
Money from migration (remittances)
In October, according to an article in the Romanian press, ′two millions
of Romanians who work abroad send four million euros into the country 1.’ As
for Nanesti village, the remittances are directed to building or repairing houses.
In July 2005, the villagers of Nanesti had to face a series of natural disasters
such as the most massive flooding over the past 100 years. The houses initially
built with the remittances were almost completely distroyed. A year later,
Nanesti was rebuilt. That is the major investment the people working in Italy
make. Next, they will invest in home appliances: refridgerators, washing
machines and so on. The third stage of the investment is the daily consumption.
The respondents’ parents are, in great majority, retired people whose pension
amounts to maximum 2 million lei. The changes in the community, as many
villagers have gone to Italy, are mainly limited to the changes of the
constructed space (building new houses or rebuilding the existing ones), which
vaguely triggers changes on economic and social levels.
′ We are now building a house here, we hope to buy one over there with a loan.
First, we buy the land, then the bolts, next the roof. We work in Italy for a year
and with the two months’ pay we’ve already built it, without the woodwork.
Before I started to work legally, I sent money home by courier. Since I’ve been
1
”Compact” 20 October 2006
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working legally, I’ve been managing it by myself, I keep it in a bank. What have
I done with the money? I’ve invested everything in houses. I also have an
apartment in Focsani, I’ve made some changes there and, of course, all this
costs money. I’ve been able to do all this with the money I’ve earned in Italy,
not in Romania. I wouldn’t have been able to do all that with the money I earn
in Romania. Not in a lifetime. (LM, female, 26 years)
′ Yes, I’ve sent money home. My father’s pension is one million and a half. How
could you possibly live on that money? I’ve invested all the money in the house.
I’ve bougth the old house from my brothers, for my father didn’t have any
papers for that house, and I want to pull it down to build a new house there.’
(SR, male, 30 years)
′ I’ve sent money back home by courier, together with some parcels. I haven’t
used Western Union for I’ve never wanted the money to get in the country in an
hour. I used to send money on Wednesdays and my parents got it on Sundays.
The money was for my parents and my husbands’ parents, and for the child, in
particualr. They need the money for the day-by-day living, for food or for
wood in winter... their pension....I am saving the rest of the money to build a
house here, that is my dream, our dream, mine and my husband’s, that’s why
we’ve left the country. We haven’t started the works to the new house yet, we
still need to work for one year in Italy, then, we’ll start to build it.’ (CE,
female, 28 years)
′ Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? I am covering the floor in grit stone, laminated
parquet. I built the house in fifty-five working days, I hired people who really
worked, they didn’t joke about working. I used to send home about five hundred
euros a month.’ (SR, male, 30 years)
′ I always send money. By courier. I haven’t sent through Money Gram or
banks. Now, there is this neighbour who travels regularly and I send money
through him. I send it on Sunday and my parents get it on Monday. Besides, the
commission is lower than with a bank. It’s even better, as my folks don’t have
to go to Focsani. I haven’t done important repairs, I’ve just mended a little
after the flooding. Just now, I’ve spent about two thousands euros. For lesser
needs, my parents could manage with what they had, but not for more
important spendings, such as wood for winter. The higher investments will be
made when I come back home. The terra cotta stove is damaged, all the floors
have been removed, an order for new furniture, that is one thousand euros on
top of what I’ve already spent. The next investment is in our house, mine and
my wife’s, in case I come back, let’s say in about fifteen years.’ (VM, male, 30
years)
′ Of course I used to send money home, as much as I could, not monthly, but I
did send every other month or every other two months, about two or three
hundred euros. I used to send the money to my parents, my sister, when she
needed it. They all needed that money for the day-by-day spendings. Mother
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was ill, so I sent her the money for medicines. Besides money, I used to send
parcels or other goods.. I bought the washing machine from there, by cash, and
then brought it here.’ ( SD, female, 30 years).
′ There have been many changes, both good and bad, with the floodings last
year, everything was ruined. The houses were new, nice, they didn’t look
derelicted like old houses. The water withdrew after three days, but the houses
were in ruins.’ (CE, female, 28 years)
′ Everything changes, from the way people speak to the care they take of
themselves and what surrounds them, new houses, cars. When I came back
after one year and I saw everything in ruin my hair stuck up. Local initiative?
The mayor in Calieni does a little work every other four years and that’s about
all.’ (SR, male, 30 years)
′ In the community, houses, nothing else. As for the rest, the same envy, for that
is how Romanians are, they will look over the neighour’s fence. Only the
houses have changed. Before the flooding, everything sort of bloomed, now
everything is being rebuilt. People built houses and when they saw they
couldn’t afford maintaining them they left for Italy to work. The houses are a
sort of retreat for when they won’t be able to work in Italy any more. You come
back home. One’s house is the most important, isn’t that right? You cannot do
anything unless you have a shelter.’ (LM, female, 26 years)
′ There are very many people who have left the village, about three fourths, I
gather. Now I am back after two years and everything seems changed for the
worse, everything is in ruin‚ the people look much older after the flooding.’
(GN, female, 42 years)
‚it has worked a little... house building, otherwise, there are fewer children.’
... (VM, male, 30 years)
Conclusions
The Năneşti Village in Vrancea County is a typical example of an
exodus like migration to Italy. Italy was the villagers’ first choice because of
the lack of information about getting a first house and, consequently, a job. The
departures for Italy started in the early ′90s. By informational contagion, the
phenomenon has intensified significantly. One of the factors that facilitated the
Romanians’ departures abroad was the suspension of the vizas for the
Schengen area for maximum three months. Thus, starting with 2002, the legal
way to travel abroad was travelling for pleasure: a five-day trip. Besides the
informational contagion, social networks have played an important role. The
social networks set up are a real source for constituting the migration capital
(social, relationship) which, in turn, has influenced the strengthening of these
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networks. Most of the villagers have opted for Rome as this region has a
permissive policy towards the immigrants who work illegally.
Over 80% of the villagers in Nanesti are currently working in Italy.
Nanesti looks like a village under construction, deserted, though. For the
villagers in Nanesti, the migration to Italy meant a survival strategy, taking into
account that the Romanian system cannot offer them the desired lifestyle. The
departures from Nanesti are first and foremost caused by the economic
insecurity. The work experience in Italy has had a significant impact on the
moulding of values and attidudes as migration implies integration into a
different cultural system.
The major investements are made in building and rebuilding the houses
after the flooding in July 2005. The architecture combines the new and the
modern styles. The villagers’ future plans are vaguely outlined: most of the
respondents have stated that they would like to come back, but the local
opportunities do not encourage them to do that.
Working in Italy has been a myth come true in hard times. Hard times,
because the investment and earnings are the only attraction of migration. The
costs which are not yet covered are emotional: parents or children, the dear
ones who are left behind.
Annexe: the people interviewed
• The secretary of Nanesti Mayory, interviews by Georgiana Păun
and Delia Bobîrsc;
• FM, a 42-year-old female, high school graduate, temporary
worker in Italy, together with her husband, interview by
Georgiana Păun;
• SV, a 35-year-old female, temporay worker in Italy, interviewed
by Georgiana Păun
• LM, a 26-year-old female, lower secondary graduate, temporary
worker in Italy, together with her husband, interview by
Georgiana Păun;
• FV, a 42-year-old female, lower secondary graduate, temporary
worker in Italy, interview by Ana Bleahu and Mihaela
Ştefănescu;
• TB, a 30-year-old male, university graduate, temporary worker in
Italy, interview by Georgiana Păun;
• SD, 30-year-old, lower secondary graduate, temporary worker in
Italy, interview by Delia Bobîrsc;
• CE, a 28-year-old female, high school graduate, temporary
worker in Italy, interview by Georgiana Păun and Delia Bobîrsc;
• SR, a 30-year-old male, interview by Mihaela Ştefănescu;
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• VM, male, high school graduate, temporary worker in Italy,
together with his wife, interview by Georgeta Păun and Delia
Bobîrsc;
• GN, 41-year-old, interview by Mihaela Ştefănescu;
• MT, a 35-year-old female, former worker in Italy together with
her husband, back due to health problems;
• NO, a 27-year-old male, temporary worker in Italy, interview by
• RG, a 30-year-old female, interview by Mihaela Ştefănescu;
• LI, a 35-year-old female, worked in Italy for five years, a fiveyear ban from Italy, interview by Mihaela Ştefănescu
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International Migration Routes to Spain
Monica Şerban
What Is a Migration Route?
The idea of a “migration route” is related to the idea of order. It starts from the
finding that travel from one country to another happens along “beaten paths”. The manners of
migration, despite the number of individuals and the differences between them, are relatively
few, and the stories are similar in many ways. By becoming involved in migration, most of
the time people settle onto an existing way/route, leading them to a certain situation at the
destination. Routes are built in time, by taking in the individual experiences / individual
success stories. They are dynamic and reactive. The route is not the “discovery” of an
individual or the creation of an institution, but rather the result of a process of “negotiation”,
speculation, innovation and innovation spreading.
Understanding a migration route is made easier by describing migration by a series of
questions such as: How do they leave for...? Who leaves? Where do they leave for? Where do
they work? For what period do they leave? What is their (legal) status at the destination? etc.
If we consider only one destination, there are several answers to each of these questions. The
route connects these answers. A route has internal coherence. It is a manner of migrating that
has become, by experience, a model of migration.
Why Do Migration Routes Appear?
Migration is a normal phenomenon. For human communities, the movement of a part
and not exclusive stability is the natural form.
International migration occurs in a world divided into states and governed by rules.
Movement, regardless of its type, is not free. Each state can define classes of persons it
accepts into its territory. Implicitly, there are persons whose presence is rejected. The interest
for preparing such definitions becomes stronger if there is a certain pressure for migration to
that state. The criteria that define these categories differ from one state to the other (except
those regulated by international law).
However, interest for migration builds up in the space of origin. The wish/decision to
migrate is not according to the needs and criteria of the destination country, although it may
be influenced by them. Migration channels built for the desired or accepted, especially to
highly attractive countries, become routes by their acceptance by prospective migrants. The
channel designed by the migration policies does not necessarily turn into a route. The route is
built in interaction, influenced by the interests of all the actors involved in migration in the
origin and/or destination area and their actions. The whole of these routes defines legal
migration.
Those who want/decide to migrate but fail to meet the requirements for the
destination must slip through the loopholes in the law and find ways to combine legality and
assumed clandestineness in order to apply their migration plan. The clandestine segment of
migration is usually not limited to a single route. However, it is possible that similarities
between the elements of such routs are more significant than in the case of legal migration.
Migration Routes to Spain
Routes are connected to destinations. This is exactly because they are adjusted to the
requirements/restrictions of the destination. Similarities between requirements/restrictions in
different countries are at least a factor that creates similarity in the routes. However, this
subject goes beyond the scope of our discussion. For the level we work at, it is sufficient to
accept that routes are connected to a destination country.
The material we propose tries to illustrate the benefits of using the idea of a "route” in
understanding migration, following the construction of one of the clandestine migration
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routes, probably the most frequently use, the one to Spain. The qualitative information that we
use has been collected in two locations: the village of Nenciuleşti, Teleorman and the
destination area of migrants from there, the area of Madrid, Spain. We chose to present the
development of the route in stages. Although some sections suggests a connection with
certain years, the stages are hard to pinpoint in time. There are rather events with precise dates
that caused route changes due to the reaction of the actors involved in the migration.
The text is organised to argue for the idea that the route is a way of migrating that
leads to the destination in certain situations and attaches sets of behaviour rules for the related
situations. Whoever enters the clandestine route we are referring to knows how they are going
to leave, how they will live, where they will work; they also know that they are going to be
clandestine, at least for the moment. This does not mean that individuals do not build their
own story, though. We chose to present only a few of the entry ways and the situations at the
destination of a route: entering/exiting the country of origin; habitation situations; work
situations; clandestineness/legality situations, in their development after 1990.
The Beginnings: “Pioneers” in Spanish Communities
Most likely the building of the clandestine migration routes to Spain that are still
active today has begun in the early 90s. For the Madrid area, the first Romanians in the “new
wave” (it would more accurate to call them with relevance for the new wave) appear in 19891990. They are individual arrivals, unconnected migration projects, rather isolated attempts.
