<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The Baia Mare region was once one of Romania's main mining centres, with a significant proportion of the local population engaged in industry jobs. However, the extensive economic restructuring that followed the collapse of the old communist regime and the emergence of capitalist development was characterized by brutal privatization measures and great economic instability. While the transition years brought new opportunities for some, for most they meant unstable housing and employment, debt, and a declining social status. Thus, many workers quickly became ‘surplus populations’ (Li 2017) and were forced into patterns of circular migration abroad. Employing a qualitative research methodology, analysing both interviews and secondary data, this paper will focus on the adaptive responses of workers from Baia Mare to the changes in the socio-economic landscape after the collapse of the communist regime and the advance of neoliberal policies in Romania. In particular, the paper looks at Roma and non-Roma migrants from Baia Mare, attempting to compare their strategies and work histories in the context of migration, to see the extent to which class and race differences play a role in creating specific migration patterns in the post-socialist context. The comparison between racialized people living in improvised shelters on the periphery of Baia Mare and those who are working class but not living in a situation of destitution will show us the role that dispossession plays in creating certain conditions that lead to debt dependency and specific migration patterns.</p>
</abstract>

The Baia Mare region was once one of Romania's main mining centres, with a significant proportion of the local population engaged in industry jobs. However, the extensive economic restructuring that followed the collapse of the old communist regime and the emergence of capitalist development was characterized by brutal privatization measures and great economic instability. While the transition years brought new opportunities for some, for most they meant unstable housing and employment, debt, and a declining social status. Thus, many workers quickly became ‘surplus populations’ (Li 2017) and were forced into patterns of circular migration abroad. Employing a qualitative research methodology, analysing both interviews and secondary data, this paper will focus on the adaptive responses of workers from Baia Mare to the changes in the socio-economic landscape after the collapse of the communist regime and the advance of neoliberal policies in Romania. In particular, the paper looks at Roma and non-Roma migrants from Baia Mare, attempting to compare their strategies and work histories in the context of migration, to see the extent to which class and race differences play a role in creating specific migration patterns in the post-socialist context. The comparison between racialized people living in improvised shelters on the periphery of Baia Mare and those who are working class but not living in a situation of destitution will show us the role that dispossession plays in creating certain conditions that lead to debt dependency and specific migration patterns.

Debt Dependency and the Cost of Migration: The Case of Roma and Non-Roma Migrants from Baia Mare

Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Sociologia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Baia Mare region was once one of Romania's main mining centres, with a significant proportion of the local population engaged in industry jobs. However,...

Debt Dependency and the Cost of Migration: The Case of Roma and Non-Roma Migrants from Baia Mare

Published Online: Jun 21, 2024

Page range: 129 - 150

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/subbs-2023-0011

Keywords
post-socialism, migration, debt, dependency, Roma, racialised dispossession

© 2023 Hestia Ioana Delibas., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Debt Dependency and the Cost of Migration: The Case of Roma and Non-Roma Migrants from Baia Mare

Published Online: Jun 21, 2024

Page range: 129 - 150

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/subbs-2023-0011

Keywordspost-socialism, migration, debt, dependency, Roma, racialised dispossession

© 2023 Hestia Ioana Delibas., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
post-socialism, migration, debt, dependency, Roma, racialised dispossession