26 October 2006
BBC Europe editor Mark Mardell on Bucharest's reaction to the news that not all Romanian workers will be welcome in the UK, and on the new kit BBC correspondents are struggling with - V point.
SKILLED STUDENTS
It's freakishly, gloriously hot for late October in Romania. The students in University Square in Bucharest are enjoying this unseasonable sunshine sitting on the benches surrounding the pretty fountain, chatting and reading books or lecture notes. Not far away is a digital clock, counting down the days to when Romania joins the European Union. Fireworks there will still be, but the event has been soured a little by British Home Secretary John Reid.
I'm mingling with the students to try to gauge reaction to his decision not to throw open the doors to Romanian economic migrants after they join the European Union. In truth, it won't hurt most of them. Many will be counted as "skilled" or "highly skilled" workers when they qualify and I don't talk to anyone who wants to do a summer job in Britain.
Many would like to visit but when it comes to working most Romanians seem to favour countries with a similar language, like Spain and Italy. And in Madrid or Rome you might just get autumn weather this good.
Dozens of Romanians have told me they do want to leave to escape miserably low wages and make some decent money abroad. It is a constant refrain whether in University Square or the market place or on the many building sites sprouting up all over the Romanian capital. But there is a counter note which is perhaps swelling.
One student tells me, with the brash confidence of youth, that as an economist he is convinced his country is an economic success story on the brink of happening. He wants to stay, both to make money and to help his nation. I have a feeling he may be on the right track.
ROMA QUESTIONS
But a doctor I meet is about 10 years older than him and a lot more gloomy. She has just popped home to get a new visa: she already works in France, which means she is apart from her husband and three-year-old son. She would like to work in Britain and as she is a specialist in lung disease she probably wouldn't have any trouble.
The last diary from Romania
But she's disgusted by the British government. She tells me it's irritating, because it means that her country is seen as a nation of cheats, thieves and liars. She makes the point there are many talented, highly qualified people here. This point is repeated by many people, so many that one knows immediately that there is a subtext. But one woman was less coded: "You think we are all gypsies!" she said.
That subtext gives me, if not a twinge of guilt, a long period of reflection. I have learned that I am not exactly the Romanian government's favourite person. Their complaint against my last broadcast from the country was non-specific, if incandescent. I am pretty sure that what got to them was my showing pictures of Roma caravans and interviewing the people who live in them. Many Romanians feel the British media has portrayed their country as though they are all Roma.
I can understand their annoyance but the Roma are citizens of Romania, as they are of many other countries, and I feel it's only fair to give them a face and a voice. To pretend they are not the subject of some fears is to lie. The Roma I met told me they just want to find honest work, not be chased by the police from country to country, and it's worth putting that argument.
PORTCULLIS LOWERED
So Britain has joined the bad boys of "old" Europe in lowering the portcullis against migrant workers from Bulgaria and Romania, after being one of the few countries to welcome those from Poland and the other former communist countries which joined the EU in 2004.
"The government is suffering the same pangs of eastern indigestion that afflicts France, with its fear of the Polish plumber"
An anecdote from a friend who's recently returned to England suggests it is. She smiles at a traffic warden and makes some pleasant observation about the weather and it being a nice day. "No it's not," says the traffic warden. "We've just heard that the Poles are taking our jobs." Her company was evidently taking on Poles at lower wages. This resentment, real or apocryphal, is what fuels the government's change of tack - what the Romanian prime minister has called a cave-in to populist pressure.
RED REID?
It's interesting that the government U-turn followed John Reid's appointment as home secretary. He is a fascinating politician. He's often described as an ultra-Blairite, and most assume this decision is cheap populism in the face of media pressure.
The fact he was a former communist is mentioned in most profiles as a sniggering aside, a contrast to his current hardline moderation. But what remains of his communism is an instinctive desire to use the working class and working class interests as a litmus test for policies. He may not use the word much, but "socialism" still means something to him.