For instance, the creation of an Adventist migration network that would lead Romanian
migrants to the Madrid area for years started from a failed attempt of migration to the United
States. The departure by ship was interrupted by the authorities in a Spanish port and the
“American dream” turned into an unexpected landing in Spain.
The creation of another important network for the Alba area started from a decision to
change the destination country (Sweden to Spain). The destination country seems to be a
choice like any other (see the example above), even a random one. The first arrivals to Spain,
at least in the case of our investigation, are based on the most diverse personal reasons. While
in Spain the conditions or the context for reception allowed a consistent flow to develop, its
beginnings must not and should not be attributed to other reasons. The example of P is very
conclusive. He decided to migrate in the early 90s and chose Spain as a destination because
he had worked as a tourist guide for a while, knew the language and had made a few friends
in Spain.
Although apparently unconnected, migration before 1989 provided, without having
migration networks as they would become later, the first information and support for
integration into the Spanish society. The Romanian church that existed in Madrid before 1989
was one of the meeting points between the two waves of Romanian migrants. The Spanish
Adventist or Pentecostal churches also played an important role. Meeting other Romanians
allowed them to find a place to stay, support from the church members made it easier to find a
job, learn the first rules in a new society, get money when what they had from home ran out.
The “help received” must be understood at its true value. It does not require a major effort
from the one giving it, nor any obligation. The relationship does not involved mutuality or
extensions. Its value is much higher for the one that receives it. The reference for a job and
the first job, finding a place to live etc. allow the Spanish experience/adventure to continue.
From these “pioneers” that ended up finding a place in the Spanish society, for one
reason or the other, stories start to multiply.
For the above-mentioned Adventist network, in August 1991, for instance,
information about Spain had already gained a positive value in Romania: there are jobs, one
can get good money in constructions. The only problem was that it was hard to get there. One
needed money for the tourist trip and the early period.
Stage 1: “Pioneers” in Romanian communities
Entry into Spain
The years 1990 – 1992 were marked by the entry block (Spain became a member of
the Schengen Space in 1992). Entry into Spain was harder and costlier than it would become
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in a few years. There was the option of a Spanish visa (very hard to get if we are to believe
the migrants’ stories) and the option to speculate difficulties in the supervision of the border
crossing points with the neighbouring countries. To understand how quickly a migration route
can develop, we should mention that already during the two discussed years we had traffic of
visas for France and transport of persons to Spain (the case identified by us: a person that sold
visas and transported Romanians to France, where they were taken illegally across the border
to Spain. End of the route: Coslada, close to Madrid). Tourist trips brought to Spain, in 19911992, the first migrants in the communities of the Madrid area. The Barcelona Olympic
Games (1992) were not only an athletic event, but also a significant opportunity for
clandestine labour migration.
Lodging
Already the arrivals in the period 1990-1992 were network arrivals. The model of
clandestine migration, used throughout the world, had been “discovered” for the Romanian
migration to Spain. The fact that it happened like this makes the answer to the question “how
were the Romanians that had just arrived to Spain managing?” predictable. With the help of
relatives, friends, co-workers they were coming to. However, communities were small and
connections allowing a job, a place to live etc. to be found were rather weak.
Lodging was a significant problem. The “lack of papers”, to use the wording
preferred by migrants about their clandestine situation, would block their access to renting a
place. Cheap hostels were the first solution.
“There was this hostel in.... Kept by a Spanish woman that had been married to a Romanian.
A lawyer. Well, he had died. But she rented it to Romanians. There were many Romanians
there. There were probably around 20”
The transition of the first migrants from clandestineness to residence opened the
possibility to rent flats and sublet them to the new arrivals. This practice appeared during this
period, but difficulties related to not knowing the new category of migrants (Romanians)
raised trust issues. Rentals were facilitated by Spanish or Romanian acquaintances with
migration experience (from the previous waves)
Work
As for the job, the migration route we are discussing would lead to the informal
sector: constructions or domestic service for men; domestic service for women. Difficult and
hard to find jobs inserted the new arrivals directly into Spanish (and/or immigrant)
communities.
Legal status (residence/work)
Entry, using on of the two mentioned channels (tourist visa or illegal entry) threw
migrants in a clandestine situation with respect to the presence on Spanish land, and implicitly
with work. The solution for the period were asylum applications. Romania, freshly out of
communism, haunted by miner assaults and discrimination suspicions, was still a country of
origin that made such an application believable. The procedures for solving the asylum
application allowed for a period of legality. People would go out and back into illegality much
more frequently than later on. Work still remained illegal for long periods.
Entry difficulties reduced visits to Romania to a minimum.
Stage 2: Developments...
Entry into Spain
Spain’s accession into the Schengen Space changed the terms of entry, with
consequences on migration accessibility. The principle of functioning of the cross-border
space, with focus on control on the outer borders and weakened control at the inner borders,
allowed the visa for another country to be used. The traffic of visa could be extended, and this
is exactly what would happen shortly. The commerce with tourist and transit visas was one of
the profitable businesses related to Romanian migration to Spain. Moreover, migration to
most European countries used the same strategy to bypass entry obstacles to the destination
119
space: visa for any of the Schengen Space countries. In the given situation, traffickers had
little reason to specialise by their client’s – the prospective migrant – profile, allowing the
visa market to develop much faster. In the case of G.B., for example, who handled obtaining
visas, it made no difference where the “client” wanted to go. The only obligation was that the
result would be a visa, for a certain country, on the received passport. The major difference to
the previous period was the multitude of options to get a visa (not necessarily cheaper).
Prospective migrants could “shop around” for a visa and were no longer tied to a limited
offer.
This label of traffic encompasses a number of strategies for obtaining the visa. From
the clear case of a person who would obtain/provide a visa against a sum of money, without
any other involvement of the potential migrant, to acquiring an invitation with the name of the
person desiring a visa and/or building the story (the “interview coaching”) and/or preparing
documents (possibly forged) for the file that would be submitted to the embassy. The amounts
charged would vary according to how complex was the provided/received service and how
high were the odds of success.
The world of visa traffickers was a rather diverse one. The few types we identified
were: persons who would practice this activity regularly; persons for whom it was a second
source of income, but not a stable one; persons that would obtain some money from time to
time in exchange for facilitating an invitation (usually only when they knew the person who
wanted it); acquaintances that could (possibly) receive a (small) amount of money for the
service. (Box 1)
Box 1. The world of visa traffickers
T.L. practiced visa trafficking constantly. He would receive a certain amount of money in
exchange for a visa. In his case, obtaining the visa was “guaranteed”, the required period
relatively short, and the risk of losing the money was low.
For G.B., obtaining visas was a secondary activity. Incidentally, he knew a person that could
facilitate invitations from a foreign country. He would get the invitation, prepare the visa file
for that country together with the interested person, built a story and accompanied that person
to the interview. If they failed the interview and the application was denied, he would not take
his negotiated fee. The price was lower than in T.L.’s case. He had no control over the result
of his intervention, and the invitation had to be paid in any case. The time needed for a visa in
these conditions could reach a few months.
R.G. is an “old” migrant, from before 1989, in one of the Western European countries
(Schengen Space). Originating from a village where Spanish migration developed very
strongly, R.G. would send invitations, from time to time, in exchange for a sum of money. As
in S.L.’s case, the time to get the invitation was long. His involvement in obtaining visas was
limited to send invitation and provide some information about the foreign citizen that signed
it.
G.P. is a migrant to Spain, originating from an area of Transylvania. Recounting his
migration story, he speaks about visa costs: “Well you had to be a fool to pay more than 100
marks for an invitation. Because you had to have someone. An old school colleague, a friend,
a neighbour, I don't know, who went to Germany. That much money was only for the
southerners”
It must be mentioned that obtaining a visa meant only being able to enter the
Schengen Space. The actual road to Spain would become, for many migrants, a road they
would have to go alone. For as many of them this was the first contact with the Western
world, the first problems with not knowing the language...
Group departures were hard to achieve at that time (except for tourist trips, it was
hard for different persons to obtain visas at the same time for the same country).
120
Lodging
The lodging model that was already adopted during the previous stage would be
extended and adjusted. Basically things remained the same: Romanians that managed to
legalize their situation were those that could rent flats; new arrivals had no other alternative
than to live in apartments with other Romanians. The high prices and the “obligations” that
arose from the relations on which the departures were based were two factors that contributed
to the continuation of this situation.
In our opinion, this is the period when certain lodging-related practices developed,
such as the “flat leader”. The “flat leader” was the holder of the lease agreement, the one who
decided who would be accepted in the house, the one who had the power to impose the rules
of cohabitation. The power associated with this position came particularly from their ability to
decide whom of the people who lived in that place at a given time, they would
“impatronate” 1, i.e. declare, although clandestine, at the town hall. If we add that
“impatronation” is one of the necessary documents for the legalization file, it becomes
obvious why this was an important position.
Work
While initially the low number of Romanians forced the newcomers to work in teams
with Spanish workers, as migration developed, at least for men, the situation changed. Teams
consisting of Romanians were increasingly widespread in constructions. “Senior” migrants
started to work on their own (“autonomous”) or even start small companies that would allow
them to employ their nationals. From the perspective of an employer, “taking for work” a
newcomer Romanian is a form of aid. The newcomer has no money. This is a favour. There
are many like him, waiting for a job. It is also an obligation. They are relative or friends, or
from the same village. From the perspective of the employed, being “taken for work” is
exploitation. You work for 10-12-14 hours, lunch break is short. It is also cheating. The
employer would get at least double from the Spanish person. Mistakes are paid from the work
day. It is “slavery". He decides who works and how much they are paid, regardless of the
quantity of work and the difficulty. In this environment, where both parties have their justice
and arguments, social relations break and the myth of “envious and individualists Romanians
from abroad”, as one of our Spanish migrants would say, is built. “There is no Romanian who
hasn’t been swindled here” is a catchphrase repeated obsessively in the Romanians’ stories
about their work experience.
After working for Romanians, learning the language and the trade, they usually start
working directly with the Spanish. This is the point that usually allows them to enter the
formal economic sector. There are not many alternatives: a job in a Spanish company (not
necessarily in constructions) or private initiative in constructions.
For women, the route is mostly the same as during the early period, as regards work.
The stages “internal - external – paid by the hour” (Box 2) no longer have the occur in the
same order as in the early years. The development of migrant networks and of the practice of
job selling allows insertion directly into the “external” stage or even into the “paid by the
hour” one.
Box 2: Migration language – terms for domestic service work
Internal is the accepted term in the language of Spanish migration for a domestic job that
involves living in the employer's house. This is the least beneficial situation from a financial
point of view. Spare time is physically reduced to one afternoon/day off (or none). Lodging
and food costs are covered by the employer.
1
The term, widely used in the community of Romanian migrants in Spain, comes from the Spanish
“empatronamiento” – census
121
External – a term used for a domestic job that involves living outside the employer's house.
The work programme includes a number of hours per day or a number of hours on certain
days of the week. Payment is made/negotiated for all the work done.
Paid by the hour – a term used for a domestic job that involves doing specific tasks in a time
period. The negotiation between the employee and the employer is based on the work done in
an hour and wages are calculated according to the number of hours worked.
To legalize the situation, it is no longer necessary to change sector or employer (If the
request for an employment contract is met with a rejection, the job is changed). Exits from the
sector generally go to services: bars, restaurants, commerce: sales clerk; tourism: room maids;
security and guard services.
Legal Status (residence/work)
Issues related to legality are probably the most dynamic in the case of our route. This
is an aspect to which migrants pay a lot of attention. One of the “shocking” facts: to discover
how many Romanians have consulted a lawyer at least once. How fast they learn the rules of
the game and comply. How fast they speculate legislative loopholes. An example: in order to
be eligible for a measure of extraordinary legalization one must prove entry into Spain prior
to a certain date, specified in the respective law. The passport is the clearest proof. The date of
entry is written on the passport. What if it's not appropriate? Maybe the passport was lost,
stolen or damaged. Or maybe the price of a pre-dated dentist appointment is not that
prohibitive...
