MIGRATION-BOLIVIA:
European Dream Becomes a
Nightmare
By Franz Chávez
LA PAZ (IPS) - His
deportation order from
Spain in his pocket,
Juan Mercado walks the
streets of Madrid for
the last time as he
waits to board a plane
to return to the western
Bolivian city of Oruro,
with little in the way
of savings, but "with
dignity," he says
clearly and firmly.
Although his case is not
yet covered by the
European "Return
Directive" against
undocumented migrants
that will enter into
force from 2010, Mercado
was caught by the police
without the necessary
documents for staying in
Spain, and waived the
possibility of obtaining
a permanent work permit,
he told IPS by e-mail.
The Bolivian embassy in
Madrid estimates that
some 350,000 Bolivians
live in Spain. But only
70,000 have
authorisation to work
and enjoy social and
labour benefits.
Mercado waived the
procedure to annul the
deportation order
because he no longer
finds many job
opportunities in an
economy that is in
crisis. He decided
instead to go back home
to support his wife in
looking after their
children, who have
become unruly since
their father left.
"It’s not worth spending
my small savings waiting
for the economic
situation to improve. I
plan to go back home to
live as a poor person,
but with more dignity,"
he said.
The media in Spain
report that 1,700
Bolivian immigrants a
month are detained in
Spain, equivalent to
20,000 a year, but only
900 a year are deported.
The Bolivian community
is one of the most
vulnerable groups in
Europe, not only because
of the lack of documents
but also because of
their difficulty in
adapting to the European
lifestyle, Bolivian
journalist Edwin Pérez,
editor of the magazine
Raíz, told IPS.
They tend to rebuild
whole families, towns
and neighbourhoods in
the new country, and
this has limited their
capacity to interact
with other groups or to
attend European cultural
and social centres,
Pérez says.
"If you add to that the
growing fear of police
detention, we find they
are increasingly
isolated in a continent
where movement within
and outside of cities
should be easier," he
commented.
In 2007, cash
remittances sent by
Bolivian workers abroad
amounted to 869 million
dollars, 341 million
dollars more than in the
previous year, according
to a Central Bank
report.
This figure represents
approximately 12 percent
of Bolivia’s gross
domestic product (GDP).
The largest share comes
from people living in
Spain, with 35.4 percent
of the total, followed
by Bolivians in the
United States, with 23.6
percent, and Argentina,
with 18.6 percent.
Bolivian President Evo
Morales spoke
emphatically against the
restrictive directive on
the return of
undocumented migrants
approved by the European
Parliament, and
complained that the
measure violates human
rights. In retaliation,
the president required
visas for Europeans
wishing to enter
Bolivia.
Bolivians who go to
Europe generally have
one of two plans in
mind: the first is to
settle there and bring
over the rest of their
family, and the second
is to return to Bolivia
after accumulating some
savings, and start their
own business, Pérez
said.
For the time being, good
behaviour and respect
for local laws is the
best recommendation
possessed by Teresa
Suárez, who was born in
the eastern Bolivian
province of Santa Cruz,
and now lives in Madrid
with her husband and
children.
Suárez blames Spain’s
economic crisis for the
reduction of her work
week. "Previously, I was
hired to do cleaning
work three times a week,
but now it’s only twice
a week. I have to
readjust the family
budget," she told IPS.
Esteban Castro, from the
central Bolivian city of
Cochabamba, migrated to
Spain as a construction
worker, but recently
lost his job, and is
unlikely to find another
one because he has no
residence papers, he
told IPS.
"Fortunately I have
computer skills and can
do work for fellow
Bolivians and other
Latin Americans. I used
to earn 1,300 euros a
month, but now I barely
make 800," he said,
regretting the failure
of his plan to bring his
family to Madrid.
Sandra Torrez is a
commercial engineer who
lived in the United
States for two years,
but decided to go to
Spain, where she faced
"a climate of
discrimination and
disinformation for those
who arrive with the
dream of a good life and
earning good money," she
told IPS.
"In a church, the
employment coordinator
said that newly arrived
Bolivians should not be
paid much because they
don’t understand the
value of money, they
have no experience and
they don’t know how to
cook…" Torrez recalled.
She has witnessed plain
clothes police enter
restaurants and
telephone companies
where they detain
undocumented Bolivians
and serve them
deportation orders. |
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