The Guardian's economics editor Larry Elliott pointed out, in a brilliant article a couple of months ago, that while liberals of left and right disdain "white van man" for his anti-immigration stance, it is not lawyers, politicians and journalists who find foreign workers taking over their jobs. I'm sure Reid feels he has his ear to the ground and is responding to legitimate worries. Which doesn't mean he is right.
I put this theory to a Romanian friend. "Well why doesn't he care about Romanian workers? They suffered under communism and now have to suffer again because of a former communist." Well tankies always believed in socialism in one country.
JERKY IMAGES
Broadcasting is becoming ever easier, and ever more difficult.
The tech moves on at an astonishing rate, I muse as I broadcast live from Finland. For a while the Brussels office has been abuzz with something called "V point", with people disappearing up on to the roof clutching computers and cameras to return a couple of hours later, cursing. But at the Lahti summit in Finland, after a lot of tinkering and experimenting which is a bit beyond me, it actually works - which is why I am standing in a hall full of journalists staring at a small domestic video camera lashed to a metal pole with lots of gaffer tape.
That's just because our proper cameras and cameramen are occupied elsewhere. The V point bit is the bureau chief playing with a laptop computer which gets the signal from the camera and sends it down a broadband line. It's not perfect, it looks a bit shaky, and when people walk behind me they look as though they are in slow motion. But it's a small price to pay.
Which is the point of it all: it's just about free. If you see what I would regard as a "proper" live shoot, smooth, with an interesting outside backing drop, from a conference like this, it would cost around £800 for a 10-minute slot, which is what you need - after establishing contact with London and so on - for one or two broadcasts lasting a couple of minutes each.
The stuttery shots you've seen on your screens up to now, often from difficult-to-get-at parts of the world, will have been by videophone, which needs a couple of satellite phones to send the signal. Much cheaper, but not cheap. But all you have to pay now is the cost of a broadband line, virtually nothing. With a lot of us used to watching somewhat jerky moving images on our computers all the time, I suspect a slightly less professional look is deemed acceptable even from the professionals.
CREW CUTS
Standing in from of this lash-up I laugh when I think of the first foreign trip I did for TV. It wasn't for the BBC but for a cost-conscious independent company. But we had a crew of three people: camera, sound and lights. And we went back to London for a fourth person to edit the results. Over the years, first the sparks went, then sound. All our crews in Brussels edit their own material - huge savings in cost and it works well.
But there's a downside. That person is thinking of three different things rather than one, and having to sit down and create a piece when they have been lugging a camera round on their shoulders all day. Now they will have an extra laptop and camera to take on trips and to operate in between shooting and editing. I very much doubt whether any of these cost savings are passed on to the people working harder as a result, even in commercial enterprises.
COMPUTER SAYS NO
The last few paragraphs were written rather smugly on a flight back from Finland. But after Romania I am rather less full of the joys of technology. In the middle of a mad rush of a day we zoom back to our hotel to try to get V point working for the One O'Clock News. Despite the amount of interviews and other work piling up we get back nice and early. There is a lot of fiddling with cables and trying new bits of kit.
"I pace nervously, as much as one can pace when there are wires coming out of a box across the hallway into the room where the laptop sits"
Your comments:
My husband and I have lived in central Bulgaria for the past 4 years, by choice and by courtesy of the Bulgarian Government. We totally resent, what amounts to 'discrimination' and 'second class rating',of the Bulgarian population and workforce as a whole. Most Bulgarians are highly educated and do not fall foul of the law, Bulgarian or other. They are a decent and a tolerant people who, on average, survive on a pittance. Accepting that Britain is only after all a small island, I reflect too that other countries have never closed their doors to migrant workers from Britain, and there are thousands... all in search of better wages and better living. What perfect legitimate reason is there for Bulgarians not to do likewise? The ingenuity of Bulgarians in their daily survival without recourse to decent salaries is eye opening and a credit to them. If they were allowed to live and work amongst the so called 'hard-done-bys', great lessons might be learnt! Enjoy your 'quality!
of life', but spare a thought for those who have none, or very little. As for 'loss of countryside', pay Bulgaria a visit, and not just the seaside, and then, to pessimists, "eat your hearts out".