Efforts to legalize the situation must be understood, in our opinion, as an effort in
seeking normality. And migrants fight for it. Normality means legality. It allows access to a
better paid job, to a loan, to family reunification, to regular visits back home. It is a state that
allows them to get over the uncertainty. It allows a decision or the “comfort” of being able to
make a decision about the future at any time.
Stage 3: Half Normality
The year 2002 was the year that changed the route at the initiation point. Visas are no
longer an issue and, furthermore, a three-month legal residence is now possible. The departure
equation suddenly loses 1500$ and the stress of a lone journey through Europe, not knowing
what awaits at the other end of the continent. The opportunity is quickly speculated.
Migration entrepreneurs develop an older idea. From visa trafficker S.L. becomes a carrier of
persons and packages.
The migration route we are speaking of can now have, for the lucky ones, a very
precise path. From the village N., 2-300 euro that can be paid back in a few months, 4 -5 days
of travel to Coslada or Madrid, where someone is waiting. Then further: San Fernando,
Mejorada del Campo, Villalba, Alcala de Henares... A place to sleep in an apartment with
other Romanians, an already arranged job, and Spain migration becomes routine. For the less
fortunate, some of the events known as migration to Spain no longer occur: the money must
be returned in a few weeks, nobody came to the Madrid bus station, they fail to find lodging
for the night. For each of these problems there are solutions. The only problem for them is
that they find out about them in Spain.
Instead of Conclusions: Missteps on the Route
The route is a way of migration that leads to the same points. Domestic work or day
work, internal/full-time/external, illegal/legal, living in a flat that is packed with other
Romanians... Change involves a lot of effort and the network can provide no help. Help only
works for known stops along the route. Wrong choices must be paid for. At least this is what
migrants that failed to adjust seem to say. (Box 3)
Box 3. Missteps on the Route
122
A.A. is a graduate of a state university in Bucharest. She has worked internal and now
works as external. She lives in a room with her mother and 4 other persons, in a 4-room flat.
She has no documents and is waiting for Romania to enter the European Union. The money
she makes are used to pay for the flat’s expenses. Her mother sends her salary to Romania, to
her younger brother who is still a student. She has made friends on the Internet and tries to
understand where the abnormality of the meetings come from... A “limpiesa” speaking
English is something irregular, “or something like that”...
„Or something like that...
My life hasn’t really started
and why would it ever do?
The angels forgot me on Earth...
Wandering in search of lost happiness
I ended up in a Eurolines bus, o.s.l.t.
o.s.l.t. - or something like that
People had their noses stuck to the window,
breathing the Western air is really cool
no matter what sour politicians might say
the air makes you what you are.
When I heard a manea of Guţă, o.s.l.t.
I felt like I could poison the DJ driver
by pouring cyanide into his coffee,
but it didn’t work, someone else drank it.
But I never understood why he didn’t die.
He might have been an angel,
he kept smiling knowingly under the breasts
of a broad that kept mistaking him for her lover
that was waiting for her to arrive.
No matter though, if his life still goes on,
I for one had forgotten to get down from the bus before throwing up.
I had forgotten to put on my chastity belt
so I violently felt the shock
of what I had seen by accident – erotic game o.s.l.t.
This Thursday I have a surgeon appointment
for cutting off my hand, for I have sinned with it
writing.
The old beggar with amputated legs
is made fun of by two gypsy colleagues:
“What is your opinion of entering the EU,
will we be begging in France, UK or something?
For him, with no legs, the beauty of emigration
has no taste, so he doesn’t bother to swear.
I don’t know what others seek in the world,
But I seek to seek myself.
Haven’t you seen me anywhere?
123
Sometimes I think I’ve already disappeared o.s.l.t.
O.s.l.t. – or something like that”
1
A.A 1
The text was used with the author’s consent
124
Romanians Make European Money from Visas for the Serbs
Cosmin RADU and Cerasela RADU
Presenting the “locations” of the study 1
In Romania
Eselnita is a colonist village in the Mehedinti county. Before the hydro plant and the
accumulation lake of Portile de Fier I were built, the community was rather small, with
approximately 300 house numbers. There are now around 1000 households. The village
expanded due to the dislocation of villages in the former Danube gorge area around the town
of Orsova, now the above-mentioned accumulation lake. Most inhabitants are state
pensioners, as former employees in the local industry. Collectivization did not take place in
Eselnita, as agricultural land is very limited; however, the locals can exploit the forests in the
area if they own forest land in the areas near the village. When the colonization occurred and
the construction sites were opened in the area, in the 60s, the Pems 2 arrived in the village,
from Eibenthal, Caras-Severin county, and so did Roma. In addition to the small border
traffic, that was practiced by everybody in the village before 1989, starting with the 60s-70s
the inhabitants of Eselnita experienced work in Serbia after the changes, especially in
Pozarevac and Negotin. During the economic penalties and the oil embargo imposed by the
United Nations during the civil war in Bosnia and Croatia, following the dissolution of former
Yugoslavia, around 1992-1993, inhabitants of Eselnita and Orsova and the entire Danube
Gorge, especially the villages of Pescari and Liubcova started to transport gasoline and other
goods clandestinely into Yugoslavia. After the long periods of embargo ended, after 2000,
inhabitants in the area continued to go for seasonal work in Serbia. Recently, work in Serbia
has become the almost exclusive niche of a numerous community of Roma and laies, but
under the new visa regimen, it becomes an uncertain opportunity.
Orsova is a town of approximately 16975 inhabitants 3 located 15 km west of Drobeta Turnu
Severin, another border port town in the Mehedinti county. Both towns have had a significant
contribution to the development of cross-border networks between Romania and Serbia by
facilitating the transport infrastructure and informal commercial links. Both towns have
suffered a severe industrial decline in the 90s due to the closure of the Porţile de Fier I
construction sites and the reduction of the shipyards activities.
Baile Herculane is also a town, much smaller, with approximately 6050 inhabitants 4, located
20 km north of Orsova. Known for tourism, organized especially through trade unions, Baile
Herculane has seen a significant development after 1990 of private tourism and small scale
1
The text of this report was prepared based on a partial analysis of the notebooks and recordings made
by Cosmin Radu and Cerasela Radu in Serbia (village of Dusanovac and town of Negotin) during the
period 29 July – 6 August 2006 and in Romania (village of Eşelniţa and towns of Orsova, TurnuSeverin and Baile Herculane) during the second half of August 2006.
2
The Pems are an ethnic group whose members have started to be dislodged from Bohemia
approximately 2-300 years ago by the Imperial authorities, and they were given land as colonists in the
region of the Caraş-Severin county (Banat) of today, former military border (Banat Krajina) with the
Ottoman Empire of Austro-Hungary. For a comprehensive description of social life in a Pem village,
see Ioan T. Morar (2005) Lindenfeld. Iaşi: Polirom.
3
According to the census of persons, households and dwellings of 2002, http://www.recensamant.ro.
4
Ibid.
125
agro-tourism. Many of the new hostels are built on small traffic and gasoline contraband to
Serbia during the period 1993-1999.
In Serbia
Both Negotin and Dusanovac, the settlements in which the location study took place in
Serbia, are part of the Bor district. The administrative infrastructure of the two settlements is
rather weak, and the presence of state and local authorities is also relatively low. For instance,
villages, including Dusanovac, have no village halls. This is because of how local government
is organised in Serbia. Most institutions are concentrated in the district capital, the
Municipality of Bor. Even if the state is not present, the zone is recognized as a spiritual
centre of Wallachs in Serbia, who should not be confused with the Romanian minority in
Serbia, but who are rather well organised in trans-national networks and try to keep contact
with different governments. Especially, the Wallachs try to keep the connection with the
Serbian government to obtain rights as a national minority and the cultural rights to use the
vlaski language (similar to Romanian) in administration, education, etc, but also with the
Romanian Government. It seems however that none of the two states communicates with the
Wallachs as they would want, as Wallachs, an ethnic group that is different from Serbs or
Romanians. Romania prefers to include them with the wider category of Romanians, while
the Serbs try to marginalize them, considering them to be Serbs, but isolating them
economically. State investments in the area are minimal, and the general urban aspect of the
two settlements is characterised by residential areas that are too large compared to the
habitation needs and a rather good commercial infrastructure is owed to private initiatives and
not to the state. The well maintained houses, parks and gardens and the aspect of “gated
communities” is obviously in contrast with the mediocre state of roads and poor utilities.
However, it is worth noting that Wallach movements through various local organisations are
rather recents, dating since the 90s, and not very legitimate in the opinion of the locals, as
their power is very limited, and the actions are contradictory, as their organisations seem to
develop as political movement while having started as associations of the civil society.
Negotin is a town located approximately 40 km south of the Porţile de Fier I hydro plant, near
Portile de Fier II. At the last census in Serbia, organised in 2002, the population of the town
was approximately 17700 inhabitants, growing from the previous census, that of 1991 when
the population was around 16700 inhabitants 1. Negotin is an exception among most
municipalities in Serbia who have had a severe demographical decline in the 90s. At the same
time, the Negotin area is one of the most active with respect to migration. While in 1991 there
were 10000 Serb citizens of Negotin that had left for work abroad, in 2002 the migrant
population increased by approximately 3000 persons. The town is visibly a developing one,
due to Wallach gastarbeiters. At the edge of the town, on the road to Kladovo and the border
crossing with Romania, Portile de Fier I, residential areas have been built recently, where
gastarbeiter families invest the money they make in the Western Europe countries.
Dusanovac is a village, located approximately 10 km north-east of Negotin and just 2 km
from the Danube, across Balta Verde and Gogosu on the Romanian border. The old name of
the village (given by Wallachs) seems to be Geanova. The village, as the nearby town,
Negotin, is one of the richest in the area, due to migrants leaving with institutional contracts
or through personal networks to Western European countries such as Austria, Germany,
France and others, as early as the 60s. Census data indicate the trend for a demographic
decline that is common for all rural areas in Serbia. While in 1991 the population was 1256
1
Federal Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 2002, Census of population, households and
dwellings: First Census Results by Municipalities and Settlements of the Republic of Serbia, Beograd.
126
inhabitants, in 2002 it had dropped to 916, with both censuses recording the same proportion
of households (596 households in 1991 and 600 in 2002) 1.
Small Traffic for Commerce
Small traffic at the Romanian-Yugoslavian border was formally opened in 1979, when the
socialist authorities noticed that the relations between the countries were also developing in
the direction of merchandise exchanges between populations on the two banks of Danube.
During that period, the regulation of small traffic of goods and persons meant that the state
recognised the fact that socialist economies, by their very nature, would reach moments of
generalised lack of goods, and could cause social pressures on the population. Small traffic
was the right solution in that context to correct the consumption imposed by the centralised
economies and supplement the formal economic activities with secondary economy. Without
knowing for certain how much of this decision was administrative engineering and how much
was social innovation, what is certain is that the small cross-border traffic at the border with
Yugoslavia, facilitate by the small traffic permits, was one of the first ways in which
Romanian citizens could legally cross the national borders. Anyway, more or less legally,
small traffic had been practiced by the locals as early as the 60s, when construction of the
Portile de Fier I hydro plant started. It is also said that merchandise exchange on the Danube
had been an important subsistence niche at the Romanian-Serbian border, as early as the 19th
century, given the fact that the area was rather poor, a marginal area of the state, and the
inhabitants made a living mainly from fishing.
The inhabitants of Eselnita, for instance, used small traffic permits starting with 1972. In
Eselnita, as on the entire Yugoslavian border, this was a generalized activity, that paid little
attention to differences in social class, social or professional category, ethnic identity. Small
traffic quickly became a way of life for people living in border communities.
I would take the merchandise today and if I wouldn’t work tomorrow... I would go to the
customs and find a car there and told him “take me to the Serbs” and I would give him some
money 2.
Before 1989, there were no border-crossing restrictions for cars. Whoever paid for a green
card could cross to the “other side”, to the markets of Negotin and Kladovo.
We couldn’t take too much merchandise, we had to hide some of it. There was a limit for
merchandise, but I can’t remember it. If I was taking 50 pairs of underpants, I would sell
them wholesale to the Serb 3.
After selling their merchandise in the Serbian markets, they had to buy other merchandise
with the money, and they would return to Romania with it.
