The Romanians are Coming? Panorama


The Romanians are Coming?

Similar Content

Browse content similar to The Romanians are Coming?. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Tonight, the Romanians and Bulgarians are coming in the New

:00:07.:00:12.

Year. You have seen the headlines and heard the rhetoric. London is

:00:13.:00:19.

already ex-piercing a Romanian -- experiencing a Romanian crime wave.

:00:20.:00:24.

I want to find the truth behind the headlines. Do you know anybody

:00:25.:00:28.

amongst your friends who would p want to move to the UK next year?

:00:29.:00:31.

No. Some British companies are keen to

:00:32.:00:37.

persuade more Romanians to come. The demand for them all over Europe is

:00:38.:00:41.

huge. But we also find a village emptied

:00:42.:00:49.

of low-skilled workers. Where have they gone? We have exclusive access

:00:50.:00:54.

with British police on a mission from North London to trans

:00:55.:01:00.

Transylvania. Some people have stigmatised various communities and

:01:01.:01:03.

said they are coming to the UK, bent on criminality. Back home, a British

:01:04.:01:08.

town which fears it faces more pressure on its schools and

:01:09.:01:13.

hospitals. Is it particularly Romanians can worry you? Honestly

:01:14.:01:17.

speaking, yes. The police tells Panorama it is making landmark

:01:18.:01:21.

changes. We will stop them coming back if they are coming back to

:01:22.:01:26.

rough sleep. Images like this have angered the nation. With days to go

:01:27.:01:30.

until they get full working rights in the UK, should we really be

:01:31.:01:33.

worried? Woods in North London. We are with

:01:34.:01:55.

the police looking for a camp of homeless Romanians. Officers from a

:01:56.:01:59.

special Romanian unit are also with us, working alongside the Met.

:02:00.:02:05.

Overnight, the weather has been bad and the police think this camp has

:02:06.:02:10.

been abandoned. You can see they have tried to make

:02:11.:02:14.

it home. They have got bags in here, hanging up. They have got mirrors,

:02:15.:02:22.

old mattresses. Really, there's an overwhelming smell of urine and

:02:23.:02:31.

faeces. Good morning everybody. Thanks for

:02:32.:02:35.

getting up... Earlier we had a briefing. The Romanian police

:02:36.:02:40.

arrived in the autumn as part of an intelligence-sharing process with

:02:41.:02:45.

their British counterparts. Since 2012, we've had large groups

:02:46.:02:50.

of Romanians have been sleeping rough, engaging in work on the black

:02:51.:02:55.

market and some antisocial behaviour. The camp is quiet. But

:02:56.:03:02.

then, we find two Romanians - a young couple in a freezing tent. Can

:03:03.:03:08.

I ask you - how long have you been here? Two weeks.

:03:09.:03:13.

The camp has been reported to the police by the landowner. If they

:03:14.:03:18.

don't raid it, they think it will fill up again fast. More rough

:03:19.:03:20.

sleepers, more antisocial behaviour. It is not really fair on the

:03:21.:03:31.

Romanians to be living like this. We will take them to a homeless

:03:32.:03:35.

organisation to see if they can get cleaned up - a bit of food and see

:03:36.:03:39.

if we can offer them some help. These two already have the right to

:03:40.:03:44.

be in the UK. Romania and Bulgaria joined Europe

:03:45.:03:48.

seven years ago. Until now, to work here you needed to have specialist

:03:49.:03:54.

skills like doctors and nurses, or be self-employed, or be a seasonal

:03:55.:03:58.

agricultural worker. But from January 1st, everyone will be

:03:59.:04:05.

allowed to join the jobs market. Do you really think that living in

:04:06.:04:09.

these condition conditions, that you are in at the moment, that is

:04:10.:04:12.

preferable to being in Romania? Average salaries in Romania are

:04:13.:04:28.

about three times lower than in the UK. In Bulgaria around four times

:04:29.:04:33.

lower. What kind of work did you think you

:04:34.:04:35.

might find? Do you have friends who have come

:04:36.:04:41.

here and got work? The police won't take it any

:04:42.:04:45.

further. They tell the couple how to get into the system legally next

:04:46.:04:48.

year and give them a deadline to leave the woods.

:04:49.:04:58.