Mrs J Crowie, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
For John, Coventry:
Yes, Mr Reid should care about the Romanian worker and I'll tell you why. John Reid and those British people who favor the ban on Romanian workers have a very poor sense of history and fairness. Churchill bartered Romania and Bulgaria for Greece more than half a century ago and allowed Stalin and the Soviets to occupy and plunder these countries. Our king Michael is still alive, but he was chased from power in 1947 only because Churchill made a deal with the Russians for that to happen, so they can turn us into communists.
Lucian, Brasov, Romania
The UK is not anti-Romania as many of these comments imply - we simply don't have the infrasturcture in place to support another wave of workers coming in from outside the UK. We have overcrowded schools; house prices that allow only the minority to buy because of limited supply and a transport system that is barely working. Its not xenophobia it is a calculated response by a country that took in 600,000 workers (1% of total population) over a two-year period from Eastern Europe when others closed their doors. Romania is a welcome additon to the EU family - but change has to consider the local issue of other nation states or it won't work.
Iain Pitt, London
I am so tried of listening to others telling me what to do with my country! It is about time our Government took steps to protect and maintain the British way of life in my opinion these steps should be the starting point and more should be introduced. My advice to the Romanians and Bulgarians is put your own houses in order first and make it so we want to work in your country. We have rising unemployment and so many people who do not want to live and respect the way we British live; the way our great grandfathers and grandfathers fought and died for defending.
Carl, Sonnenbühl Germany
Figures on this very same BBC site announce that 97% of the 600,000 immigrants form the A8 countries are registered in full time employment. 93% of those are single. Even by allowing a degree of inexactitude in those numbers, they are still impressive and the message they convey is quite simple: young, productive, single; hence less strain on the NHS and schooling. Some strain on housing is undeniable; however they are not entitled to benefits. It is a an overall positive balance, which doesn't mean there are not downsides. It is about time for the debate to grow up from the simplistic hate em vs love em approach.
Mat, Newcastle upon Tyne
In deed, the Roma ARE Romanian citizens, they are a small minority but unfortunately they have big words to say when it comes to portraying Romania as a country in the EU.I am Romanian and now living in the United States .The reason I left my country was because I saw a better world in the western civilization but my plans are to go back and set the bases of a new and better democratic republic. I see a great ascension for Romania in the early future.
By banning Romanians from working in England, the British government is presenting an act of racism. Discrimination should not be tolerated in a country that poses as one of the leaders of Europe.
(Please correct me if i am wrong, i'm only 15 years old)
Vlad Nedelea, Freehold , NJ , USA
I live in the rural eastern end of the Czech Republic, and have done for some time. No mass emigration from here. People have work, a sense of community and an active one at that. People are also hard working and don't blink at the thought of having to get up at 4.30 am to get to work. The general level of education puts the UK to shame. Does this tell you something? And no, I don't work for regional development.
adam colledge, Horní Újezd
Whilst I agree there should be a limit in number of low-skill workers, I simply fail to understand why a person able to get a job in Britain is not able to do so, even if it is a Romanian. As a Romanian living in Canada, I was contemplating moving to UK; in many aspects North America is not particulary attractive. But, under the current rules, I cannot. The highly skilled worker program seems to be tailored for people close to Einstein or earning almost 50% of the salary paid in Canada for a Senior position. Dream on, guys: these people will go to the US.
