Emigrat

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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