Bulgarian Migrants Research Articles

Celebration of Traditional Bulgarian Holidays By Bulgarian Migrants Living in Beijing

Celebration of Traditional Bulgarian Holidays By Bulgarian Migrants Living in Beijing

Youth migration and life course transitions: Comparing the impact of women’s mobility across generations in Bulgaria

Migration abroad has become a significant part of the life experiences of a growing number of Bulgarian youths, since the regime change in 1989. In this paper we explore the effect of migration on the life transitions of two generations of young Bulgarians - the ?Transition? generation o f those who had their formative years in the 1990s during the country?s transition from state socialism to a market economy and the ?Accession? generation of those who grew up after the country joined the EU in 2007 in a somewhat better economic situation. Taking into consideration the impact of the social context in the sending country in two different historical periods (before and after 2007) a nd in the receiving countries we focus on the differences of the transition paths of lower and higher skilled female migrants within the two migrant generations. The paper draws on a data base of 42 qualitative interviews with Bulgarian migrants living in EU countries that were conducted in 2017 and an in -depth analysis of the life trajectories of four women belonging to the two migrant generations. Our findings suggest that facing different structural constraints in their countries of departure and reception, young people employ diverse strategies of settling down, achieving success and attaining happiness. In the process they transform their social ties and national identities.

Labour exploitation of Bulgarian migrants in Europe: coping mechanisms

Labour exploitation and its extreme forms, such as forced labour and trafficking of human beings, are not new phenomena. They are also present throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Bulgaria in particular. This article explores the mechanisms used by workers to overcome these challenges on the labour market. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with low-skilled Bulgarian migrants in EU countries. Strong social networks used during the first migration action are considered as a mechanism which mitigates the risks of exploitation.

The Impact of Acquiring Unrestricted Work Authorization on Romanian and Bulgarian Migrants in the United Kingdom

When Romania and Bulgaria (the so-called A2 countries) joined the European Union in 2007, the United Kingdom imposed temporary restrictions on the employment and welfare entitlements of A2 citizens that lasted until January 1, 2014. This article analyzes the impact of the removal of these restrictions on the labor market outcomes and use of welfare benefits of A2 migrants. Applying difference-in-difference analysis to data from the UK’s Labour Force Survey, the results suggest that acquiring unrestricted work authorization had a significant negative impact on the incidence of self-employment among A2 migrants but there are no discernible effects on other labor market outcomes or on their receipt of a range of welfare benefits. The article offers potential explanations for these results.

Enabling Social Identity Interaction: Bulgarian Migrant Entrepreneurs Building Embeddedness into a Transnational Network

AbstractBulgarian migrant entrepreneurs (MEs) approaching diaspora networks (i.e. ethnic spaces in host countries) provides a unique context for exploring the processes by which peripheral actors achieve embeddedness. The study considers how in‐group social norms and expectations influence out‐group candidates’ network standing. The integration of the social identity perspective with embeddedness research allows the identification of the sequence of intergroup actions and the circulation of identity signals between groups. Traditionally, the social identity perspective focuses on the act of constructing identity through positively stereotyping in‐groups and negatively stereotyping out‐groups. Nevertheless, an empirical study of 12 cases of Bulgarian MEs indicates that the circulation of identity signals that facilitate inter‐group comparison can result in complementarity and brokerage. The study suggests the existence of a novel strategy (i.e. social circulation), to add to already known social identity strategies (i.e. social mobility, social creativity and social change). In contrast to previous constructs, the new one does not occur at the expense of either in‐groups’ or out‐groups’ identity. Thus, it adopts an integrative logic, currently missing from the social identity perspective.