Brad Vrabete, Kitchener, Canada
Now I am sure that the EU will fail. I do not understand why this hate against fellow Europeans has taken root in Old Europe. We have the same culture. We would have integrated far better than the people you took from your former colonies. And we ARE educated. Most of the youth understands English. How many languages does the French or Spanish youth speak? I must agree with the rest of my countrymen that you have very very wrong impressions on how things are in Romania. That's why USA is and will be a superpower and EU will lag behind in 2nd place. Please THINK big, because if the EU will fail all your jobs will go to India and China and you will not have to complain about job security because there will be no jobs left in your country.
Dan D, Romania
Those who oppose the migration of cheap labor commit two basic fallacies. First, half of the day we are producers and the other half consumers. So, we benefit from stable or falling prices on everything from goods to haircuts. And Heaven knows, the UK can benefit from lower prices. Second, work is not a static pie that is divided by haves and have-nots. The economy is a dynamic entity with new jobs being created in response to supply and demand factors. When people can afford and demand more haircuts, lawn care, massages, and restaurant meals, new jobs will be created for the migrants and everyone else. Britain and Ireland benefited hugely from the new temporary immigration. Now they are slamming the door in their own face. There is always the US, which is not the richest and most dynamic economy for nothing. It still welcomes immigrants.
Slav Gatchev, Washington, DC
Indeed, the Roma only make up 2.5% of Romania's population! And the Roma that Mardell chose to interview are caravan travellers - what about the university professors and doctors of Roma ethnicity who also live in Romania? This minority is grossly over-generalized and misrepresented, which only leads to further misunderstanding and prejudice for the British and the Romanians - and for anyone else who claims to be "European". I am shocked and appalled by the UK's discriminatory decision and I am proud to be an American, since the USA has a great history of welcoming Romanians.
Cristina Bejan, Oxford, UK
My wife is Romanian, and she is very upset about the way the British media have portrayed all Romanians to be "Roma". It seems that the general conception is that all Romanians live on a farm, have caravans and are generally quite poor. After having spent time in Bucharest and other parts of Romania, I have found that the Romanian people are one of the friendliest people I have met. It seems that the gypsies are represented (by the media) as being in the majority, where in fact the Roma count for only 2.5% of the population. Don't judge a whole country on a minority. We should be welcoming the wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm that comes from most Romanians, not locking them in their own country as if we were ashamed of them.
Mick Sanderson, Nottingham, UK
I have known several Romanians in Europe, and I have to say that these disucssions seem really crazy to me. Romanians are being portrayed as some alien beings about to come from another planet to the EU. Romanians are as European as it gets. They integrate in countries like the UK, France, Italy, and Spain seamlessly. If the issue is only whether or not migrant workers should be allowed in the UK, that's different. It is true that UK workers will be displaced by cheaper labor. But a better solution than blocking migrant workers is to retrain displaced local workers. In other words, all the money that it would cost the UK to overpay for labor can be redirected toward the retraining of displaced workers. UK workers move up the value chain, migrant workers fill in at the lower level jobs, but also improve their situations. Everyone wins...
RMC, Paris, France
I work in the construction industry and I am proud of the fact that all of my builders are English. Yes some of the Poles are hard-working and qualified but at the end of the day my grandfather started this company with English people and we are British builders for British people and this place is only an island and it should read no vacancies.
Paul Rist, London
John Reid and those British people who favor the ban on Romanian workers have a very poor sense of history and fairness. Churchill bartered Romania and Bulgaria for Greece more than half a century ago and allowed Stalin and the Soviets to occupy and plunder these countries. Now we have finally managed to break away from that decades-long curse, just to be met with incomprehensible resentment and a door slammed in our noses. I visited London this summer (yes, visited, did not work illegally and went back to Romania) and I was surprised to see how diverse London is. The thing that puzzles me is: if the British people are as open as to accept fully covered, veiled Arab women and imams inciting to violence against British citizens in their own country, what on earth could scare them so much about a Romanian plumber who only wants to work and make a decent living?
