Emigrat

N.G. Golant
ABOUT SOME FEATURES
LABOR MIGRATION OF ROMANIANS IN EASTERN
SERBIA
This text is based on interviews conducted in 2015–2016.
on the territory of Serbia (the city of Zaječar and the villages
of the Zaječar municipality of the same district and the city of
Negotin and the villages of the Negotin municipality ( of Bor
district) and Austria (Vienna).
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If we talk about the second half of the twentieth century, then mass labor
migration for the Romanians (“Vlachs”) of eastern Serbia began in the late
1960s (the Agreement between Yugoslavia and the Federal Republic of
Germany on labor recruitment was concluded in 1968, between Yugoslavia
and Austria - in 1966, recruitment offices were created in Yugoslavia) [see,
for example, Butterwegge 2005; Stakanov 2013]. The main directions of
labor migration for Serbian Romanians (“Vlachs”) in the 1960s–1970s were
Germany, France and Austria. Most of the interviewed pensioner informants
from Zaječar and Negotin, who worked for 30–40 years abroad and returned
to their homeland in old age, worked in these countries. The main area
of employment for the Serbian Romanians (“Vlachs”), as well as for
other citizens of Yugoslavia, was the industrial sector; some also
worked in construction (mainly in Germany) and in the service sector.
Narratives recorded in eastern Serbia about the reasons for migration during
this period, about the difficulties of the first months of stay in
another country, about the need to leave young children in the care of
grandparents and about the related experiences of both children and
parents are very reminiscent of similar narratives Romanian and Moldovan
guest workers about the events of a much later period - the 1990s and
2000s. The overwhelming majority of migrants from this period
returned to Serbia upon reaching retirement age.
The next wave of migration began at the end of the 1980s. This period
saw a change in the internal political situation throughout Eastern Europe.
The collapse of "social
istic camp" and the transition of its constituent countries to structural reform
of their economies on the path to capitalism led to an increase in
unemployment and a decrease in living standards in these countries. To the
economic reasons for migration, one must also add the political turmoil
associated with the collapse of Yugoslavia - the war in Croatia and Bosnia
and Herzegovina (1991) and the Kosovo conflict (1999). At this time, a
significant number of young men from the Romanian-speaking ("Vlach")
villages of eastern Serbia were conscripted into the active army, with many
of the then conscripts believing that significantly more Romanians (“Vlachs”)
than Serbs were conscripted from this region, and that the authorities
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they preferred to send them to slaughter. Many, in order to avoid conscription, went
abroad illegally, after which they could not return to Serbian territory for a long time,
fearing criminal prosecution. As far as it can be judged from the materials of the
interviews, the Serbian Romanians (“Vlachs”) who left for the West during this period
worked and are working mainly in the service sector (if we talk about Austria, this is
mainly cleaning and catering¹), as wellas in the
construction.
Throughout the years that have passed since the collapse of the socialist system,
Germany remains the main country of migration for the countries of South-Eastern
Europe, along with Austria and Switzerland, followed by Italy (where labor migrants
from Romania and Albania is dominant and France [Brücker, Damelang 2009].
Judging by the interview materials taken from the Romanians (“Vlachs”) Zaječar and
Negotin, for them from the late 1960s and to this day, the main countries of migration
are precisely these three countries - Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
However, it should be noted that during this wave of emigration, the number
of destinations increased - along with the countries already mentioned, there
was departure to work in the USA and Scandinavian ountries (the latter
direction is especially popular among the Romanians (“Vlachs”) from the villages
of the municipality Bor .
In the choice of countries of migration, Serbian Romanians (“Vlachs”) differ from the
residents of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, as well as from the Romanians
(“Vlachs”) of the regions of northwestern Bulgaria neighboring eastern Serbia, for
whom the main countries of migration (which began for them precisely during the
period of the collapse of “socialist camp") became the Romance-speaking countries -
Italy, Spain and France². Migrants of this wave, as far as the author was able to
understand, upon reaching retirement age continue to live in two countries, because.
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many of them had children and/or grandchildren who grew up and
studied in the West. Nowadays, during school holidays, on the
streets of the suburban villages of Negotin you can meet children
from Romanians (“Vlachs”) families speaking German to each other.
The main country of migration for the purpose of obtaining
education for boys and girls from Romanians (“Vlachs”) families who
grew up and graduated from high school in Serbia is Romania. This
is facilitated by both linguistic proximity (Romanians of eastern Serbia
are speakers of the Olten and Banat dialects of the Dacoromanian
language), and the existing program in Romania to support
Romanians living outside the borders of this country, thanks to
which Romanian-speaking natives of the Republic of Moldova,
Serbia, and Bulgaria and other countries can study for free at
Romanian universities. However, currently all students from Serbia
at Romanian universities are required to study in preparatory
department, where during the year they master the literary Romanian
language. In the mid-2000s, when it was not compulsory, Romanian
students from eastern Serbia refused this option. At the same time,
teachers at Romanian universities who had to work with such
students said that studying was very difficult for them due to
ignorance of literary Romanian. (However, it should be noted that
the same teachers also noted difficulties with studies among many
students from the Republic of Moldova, but the latter’s difficulties
were caused not by language problems, but by a general low level of
preparation).
Most students from eastern Serbia study at the universities
of Craiova, Timișoara and Bucharest. The vast majority of them
enter medical faculties. The reason for this is the fairly high
quality of medical education in Romania and the fact that
Romanian diplomas are recognized throughout the EU. A similar
choice is typical for Romanian students from Northwestern
Bulgaria: most often they choose the Faculty of Medicine of the
University of Craiova. “Pilgrimages” to study in France have
long been characteristic of Romanian youth, and in recent years
also of Romanian youth.
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vocal youth from the Republic of Moldova¹, among the Serbian
Romanians is not observed.
If we talk about the Zaječar and Negotin Romanians,
currently living and working in Vienna, then students of the
Vienna
Universities
as a rule, are those who attend university are those who grew up and
received secondary education in Vienna. The most popular faculty of
this university among Romanians is economics.
In general, we can say that the directions of migration of
Romanians of eastern Serbia, to a lesser extent than the
directions of migration of Romanians and Moldovans, are
determined by linguistic proximity and, to a greater extent, by
geographical proximity and traditional economic ties. The same
can be said about the Romanian-speaking Roma of Serbia and
other former Yugoslav republics [see, for example, Leschber
2008: 247–260; Sikimić 2008: 227–246], however this topic is
beyond the scope of this article.
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