Noi culturi, noi antropologii - Humanitas

and refugees arrived after year 2004 (which I call the second
wave). The first wave is characterized by the lack of a
coherent legislation regarding asylum seekers and refugees
and the lack of a policy/program regarding their integration.
This wave is also characterized by a further migration from
Romania to the Western European countries. The second
wave is characterized by the restructure of the asylum and
refugee legislation which began in year 2004. These changes
have brought along the beginning of a new system in
managing asylum seekers and refugees in Romania, mainly
by the adoption of the first integration program for the persons
who have received a form of protection in Romania
(Emergency Ordinance 44 from 2004). These two distinctive
waves characterized by different legislation in the refugee
field have brooded different patterns of integration among
the settled refugees in Romania.
The following analysis will comparatively examine the
legislation characterizing the integration of the two distinctive
waves of refugees who arrived in Romania after 1990.
This comparison is essential in explaining the differences
in the integration of the two waves of refugees. Moreover,
the comparison also draws some assumption regarding the
massive refugee departure from Romania.
The first wave: Romania, country of destination
and transit for refugees
The story of the first wave of refugees in Romania is grounded
on two sources of information: primary data and secondary
data. The primary data are the interviews taken to the
representatives who have come in contact with the first generation
of refugees and the refugees’ stories themselves.
The representatives are the leaders of the ethnic and refugee
communities in Romania who have worked with their
cases, but also other persons from the ethnic or refugee
community. Other primary sources that provided valuable
information regarding the legal situation of the refugees in
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