Romanians from Serbia in Denmark

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Danish workers, where Vlach women were accused of speeding up the working processes in order just to get a tiny bonus. Motivation to work so hard was found primarily in the private realm, in the prestige game of the Vlach community, where status required the purchase of a new dress for every dance or wedding (Schierup and Ålund 1986: 102–4).The option of working harder than their Danish colleagues and earning extra hinged on the ability of Vlach women to leave their children in the village or in the care of older female relatives, thereby stressing difference with regard to their Danish colleagues, who were more dependent on the services of the welfare state. The help provided by the family network nevertheless had itsprice in terms of increasing the level of obligations towards the private realm where high levels of hospitalityand other services were expected in exchange. One consequence of the heavy burdens placed on them is that a large number of older women suffer from healthproblems and are now retired. Being away from the labour market and consigned to the private sphere of homemakingand childcare obviously implies a degree of withdrawal from the wider Danish society. In reality, however, many of the older women primarily worked in industries where the bulk of workers were other immigrants, 7 for which reason the integrative ‘outcomes’ of being exposed to the Danish labour marketare likely to have been more limited. Things are different in the younger generation, as higher levels of education and language proficiency have contributed to a general shift towards the service sector. Few, if any,of this generation work in groups with other Vlachs and being Vlach does not seem to influence their jobsituation. The trade unions generally play a very positive role for the older men, who accepted and felt represented bytheir collective-oriented policies and by the emphasis given to equal rights and worker solidarity, featureswhich the Danish welfare state had in common with socialist Yugoslavia. The trade unions also stood up for theirnew members and actively campaigned against the widespread racist attitudes of some of their other members, thereby increasing the sense of security of the former. 8 However, these moreconflictual memories are seldom raised by the migrants, who tend to emphasise instead their more positive workexperiences.
At present, when the industry-based welfare state is under pressure in both Serbia and Denmark, collective formsof identification have tended to wither away. New forms have emerged in both states, with greater emphasis being placed on issues such as religion and origin. This has changed attitudes towards collective structures such asunion membership. Although the number of Serbs holding a union card tends to be higher than among native Danes,the high employment rate which has characterised the recent economic boom has compelled a growing number of young workers of Serbian origin to abandon the ‘old’ trade unions. This attitude—shared by many Danes—is regretted by members of the older generation, who feel they fought an important struggle in fighting to organise the Yugoslavwork force: Young people don’t bother to be members of a union nowadays. But the unions have helped us so much. We used topay 25 kroner (3 euros) per month to the Social Democratic Party as part of union membership. Then a collectionof signatures was made to end this tradition. But it is with these 25 kroner that we have obtained the societythat we have today (Serbian man, 2008). Nevertheless, the generally poor health of the older Vlach workers speaks for itself. Many suffer from serious diseases and injuries stemming from accidents and attrition inflicted by their labour conditions. But instead of voicing protest, these old people do not hold the labour system responsible. Rather, they choose a strategy of invisibility where compensation negotiated through the social security system is invested in social acts directed towards the Vlach community, such as extravagant wedding celebrations or the like. In their eyes, the ability to gain financial compensation continues to make unhealthy work conditions a worthwhile venture. This strategy reflects an uninterrupted emphasis on prestige goods, which are not necessarily made visible toDanes. Such prestige games are also at work when some of the young Serbian couples leave their children in the care of their grandparents while taking on an extra night job to be able to purchase luxury holidays in some distant tourist destination. Through the so-called ‘experience economy’, these adventures may visualise and make
Page 1 and 2: From DanishYugoslavs to Danish Serb
Page 3 and 4: contrast to the older members, who
Page 5 and 6: training indicates that, in spite o
Page 7 and 8: oof. A low birth rate (one or two c
Page 9: Visibility and Invisibility: The Jo
Page 13 and 14: sameness, away of demonstrating the
Page 15 and 16: encouraging their children to adopt
Page 17 and 18: is of vital importance that marriag
Page 19 and 20: diaspora,as few are keen to discuss
Page 21 and 22: Serbian sports events, or facilitat
Page 23 and 24: origin ensures that generational co
Page 25 and 26: 35-53. Federspiel, S. (1998) Arbejd
Page 27 and 28: everyday life in Nordic societies,
Page 29 and 30: visible in everyday encounters, in
Page 31 and 32: Grifin, G & Braidotti, R 2002, ‘W

Romanians from Serbia in Denmark

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