ROMANIANS LIVING IN GREAT BRITAIN TAKE A STAND
For several weeks now, the British mass media obsessively brings up the same topic: should we allow Romanians and Bulgarians to enter the labor market in Great Britain? In 2004, the British government estimated that approximately 15 thousand immigrants coming from new EU member states would settle in Great Britain. But over the last 2 years alone, over 400 thousand work permit requests have been approved, most of them signed by Polish citizens aged between 18 and 34. Those in favor of the “open doors” policy say that immigrants take jobs which British citizens are not willing to accept (in fields like administration, business and management, but especially in constructions, hotel industry and health). More over, they are qualified workers, whose experience is more than welcome. The opposite side says that cheap work force only makes life difficult for the British having to support their families, obliging them to take less paying jobs, under the immigrants’ pressure. One of the arguments against the opening of the labor market is that Polish workers brought along their wives and children. The British government approved over 27 thousand requests of social assistance for immigrants’ kids.
When there are no more social-economic arguments left, some other clichés were brought to the surface: the title “Romanian women and their children” was published under photographs of women of Rroma origin, holding their half naked kids. Then, it’s been said that Romanians infected with HIV/AIDS are going to spread the virus all over Great Britain, tendentious articles depicting a “typical” day in the daily life of a Romanian family: an alcoholic and unemployed father, a mother burdened with keeping house and carrying after their 4 kids, both adults hardly waiting to leave and work in Great Britain.
These continuous attacks published by British tabloids have mobilized the Romanian community in Great Britain. “It is disappointing to see how the Western media is kicking up all this fuss, and we can’t stand by helplessly while we are being put to the corner, as the sick which Europe does not need or the suffering which should be marked every time they leave their houses, carrying around the burden of all these humilities. We kept hoping and waiting all these years, feeling deep within our souls that we belonged to this world. But Europe fears us. If we chose not to take a stand, tomorrow it will probably be another European country’s turn to humiliate us. Europe must not fear us, but just to look at this in an objective and constructive way, to compare the statistics, which all kinds of commissions have been long working on, and to accept what has been obvious for a long time now.”
This e-mail, signed by members of the Internet site Romanians-Online.co.uk, was sent to over 700 addresses: Romania’s President, Prime Minister, to all MPs, to all central newspapers, news agencies and national radio stations. Find out more on this from Adrian Cherciu, initiator of this protest: ”Lack of reaction from the part of Romanian authorities, both in Romania and in Great Britain, against this denigration campaign started up by the British mass media made us feel alone, misunderstood and abandoned… The reaction that representatives of some British industries had, also in the British media, about keeping the open doors policy, gave us the courage and motivation to call on the Romanian authorities to take a stand in order to represent and defend us! Upon meetings we had with Romanian authorities from Romania’s Embassy in London, we decided that all Romanian associations, foundations and organizations should get together at the end of this week and come up with a response. We plan to address several letters, one to British governmental bodies, in which to explain how preoccupied the Romanian community is with this media campaign against Romania and Romanians, because the way in which we are presented, as a danger to the British society, affects the credibility of Romanians living in Great Britain. A thanking letter would be addressed to those members of the British press who chose to present this matter objectively, depicting the real situation in these two countries, Romania and Bulgaria and the impact which the work force flow from these countries would have on the British economy. A third letter would be addressed to several leaders of British industries who support the idea that the Open Doors policy should be maintained for Romania and Bulgaria too.”
Following the protest signed by the Romanian community in Great Britain, the Romanian mass media started publishing articles pointing to the bad image which British tabloids were depicting of Romania. The campaign lead by the pressure group Business for New Europe (BNE) pleads in favor of the idea that the hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming from Poland and other eastern European states which join the EU in 2004 have increased Great Britain’s productivity, have compensated for shortages on the labor market and have contributed to the overall economic growth.
Then came the reaction of Premier Calin Popescu Tariceanu, at the meeting held with Romanian ambassadors: “There is no reason that we should be put to a corner or humiliated in populist or demagogic speeches. This mentality of a besieged citadel which the British are trying to promote is damaging to the entire future of the European project itself”, said Premier Tariceanu. Last, but not least, President Traian Basescu said that, if Romanians were forbidden free access on the European labor market, Romania too would impose its own restrictions. Still, debates on this topic continue. We asked Adrian Cherciu what he believes truly motivates the British to fear Romanians:“I believe we are mere collateral victims within a domestic policy war in Great Britain, on the one hand between Conservatories and Labours, and on the other between the two different factions within Tony Blair’s party. I, for one, do not believe the British actually fear Romanians. An editorial was recently published in the British press, saying that they should not fear Romanians, because Romanians are not the ones wanting to introduce the Sharia Muslim law, that Romanians, Bulgarians or Polish are not the one designing terrorist attacks in Great Britain.”
On September 1st, the British Embassy in Bucharest inaugurated the on line visa applications service for traveling to Great Britain. On this occasion, Robin Burnett, the current British Ambassador and former head of the visa bureau, said there was no connection between the new system and lifting entry visas for Romanian citizens. As for all the media fuss in London, His Excellency said that a public debate on this topic was only natural: “Workers’ freedom of movement is a delicate issue for all EU member states. No one should be surprised at the fact that there is a public debate on this topic. Great Britain will take a decision concerning freedom of movement for workers from Romania and Bulgaria, as soon as we will know a definite date of accession. This decision will be taken considering a number of relevant factors concerning our national economy, including an assessment of the need of work force in Great Britain, concerning the impact which the other wave of countries which joined the EU in 2004 has had on the labor market and also workers’ freedom of movement policies which will be adopted by other EU countries. European laws guarantee Romania the same rights as to all the other member states, once it joins the Union. If it chooses to impose restrictions on worker’s freedom of movement, it is free to do so.”
