Migration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe - Multiple Choices

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Construction of Borders and Practices of Labour Migration
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Since 1993, a lot of travel agencies and intermediaries
providing visa services for certain countries appeared.
In exchange for a certain amount of money, depending
upon destination, they procure the “visa” and all the necessary
documents for the future migrants. A migrant spends
on average 658 USD for migration (CBS-AXA, 2005:13).
Usually the visa is issued for tourist purposes and
therefore, after its expiry, the migrant's stay in the destination
country becomes illegal. There are cases when
migrants are provided with false visas or passports. Almost
40,000 persons of Moldovan citizenship are apprehended
each year whilst illegally either attempting to cross an
international border or residing inside a European country
(ICMPD, 2004: 6). Illegal (irregular) migrants apprehended
by border police are usually detained in special centres until
a sentence of conviction is issued by the court, usually for
illegal crossing of the state borders or/and forging of
official documents. The ludicrous thing about this situation
is that people pay thousands of Euros to get into “Fortress
Europe” and then they truly do end up in prison.
Mass emigration and its consequences have
become a serious problem and challenge for Moldova. The
preliminary results of the 2004 National Census showed
that 259,554 people left the country. Another recent study,
Migration and Remittances in Moldova, estimated on the
base of remittances that the number of migrants is
567,000. The same study shows that 31.8 percent of
migrants are within the EU (CBS-AXA, 2005). Unofficial
sources indicate a range from 600,000 to 1 million
migrants.
It is argued that criminal organised groups have
taken advantage of poor migration management and developed
extensive networks of trafficking and smuggling.
The trafficking of human beings from Moldova to Balkan
countries started in the beginning of the 1990s, but the
problem only appeared on the political agenda at the end of
the decade after pressure from the international community.
The latest cases show that trafficking from Moldova has
changed its direction towards Russia, United Arabian
Emirates, Israel, Turkey, Cyprus, Poland and to a smaller
extent towards Western European countries.
When discussing Moldovan border issues, dual
Moldovan-Romanian citizenship cannot be ignored.
Moldovans can acquire Romanian passports if they can
prove that their parents have lived on Romanian soil. With
the future accession of Romania to the EU, the acquisition
of Romanian passport has become much more desirable;
at least 500,000 Moldovans currently have dual citizenship
(UNDP, 2005: 127). The consequences of this process are
hard to predict, but if there is mass emigration of
Moldovans, it will not be possible to differentiate between
Romanians on one side of the river Put and on the other.
•• Moldovan-Ukrainian border
The second type of border is the Moldovan-
Ukrainian border, which is less managed than the one
between Moldova and Romania. This is in part due to the
fact that it used to be an internal border during Soviet
times. A border treaty was signed in 1999 but it was as late
as 2001 when it entered into force, proclaiming the border
between Moldova and Ukraine as an international border.
This border regime is more unorganised than the one
between Moldova and Romania. Besides the legally
established BCPs, there are secondary pathways that are
not controlled by competent bodies. Thus, the border
provides only a limited obstacle to people who intend to
cross the border illegally. Taking into consideration that the
Ukrainian borders with Russia and Belarus are also porous,
people and goods from the CIS may cross the eastern
border of Moldova practically without control.
•• “One and a half” borders with Transnistria
The major problems, however, exist on the
Transnistrian sector of the Moldovan-Ukrainian border.
For almost fifteen years this stripe of land, that covers 421
km in length (other sources indicate 470 km ) with eleven
important crossing points along the border have been out
of access for Moldovan border guards and customs. The
lack of government control within this region has made it
the “black hole of Europe” and a safe haven for all kinds of
illegal activities (CESS, 2004). The territory's dubious stage
can be demonstrated using a number of facts: according
to a recent Moldovan publication, one third of firearms
confiscated in Ukraine and 83 percent of the total volume
of narcotic raw material delivered to Ukraine come from
Transnistria (IPP, 2002). In the territory controlled by the
separatists there is a massive contraband of cigarettes,
alcoholic beverages and oil products. Transnistria is also
an important station for the business of trafficking women.
A large number of women from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine
are trafficked via Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, and
Cyprus to Western Europe. The half border between Moldova
and Transnistria is controlled by the so-called Transnistrian
authorities; Moldova did not establish any checkpoints
since this stripe of land is viewed as part of the country.
No visa is required for Moldovans from the right bank of
Nistru when entering Transnistria, but an entry fee of 50 US
cents has to be paid to the Transnistrian border guards.
BORDER ENFORCING PROJECTS AND MEASURES
The pro-European turn of events in Ukraine signalled
by the new leadership represents a possibility for strengthened
cooperation between the two countries, especially on
Transnistrian and border issues. One of the measures to be
undertaken is the creation of joint border crossing points.
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Migration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe: Unpacking the Diversity