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If we talk about the second half of the twentieth century, then mass labor<br />
migration for the Romanians (“Vlachs”) of eastern Serbia began in the late<br />
1960s (the Agreement between Yugoslavia and the Federal Republic of<br />
Germany on labor recruitment was concluded in 1968, between Yugoslavia<br />
and Austria - in 1966, recruitment offices were created in Yugoslavia) [see,<br />
for example, Butterwegge 2005; Stakanov 2013]. The main directions of<br />
labor migration for Serbian Romanians (“Vlachs”) in the 1960s–1970s were<br />
Germany, France and Austria. Most of the interviewed pensioner informants<br />
from Zaječar and Negotin, who worked for 30–40 years abroad and returned<br />
to their homeland in old age, worked in these countries. The main area<br />
of employment for the Serbian Romanians (“Vlachs”), as well as for<br />
other citizens of Yugoslavia, was the industrial sector; some also<br />
worked in construction (mainly in Germany) and in the service sector.<br />
Narratives recorded in eastern Serbia about the reasons for migration during<br />
this period, about the difficulties of the first months of stay in<br />
another country, about the need to leave young children in the care of<br />
grandparents and about the related experiences of both children and<br />
parents are very reminiscent of similar narratives Romanian and Moldovan<br />
guest workers about the events of a much later period - the 1990s and<br />
2000s. The overwhelming majority of migrants from this period<br />
returned to Serbia upon reaching retirement age.<br />
The next wave of migration began at the end of the 1980s. This period<br />
saw a change in the internal political situation throughout Eastern Europe.<br />
The collapse of "social<br />
istic camp" and the transition of its constituent countries to structural reform<br />
of their economies on the path to capitalism led to an increase in<br />
unemployment and a decrease in living standards in these countries. To the<br />
economic reasons for migration, one must also add the political turmoil<br />
associated with the collapse of Yugoslavia - the war in Croatia and Bosnia<br />
and Herzegovina (1991) and the Kosovo conflict (1999). At this time, a<br />
significant number of young men from the Romanian-speaking ("Vlach")<br />
villages of eastern Serbia were conscripted into the active army, with many<br />
of the then conscripts believing that significantly more Romanians (“Vlachs”)<br />
than Serbs were conscripted from this region, and that the authorities<br />
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