Anca Pop, Brasov, Romania
This Mardell diary is one the best in a long time, especially when it comes to why Britain is trying to stop new migrant workers from Romania and Bulgaria from arriving. There's only one deficiency... it does not comment on the fact that Britain has not presented measures to make it harder for illegal immigrants to enter Britain. Because, in my humble opinion, the real problem with limiting legal immigrant workforces is that it encourages the illegal immigrants. And, sadly, those illegal Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants that will enter Britain will take the jobs of those that Mr Reid is trying to protect, the low earners in the less than skilled positions in the workforce...
Andrei Dumitrescu, Bucuresti, Romania
I am an American living in Ireland. Over here, as mentioned in the above article, people are starting to have resentment for the people from Eastern Europe. People are losing their jobs to be replaced by Polish people who get paid a ridiculously low wage. I think that in itself is very anti-EU and that is discrimination against the people from the Republic of Ireland. I as an immigrant think that a cap in immigration is definitely needed. Something has to be done or else there will be so much resentment that could very easily be turned into violence against people of Eastern European origin or any other migrant. Also the beautiful charm and scenery of the Republic of Ireland and England will be jeopardized to build new houses. I'm not saying limit it totally, but be reasonable. The leaders of the UK and the Republic of Ireland need to realize that majority rules and they need to listen to the voice of the majority.
Li, Dublin, Ireland
The British government will be closing the doors to Romanians and Bulgarians not because some are Roma - I've seen no polemic in the media about this and quite right too - but because the government estimated 13,500 immigrants a year from the new accession countries and we ended up with 600,000 in 2 years! Oh, and John Reid long ago lost all credibility as a socialist when he became one of Tony Blair's attack-dogs on the Iraq war.
Neil Griffiths, Manchester UK
I agree with the imposition of quotas for the time being and yes, the UK is a small island, just as we in Malta are so overcrowded. However, the government and perhaps the EU must seriously tackle the abuse of workers who get paid paltry wages. This is a main factor in the huge influx of workers in the UK.
Eric Montfort, Hamrun Malta
Romanians should have the same rights as other EU members with regard to jobs as well. I don't understand why some countries like UK are letting the immigrants from eastern Europe in and let them work, while the others, like Germany or Austria, are keeping the borders shut for Eastern Europeans. The law should be the same everywhere in the EU, Croatia and Macedonia should be the next to join after Bulgaria and Romania, Turkey should stay in Asia, that country doesn't belong to Europe until they sort out problems with Armenians, Greeks and Kurds.
Alec, Belgium
Thank you Mark. Thank you for showing a real image and for coming here to see the reality.
Mihai, Bucharest, Romania
All credit to Home Secretary John Reid, grasping the important issues quickly and trying to deal with them, unlike the previous home secretary. You just can't have an open door policy for Bulgaria and Romania. How many people can this country hold? Just look at the housing shortage, strains on school and public services, traffic is getting worse... How crazy is it that anyone from the EU can have free medical treatment here, they all play the game well and take the British for being fools.
terry singh, ilford
The new British policy towards the Romanian and Bulgarian citizens is a disgrace, as was the policy of other EU contries towards citizens of the countries in the last enlargement - I should say that even the British policy was not hundred percent clear because Polish immigrants need Home Office registration, whereas the citizen of the former 15 don't. It is also unfair to blame the foreign workers for lower wages - it is the employers who are paying less than the national minimum. It would be worth checking on them...
Clarisa Siperman, Belfast, Northern Ireland
I think we are 100% right to keep immigration numbers down. Daventry has seen an explosion of Polish migrants. They are no trouble and do seem to be hard-working. However, for every worker there could also be a wife and a couple of children in tow, who only take from the community resources. This means that the price of rental properties in the area has rocketed, with many local families being unable to get into properties as they are 'snapped up' by Polish migrants. Many have brought families with them and the school that my sons attend is now having to cope with children that don't even speak English. In a class of 30 I resent the time that is taken away from educating my child to cope with this extra demand. Local doctors and hospitals also feel the strain, with the double whammy of extra people and having to cope with people who speak little or no English. Restricting the flow seems to be fairer to all concerned. In a world where there will never be enough to go around we need to look after our own first, however harsh this seems.