We would go to the store and buy merchandise for Dinars, we would get clothes. We couldn’t
come back with money, because the customs wouldn’t allow it. I would go with underpants
and buy jeans, cigarettes, Vegeta from there. I couldn’t take money back to Romania. With
the value we had back then, prices in Yugoslavia were acceptable. If I took merchandise for
500 lei in the beginning, when I got back I would sell it for double to neighbours who had no
pass 4.
Buying merchandise from Romania, selling it in Serbia, buying other merchandise from
Serbian with that money and selling it again in Romania was a rather profitable process,
1
Ibid.
Vasile, rom, Eşelniţa.
3
Ibid.
4
Gheorghe, rom, Eşelniţa.
2
127
because the Serbs were rather prosperous, and the Dinar, as a national currency, was
relatively stable and strong compared to the Romanian Lei.
The Serbs were the second Germans. They had a big economy. We would go with chicken
from us and sell for double or better to them 1.
After 1990 there were other sequences of small traffic. Immediately after the first passports
were issued, the practice of cross-border commerce extended, as expected, to many categories
of persons in all areas of the country, who felt that they could speculate the moment. Perhaps
the most important aspect of the whole small traffic story was the period of embargo imposed
by various international or regional institutions, among which the UN, EU, NATO, imposed
to Yugoslavia during the wars of the 90s. Neighbouring countries of Yugoslavia adhered to
the economic sanctions, so Romania was also involved in imposing sanctions and restricting
commerce. In fact, things were completely different. The embargo was broken not only by the
common people, small smugglers that would take gasoline in their cars' tanks and sell it on
the bridge. Even politicians and the economic elites of the time were involved in the
smuggling, on a much larger scale and with much more visible effects, materialising in
international scandals or the "Jimbolia" file. But we will not go into detail here. It is however
worth noting that the embargo changed the life of many people and communities in the
Serbian border area (Mehedinti, Caras-Severin, Timis) and not only. Neighbouring counties,
such as Gorj, Dolj, Hunedoara, were extremely active in the development of the smuggling
networks, either quasi-legally through the Yugoslavian customs, or illegally using boats on
the Danube.
The small traffic used to work before 1990 but now it’s no longer worth it. We’re no longer
interested. Before, we could make triple money, but not any more. The embargo was done
from Văcăroiu and Iliescu to the last man. They had gas stations 2.
In any case, small traffic was a more or less permanent activity that led to the creation of
networks and advanced communication and interaction techniques between the two
populations on either side of Danube. Even after the border was secured with the 2004 visa
system, small traffic continued.
At Work in Serbia
In addition to commerce trips to the neighbouring country, after 1990 Romanians have
developed a very interesting cross-border mobility for work to Yugoslavia, and later Serbia.
Cross-border mobility for work involves settling in Serbian communities for a longer or
shorter period, at any rate sufficient to relate more complexly than small traffic for commerce
would involve. What is the most important is that this way of working has a certain
repeatability to it. Every year, at least until July-August 2004, tens of thousands of
Romanians, maybe more (they say that when visas were introduced, authorities estimated that
approximately 600000 Romanians used to work in Serbia) worked every year in Serbian
villages and towns.
First, let us start with the reasons for leaving to Serbia for work.
Let’s take the example of Pavel, a Roma from Eselnita (a village close to Orsova), day
working in constructions in Dusanovac. The context “at home”, favourable to leaving to
Serbia, is given by two things: he has 3 children, now aged between 20 and 23, but 12 years
ago, when he first came to Serbia, they were much younger, and is unemployed after losing
his job with an enterprise in Orsova, which has put a great deal of pressure on him since 1993.
1
2
Vasile, Roma, Eselnita.
Gheorghe, Roma, Eselnita.
128
We had no living there, and here it was better because we had lodging, food, money,
everything 1.
Anyway, the risk was minimal, as he was advised by a cousin who had the contacts, because
he had been to Dusanovac before. Furthermore, his settlement, Eselnita, is a village where
many people choose to go to Serbia to earn a living. Thus, the information and plentiful
representations of the destination were plentiful.
He hasn’t let his wife come to Serbia until now for two reasons. One is that the wife must stay
home and take care of the children 2. The second is, as Pavel says, jealousy.
Here the hosts get involved with the employees. There were many cases, one here in Geanova
[Dusanovac]. A Moldavian woman worked at the Serb’s home and then remained with him.
She left her husband, who had come for work too, he was also in Geanova, and married the
Serb. She even gave him children 3.
The Serbs are impressed first of all by the Romanian women that come to Dusanovac because
they work a lot, compared to Wallach women.
Serbs say to their women: look at that Romanian woman how she works, she is also a woman,
you start working too. Little by little they started to work too 4.
Pavel wants to gather the money to pay the bank instalments, because his wife has a salary, as
a maternal assistant and had access to a loan. Pavel’s household is also in debt to stores in the
village from last winter.
I must give back around 1000 Euros. To make money to pay my debts, this is why I go to
Serbia 5.
Several women from Romania that work in Dusanovac, of which one is a neighbour of Pavel
(she is from Balta Verde and came to Dusanovac with her husband and older son), want to
work in Serbia long enough to pay their debts in Romania.
In Eselnita you will find no business started with money from Serbia until now 6, while all
members of the Roma communities have been earning their living in Serbia since 1990. Even
before 1990, the area was full of persons practicing small cross-border traffic with goods.
Unlike Romanians on other migration routes, with few exceptions, Romanians in Negotin or
Dusanovac, if they are not settled there by marriage during the 90s, are easy to classify as
marginal, in several respects. The first is age. Very few of those who work seasonally in
Serbia are young. The few young people over 30 that we found in Dusanovac were Roma,
whose families experienced for long periods of time the weight of ethnic stereotypes. Most
migrant workers in the study area are married and with pressing family problems. For
instance, the pressure of debts or social failures of any kind are noteworthy motivations for
people who choose to earn their living in a neighbouring country, culturally and
geographically near. The decline of mining industry in the Danube area, the restructuring of
1
Pavel, day worker in Dusanovac.
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
2
129
the shipyards, or the decline of employment in the Portile de Fier I and II sites are also
important factors for the decision to go to Serbia for work.
For example, Maria, a 60-year-old woman from Caracal, has been a widow since before 1989.
As she herself says, she has a difficult family situation. For the 14 years that she has been
coming to Dusanovac for work, she has managed to buy an apartment for her children with
the money she earned in Serbia. She continues to try to gather enough money to buy a small
house in Caracal to spend her old age in peace. In Dusanovac she works by the day wherever
she can and declares that she would like to come to Dusanovac for work even after she fulfils
her dream with the house.
I like it better here, because people are friendly. People are friendly in Caracal too, but I
have no work there. Here, if there is a holiday, everyone will invite me for lunch. Other than
that, I always have work to do 1.
In this case, as in many others, the goals of temporary migration go beyond the economic
factor, getting close to the meaning we would assign to the notion of trans-national
habitation. Migration is not exclusively for work. Migration here is equally for social life in
general to find solidarity and community again.
What Happened before and after the Visas (July 2004)?
Before the visas there was great competition. There were hundreds of people looking for
work. I have always had work because I was together with these “maistors”. This year it will
be tougher, because they’re sending them back from Austria and they [Wallachs, Serbs] will
have no work or money either 2.
Most Romanians in Dusanovac were from Moldavia before. Now there are around 30 people,
coming from Caracal, Resita, Balta Verde, Orsova, Craiova, Targu-Jiu and Galati.
Competition before the visas was especially from these Moldavians, who would work cheaply
and undercut the price. Before over 60 percent of the Romanians were from Moldavia 3.
Which Are the Problems Related to Obtaining a Visa after July 2004?
The invitation letters needed for workers to obtain a visa from the Serbian Consulate have
significantly reduced the number of Romanians in Dusanovac. However, if you were good
with the host before the visas, they’ll trust you after the visas and send you a guarantee. Visas
are approved many times, but the problem is that they’re getting sold. They are sold illegally
to other people who have connections in the Consulate 4.
In my village, Eselnita, there are 50 people who applied for a visa for Serbia and 30 were
rejected. Why? Because they’re trading visas. The employers of the Timisoara Consulate need
people for work, too 5.
Pavel also has an example, in which he could have been a part.
1
Maria, day worker in Dusanovac.
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Maria.
5
Ibid.
2
130
A Serb proposed to me to work for him in the forest. I didn't need anything, no guarantee, the
Serb had arranged everything with the Consulate. But I turned him down because I didn’t like
it. 5 people in Ieselnita [neighbours of Pavel] were forced to leave because their visa was
denied.
This problem with the visas appeared in 2005; in 2004 they were given correctly. Normally,
the visa would come in 20 working days, but illegally it comes after 2-3 days.
Still, how did he manage to leave last time (as his visa application was denied too)? Simple,
he paid 150 euros (double the amount needed for a 3 month visa) and got it for someone,
illegally. Everyone at the consulate does that.
After visas were introduced in 2004, maistors get their workers especially from the area of the
Bulgarian border, because Bulgarians have no visas for the Serbs, but they’ll get them in
October, so I’ve heard.
Once the visa is obtained from the consulate in Timisoara or Bucharest, it can be extended in
Serbia, at Negotin. The worker goes with the Serb that will vouch for him – if the two have a
strong relationship of trust and loyalty, the Serb that guarantees is not necessarily the one
keeping the worker with rent – at Negotin.
The person who wants to guarantee is a person with good will who wants to do good to the
Romanians.
Together they will go to a notary and to the police, and the worker will have to pay around
180 Euros.
One should get the visa in Romania, but it’s not sure it’ll work so it’s better to get it in
Negotin, extend it. Even if it’s more expensive, at least you’ll know for sure that it will come
out.
Pavel and other workers have thought that in fact they are beneficiaries/clients of an
understanding between those at the Timisoara consulate and the ones in Negotin who know
each other and want to obtain informal profits from blocking access to visas in Timisoara and
their access in Negotin. Money from day workers would be, they say, redistributed between
officials and public servants of institutions in Negotin and Timisoara, who create a mafia of
visas where everyone stands to make a profit, including the day workers in Serbia.
The Roma in Eselnita have a rather clear idea of the bilateral visa regimen and feel that the
Ministry of Exterior, Mr. Ungureanu who is a young lad, should simplify the formalities for
crossing the border, because there in Serbia our Roma can make some money, too 1.
This is the problem with us, because I tell you this, we Roma from Eselnita have worked there
after the revolution, with the Serbs. I worked near, in the vineyard. We’d go there each year,
from digging to harvesting, and made some extra in the village there 2.
Who Are the Employers of Romanians in Dusanovac
In general, people who employ Romanians for various types of work are the former or current
gastarbeiters. In Dusanovac, although there is no clear statistic of those who have been to or
still are in Western Europe countries, the people’s estimates tell us the same: around 90 of the
1
2
Gheorghe, Roma, Eselnita.
Ibid.
131
household now have at least one member abroad. Among the Wallach migrants, currently
referred to with the popular term of “gasterbeiters”, there are many differences of status/social
class. For instance, those that left under institutional contracts to France during the 70s and
the 80s are said not to be as rich as those that ended up working in Austria or Germany
through their own networks. Generally, Romanians work in Wallach households that have
been working abroad for at least two generations. In Dusanovac there are two different
household structures according to where the money is allocated from:
-
households that have had at least one member or even a family core settled more or
less temporarily abroad, in which case the ones abroad send money home to Serbia
including for paying Romanian workers,
households that have had workers abroad in the past, but not anymore, but who have
lived long enough to receive pensions or other social benefits from the respective
countries, in which case Romanian workers are paid from these pensions.
There is also a mixed type of allocation of money in the household, combining the two
different sources of European currency.
Let us consider a few concrete examples.
Slobodan is one of the richest Serbs in the village. There are few Serbs in the village that are
as enterprising as Slobodan. He owns mills, a store, and a house with over 30 ‘soba’ [rooms].
Aged round 50, he and his parents are known as the first ones to leave Dusanovac to find
there fortune in Europe. His children also involved in the family’s local business and in
migration.
Have you seen how many rooms Slobodan has? He once told me that he doesn’t know how
many
he
has.
Slobodan
has
the
biggest
house
in
Dusanovac 1.