There's another side to Romanians here in the UK. This is a reception

:04:59.:05:03.

in the embassy in London. It is full of lawyers, architects and students.

:05:04.:05:15.

I am they are here to find a real job, pay tax to the Government. The

:05:16.:05:20.

number of Romanian students at UK universities have increased by 30%

:05:21.:05:24.

since 2010. Many of them sense they are treated with suspicion.

:05:25.:05:29.

What do you think is the perception of Romanians in the UK? It is not a

:05:30.:05:36.

great one, to be honest. Through our individuality and our views we can

:05:37.:05:40.

tell them and show them the greatness of our country. The first

:05:41.:05:45.

thing I say when I meet a new person I say, this is my background, where

:05:46.:05:51.

I come from. I say I am Romanian. I know people because of the negative

:05:52.:05:55.

approach to Romanians lately, they don't want to say that.

:05:56.:06:00.

The negative attitudes have been fuelled by images such as these.

:06:01.:06:05.

Romanian Roma around Marble Arch this summer. Police moved them on

:06:06.:06:09.

many times. Some have even been flown home but returned.

:06:10.:06:15.

Then there was this - a camp at Hendon football club. It was evicted

:06:16.:06:23.

by police in the summer. As a result crime in the area dropped.

:06:24.:06:29.

Still, of all the arrests for begging in London last year,

:06:30.:06:34.

Romanians accounted for 49%. For pickpocketing it was 34%. Figures

:06:35.:06:38.

like that have helped shape our opinions.

:06:39.:06:43.

A recent poll suggested 82% of people thought restrictions on the

:06:44.:06:48.

numbers of Romanians and Bulgarians allowed to set until the UK should

:06:49.:06:53.

continue next year. It has all helped boost the popularity of the

:06:54.:07:01.

UK Independence Party. Let's be franing here, crime will come if

:07:02.:07:04.

these people -- frank here, crime will come if these people come here.

:07:05.:07:08.

It is something British society doesn't need. Is that something

:07:09.:07:16.

specific to Romanians? There is a definite link between Romania and

:07:17.:07:20.

crime - that is born out of these statistics.

:07:21.:07:23.

I don't like to draw the distinction of anything such as Romanian crime.

:07:24.:07:27.

Crime is crime and we will enforce against all of it. What drives crime

:07:28.:07:33.

not just poverty - it is dispartiy. Romania is clearly a poor country in

:07:34.:07:37.

comparison to the United Kingdom. And the temptations temptations

:07:38.:07:41.

available to all migrants from poorer backgrounds, from anywhere in

:07:42.:07:44.

the world, are greater when they come to what is perceived to be a

:07:45.:07:45.

richer country. Transy vain ya in northern row --

:07:46.:08:01.

Transylvania, in northern Romania. It is where I first met my wife, now

:08:02.:08:06.

a barrister in the UK. I have been coming here for two decades.

:08:07.:08:12.

There are some prosperous towns up here, but there is also poverty and

:08:13.:08:17.

no group is poorer than the Roma. They are a different ethnicity from

:08:18.:08:23.

Romanians, they came from India 700 years ago and settled across many

:08:24.:08:29.

Eastern Europe countries. I am joining British police, here in an

:08:30.:08:33.

information-sharing process. This is the village of Apata. It might look

:08:34.:08:39.

like any other traditional, tranquil community in the Carpa mountains. It

:08:40.:08:44.

is not. Apata has a secret and the British police have come all this

:08:45.:08:50.

way to try and unlock it. Chief Superintendent Adrian Usher's

:08:51.:08:54.

patch in London has a high number of Romanians, many of them Roma. It is

:08:55.:08:59.

the Roma many Romanians blame for their poor image abroad. Remember

:09:00.:09:05.

the Hendon Stadium, out of the 68 evicted, 65 came from Apata.

:09:06.:09:11.

Is this your home? He wants to find out why. How many people live here?

:09:12.:09:24.

Seven. Is there any water or... No. What do you use for the toilet and

:09:25.:09:27.

washing? Toilet in the field.

:09:28.:09:38.

The Roma have been persecuted through the centuries.

:09:39.:09:44.