Wendy, Daventry, England
I would like to make a rebuttal to the Romanian in the article who said "Well why doesn't he care about Romanian workers? They suffered under communism and now have to suffer again because of a former communist." Why should John Reid care about Romanian workers? His job is to work for the British people, and to respond to their needs, not those of another country.
I'm sure none of the Romanian ministers give a damn about the needs of British people, and I'm sure they would respond the exact same way as us if the situation were reversed and Britons were wanting to head over to Romania for work.
John, Coventry
What about the brain-drain created in Romania? If all the educated people leave for Britain then I guess it sucks to be in the skeleton that will be Romania.
Peter, Frankfurt
I suspect that Britain wouldn't have had to impose quotas on the numbers if "Old Europe" didn't have their own quotas in place. Then migration would occur more evenly over Europe, rather than being concentrated in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Sam, Edinburgh
I agree with the clamping down of the numbers of migrant workers allowed into this country. Since the opening up of the EU our unemployment figures have steadily risen. A recent news report stated that the number of migrant workers has not affected unemployment, but the figures do not lie. I personally know that there are numerous workers in the construction industry who are working for such small amounts, that British craftsmen are losing work due to our excessive taxes and the cost of living.
Scott Fisher, Forest Hill, London.
I abhor the UK governments decision to limit the Romanians entry to UK. Once they become EU members their fundemental right of abode and to work etc. in another EU state is therefore limited. And yet the UK allows in suspected terrorists, and other non-desirables from outside the EU in almost limitless numbers. What the hell is going on??
I am an EU immigrant; a Brit living freely in Spain - one of my fundamental rights of life and one which the Romanians should also be free to enjoy. Regards. Jeremy Newby
Jeremy Newby, Perin, Spain
I am quite disgusted to see the way Eastern Europeans are to be treated. For those of us here who do believe in what the EU stands for and what it has achieved this is nothing short of two faced betrayal and racism. But remember the reason why so many are attractive to employ is that they are denied the minimum wage and working directives by unscrupulous employers - why doesn't our government tackle that???????
John E C Rivers, Heathfield UK
Bravo, Mr Mardell, for finally waking up to the fact that whilst the Roma might be the most telegenic minority of Romanians and worthy of coverage, they are by no means representative of the country as a whole, nor should they be reported to the exclusion of the vast majority. Living in Rome, the Romanian (and other!) Roma are obvious. Many are indeed hardworking, decent, people. Many others are certainly not. But on the tram, train and bus, unless you recognise the language, you'd hardly know that the smartly-dressed, polite students (much better presented than visiting American kids!), the professionals, tradesmen and housewives, were Romanians. They are making a real difference to Europe, beneficially so. Come on, Old Europe, follow Mr Mardell's lead and wake up. Romania is indisputably part of Europe and - despite really being on your side in the Cold War - has been excluded unjustifiably for far too long. Open the doors. After a little adjustment, it's win-win all round.
John Levins, Rome, ITALY
You need to learn a little humility, Mark - this blog is at least a little better than the last effort which displayed arrogance, ignorance and appallingly poor research. It's not surprising that the Romanians were upset by your Roma report - if you'd had the sense to discuss it with anyone with more than a passing knowledge of Romania you would never have let it reach the net. Now, you could at least have the humility to admit your error, rather than passing it off as 'understanding their annoyance'. Would you like the only image of Britain to be of bling-obsessed chavs? That's what you've done, in effect.
More research and more humility needed - and better journalism.
Paul Bernal, London, UK
For crying out loud! When will the penny drop with everyone that Britain is ONLY a small island and if it becomes too overcrowded we all lose out - regardless of economics, ethnicity or religion - in terms of quality of life and loss of countryside.
Brenda Fillery, London
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