It’s always the same persons that work for Slobodan, he has stable workers who work only for
him, who don’t go anywhere else in the village. He pays everything for them. He also estends
their visas at Negotin with his own money 2.
Dimic is another great host for the Romanians. He is also the owner of a restaurant on the
road between Dusanovac and Negotin. He has had – and still has – Romanian and Roma
employees from the Balta Verde-Gogosu area (Mehedinti county).
Ljubomir-Zeka is the vicepresident of the Association Romanian League for Human Rights
(Udruzenje Gradana Vlaska Liga Za Ljudska Prava) and is also one of the few Wallachs in
Dusnovac who have machines for chopping wood in the forest. As a result, he always need
workers and hires people from the Turnu-Severin, Orsova or Caransebes area.
In general, those who run construction operations are people like Slobodan, with the
experience of 2-3 generations of working in Austria, Germany, France or Denmark. The
construction of an average-sized house in Dusanovac costs approximately 100000 Euros,
including the materials and the pay for the workers. Works of this kind would take around 2-3
months. There were cases in Dusanovac when some of the Wallachs tried to sell their houses.
The price that any buyer, regardless of the size of the building or the number of rooms, would
not go above 40000 euros. It is obvious that constructions in settlements such as Dusanovac
only generate value for consumption, and even that is debatable, as most members of the
households are away in the Western European countries where they work for most of the year.
1
2
Pavel, day worker in constructions
Ibid.
132
However, trading value is inexistent, which could lead to a decline in the industry and the
disappearance of an economic niche still dominated by Romanian trans-national workers.
In Negotin there are many ads for sale for the entire area, but no one is buying and the
offering prices are very low 1.
The economic recession in Serbia, the decline in the income of Wallach “gastarbeiters” in
Austria and Germany and the increasingly harder access to labour markets in these countries
have generated, during the last years, together with the efforts for securing the borders of the
European Union, less opportunities for the Romanians that continue to work in Serbian
villages and towns.
Serbians are complaining, especially the old ones, and asking themselves in the village – how
can I pay 15 euros to the Romanian when a bag of flour is 10 euros now? Instead of going
through all the trouble of growing wheat in the field, they’re much better off buying it
directly 2.
Where Do They Live in Dusanovac?
Pavel lives in an old house, left by a family of Serbian Wallachs, rented to the maistor he
works for. There he lives together with all his co-workers. The maistor pays for the
accomodation. He pays about 15 euros per month for each worker living in that house.
If the host has work, you can work for him instead of giving money. This is what many people
who don't work with maistors do 3.
Before the visas, when there were around 300 Romanians in Dusanovac each year, Wallachs
would try to take with rent as many Romanians as possible, because they knew they would
find work very quickly and would be a source of certain income.
For instance here, where I live, there used to be 15 people, all Romanian. As soon as
Romanians would arrive in the village, the Serbs would be asking “do you have where to
live? Stay at my place” There was great competition among them, who has the most
Romanians. They were bragging about it, but also making money from it 4.
However, trans-national workers in Dusanovac usually live as follows:
-
women employed for housework live in the same house with the host
independent day workers and those coordinated by maistors live and work in different
places.
These models of habitation and work lead to a certain geography of social relations with
various degrees of privacy. Women who live in the same house with the host can develop
strong connections with them. This often ends in marriage. In Dusanovac, in July 2006 we
counted at least ten couples consisting of Wallach men and Romanian women, married since
1990 until now, but mostly before the visas. On the other hand, they remain within the sphere
of the household, somehow isolated from the rest of the community. The man’s role as an
authoritative leader of the household is much more visible in these mixed couples than to the
Wallach couples. It is interesting that after visas were introduced in 2004, [Romanian] women
1
Trajlo, [Wallach] taxi driver in Negotin.
Adi, from Barlad, agricultural worker in Dusanovac.
3
Pavel, from Eselnita, day worker in Dusanovac.
4
Ibid.
2
133
in mixed couples started to have more social autonomy with respect to the husband and
gender relations in general. This happens because they have, in most cases, kept their
Romanian citizenship and the passports issued in Romania, and therefore have a greater
freedom of movement in Europe [as Romania is a EU member starting with 2007], compared
to their husbands who, as Serb citizens, are much more affected by the outer border of the
European Union being secured. It is interesting that this issue of the freedom of movement is
a crucial change in the lives of gasterbeiters. Since the 60s they have developed lifestyles that
would necessarily take place in at least two different states, lately the economies in which
they had been integrated are closing before them, and workers from Romania, Bulgaria and
other states gradually take their places. In Dusanovac, this change is most visible in the mixed
couples, of Romanian women with double citizenship and Wallach men, where relationships
between husbands are changing. One of the former gastarbeiters, married to a Romanian
woman, Geta, having 4 children together, even told us that he was trying to obtain Romanian
citizenship to enjoy the benefits of mobility in the European Union, as gastarbeiters depend
on it socially and economically.
Returning to the habitation models in Dusanovac, day workers, whether they work on their
own or in maistor teams, manage, unlike women who work and live in the same household, to
have more connections based on weak ties, using the terms of Mark Granovetter 1. In other
words, they will always be mobile and move from a host to another more easily, tending to
maximize their earnings this way. At the same time, they manage to avoid social isolation
rather well.
Which Are the Relations between Employers, Intermediaries and Employees?
You’re good while you work for them, after that they won’t even look at you anymore.
Pavel, and only he, is unhappy because the Serbs have too many holidays they keep. On
holidays no one is allowed to work, Romanian or Serb.
This Sunday is a holiday, then comes Saint Eli. On July 30, August 2, 4 and 9 they don’t work.
These are lost days, when I make no money.
However, during the working days, the host, the employer for which a Romanian works, will
sometimes offer food in addition to the payment. If the Romanians are part of a team of
constructors led by a maistor, he is the one handling this.
Work in Dusanovac has a certain periodicity. Work season lasts from March to November
each year, especially for those who work in teams coordinated by maistors. This gives the
need for visa for more months, perhaps half a year or more. Unlike seasonal workers in the
local construction industry, women who work in the households of Serbian Wallachs can stay
for a longer period, perhaps a year, with very short breaks, as the case may be. This is the case
of Maria from Caracal, or Rodica, from Balta Verde (Mehedinti).
In Serbia, a worker can earn no more than 500 Euros per month. Pavel, for instance, earns
around 400 Euros, or 15 Euros per day, during periods with many holidays. Around 25-27
days in a month are working days when he earns money. An interesting work relation is work
as a family couple. Relatively often we have encountered husband-wife couples working
together or in separate households in Dusanovac. Not only do the two usually earn double
money, but the costs of social integration are much lower in these cases. This is the case of
Gigi and Alina, from Motru, or Viorel and his wife, from Pietrosnita, Caras-Severin.
1
Granovetter, Mark.(1973). "The Strength of Weak Ties"; American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 78,
No. 6., May 1973, pp 1360-1380
134
What kind of work do they do in constructions? Repairs for roofs (they often get bored with
them and change them 1), building garages for cars or tractors, supas for wood, and stables.
Houses of Wallachs in Dusanovac are extremely loaded with ornaments (parks and gardens,
artesian wells, statutes, painted facades). Most ornaments are made in Negotin, the nearest
town to Dusanovac, approximately 10 km to the south. Simpler works are done by maistors
and their teams. They also work on swimming pools sometimes. For example, in Dusanovac
there are swimming pools on rooftops.
The host for whom a Romanian or more work at a given time can invite them to work for him
in other settlements or areas where he has houses. This is the case of many Wallachs in
Dusanovac who have apartments or houses/villas/vichelnita in Negotin or on the Danube bank
(approximately 2 km to the West). Although construction prices are usually higher in towns,
the maistor will generally pay the workers the same, which proves a certain rigidity and
stability of the relationship between maistor and radnik.
Those who have no stable relationships with certain Wallach households or maistors can find
work in the area in the Negotin marketplace. Every morning at 6, especially on Monday and
Wednesday, when the largest markets are formed due to a lot of small traders from Romania
and Bulgaria, Romanians who come for the first time or who were not lucky to have good
terms with Serbian Wallachs, gather in the marketplace to meet potential employers among
buyers of second-hand clothes or household products.
The luckiest workers are those who end up knowing and working for the maistors that work
the cheapest. In Dusanovac, for instance, there are 4 maistors and each of them has his team
of workers. Pavel is lucky to work for the maistor who asks for the least from hosts. This way,
he has work all season, except holidays. Once workers were not able to come as many as
before, due to the new visa system, many of the maistors have disappeared. Before there were
much more and there was a lot of competition among them.
How does the relationship with the maistor continue each year and how do workers come
back for work each year? Pavel’s case, for example, is the following. His Maistor is from
another village. He comes to Dusanovac each year in March. When he gets there, the maistor
seeks to obtain confirmation from the hosts for the work he finds as early as November and
makes an agenda of works in that area. Then he calls his workers. Pavel got his phone early in
spring but could not come earlier than June, due to the visa file that was rejected several
times. When he got to Dusanovac, he tried to negotiate higher wages, 17 Euros a day,
knowing that there are not many Romanians in the area, as they used to be. Although they
have worked together for eight or nine years, the maistor turned him down. He kept the old 15
euro rate. Nevertheless, Pavel says that he’s satisfied with the relation he has with his boss.
I don’t want to go to another because I like him, he always finds work, and he’s stable.
Around Orsova I can only make 300000 [old lei]. In Orsova if you work, more than 3-4
millions [old lei] a month you won’t make. Here [in Dusanovac] I make double [even triple] 2.
A work day in Serbia is from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., approximately 14 hours per day, including 3
meals and a few 5-minute coffee breaks. Intensive work is a novelty for many Romanians, but
also a physical and psychological challenge they try to overcome.
I haven’t worked in 30 years in Romania as much as I have worked here in 10 3.
1
Pavel, day worker in constructions.
Ibid.
3
Adi from Barlad, day worker in constructions, in Dusanovac and surroundings.
2
135
When it does happen that his maistor does not find work, construction workers go digging,
and after a working day that is as tiring, they get the same money – 15 Euros.
Whether it is an employer hiring people for agricultural work, or in constructions, the term
host, besides the meaning of employer, designates a strong man that can exercise his will over
the radnik, servant.
He is the boss, he is strong, they call me a servant. I am a servant because I have no program,
I do everything I am told to do for the same money. For example, I get the dishes, lift all sort
of heavy things 1.
The way in which they get their money tells a lot about the control, or rather the lack thereof,
that day workers in the teams of construction maistors have over their relationship between
them, the intermediaries (maistors) and the hosts (employers).
He doesn’t live the money with me. I wouldn’t like it, because I’m afraid not to get robbed 2.
Ethnic Identities and Social Classes in Dusanovac
Obviously, the visa system is affecting the social structure of the informal markets in the
border area of Serbia with Romania and Bulgaria. Before 2004, when the bilateral visa system
between Romania and Serbia was introduced, Bulgarian citizens would only come
occasionally for work in rich Wallach villages. Bulgaria and Serbia have excluded, at least
until now, from their foreign policies securing the outer border of the European Union with
bilateral visas. Bulgarians would not come before 2004 in large numbers because, according
to the people we have spoken with in Dusanovac and Negotin, the market was overcrowded
with Romanians. Recently, things have started to change. Bulgarians from border villages and
towns have started to flood Serbian settlements where the offer for work has remained, if not
constant, at least high enough, given that the presence of Romanians in Dusanovac for
example has dropped after 2004 by over 70 percent, and in absolute figures from 200 transnational workers before 2004, to just 30 now.
Bulgarians don’t need visas and are starting to come in greater numbers now. When
Romanians were here, there were not many of them. It doesn’t matter if you’re Romanian or
Bulgarian. People are people, I need labour 3.
However, the Bulgarians are not very good at digging. They keep asking what work there is.
And I say, if you want to work, you work and stop asking questions. They ask from what hour
to what hour. You don’t do it like this. Romanians don’t ask 4.
Wallachs in Dusanovac are visibly affected structurally by the relative absence of Romanians,
after the visas. For instance:
Before, Serbians would grow many animals. Now they have sold a lot of them, because since
the visas no Romanians have come to take care of the animals 5.
