Vol. 74/No. 34      September 6, 2010

Workers born in the United Kingdom can get access to hostels for the homeless. Immigrants from the 10 eastern European countries that joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007 have no right to welfare payments, such as housing benefits, unless they have worked for a year.

The national government funds a scheme through which charities “assist” homeless people from eastern Europe to return to their native country. Homeless charity Thames Reach says it has organized the departure of 350 of them from the United Kingdom in the past year.

The UK Border Agency has also begun deporting homeless east Europeans. In Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, the City Council has funded trips of 41 homeless people back to Poland, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine. The UK Border Agency forcibly repatriated an additional five from the area, and has threatened to deport others.

With rising unemployment many immigrant workers are finding it harder to get jobs. Workers from Romania and Bulgaria congregate every morning on Seven Sisters Road in north London waiting for construction contractors. Some only get two days’ work a week. Vladi Mitkov, a 27-year-old from Bulgaria, told the Militant that they are often harassed by the police.

A worker from Romania, who did not wish to give his name, said that some have been threatened with prosecution if they return to the spot to wait for work. Another described how the daily wage had dropped from £70 a day (US$108) to £40 (US$62).

Unlike workers from east European countries that joined the EU in 2004, workers from Bulgaria and Romania are not allowed to work freely in the United Kingdom. A restricted number are limited to certain types of work, such as picking fruit.

Meanwhile, in France cops have destroyed 51 camps where Roma immigrants live, and plan to do the same to 300 others. After destroying their accommodations, the government pays each Roma 300 euros (US$384), and 100 euros (US$128) for each child returning to Romania. French foreign ministry spokesperson Bernard Valero told the news agency Agence France-Presse that an EU directive “allows for restrictions on the right to move freely for reasons of public order, public security, and public health.”

Using a similar justification, the UK Border Agency defended its deportations, claiming it is tackling “anti-social behavior.” Like the French foreign ministry, it also cited national chauvinist guidelines that allow EU member states to remove those from other European nations who are not “working, studying or self-sufficient.”

The Financial Times interviewed one Roma family deported from France as they got off the plane in Bucharest, Romania. “Of course we are thinking about going back,” said 26-year-old Ionut Balasz. “Life is better there than in Romania, even when you are illegal.”

Rose Knight and Hugo Wils contributed to this article.
 
 
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