This mission is a delicate one. Once he's discovered why so many from

:09:45.:09:48.

here came to the UK, he'll advise them they shouldn't return unless

:09:49.:09:52.

they can support themselves. What I am saying is we know that if you

:09:53.:09:57.

come to the UK without a main job to come to, then you are at increased

:09:58.:10:02.

risk of being exploited or being the victim or perpetrator of crime. You

:10:03.:10:05.

are stepping into a controversial arena here. The issue of immigration

:10:06.:10:11.

and what will happen to Romania in particular in the New Year. I am not

:10:12.:10:15.

here to comment on political issues. We are here to protect the residents

:10:16.:10:21.

of London, that includes those who come to London looking for work.

:10:22.:10:24.

Next is the home of a man who used to live in the Hendon Stadium camp.

:10:25.:10:30.

He knows the secret of why so many from Apata headed to the same place.

:10:31.:10:38.

Who was the first person to leave here? Was it you? No. My cousin.

:10:39.:10:46.

Your cousin was the first. And he went and then he phoned you.

:10:47.:10:49.

Do you know how many people from here went to London? Do you know?

:10:50.:11:01.

Maybe 400. People like Alexandru travelled to

:11:02.:11:04.

the UK for work on the strength of one phone call. They are preprared

:11:05.:11:09.

to endure a grim camp in London so they can provide enough money for a

:11:10.:11:14.

family home like this. Thank you for letting me see your

:11:15.:11:17.

home. He plans to live in the Chief

:11:18.:11:29.

Superintendent's own patch back in London.

:11:30.:11:32.

If you want to get an idea of the depth of the connection between here

:11:33.:11:37.

and the UK, one little girl ran over and said, "Very good in

:11:38.:11:41.

Cricklewood." Cricklewood - you know Cricklewood?

:11:42.:11:43.

Very good! And it is Cricklewood where hundreds

:11:44.:11:54.

of Romanians, many of them Roma, are part of a growing underclass. This

:11:55.:11:59.

is what residents wake up to each morning - gangs of Romanians waiting

:12:00.:12:05.

for work on the black market. Among them is Alex, who looks for

:12:06.:12:10.

cash-in-hand labouring jobs. He speaks no English and has no

:12:11.:12:14.

qualifications. Even so, he plans to try and enter the formal job market

:12:15.:12:18.

in January. Back home, he has a partner and

:12:19.:12:23.

three children, deciding whether to come too.

:12:24.:12:28.

TRANSLATION: I am a Gypsy and proud of it. It is not an inUS I do not

:12:29.:12:35.

steal and don't commit crimes. I would bring my family here. I don't

:12:36.:12:39.

think it would be too difficult to look after them. I would rent two

:12:40.:12:45.

rooms and a kitchen if everything was convenient.

:12:46.:12:53.

So, how many others have come. Since 2007? Official figures say there are

:12:54.:12:59.

currently just over 100,000 Romanians and 57,000 Bulgarians.

:13:00.:13:04.

Those are just estimates. The truth is, we simply don't know.

:13:05.:13:09.

We don't count them in and don't count them out? No, we don't. When I

:13:10.:13:14.

spoke to you last year we raised the same point, you said it will change

:13:15.:13:19.

soon. Yes, we are putting in place exit controls. How many Bulgarians

:13:20.:13:24.

and Romanians does the Government think will come here next year? If

:13:25.:13:27.

you look at the organises who have made estimates, they vary. Some have

:13:28.:13:34.

made them at the low end. The range demonstrates it is not a sensible

:13:35.:13:38.

thing to do. Politicians have got their

:13:39.:13:42.

guesstimates badly wrong before. In 2004, ten new countries joined

:13:43.:13:47.

Europe. The Poles with their close ties to the UK were expected to

:13:48.:13:52.

come. But the Labour Government underestimated the number by at

:13:53.:13:57.

least five times. That has given UKIP a stick with which to beat the

:13:58.:14:02.

other parties this time around. The number of people who have come has

:14:03.:14:08.

been underestimated. MigrationwatchUK say it will be

:14:09.:14:11.

50,000 a year, that is what they estimate over the next five years.

:14:12.:14:15.

What we know or expect is that large numbers of people will come. His

:14:16.:14:20.

figures are from a think-tank concerned about uncontrolled

:14:21.:14:25.

immigration. In 204 it was about -- 2004, it was about countries joining

:14:26.:14:30.

the EU. This time Romania and Bulgaria are in.