Since there are not many Romanians in Dusanovac, a store and a bar have shut down 1.
1
Pavel from Eselniţa, day worker in constructions.
Ibid.
3
Ljubomir, Wallach employer, Dusanovac.
4
Ibid.
5
Ibid.
2
136
Other Interactions in Dusanovac
Clearly, it is not only the differences that make Dusanovac and other villages in Serbia
attractive to Romanians. Similarities are also important in this respect.
They give goods on credit in shops in Dusanovac as they do in Eselnita 2.
On weekends, all men gather at the bar and women stay home or gather around gates and
chat 3.
Trans-national workers are obviously attracted by the cosmopolitan aspects that order social
life in Dusanovac.
You can pay in Euros at the store, and they’ll give you the change in Dinars 4.
Moldavians used to steal. Thefts are a serious reason for some of the Serbs not to want to sign
guarantees for the Romanians that want to come for work. Before the visas they didn’t ask for
guarantees. Now the Serbs must write down in these guarantees that they are responsible for
everything that someone who lives with them does. Of course they don’t want to be
responsible. If a Romanian steals from someone in the village, the host must answer for it 5.
We don’t leave home because it’s so nice. People have died at work here in Dusanovac 6.
Pavel has also encountered discrimination and ethnic violence in Serbia.
There were people at the beginning who didn’t want to hire me, because they said I was a
gipsy and they wouldn’t take gipsies for work 7.
There are Serbian Wallachs that come directly to Romanian villages from where they have
had Romanians for work and propose to them to go to Austria. They are a kind of
intermediaries, employed to look for labour for the informal markets in Austria and Germany,
controlled by Serb gastarbeiters.
The first time I came here in March 1994, by October I knew Serbian. It was very hard in the
beginning 8.
Why did he learn so fast?
Maistors would swear at me because I didn’t know what they were saying, I was confusing
words, tools 9.
What Are the Most Surprising Differences for Romanians Working in
Serbia?
1
Ibid.
Pavel from Eselnita, day worker in Dusanovac.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
5
Gigi and his wife, Alina, from Motru, day workers in Dusanovac.
6
Maria from Caracal, day worker in Dusanovac.
7
Pavel from Eselnita, day worker in Dusanovac.
8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
2
137
Houses are big, but I don’t care. They are built after magazines brought from Germany,
where they work. Only three houses I liked, they had round, Byzantine domes.
The usefulness and purpose of houses with 20 rooms escape those who work at them: I like a
house to have 4 or 5 rooms at most, I don’t understand why the Serbs build them like this.
When a host negotiates with a maistor for a job, he brings the magazine and shows how the
house or outbuilding should look like.
Another thing that intrigues trans-national workers to a certain extent is how Wallachs spend
their spare time. On weekends, Wallachs go hunting and fishing in the woods by the Danube,
a way of spending spare time that puts a considerable distance between employers and their
employees.
Another interesting thing is how Romanians working in Dusanovac imagine the status of
Wallachs on the informal labour markets in Austria and Germany, for instance. The fact that
many Romanians ended up leaving together with their hosts to the countries where they earn
their living shows not only attachment and loyalty to the employer, but also the rich
imagination about work in more remote countries. A simpler way in which they think about
the social structures of migration and foreign countries is examining the behaviour of Wallach
children.
Wallach children don’t speak well Vlaski nor Serbian. They speak better German. They only
come here on vacation at their grandparents, and then come back to Austria, Germany when
school begins, in the autumn. While they are here, they ride all day in motor scooters.
What Are the Effects of Working in Serbia on the Family Life of TransNational Workers
Work in Serbia, as a cyclic activity, for many Romanians an occupational history of more
than 5 years, changes significance a lot according to the family history of workers. For
instance, for Pavel, the beginnings were much clearer than his current situation. The first time
he came to Dusanovac he knew very clearly what he wanted and he knew that work abroad
could take his family out of the unemployment troubles. His problem only got a solution for
the short term, though. As he says, before life was much easier because the children were
small 1. In time, although he has worked a few months each year in Serbia, life has gotten
harder because children grew up and have more needs 2. The introuction of the European
currency in 2001-2002 has also affected the perception on the life of people who work in
Serbia. While we had marks it was nice, but not anymore with the Euro. Prices have gone up,
our pay has stayed the same. Buying power is less now 3. Pavel’s oldest son has come once to
work with his father in Dusanovac.
Trans-national Organisation and Institutional Negotiation of Mobility for
Wallach Gästarbeiters in Negotin and Dusanovac
Ljubomir is one of the leaders of the Wallach movement in the Dusanovac-Negotin area.
About the league whose president he is, he says that it’s not very effective, although they try
to have permanent contacts with partners such as the Romanian Government and Presidency,
or with the Serbian Government. We can’t really do anything concrete, we are small 4.
Activity is limited to participating in congresses and meetings of national minority groups,
most of them organised in Timisoara or Caransebes, events in which the Wallach League
1
Pavel, muncitor sezonier în Dusanovac.
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Ljubomir.
2
138
usually has a marginal position. However, often visits to Romania are a good opportunity for
some of the leaders to resume contact with Romanians they want to invite for work in
Dusanovac. Ljubomir has had Romanians for work from Caransebes, and with the occasion of
the last congress he visited them and set the details for the next work season. Viorel and his
wife are two Romas from Pietrosnita, a village nearby Caransebes. For four years they have
passed through Ljubomir’s household a few times. Viorel works in the woods with Ljubomir,
and his wife watches over a disabled neighbour of the League vice-president.
I have also taken Bulgarians from the Negotin market, tomorrow I’ll go after them again,
because they are cheap. I would go alone to take Romanians from the villages when I need
them. It’s hard with the visas though 1.
Even if the visa system is a serious obstacle for the contacts developed by the Wallach
employers and Romanians since 1990, there are certain institutional sources for solving the
crisis situations given by the lack of labour felt by many Serbian Wallachs. For instance, one
of them told us that he knew all the employees of the border police very well. Trouble is they
want to be bribed, and the amounts they ask for to let trans-national workers to cross the
border without a visa, or even without a passport, are very high.
Experiences and Changes of Trans-National Migration Routes
Some of the Romanians that work seasonally in Serbia have previously had migration
experiences in other European (European Union) countries or nearby countries. Most of the
routes frequented before coming to Serbia were:
•
•
•
•
Romania-Turkey
Romania-Greece
Romania-Italy
Romania-Switzerland/Germany.
Preference and attachment for Serbia as a current destination is justified by the comparison
with the exclusion experiences encountered in the above host societies, or by migration events
that radically changed the subjects' life. Such events are robbery, losing documents, being
abandoned in unknown places. There are also practical reasons to prefer work in Serbia to
Italy or Germany, for example. The argument of Romanian trans-national workers is that in
Serbia sustenance expenses are minimal, because hosts can provide food in most cases, in
addition to money, and their earnings are easier to save. Many times, from this perspective,
the people we have talked to say that monthly earnings in Serbia are equal to Italy.
From another point of view, most of those who still work in Dusanovac have no exclusion
problems generated by ethnic violence or discrimination. The Roma would be an exception,
but even they are accepted after a while by the locals and integrated into the local labour
markets. This factor, and the linguistic closeness between Romanians and Wallachs, would be
two more reasons why Serbia is still a favourite destination, despite the visa regimen.
Conclusions
After 1990, in a Yugoslavia suffering from dictatorship, international economic sanctions and
severe economic decline, many Romanians have earned their living. This type of transnational migration should make us wary of the former migration models, applied until
recently. We are talking here in particular about the theories (referred to as ‘push-pull’ in
1
Ibid.
139
economy language) that explain migration by means of economic (and macroeconomic)
differences between countries/states. Obviously, after 1990 Romania has evolved very
differently from Serbia (or Yugoslavia until 3-4 years ago) from a political and economic
point of view. Furthermore, Romania is about to be included in the European Union, while
Croatia and other countries that broke off from the former Yugoslavia, relatively advanced
economically and politically, are for now only candidates, not to speak of Serbia, who doesn't
even have Croatia's favourite status. Serbia's marginalisation reflects in a certain extent the
social and economic conditions offered by the Serbian state. Nevertheless, in the
neighbouring country, Romania, in the near future a full member of the European Union,
Romanians still go to Europe for the illusion of “European” jobs, in fact grey or black
economy, that makes their families and communities happier or unhappier. Romanians have
worked massively in Serbia after 1990 not because Serbia is more “developed” than Romania,
but because migration stories must be regarded rather as histories of economic, cultural and
social exchanges between regions. Romanians can be still found working in towns and
villages in north-eastern Serbia because this is where we also encounter a richer Serbia, where
people have taken their fate into their hands since the 60s and have headed for Europe. The
lesson we can find in this text is that national asymmetries and inequalities are not replicated,
and sometimes are even contradicted by the dynamics of regional asymmetries and
inequalities, clearly expressed in the trans-national migration processes of Romanians to
Serbia.
This research report has followed such asymmetries and inequalities between Wallach/Serb
employers and Romanian workers, between Romanian workers from the border areas and
trans-national workers from Moldavia, for instance, between regions such as Oltenia/Banat
and Negotinskaia Krajina, but not between states, in our case between Romania and Serbia.
The introduction of visas and Romania’s new Customs Code passed this year have brought
important changes in the trans-national mobility of various kinds of Romanians in Serbia.
Restricting mobility by imposing the bilateral visa system, as suggested by the Schengen
Border Code, brought changes not only in the cross-border flows of merchandise and persons,
but also in the structure of the socioeconomic landscape of the source and destination
communities. Inhabitants of villages frequented by a large number of Romanians until 2004
had to change their household economy, giving up land cultivation, animal growing or certain
local-level private initiatives. From a functional-systemic perspective, this happened because
Romanians would occupy almost exclusively the productive functions of these communities
characterized, especially in the late 80s and early 90s, by a strong decline of productive
population due to migration to Western European states. Even if Wallachs in the area of
Negotin had started to work abroad in the 60s, the true exodus only occurred during the above
period. Opening the border with Romania in January 1990 practically meant filling these
functional gaps in the local economies of settlements in Serbia that were close to the border.
At the same time when the border was secured, settlements in Romania that were sending
workers to Serbia returned to other sustenance practices that had been abandoned, such as
fishing, or sent migrants to other areas, especially to European Union states. On the other
hand, it is obvious that there is a certain negotiation capacity (as a resource of migrants) for
the restrictions imposed institutionally at state level or in relation with other states or the
European Union. Therefore, mobility for work and commerce in Serbia has an obvious
continuity. As we have mentioned, important changes happen in the direction of institutional
practices becoming more informal. Visas for Serbia issued illegally are a clear indication of
the social pressure and reliance of many communities on the resources offered by crossborder mobility. They are also a clear proof of the inherent contradictions involved by quick
institutional change, and of the fact that local institutions and the state as an entity of central
power are still under formation and innovation. These processes of state building at central
and local level exceed the limits of the institutional public space and prove the capacity to
transfer and adjust official rules to the sphere of private interests. In conclusion, securing the
140
outer border of the European Union remains a controversial process, negotiable between
various categories of involved actors, who can unexpectedly lead even to the development of
informal structures based on state resources.
Appendix 1. List of Interviews Taken in Serbia and Used for the
Report
Trans-national Workers from Romania:
- Pavel, day worker in a team led by a maistor, 44 years old, Eselnita, interviewed in
Dusanovac
- Viorel, independent day worker and his wife, 60 years old, Pietrosnita, interviewed in
Dusanovac
- Maria, 60 years old, day worker in agriculture, cook for several Wallach households, from
Caracal, interviewed in Dusanovac
- Gigi and his wife, Alina, from Motru, Gorj, day workers in constructions and agriculture,
interviewed in Dusanovac.
- Rodica, from Balta Verde, Mehedinti, worker in a Wallach household, interviewed in
Dusanovac [and in Balta Verde, in 2004]
- Adi, from Barlad, Vaslui, day worker with animals or in agriculture, interviewed in
Dusanovac.
Women from Romania married to Wallachs and settled in Dusanovac:
- Geta, from Turnu-Severin, and her Wallach husband from Dusanovac, interviewed in
Dusanovac.