TOWARDS INCOMPLETE MIGRATION: ESTONIAN MIGRATION TO FINLAND

Abstract. For a comprehensive understanding of the changing and complex migration patterns in Europe, both quantitative and qualitative analyses are needed. In this paper we complement the studies on migration patterns of East-West migration by qualitatively analysing Estonian migration to Finland. The aim of the paper is to analyse the migration histories of Estonian migrants in Finland with a focus on the meaning and consequences of these patterns on an individual level but also on the effect of geographical proximity on migration patterns. The results bring forth the individual level gains and losses of migration and show that geographical proximity between the home and host country is conducive to more incomplete migration patterns. Our results also suggest that incomplete migration may have a positive effect for the home country as migrants continue to be consumers in their home country and relieve the pressure on its social system. Keywords: migration patterns, East-West migration, incomplete migration, transnational commuters, Estonia, Finland 1. Introduction The central and eastern European (henceforward the CEE) countries have become a hotbed of the new European migration, changing its nature in several aspects. First, there is an increase of temporary migrants (Fihel et al. 2006), the so-called European citizens who do not know in which country they are going to live in, for example, two or three years. This has been facilitated by the opening of the free labour market for the citizens of the new member states of the EU since 2004. Second, the new technologies as well as accessible and cheap international transportation allow migrants to retain strong ties with the country of origin while building their lives in the host country (Horst 2006, Jordan and Duvell 2003). Third, the concurrence of the former and the latter, e.g. the decreasing restrictions on the free movement of people and progress in technology and transportation have helped increase transnational commuting in Europe. It is becoming less unusual that if people spend their workweek in one country and for the weekend they go back to their families in another. The free movement of people, a distinctive feature of the EU, has significantly changed and diversified the migration patterns of the East-West migrants (Krings et al. 2013). There are several studies on migration patterns of the East-West migrants primarily considering migrants' ties with the country of origin and with the host country, and their intentions to return (Duvell and Vogel 2006, Engbersen et al. 2013). However, less attention has been given to understanding what conditions make migrants follow one or another migration pattern and what the personal costs of migration are. Migration patterns and conditions affecting them differ between migrants originating from the different CEE countries. For example, the study of Engbersen et al. (2013) confirms differences in the most preferred migration patterns between Polish, Romanian and Bulgarian migrants in the Netherlands where Poles are more likely to follow temporary migration patterns and Bulgarians and Romanians more permanent migration patterns. Engbersen et al. (2013) suggest that geographical distance between the origin and destination countries might be behind these differences with migrants from countries closer to wealthier destination countries preferring more temporary migration patterns. Due to Estonia's geographical proximity to Finland and Sweden, Estonian migrants may prefer to follow migration patterns specific to the CEE countries that border wealthier countries. The most popular host country for Estonian migrants is Finland which has been a destination for more than a half of all Estonian migrants (Statistics Estonia 2015). The short distance between the two countries--only 80 km or two hours by ferry--allows commuting and regular, tight contacts with the country of origin. …

Concerning the Studies of Material Heritage of Bulgarian Migrants in the Museums of Russia, Moldova and Ukraine

Concerning the Studies of Material Heritage of Bulgarian Migrants in the Museums of Russia, Moldova and Ukraine

‘Between a rock and a hard place’: Bulgarian highly skilled migrants’ experiences of external and internal stereotypes in the context of the European crisis

ABSTRACTThe intensification of intra-European migration has more recently coincided with the negative socio-economic consequences of the European economic crisis. The latter has revitalised dormant national stereotypes, employed into the scapegoating of migrants across Europe. Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic research, this article focuses on young, highly skilled Bulgarian migrants in the UK. Their experiences of internal and external national stereotypes are examined in detail. This article argues that this results in a process of double-sided othering, which has implications upon the identities of young skilled Bulgarians as they employ various strategies to make sense of their migratory choices.

Who do migrant associations represent? The role of ‘ethnic deservingness’ and legal capital in migrants’ rights claims in Turkey

ABSTRACTConsidering that established migrant associations often play an active role in migrants’ rights advocacy, the relationship between them and the growing numbers of irregular migrants needs careful scrutiny. Looking at the encounters between irregular Bulgarian Turkish migrants and associations established by their co-ethnics who hold Turkish citizenship in Turkey, our ethnographic evidence shows that co-ethnic migrant associations mobilise the legal frame of ‘ethnic deservingness’ with the intention of welcoming co-ethnics to the Turkish homeland. In the absence of other formal organisations for rights advocacy, associations’ appeals to this frame emerge as a civic resource for the irregular newcomers in their permanent residency claims. At the same time, the same frame hides unequal power relations within co-ethnic communities, that is, newcomers’ peripheral positions within associations and the economic costs of filing claims via associations. This situation creates a representational gap in the associational context between its active members with higher legal capital and irregular newcomers with lower legal capital. Tackling the problem of representation determined by the legal hierarchy, this study questions whether migrant associations should still be considered important political actors when undocumented/irregular migrants outnumber regulars—especially with regard to the immediate political/legal actions they require.

To have both roots and wings: nested identities in the case of Bulgarian students in the UK

Bulgarian migrants and university students in particular have recently fallen into the spotlight of British media, firmly positioned within fervent immigration debates. Drawing on Brewer’s concept of nested identities, this paper explores how Bulgarian university students in the UK manage four different identifications: national, European, migrant and student. Thus, the process of establishing nested identities is investigated on three different contextual levels: the transnational, regional and the everyday (at university and at the workplace). Paying particular attention to the factors that influence the process, this article also scrutinises its implications for Bulgarian students’ values and perceptions. Utilising semi-structured interviews and participant observation with Bulgarian students, this paper will argue that the four identifications emerge as highly dynamic, context-specific and constantly negotiated relationships. Retrospectively, this article aims to contribute not only to current literature on Bulgarian migration but also to wider debates on transnational youth identities.

Gender Role Negotiation in the Migration Process. Bulgarian Migrants in Castile and Leon (Spain)

The Bulgarian community is one of the biggest migrants community settled in Castile and Leon (Spain). They have reached a high level of integration in the local terrain. Such integration strongly affects the migrants’ way of live, especially concerning to their conception of the roles of gender. The way in which male and female roles are understood by the community have a strong effect in terms of social position and social power. Therefore it is interesting to analyze the gender social construction in Bulgaria and how it has changed within the integration process, thanks to the migrants’ associations considered as the arena of the gender role negotiation.