Of all the EU member states, the only one which has already allowed Romanians full access on its labor market is Finland.
When there are no more social-economic arguments left, some other clichés were brought to the surface: the title “Romanian women and their children” was published under photographs of women of Rroma origin, holding their half naked kids. Then, it’s been said that Romanians infected with HIV/AIDS are going to spread the virus all over Great Britain, tendentious articles depicting a “typical” day in the daily life of a Romanian family: an alcoholic and unemployed father, a mother burdened with keeping house and carrying after their 4 kids, both adults hardly waiting to leave and work in Great Britain.
These continuous attacks published by British tabloids have mobilized the Romanian community in Great Britain. “It is disappointing to see how the Western media is kicking up all this fuss, and we can’t stand by helplessly while we are being put to the corner, as the sick which Europe does not need or the suffering which should be marked every time they leave their houses, carrying around the burden of all these humilities. We kept hoping and waiting all these years, feeling deep within our souls that we belonged to this world. But Europe fears us. If we chose not to take a stand, tomorrow it will probably be another European country’s turn to humiliate us. Europe must not fear us, but just to look at this in an objective and constructive way, to compare the statistics, which all kinds of commissions have been long working on, and to accept what has been obvious for a long time now.”
This e-mail, signed by members of the Internet site Romanians-Online.co.uk, was sent to over 700 addresses: Romania’s President, Prime Minister, to all MPs, to all central newspapers, news agencies and national radio stations. Find out more on this from Adrian Cherciu, initiator of this protest: ”Lack of reaction from the part of Romanian authorities, both in Romania and in Great Britain, against this denigration campaign started up by the British mass media made us feel alone, misunderstood and abandoned… The reaction that representatives of some British industries had, also in the British media, about keeping the open doors policy, gave us the courage and motivation to call on the Romanian authorities to take a stand in order to represent and defend us! Upon meetings we had with Romanian authorities from Romania’s Embassy in London, we decided that all Romanian associations, foundations and organizations should get together at the end of this week and come up with a response. We plan to address several letters, one to British governmental bodies, in which to explain how preoccupied the Romanian community is with this media campaign against Romania and Romanians, because the way in which we are presented, as a danger to the British society, affects the credibility of Romanians living in Great Britain. A thanking letter would be addressed to those members of the British press who chose to present this matter objectively, depicting the real situation in these two countries, Romania and Bulgaria and the impact which the work force flow from these countries would have on the British economy. A third letter would be addressed to several leaders of British industries who support the idea that the Open Doors policy should be maintained for Romania and Bulgaria too.”
Following the protest signed by the Romanian community in Great Britain, the Romanian mass media started publishing articles pointing to the bad image which British tabloids were depicting of Romania. The campaign lead by the pressure group Business for New Europe (BNE) pleads in favor of the idea that the hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming from Poland and other eastern European states which join the EU in 2004 have increased Great Britain’s productivity, have compensated for shortages on the labor market and have contributed to the overall economic growth.
Then came the reaction of Premier Calin Popescu Tariceanu, at the meeting held with Romanian ambassadors: “There is no reason that we should be put to a corner or humiliated in populist or demagogic speeches. This mentality of a besieged citadel which the British are trying to promote is damaging to the entire future of the European project itself”, said Premier Tariceanu. Last, but not least, President Traian Basescu said that, if Romanians were forbidden free access on the European labor market, Romania too would impose its own restrictions. Still, debates on this topic continue. We asked Adrian Cherciu what he believes truly motivates the British to fear Romanians:“I believe we are mere collateral victims within a domestic policy war in Great Britain, on the one hand between Conservatories and Labours, and on the other between the two different factions within Tony Blair’s party. I, for one, do not believe the British actually fear Romanians. An editorial was recently published in the British press, saying that they should not fear Romanians, because Romanians are not the ones wanting to introduce the Sharia Muslim law, that Romanians, Bulgarians or Polish are not the one designing terrorist attacks in Great Britain.”
On September 1st, the British Embassy in Bucharest inaugurated the on line visa applications service for traveling to Great Britain. On this occasion, Robin Burnett, the current British Ambassador and former head of the visa bureau, said there was no connection between the new system and lifting entry visas for Romanian citizens. As for all the media fuss in London, His Excellency said that a public debate on this topic was only natural: “Workers’ freedom of movement is a delicate issue for all EU member states. No one should be surprised at the fact that there is a public debate on this topic. Great Britain will take a decision concerning freedom of movement for workers from Romania and Bulgaria, as soon as we will know a definite date of accession. This decision will be taken considering a number of relevant factors concerning our national economy, including an assessment of the need of work force in Great Britain, concerning the impact which the other wave of countries which joined the EU in 2004 has had on the labor market and also workers’ freedom of movement policies which will be adopted by other EU countries. European laws guarantee Romania the same rights as to all the other member states, once it joins the Union. If it chooses to impose restrictions on worker’s freedom of movement, it is free to do so.”
Of all the EU member states, the only one which has already allowed Romanians full access on its labor market is Finland.
posted by Andreea Demirgian at
4:58 AM
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