“Serbian” Wallachs, employers:
-
Raducic Ljubomir-Zeka, vicepresident of the Citizens' Association Romanian League
for Human Rights, former gastarbeiter, employer of Romanians, interviewed in
Dusanovac
Dzambric, president of the Citizens' Association Romanian League for Human
Rights, former gastarbeiter, employer of Romanians, interviewed in Dusanovac
Dragan, former gasterbeiter, employer of Romanians, interviewed in Dusanovac
Dimic, former gasterbeiter, employer of Romanians from Balta Verde
Trajlo, former gasterbeiter, taxi driver, interviewed in Negotin
List of Interviews Taken in Romania and Used in the Report
-
Gheorghe, Roma, has worked in Serbia after 1990, did the small traffic before 1989
and has three children that used to work in Serbia “before the visas”, interviewed in
Eselnita
Vasile, village hall advisor for the Roma community in Eselnita, did the small traffic
before and after 1990, interviewed in Eselnita
141
142
Appendix: Opinions and Behaviours of Population by Types of Habitation Experience Abroad 105
Type of temporary habitation experience abroad LTS
Travel
Intention
88% 106
83%
84%
86%
82%
83%
Lodging
67%
57%
62%
59%
58%
59%
Public transport
33%
23%
22%
29%
31%
30%
Food supply
9%
5%
10%
9%
13%
11%
44%
39%
37%
36%
33%
35%
52%
56%
57%
50%
48%
50%
Creches, nursery schools, schools
23%
23%
28%
24%
18%
21%
Crime
34%
39%
45%
26%
34%
34%
Functioning of local institutions
39%
33%
35%
28%
30%
31%
Spare time possibilities
43%
29%
27%
26%
23%
26%
Jobs
How serious do you think that
problems in your town/village Cleaning
are
related
to
...
Medical services
% serious + very serious
105
106
Household with Household w/o
migrant
migrants
Work
Question
Tables built by Alexandru Toth. Details on the types of temporary habitation experiences abroad in the chapter “Mentalities” by Dumitru Sandu in this volume.
Example of data reading: 88% of those who have worked abroad estimate that jobs are a serious or very serious problem in their settlement.
143
Total
Question
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
43%
78%
64%
44%
65%
70%
79%
66%
61%
65%
74%
42%
79%
81%
79%
64%
32%
80%
50%
37%
61%
66%
66%
51%
44%
53%
66%
20%
77%
76%
80%
72%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
28%
39%
23%
36%
37%
40%
35%
39%
42%
37%
38%
37%
19%
23%
11%
17%
14%
16%
9%
14%
10%
6%
5%
6%
4%
3%
2%
1%
1%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
23%
26%
30%
28%
19%
22%
42%
42%
45%
41%
27%
32%
how you live
your health
what you have accomplished in your life so far
How satisfied are you with...? your job
your home
% satisfied + very satisfied
your settlement
the area (of the settlement) in which you live
the country in which you live
Question
Not even enough for the bare necessities
Enough only for the bare necessities
Enough for a decent living, but we can’t afford more
How do you estimate the expensive things
current income of your
We manage to buy some expensive things, cutting
household?
down from other areas
We manage to have everything we want, without any
constraints
Question
How do you think you will live a year
in ...
five years
144
Household w/o
Total
migrant
40%
52%
70%
25%
77%
85%
87%
78%
43%
57%
68%
28%
75%
81%
83%
74%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Question
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
45%
47%
40%
49%
35%
39%
42%
43%
43%
44%
34%
37%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
44%
40%
43%
31%
22%
28%
15%
14%
23%
18%
14%
15%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
2%
1%
4%
5%
2%
3%
What about five years from
now, how do you think that the for your settlement
situation will be compared to
now
% better + much better
for Romania
Question
How
% better
do
you
find… your life now compared to a few years ago?
understanding in the family (now compared to a few
years ago)
Question
What caused the change in death of a close person
your life?
divorce
someone in the household leaving
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Household w/o
Total
migrant
6%
5%
1%
1%
4%
1%
1%
loss of job
illness of a close person
higher income
13%
2%
32%
3%
5%
29%
4%
2%
29%
3%
7%
29%
7%
12%
16%
6%
9%
7%
newly employed
5%
7%
14%
6%
6%
1%
migration money
18%
6%
4%
3%
0%
21%
other (personal or familial)
changes in the settlement or the country
6%
3%
17%
3%
11%
4%
8%
4%
8%
4%
7%
3%
145
marriage
2%
1%
5%
4%
2%
others
15%
9%
14%
18%
14%
19%
4%
retirement
7%
2%
9%
8%
17%
birth
2%
3%
1%
6%
9%
3%
DN/NA
Question
2%
1%
5%
2%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
death of a close person
divorce
someone in the household leaving
loss of job
illness of a close person
higher income
newly employed
What caused the change in
migration money
understanding in your family?
other (personal or familial)
changes in the settlement or the country
marriage
others
retirement
birth
DN/NA
Question
Did the fact that someone from lodging
your family was abroad for a goods you can buy
3%
3%
8%
4%
9%
9%
17%
4%
22%
4%
9%
13%
9%
11%
11%
29%
5%
18%
3%
36%
21%
28%
7%
7%
29%
8%
13%
25%
5%
10%
18%
4%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
43%
55%
13%
18%
14%
32%
20%
30%
146
Household w/o
Total
migrant
5%
3%
1%
1%
3%
15%
2%
1%
17%
1%
7%
16%
26%
1%
2%
3%
3%
2%
1%
3%
1%
1%
16%
1%
1%
21%
1%
7%
14%
24%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
22%
31%
while bring changes related profession
to...?
business
children
% Yes
family relations
spending time
how you think
your relation with religion/church
how you voted/will vote in the elections
how you are seen in the community
life plans
Question
14%
9%
17%
30%
22%
51%
3%
11%
27%
54%
5%
6%
8%
11%
21%
38%
3%
3%
8%
22%
9%
14%
32%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
1%
9%
11%
5%
72%
2%
3%
6%
2%
87%
4%
6%
5%
2%
78%
3%
3%
10%
2%
82%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
34%
25%
30%
23%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
Yes, from urban to rural
Were you a commuter in 1989 Yes, from urban to urban
(working in another settlement Yes, from rural to urban
than the one you lived in)?
Yes, from rural to rural
No
Question
After 1989, regardless of
reason, did you ever commute
(daily or weekly)?
Question
147
5%
5%
5%
14%
5%
32%
2%
3%
13%
18%
12%
20%
1%
3%
5%
18%
6%
5%
11%
18%
17%
33%
2%
5%
11%
27%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
2%
2%
10%
2%
82%
2%
3%
10%
2%
82%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
18%
21%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
It’s good
Do you think that it’s good or
bad that people leave abroad It’s bad
to work?
Both good and bad
Question
73%
60%
79%
61%
48%
55%
9%
13%
5%
15%
14%
13%
16%
20%
13%
17%
24%
21%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
10%
3%
5%
10%
4%
5%
76%
12%
1%
81%
12%
5%
76%
16%
4%
74%
10%
7%
63%
13%
20%
68%
12%
15%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
87%
51%
39%
80%
60%
84%
40%
45%
73%
56%
88%
35%
45%
73%
52%
85%
41%
41%
71%
43%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
23%
23%
3%
17%
21%
2%
24%
34%
5%
13%
16%
3%
10%
13%
2%
13%
16%
2%
56%
44%
54%
46%
35%
40%
they get the same money for the same work
Do you think that it’s good or
bad that people leave abroad they get less money for the same work
to work?
they get more money for the same work
DN/NA
Question
Become more wealthy
In your opinion, people who Divorce more easily
have worked abroad …
Help each other abroad
Help each other (more) with the people at home
% yes
Think differently
Question
For the next two or three build a house
years, do you personally plan move to a better house
to...
move to a smaller apartment
% yes
make significant improvements to your house or
apartment
148
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Household w/o
Total
migrant
82%
43%
33%
64%
31%
83%
43%
36%
68%
38%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
open a business
spend a vacation abroad
buy land
27%
35%
20%
14%
48%
18%
23%
44%
21%
13%
18%
7%
6%
10%
7%
11%
19%
10%
continue your studies
find another/a job
increase your income by working extra
move to another settlement – commune
move to another settlement – town
change your lifestyle
21%
35%
45%
3%
7%
27%
23%
16%
29%
6%
17%
33%
54%
56%
2%
21%
46%
16%
26%
26%
1%
6%
23%
9%
19%
25%
1%
3%
12%
14%
23%
29%
1%
5%
17%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
13%
45%
75%
6%
32%
52%
91%
12%
22%
50%
89%
11%
16%
49%
89%
8%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
87%
34%
48%
14%
61%
47%
93%
36%
36%
5%
51%
46%
90%
41%
30%
2%
54%
45%
88%
23%
27%
4%
48%
49%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
Question
How
% daily
often
do
Read newspapers
you… Listen to the radio
Watch TV
Read books
Question
Family
Please tell us how important Friends
are the following things in Spare time
your
life Politics
% very important
Work
Religion
Question
149
Household w/o
Total
migrant
16%
43%
78%
7%
18%
46%
82%
8%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
85%
20%
25%
4%
45%
56%
87%
25%
28%
5%
48%
53%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Life after death
Do you think that there is...?
Heaven
% yes
God
45%
57%
92%
52%
57%
92%
55%
66%
95%
62%
66%
97%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
60%
17%
7%
3%
6%
7%
63%
13%
5%
3%
3%
7%
61%
19%
5%
4%
0%
6%
72%
13%
5%
1%
2%
5%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
every day
1%
1%
2%
2%
2%
2%
several times a week
4%
8%
5%
6%
4%
5%
15%
23%
17%
19%
20%
20%
9%
38%
13%
14%
32%
8%
17%
38%
5%
12%
31%
12%
15%
27%
11%
14%
30%
10%
In fact, never
6%
4%
2%
8%
5%
6%
Once a month
9%
8%
9%
10%
13%
12%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
6%
3%
6%
5%
Question
Every day
A few times a week
How often do you pray to God Once a week
outside religious service?
At least once a month
A few times a year
Less often
Question
Once a week"
Besides weddings, funerals and Two or three times a month
baptisms, how often have you
been going to church lately? on Christmas, Easter and other holy days
Once a year or less
Question
Would you be bothered if youJews
150
52%
64%
94%
53%
63%
94%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
72%
12%
4%
2%
1%
6%
70%
13%
4%
2%
1%
6%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Household w/o
Total
migrant
6%
6%
had
% yes
as
neighbours....? Roma / gipsies
32%
7%
12%
15%
30%
5%
10%
18%
33%
6%
11%
16%
30%
9%
9%
20%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
10%
16%
43%
28%
13%
23%
38%
25%
13%
23%
43%
20%
7%
16%
47%
29%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
70%
55%
53%
58%
48%
45%
71%
51%
49%
62%
50%
40%
56%
44%
41%
59%
46%
43%
68%
59%
68%
63%
61%
62%
Education
Functioning of central institutions
Functioning of local institutions
Health
38%
32%
30%
52%
43%
32%
27%
54%
35%
27%
24%
48%
34%
25%
23%
54%
33%
24%
23%
52%
35%
26%
24%
52%
Pensions
58%
59%
54%
64%
60%
60%
Mentality
45%
55%
52%
42%
35%
40%
Hungarians
Arabs
Witnesses of Jehova
Question
Not too proud
How proud are you to be a Somewhat proud
citizen of Romania?
Proud
Very proud
Question
How much do you think that Jobs
Romania’s current problems Infrastructure (roads, running water, bridges…)
are related to …
Housing
% very much
Prices
32%
10%
11%
21%
31%
9%
11%
20%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
8%
18%
47%
25%
9%
19%
45%
26%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Consequences of the floods
42%
42%
45%
43%
40%
41%
EU integration
32%
25%
30%
24%
23%
24%
Justice
42%
40%
38%
40%
35%
37%
151
Criminality
40%
38%
38%
Corruption
61%
64%
67%
57%
56%
58%
Agriculture
44%
40%
38%
45%
49%
47%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
29%
68%
3%
25%
68%
7%
22%
68%
10%
34%
59%
7%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
34%
36%
35%
54%
39%
55%
21%
20%
46%
40%
57%
32%
36%
29%
50%
42%
60%
14%
18%
53%
38%
57%
37%
48%
45%
55%
52%
54%
33%
26%
52%
40%
65%
29%
35%
28%
50%
52%
54%
16%
14%
47%
44%
52%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
16%
5%
8%
10%
16%
13%
13%
6%
Question
Yes
Do you think that most people
No
can be trusted?
