Guest worker culture could replace population
Published: 19 October, 2009, 10:28
Edited: 10 January, 2010, 06:11
Russian Federation, Moscow : Migrant workers carry a replica of Russian painter Ilya Repin's "Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire" in downtown Moscow on June 11, 2009. (AFP Photo / Yuri Kadobnov)
(11.9Mb) embed videoTAGS: Russia, Human rights, Economy
Russia has one of the biggest immigrant populations of any country in the world and they are vital for the country's economic well-being. Despite this, many native Russians remain opposed to the idea of foreign workers.
With jobs scarce in post-Soviet states, many men see Russia as their only chance to make a living. Some migrants from Kyrgyzstan travel 3,000 kilometers from home – an opportunity they have fought for, and they cannot afford to be picky.
“I think I could have found a similar job in Kyrgyzstan but salaries in Kyrgyzstan are much lower,” says Kyrgyz migrant Nurlan Suygurov, who has two university degrees, and now is working the conveyor belt at a confectionary plant outside Moscow. For him it was an offer too sweet to resist.
With 12 million foreigners currently residing in Russia, the country now ranks as the world's second largest migrant destination after the United States. And while most so-called “aliens” take unskilled and low-paid jobs, they do not always receive a warm welcome from the natives.
Labor shortages, an ageing population, and slower economic growth – by all accounts, Russia needs migrants just as much as they need Russia. Yet this argument has so far failed to win over the locals. According to a recent poll, about 60% of Russians are strongly in favor of limiting the influx of migrants.
Even those Russian citizens who are not against the migrants, they would wish migrants had more respect for the local population. Sometimes they pity them, in other situations they make them angry. Indeed, some believe migrants steal everything they can.
While the opposition to guest workers appears to be on the rise, many observers insist foreigners are Russia's best bet in trying to sustain its population levels and even perform some of its social functions.
Director of Demography Center Anatoly Vishnevsky points out that “Russia has a shrinking population that’s also growing older. Even if birth rates go up, as the government hopes, [Russia] will have to wait 20 years until these babies become part of the workforce. But migrants are already here, ready to work.”
Even though many Russians tacitly accept migrant labor, analysts say it shouldn’t be taken for granted. Unlike in the United States, where many come with an intention of staying in the land of opportunity, those seeking work in Russia often have a return ticket, like Nurlan Suygurov. His goal is to save enough money to buy a house in Kyrgyzstan.
“It's good to be a guest, but there is no place like home,” Nurlan says.
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2 comments
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But that is the point, they or their offspring should never aquire nationality. Russia should be an Oasis for them to visit, with controls placed on the guest worker skills, so that they match our needs. This then provides a win win situation economically. Cultures have an overarching property, which meens integration can either take generations, or never really occur at all, as cultural groups develop in the host nation. Causing un-integrated pockets that then are the breeding ground for tension with the host. That is why the rules need to be set upfront, you come you can work, you can make some cash and you can send it home, or remain a guest. But what you will never become is a citizen based on guest work. The only route to citizenship, should be a tightly controlled route, where you accept the host culture totally. Such new citizens need to be in such small numbers that they cannot have any cultural affect. At present we have a problem with traders in phoney marriages to Russians. This needs control, not letting happen.
Unless a country is willing to integrate guest workers into their society they should steer away from it. Guest workers have children in the guest country and the children automatilly become citizens of the guest country. Eventially, guest workers increase in number to a point where it is not politically correct to ever send them home. They gain political power, as in the U. S. A., and eventially force their way into full citizenship. If guest workers are wanted, why not screen them and offer them immigrant status? A Guest country should not accept the labor but not desire the worker as a potential citizen..If they are good enough to do the hard work why would they not be good enough to be a full legal immigrant/citizen? Don;t keep these workers in limbo. Accept them or send them home and do your own work.
Russia, like all of European countries, except for UK and Sweden, has to fight the mass invasion of peoples from other countries if their unique cultural and ethnic identities are to survive. UK and Sweden have already made a decision to cease being the historic European societies they once so proudly were. The 21st century will witness a massive assault on Russia and other European countries by these "guest workers" and "asylum seekers". It is a new kind of war that has been launched on Europe, and Europe must fight the invasion as their ancestors fought foreign invaders. These wandering people must never be permitted to change the identity of Russia, or any European country. United States of American is an example of what will happen when a society is too cowardly to defend itself. White America made a decision not to resist the mass invasion of Latinos storming across their southern border, and the demographic projections show that whites will be a minority in their own land in four decades. In 1965 whites were 90% of the American population. Today, they are barely 65%. Russia should learn from the experiences of America, Sweden and UK.