Citizenship, Migration, and the Nation–State: Exploring UK Policy Responses to Romanian and Bulgarian Migration

Questions of citizenship and nationhood have increasingly gained prominence given the internationalisation of employment, especially with respect to the free movement of workers within the EU. Scholar Rogers Brubaker has suggested that an absence of a strong identity as a nationstate and the lack of an established national citizenship have contributed to “the confused and bitter politics of immigration and citizenship during the last quarter-century” in Britain. This legacy continues to this day. For instance, on the fi rst of January 2014, migration and employment restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians were lift ed, provoking mass public outcry in the UK. In a recent poll, three quarters of respondents expressed concern about the possible infl ux of Romanians and Bulgarian migrants. Playing on populist fears, London mayor Boris Johnson quipped: “We can do nothing to stop the entire population of Transylvania – charming though most of them may be – from trying to pitch camp at Marble Arch”. British ministers have even considered launching a negative publicity campaign in Bulgaria and Romania to dissuade migrants, highlighting the dreary weather and lack of job opportunities in Britain.

Il concetto di capitale sociale puó spiegare l'immigrazione irregolare?

The present article has two goals. First, it aims to evaluate if and to what degree social networks understood in terms of social capital are responsible for the process of initiation and perpetuation of undocumented migration, more especially in the case of the migration of undocumented Polish and Bulgarian migrants to Brussels. Secondly, it addresses the assumptions of the social capital theory developed precisely to explain the persistence of undocumented migratory and to reveal to what degree this so widely and uncritically accepted theory is indeed capable of explaining the perpetuation of contemporary undocumented inter-European migration. Data source for present contribution is an empirical research on undocumented Polish and Bulgarian migrants to in the period January 2004/October 2005. Presented arguments for and against the social capital theory, point at significant limitations to explain the migration under scrutiny. Relevant reasons for the weakness of the social capital theory are explored. The article concludes that the post-1989 undocumented migrations from Poland and Bulgaria to Belgium can be better understood and explained if several interacting factors are taken into consideration. These include the supply and demand factors as formulated by the classical push-pull theories of migration and a number of non-economic factors.

Bulgarian Migrants in Spain: Social Networks, Patterns of Transnationality, Community Dynamics and Cultural Change in Catalonia (Northeastern Spain)

We analyze the Bulgarian migrant social networks in two localities (Roses and Barcelona) of Northeastern Spain (Catalonia), in order to determine the sociodemographic profile of Bulgarian migrants in these localities and assess the different patterns of adaptation (which means selective cultural changes to fit better with dominant practices) and community dynamics developed in each place. The methodology used is the structured interview supported by an open-source program (EgoNet) for collecting personal network data, along with participant observation and in-depth interviews. In addition, Bulgarian migrant associations and entities in Spain have been identified as a part of the global pattern of adaptation of this group. We show that local context matters for the type of adaptation of migrants. Therefore, in small contexts it is possible to form part of a denser and more homogeneous ethnic network, having at the same time a similar proportion of Catalan-Spaniard contacts as in larger towns. Small contexts favor segmented (or dual) adaptation to the host society. This adaptation manifests important and substantial differences between the public sphere (visible to the host society) and the private sphere (family life and close friends).

Last hired and first fired? The impact of the economic downturn on low-paid Bulgarian migrant workers in London

By drawing upon the research carried out with low-paid Bulgarian migrants in London during the peak of the economic downturn, this paper highlights the multi-faceted economic and social impacts of the recession on Bulgarian migrant men and women and identifies the strategies that they devised in order to cope with the downturn. The paper concludes by considering the key policy implications of the economic downturn on migration. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Networked Diaspora: Bulgarian Migrants on Facebook

The Networked Diaspora: Bulgarian Migrants on Facebook

Migrations in the “neighborhood”: Negotiations of identities and representations about “Greece” and “Europe” among Bulgarian migrants in Athens

This paper deals with the new increasing trans-border movements between two neighboring countries that until very recently were separated not only by a national but also by a European border. More specifically it explores the perceptions Bulgarian migrants have of “Greece” and “Europe” during their daily interactions with their Greek employers, civil servants and neighbors. Emphasis is placed upon the reconsideration of the images migrants used to have before their arrival to Greece through the experience of daily life there. Is also examined the impact of these representations on the migrants’ ideas about the EU and the negative attitude that most of them adopt towards the ascension procedure. Last call of attention is for the diverse meanings of “Bulgarian identity” that are activated through the migration process as well as for the new power relations involving both the newcomers and the Greeks.

The determinants of labour market earnings for Bulgarian migrants: Some micro-level evidence from Madrid, Spain

This paper investigates the wage determination process in a migrant labour market using a unique survey conducted among legal and illegal Bulgarian immigrants in the city of Madrid in late 2003 and in the early months of 2004. The role of human capital, the time spent in Spain, language competence, and an individual’s legal status are empirically assessed. In addition, the magnitude of the gender pay disparity within the migrant’s labour market is also computed.