DN
Question
To be born in a rich family
To have connections
To know how to take chances
To be lucky
How important are the
following aspects for a person To believe in God
in today’s Romania
To be smart/intelligent
To work abroad
% very important
To look good
To be educated
To work a lot
To know how to handle themselves
Question
Which of them is the most
important in order to be
To be born in a rich family
To have connections
152
34%
35%
36%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
30%
59%
11%
30%
61%
9%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
29%
37%
23%
50%
51%
54%
14%
16%
50%
46%
51%
30%
37%
27%
50%
50%
55%
16%
17%
50%
44%
53%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
13%
8%
13%
8%
successful in life?
To know how to take chances
To be lucky
To believe in God
To be smart/intelligent
To work abroad
To look good
To be educated
To work a lot
To know how to handle themselves
8%
12%
7%
3%
12%
16%
14%
2%
1%
10%
8%
10%
5%
11%
16%
9%
1%
1%
10%
6%
6%
6%
10%
14%
15%
2%
1%
16%
7%
6%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
the work they do
97%
90%
94%
92%
92%
92%
their intelligence and qualification
85%
87%
89%
88%
83%
85%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
24%
21%
19%
14%
10%
22%
14%
22%
3%
13%
28%
16%
24%
16%
4%
28%
23%
15%
17%
5%
Question
In your opinion, people in
Romania
are
rewarded
to...?
according
% no + rather no
Question
If next Sunday there would be PSD
parliament elections, what DA Alliance
party would you vote for?
PD
PRM
PNL
6%
14%
11%
11%
5%
153
2%
12%
17%
12%
1%
0%
12%
11%
6%
3%
12%
16%
12%
2%
0%
12%
10%
7%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Household w/o
Total
migrant
29%
18%
15%
19%
9%
27%
18%
17%
16%
9%
PNG
UDMR
PC
Not voting
Not decided yet
NA
Question
5%
5%
2%
24%
31%
2%
10%
16%
0%
19%
29%
5%
8%
0%
4%
23%
40%
6%
11%
1%
0%
22%
35%
4%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
15%
59%
7%
0%
9%
7%
4%
21%
29%
3%
5%
63%
3%
5%
0%
7%
17%
16%
38%
5%
14%
57%
5%
5%
0%
19%
0%
17%
34%
4%
18%
55%
6%
7%
2%
11%
1%
15%
34%
4%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
25%
64%
58%
60%
67%
76%
25%
68%
64%
64%
73%
77%
16%
65%
51%
74%
76%
85%
12%
71%
56%
60%
68%
76%
C. V. Tudor
Traian Basescu
Adrian Nastase
Mircea Geoana
If next Sunday there would be Ion Iliescu
elections for president, what
party would you vote for? Gigi Becali
Other
Not voted
Not decided yet
NA
Question
How much do you trust …
% much + very much
The Church
Written press
Television
Police
Courts
Government
154
5%
3%
1%
24%
41%
3%
6%
5%
1%
23%
38%
3%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
22%
51%
6%
5%
4%
7%
5%
20%
40%
3%
19%
54%
6%
5%
3%
8%
5%
19%
38%
3%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
13%
63%
51%
60%
66%
76%
15%
65%
54%
62%
68%
77%
Parliament
NGOs
European Union
Presidency
The Mayor
Question
77%
51%
35%
49%
53%
81%
60%
43%
49%
47%
87%
61%
49%
60%
57%
76%
60%
44%
53%
54%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
34%
39%
32%
32%
32%
33%
35%
42%
39%
34%
36%
36%
19%
4%
16%
18%
12%
13%
12%
15%
13%
16%
21%
19%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
23%
29%
17%
20%
20%
21%
28%
34%
22%
24%
21%
23%
15%
29%
17%
19%
16%
18%
37%
59%
53%
72%
38%
63%
57%
73%
53%
63%
52%
65%
yes, it would be completed successfully
In your settlement, do you
think that a community
project related to repairing or yes, with difficulties
building streets, parks, public
buildings or other similar No, it could not be completed
items, could be completed
successfully?
DN/NA
Question
participated in any public meeting related to
problems of the community/block
contributed voluntarily with work or money to
During the last three years, solving local problems
have
you
…
mentioned to the authorities common problems that
% yes
should be solved
made a donation to the church
helped someone in need
155
78%
50%
40%
50%
46%
79%
53%
41%
51%
48%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
84%
85%
81%
80%
86%
86%
85%
79%
89%
85%
83%
74%
91%
88%
88%
75%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
41%
48%
42%
53%
44%
49%
40%
56%
46%
55%
45%
54%
22%
25%
16%
26%
26%
25%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
Most people around here will repay kindness with
gratitude
39%
34%
48%
46%
50%
47%
Do you agree with the above The town/village hall is the only one that should take
statements?
care of the settlement
40%
25%
35%
43%
44%
41%
What matters is how a person treats you and not what
others say about that person
92%
88%
90%
90%
84%
86%
You can go along with people by their word
56%
43%
55%
47%
50%
50%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
15%
18%
20%
21%
Question
Please say how attached you Your city/town/village
feel
to
…? Your region
% rather attached + very Romania
Europe
attached
Question
How much trust do you think People in your settlement
that you can have in … Neighbours
% much+very much
People who have recently arrived in the settlement
Question
% yes
Question
Do you think that people like
you can influence important for your settlement
decisions
made
…
156
Household w/o
Total
migrant
93%
92%
92%
72%
91%
90%
89%
74%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Household w/o
Total
migrant
16%
17%
% much + very much
for the entire country
Question
11%
11%
12%
14%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
8%
19%
10%
11%
10%
11%
27%
22%
45%
19%
27%
27%
35%
32%
17%
30%
20%
23%
12%
10%
15%
21%
24%
21%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
47%
41%
9%
2%
55%
38%
5%
51%
41%
3%
3%
43%
55%
1%
1%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
33%
47%
13%
47%
35%
14%
51%
41%
3%
45%
44%
9%
Yes, with money
If a community project does
not bring you any direct
advantage, but is beneficial for Yes, with work
persons
in
your
many
would
you Yes, with work and money
community,
contribute with work and/or
money to this project?
No
Question
Very well
Overall, how do you estimate Well
that you get along with your
Not too well
spouse/partner?
Not at all well
Question
Sometimes there are problems Not at all, very rarely
in a couple’s life. How often do Rarely
you have problems in your
Often
157
10%
11%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Household w/o
Total
migrant
52%
43%
3%
0%
51%
44%
3%
0%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
51%
39%
6%
48%
40%
8%
couple?
Very often
1%
1%
1%
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
79%
24%
12%
7%
12%
2%
10%
0%
2%
53%
21%
6%
6%
2%
0%
0%
0%
2%
83%
33%
11%
6%
0%
0%
6%
11%
6%
80%
7%
4%
4%
0%
7%
9%
7%
4%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
Both parents
81%
90%
83%
78%
81%
81%
Especially the mother
15%
8%
9%
18%
16%
15%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
10%
12%
6%
3%
4%
5%
14%
13%
12%
6%
7%
8%
45%
59%
45%
37%
32%
37%
26%
33%
16%
20%
11%
16%
Lack of money
Behaviour of children
Parents/parents-in-law
Alcohol consumption
Neglect of family by one of the partners
One of the partners does not bring money home
Distance
Violence
Unfaithfulness
Question
Who should take care of
raising children in a family?
3%
Work
Question
What is the main cause of
these problems?
6%
Question
During the last 5 years, have buying a home
you spent money for...?
building a home
% yes
extending/upgrading your home
buying a car
158
Household w/o
Total
migrant
80%
18%
9%
9%
5%
3%
1%
2%
2%
77%
18%
8%
8%
4%
3%
3%
2%
2%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Household w/o
Total
migrant
buying land to build houses
5%
8%
4%
4%
3%
4%
buying land for agriculture
3%
6%
4%
5%
2%
3%
maintaining agricultural land
20%
22%
30%
35%
32%
31%
buying agricultural machines
4%
5%
1%
5%
2%
3%
opening a business
10%
9%
1%
2%
1%
3%
buying household appliances
60%
64%
61%
56%
42%
48%
tourism
25%
44%
26%
16%
9%
16%
buying a computer
32%
36%
21%
20%
18%
21%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
Question
How much money have the
food
persons living in this house
spent during the last month for
Beverages (non-alcoholic and alcoholic)
…
Average values (RON)
Household w/o
Total
migrant
403
432
413
339
282
73
50
60
47
35
cigarettes
53
44
53
50
31
Cleaning products (detergent, soap, etc.)
45
61
52
51
34
Personal care products (soap, toothpaste, cosmetics,
etc.)
34
61
46
44
30
Utilities (electricity, wood, water, phone, cable TV,
gas bottle, etc.)
184
230
176
175
143
Education fees (school, private lessons, textbooks,
notebooks)
9
42
118
6
22
Books, theatre and film, newspapers, stationery
10
22
7
8
9
Health care (medicines, consultations, etc.)
38
68
37
50
61
159
321
42
38
41
37
161
26
10
58
Clothing/footwear (including repairs)
182
94
79
45
49
Transport (train/plane tickets, subscriptions, fuel)
87
105
84
84
37
Furniture, carpets, etc. (excluding those paid for in
instalments)
45
13
28
18
9
Household appliances (excluding those paid for in
instalments)
39
17
22
82
20
Insurance (life, home, health, car, etc.)
15
26
18
18
6
Payment of instalments for bank credit
211
83
75
74
57
11
11
27
11
11
Other expenses
140
101
60
112
49
Total expenses
1,696
1,383
1,252
1,173
866
Payment of debts to persons
Question
56
14
30
11
75
12
69
1,036
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
67%
64%
52%
41%
48%
50%
22%
3%
1%
2%
16%
9%
4%
2%
23%
6%
4%
2%
32%
15%
5%
2%
22%
13%
6%
4%
23%
12%
5%
3%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
During the last month, how
Nothing (everything was bought)
much of the total consumption
of the household consisted of Almost a quarter (or less) of the consumption
agricultural products obtained
Almost half of the food consumption
within the household or
Almost three quarters
received from relatives,
friends, etc.?
Almost all
Question
64
160
Household w/o
Total
migrant
Household w/o
Total
migrant
During the next 2 years, do start a farm/agricultural operation
you or anyone else in the
family
intend
to...? start your own company/business
% yes
7%
5%
6%
4%
2%
3%
24%
12%
18%
10%
4%
8%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
47%
8%
15%
1%
4%
12%
5%
14%
1%
42%
8%
8%
2%
5%
20%
3%
14%
4%
67%
11%
21%
0%
7%
9%
4%
13%
1%
62%
10%
14%
3%
5%
17%
3%
19%
3%
Work
Travel
Intention
Household with
migrant
I would invest them in a business
34%
35%
33%
23%
16%
21%
I would spend them for various needs (house, car,
travels)
51%
47%
52%
47%
51%
50%
8%
7%
10%
13%
16%
13%
1%
0%
0%
2%
1%
1%
0%
6%
2%
5%
8%
6%
Question
Because I have no money
I have no business ideas
I’m not good with business
I’m not good with the laws
Why don’t you open your own
I don’t know where to start
business?
I’m not interested
Business is dishonest
Business is not for people like me
Age/too old
Question
If you gained a large amount I would put them in a bank
of money, say 100 thousand Something else
euros, what would you do with I would give it to children (grandchildren) / help
most of this money?
children (grandchildren)
I would donate to the poor
Household w/o
Total
migrant
68%
11%
15%
4%
4%
16%
2%
23%
7%
63%
11%
14%
3%
4%
16%
3%
21%
6%
Household w/o
Total
migrant
2%
3%
0%
2%
2%
2%
I would donate to the church
0%
0%
1%
0%
1%
1%
I would emigrate
1%
1%
0%
1%
0%
0%
161
162