:14:31.:14:36.

The newspapers are saying the gates are opening - there'll be a flood of

:14:37.:14:41.

Romanians - is that something you recognise? Absolutely not. Because

:14:42.:14:47.

Romania joined the European Union seven years ago. Those who wanted to

:14:48.:14:51.

go and work and live abroad, they already did so. And a very tiny

:14:52.:14:56.

minority of Romanians have chosen Britain as their work destination.

:14:57.:15:02.

Back in Romania, there's another side to the country - the middle

:15:03.:15:05.

classes, with very different attitudes towards the UK.

:15:06.:15:11.

Whilst we are filming, my brother-in-law is offered a job in

:15:12.:15:15.

the UK. He and a group of friends were

:15:16.:15:21.

enjoying a drink in their favourite bar in Bucharest. The job is for a

:15:22.:15:26.

US computer giant based in London. I am intrigued to find out if he'll

:15:27.:15:29.

take it. Most people would think you would

:15:30.:15:34.

leap at the chance and say, great, a UK-based job? Not really. There

:15:35.:15:40.

should be a lot of money to motivate me to make such a big change. You

:15:41.:15:44.

only said I'll come for pots of money - did you? Not quite. That was

:15:45.:15:48.

the message. And what about the others? You have been to the UK,

:15:49.:15:54.

haven't you? I lived in the UK for two years. I used to work for a

:15:55.:16:00.

British company. Why did you leave? I thought two years was enough for

:16:01.:16:04.

me to get the British experience and then move on.

:16:05.:16:09.

Have you been to the UK? No. Do you want to go? Yes, on vacation. As

:16:10.:16:15.

they point out, it's not just the UK lifting its work restrictions next

:16:16.:16:19.

year. There are eight other European countries doing the same.

:16:20.:16:25.

I don't really understand why they feel they are the only privileged

:16:26.:16:30.

people who will receive the flood of Romanians.

:16:31.:16:37.

But we did find some people interested in exploring the UK jobs

:16:38.:16:39.

market. At this career careers fare for

:16:40.:16:50.

medical professional, British recruiters are having to work hard

:16:51.:16:55.

to attract the cream. The Romanians are in huge demand in Germany. The

:16:56.:17:00.

Danish are here and they will recruit as many as they can. The

:17:01.:17:04.

Scandinavians are here. The demand for them all over Europe is huge.

:17:05.:17:14.

When Romanians migrate most look south, towards the Mediterranean and

:17:15.:17:18.

Italy, where the language is closer to theirs. There are over one

:17:19.:17:23.

million Romanians already there. Spain is second, with 800,000, even

:17:24.:17:28.

though it has similar work restrictions to the UK. Britain is

:17:29.:17:32.

way behind, with an estimate of just over 100,000. Some countries believe

:17:33.:17:36.

migrants bring economic advantages and they offer incentives to come.

:17:37.:17:41.

You have companies here that give courses to do German and any doctor

:17:42.:17:47.

or nurse with a reasonable level of German will get a job in Germany

:17:48.:17:51.

very easily. Probably easier than working in the UK.

:17:52.:17:57.

Even so, we find Aura Popa - a graduate pharmacist.

:17:58.:18:04.

She's just been offered a job in Dudley, near Birmingham. She fell in

:18:05.:18:08.

love with the UK after being a student there. For all migrants,

:18:09.:18:13.

mastering English opens up the international jobs market. The

:18:14.:18:17.

decision for Aura is not a simple one.

:18:18.:18:22.

At home, she's got six-year-old Luca and ten-month-old Emma. They will

:18:23.:18:25.

not be able to come with her until she knows the job is permanent.

:18:26.:18:30.

After much thought, she decides to take it.

:18:31.:18:38.

I hope my children will love England as much as I do. I really like the

:18:39.:18:44.

country and that is where I want to live for a long period of time.

:18:45.:18:49.

Her husband, Ciprian, will stay with the children in Romania for the

:18:50.:18:55.

moment. It will be a difficult period for

:18:56.:19:00.

me, staying without them, but I hope a short period of time, as soon as I

:19:01.:19:05.

get more confidence over there, I can bring them. So, I will work very

:19:06.:19:10.

hard to bring them quickly. This is the family's last evening

:19:11.:19:14.

together. She leaves tomorrow and they are not sure when they will be

:19:15.:19:20.

reunited. Graduates like Aura are not the ones

:19:21.:19:25.

worrying most people though. It's the unskilled, and the uncounted who

:19:26.:19:31.

currently live beneath the radar like the man in Cricklewood and

:19:32.:19:36.

Alex. Despite his good intentions about securing a proper job in the

:19:37.:19:40.

New Year, you can see how he might become a burden to the UK taxpayer.

:19:41.:19:44.

There are signs of just how vulnerable it can be.

:19:45.:19:48.

TRANSLATION: I worked for three days on someone's property. They drove me

:19:49.:19:54.

far away and I didn't even know where I was or how to come back. I

:19:55.:19:58.

waited for two or three days and I tried to call, but when no-one

:19:59.:20:03.

answered, I had no money left and didn't have anyone to borrow money

:20:04.:20:05.

from. He never got paid. What about next

:20:06.:20:15.

year? Could he really earn enough to support his family if his wife

:20:16.:20:17.

decides to come to London as well? We agreed to deliver a video message

:20:18.:20:23.

when we meet up with her. Alex comes from a small, mainly Roma

:20:24.:20:41.

village, Augustin, just up the road from the last one we visited. It is

:20:42.:20:46.

another place where many of the men have already left to find work all

:20:47.:20:51.

over Europe. His partner, Magda, lives in this half-built house with

:20:52.:20:57.

their three small children. Hello. How are you? What will you do next

:20:58.:21:03.

year? Do you plan to join him in Britain?

:21:04.:21:07.

TRANSLATION: For a short period of time. Four or five years maybe.

:21:08.:21:16.

Le, I can't permanently live in a foreign country.

:21:17.:21:20.

Are there any incentives which would encourage her to come? Do you know

:21:21.:21:29.

anything about claiming benefits in the UK? Have you heard anything

:21:30.:21:34.

about that? No. Has your husband mentioned it at all? No. No. Would

:21:35.:21:38.

you go to England just to get benefits? No.

:21:39.:21:45.

TRANSLATION: What would be the point of leaving Romania, just for social

:21:46.:21:48.

benefits. No.

:21:49.:21:53.

Others we spoke to said the same. We went inside to see the video Alex

:21:54.:21:56.

had sent to his family. Le If they do come, this is the kind

:21:57.:22:28.

of place they might choose to settle - migrants have been arriving in

:22:29.:22:33.

Slough for generations. 58% of people here are non-British

:22:34.:22:40.

nationals. Some are sick of it. This is a town where there's already been

:22:41.:22:45.

tension between some of the local population and East European

:22:46.:22:49.

migrants. Right now, they are worried about Romanians.

:22:50.:22:55.

The major problem for us is the resources like schooling, housing,

:22:56.:23:01.

NHS. That's not just related to Romanian, that is an increasing

:23:02.:23:04.

population. It is a challenge for the council and the police. The

:23:05.:23:07.

police and council are working together to sort of resolve the

:23:08.:23:10.

issue. Those kind of worries are reflected

:23:11.:23:15.

across the country. A recent poll suggested that 85% of people thought

:23:16.:23:20.

immigration is placing too much pressure on public services. At the

:23:21.:23:26.

YMCA, community leaders are discussing the ro man Romanian

:23:27.:23:30.

new-comers, mostly Roma. I still have to say about the gathering

:23:31.:23:36.

around the side of my flats, but not long ago there was 50 there and they

:23:37.:23:41.

made such a noise with their talking so loud, they were out there until

:23:42.:23:46.

about 2am. You go the next day and the place is covered with litter.

:23:47.:23:53.

But the YMCA has developed cohesion programmes for the local community,

:23:54.:23:57.

including the Roma - educating the children and trying to win hearts

:23:58.:24:01.

and minds. One of the things I get annoyed

:24:02.:24:07.

about is the negative press about them. As a community they have been

:24:08.:24:10.

accepted now. The young children believe they are part of this

:24:11.:24:15.

community. But there are Sloughs up and down

:24:16.:24:20.

the land and particularly in lean economic times some are worried the

:24:21.:24:23.

new migrants are a step too far, even those who are second generation

:24:24.:24:29.

migrants themselves. It is not just the ro Romanian, the

:24:30.:24:36.

Bulgarians are coming too. Is it particularly Romanians that worry

:24:37.:24:39.

you? Honestly speaking, yes. They do worry me more than others. Why? I

:24:40.:24:46.

don't know, it is just something that I... You cannot pinpoint

:24:47.:24:51.

exactly what it is, but they like to keep themselves separate away from

:24:52.:24:55.

you. They don't want to build that bond. Maybe Pakistanis were like

:24:56.:25:00.

that when they first came? They were actually like that, but look at me

:25:01.:25:04.

today! There were many others in Slough with similar views.

:25:05.:25:09.

Now, the Government is so worried about potential benefit abuse by EU

:25:10.:25:15.

migrants that landmark changes are being implemented. From next year,

:25:16.:25:20.

any new EU migrant will only be able to claim benefits for six months.

:25:21.:25:24.

After that they have to prove they have a realistic chance of finding a

:25:25.:25:28.

job or the money will stop. And English language skills will be

:25:29.:25:32.

assessed to make sure they are employable.

:25:33.:25:36.

The timing of this suggests that it was against Romanians and Bulgarians

:25:37.:25:40.

in particular? No, it is not just about those two countries T changes

:25:41.:25:44.

are about making sure anybody coming here, from anywhere in the European

:25:45.:25:48.

Union, they are coming here to contribute and not to claim from our

:25:49.:25:54.

benefit system. I have met with ambassadors from those countries,

:25:55.:25:57.

any of the rules apply to all European Union nationals.

:25:58.:26:05.

More than 707% of those Romanians who decided to come to Britain are

:26:06.:26:10.

of an age of 18-35. They are young, they are in good health. They do not

:26:11.:26:14.

ask for social benefits. They do not ask for health care. Those who came

:26:15.:26:17.

to Britain, they came to work, not for benefits.

:26:18.:26:24.

Other landmark measures include the clearance of camps like these. From

:26:25.:26:29.

January European nationals found rough sleeping, reg begging or in

:26:30.:26:35.

antisocial behaviour will be sent home and barred from re-entry for 12

:26:36.:26:39.

months, unless they can prove they have a valid reason to be in the UK.

:26:40.:26:45.

There is a talk of capping the number of migrants. Some are worried

:26:46.:26:49.

this is an attack of freedom of movement within the EU. Others, like

:26:50.:26:58.

UKIP, say the best solution is to leave European Union already. It

:26:59.:27:03.

underpins the fill lossty of -- philosophy of Europe. You are

:27:04.:27:06.

chipping away at that The point we have made is we're perfectly happy

:27:07.:27:10.

with the principal, but we have to make sure it is not abused. It is

:27:11.:27:15.

recalibrated. We are in the European Union. The Prime Minister said we

:27:16.:27:18.

need to make some changes to the relationship. That is something that

:27:19.:27:22.

if we win the next election, a Conservative Government will

:27:23.:27:24.

renegotiate and put back to the British people. The Prime Minister

:27:25.:27:27.

has made it clear, he wants to stay in the European Union, but with a

:27:28.:27:32.

change relationship. Since we filmed, Alex has returned

:27:33.:27:38.

to Romania. One of his children has a serious lung infection and is

:27:39.:27:44.

hospitalised N the New Year he hopes to come back and work legally. He is

:27:45.:27:52.

not sure his wife will join him. Aura has settled down so quickly at

:27:53.:27:57.

her pharmacy in Dudley, they have already promoted her. It means she

:27:58.:28:01.

can bring her family to join her for Christmas. I wanted this for a long

:28:02.:28:05.

time and it is finally happening. It is like a dream come true. I really

:28:06.:28:11.

don't imimagine them being here. I don't imagine my husband, my son, my

:28:12.:28:15.

daughter, you know, to start speaking in English and not Romanian

:28:16.:28:20.

- it is strange. It is like a dream come true.

:28:21.:28:22.

How many will come here in the New Year is impossible to say. The

:28:23.:28:27.

politicians might be talking as if they can control all of this, but in

:28:28.:28:31.

reality their hands are tied. This isn't just a debate about Romania

:28:32.:28:36.

and Bulgaria, but about the future of our relationship with Europe and

:28:37.:28:38.

how we might be able to change it. Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with your

:28:39.:29:11.

90 second

:29:12.:29:12.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS