Our Island is to be invaded yet again.... (priest, elder)

[michel]

Romanians put trust in hard work
By Monica Florescu
BBC Romanian Service

For Romanians hoping to work abroad the country's accession to the European Union opens new opportunities.

But Britain is not among the countries which have granted Romanians and Bulgarians the right to work from day one of their accession.
If you want to know what Romanians in Britain think about this, one option is to visit one of the new Romanian restaurants in London.
There is one in Edmonton, and another in Mill Hill, but I went to 32 Old Bailey - a few hundred metres away from the Romanian Church in Fleet Street - where I found a party in full swing.
The owner, Ovidiu Sarpe, is looking forward to 2007.
"We hope many Romanians will come looking for work and will become our clients," he says.
Scapegoats
The tables are full of Romanian dishes, among them the famous sarmale , minced meat in cabbage leaves. And an enticing smell comes from the kitchen, where the main cook is Georgeta Patulea.

Sarmale are cabbage leaves, stuffed with minced meat

A cook for 20 years in Romania, she has been in the UK for one year, and finds the work much easier.
"In Romania you had to give up your rest days, whereas here your rights are scrupulously respected.
"I found it odd in the beginning, when I was told to go home after eight hours. I couldn't believe it," Mrs Patulea confesses.
Her co-worker, from Poland, is just placing some mititei - another Romanian speciality, minced beef and lamb in cylindrical shapes - on the grill.
Back in the restaurant, Claudiu, a customer, is smoking at the bar. After a few months in London he is rather disillusioned.
"Any Romanian who comes to London hopes for the best, but the reality turns out otherwise," he says.
He is disappointed about the stories in the British press that whipped up fears of the country being swamped by Bulgarian and Romanian migrants, and about the government's decision to restrict their freedom to work.
Many Romanians feel they have been made scapegoats for the unexpected influx of foreign workers, mainly Poles, that arrived in the UK after the last wave of EU enlargement in 2004.
Retraining
Claudiu warns Romanians who want to try their luck to think twice.
"If you have no right to work, you can't make money in Britain. Labour on the black market is scarce and is downright dangerous", he says.

For those who are serious, enthusiastic and patient, for those who invest and do not expect a profit the next day, there is no better country than Britain
Ovidiu Sarpe
"My advice to Romanians is: if you come determined to work, do it, but bring some money with you, not just money for a plane ticket and £100 for expenses. With this sort of money you will be forced to return pretty soon."
One of the guests is Maria, a young woman, who came to Britain six years ago and now works as a solicitor.
"As a foreign lawyer it is very hard, because you have to speak English very well, and you have to retrain for the English legal system.
"There are few Romanian lawyers, but there is a growing demand and Romania's accession to the EU will create new opportunities", Maria tells me.
She too is disappointed about the attitude of the British press towards Romanian immigrants. But in the end, she says hard work and the desire to succeed will overcome all of these obstacles.
It is late evening and the Romanian restaurant has become very crowded.
Food has all but vanished from the bar but Mr Sarpe finds some extra sarmale for latecomers.
His advice for would-be migrant workers is the same as Maria's. "It is hard, but for those who are serious, enthusiastic and patient, for those who invest and do not expect a profit the next day, there is no better country than Britain."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/h...pe/6222991.stm

Published: 2007/01/03 05:29:24 GMT

© BBC MMVII

To which can be added:-http://www.dailyindia.com/show/97189.php/One-minute-means-one-more-foreign-immigrant-in-the-UK!
One minute means one more foreign immigrant in the UK!


London, Dec 27 (ANI): A British think tank "MigrationWatch" has revealed that foreign immigrants were arriving in the UK at the rate of one every minute, and the number of UK citizens emigrating to live abroad was comparatively low -- one in every five minute. The largest number of migrants came from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, who accounted for two-thirds of net immigration to UK.

MigrationWatch chairman Sir Andrew Green called for tougher measures to reduce immigration from outside the EU to "manageable and realistic levels", and to impose tougher controls on countries hoping to join the EU in future.

He said: "The tripling of net foreign immigration in the past 10 years has largely resulted from what the Government likes to call 'managed migration' routes, such as principally work-related migration and family reunion. Firm action is long overdue to limit immigration from non-EU countries which are the main source of this immigration."

see article............

[Terrywoodenpic]

seeing our overcrowded and costly country, I am surprised that they want to come in such numbers.
However most of the people who come are generally hard working and determined people who are a great asset in any country.
Some though, come to join the ranks of the criminal fraternity; unfortunately they are also expert at that.
We just need to find a better way from sorting the sheep from the goats.

[Jaiket]

Our Island is to be invaded yet again....

Can you sing with me? Xeno-pho-bia.

Michel aren't you an immigrant?

[James the Persian]

I have to say (and I think I'm probably in a better position than most to see this) that the chances of there being a Romanian invasion in the UK are practically nonexistent. Given the choice (and they are), the vast majority of Romanians would far rather live in a country like Spain, Portugal, Italy, or even France. Not only are the languages far easier for them to learn (and they understand Italian without learning it) but the climate is much more similar to Romania also. Another option would be Greece or Cyprus due to them sharing a common faith. Dreary, cold, nominally Protestant but predominantly secular Britain would be far, far down the list, except for the relatively small percentage that speak English, and no other language, fluently.

James

[giant space amoeba]

Originally Posted by Jaiket

Our Island is to be invaded yet again....

Can you sing with me? Xeno-pho-bia.

Michel aren't you an immigrant?

Im still reeling over the Saxons [/sarcasm]

Honestly!

Put your hand up if your a true Briton!

...

Anybody?

Ok seriously now, i partially agree that there is too much illegal immigration but when it comes to the legal side, im not that fussed as long as they contribute to the system. I welcome the things that they can bring us.

I found it ironic once when i went to the states where i encountered a British pub/resturant/shop. I got chatting to some of the British ex-pats who were complaining about immigration in the UK. They immigrated to the US about 20+ years ago. It applies to us too when we decide to move elsewhere!

(my own personal view on this whole matter goes a bit OT, lets just say im a world citizen.)

[James the Persian]

As this thread has now been resurrected and it's now 3 months since Romanians were free to come to Britain, I'd just like to confirm that there has been no 'Romanian invasion' as in the frankly hysterical headlines of the UK press. If there had been I would have expected to see them arriving at church (seeing as our parish is the only Romanian community in the whole northern half of the UK and we even have parishioners from Scotland). There have been none. In actual fact the only two notable additions we have had in the last few months are an elderly ex-RC convert priest (English) and an Englishman who married one of our existing parishioners. So much for the xenophobic chicken littles.

James

[michel]

Originally Posted by Jaiket

Our Island is to be invaded yet again....

Can you sing with me? Xeno-pho-bia.

Michel aren't you an immigrant?

I suppose I could be seen as one - though my Mother was English.

Having said that, some of her ancestors were fleeing white Russians, at the time of the revolution........

When I said "We are to be invaded again", I wasn't implying that the immigrants would not be welcome here. Indeed, we have seen a mass influx of Polish people, here in the South; they seem to be much harder working than the average British person, prepared to accept working conditions that some Englishmen would baulk at, and are extremely polite.

My only concerne is that we are a small Island, there is already a shortage of housing - and aour National health is creaking at the seams.

As far as being Xenophobic is concerned, you couldn't be further from the truth; m apart from anything else, my wife is half Spanish as well.

The mass influx of all different ethic minorities has already been of great benefit to us - the availability of foreign Foodshops which sell foodstuffs that we enjoy, but would not have had the opportunity to buy here before.

We have quite a few friends who are indian, Muslim, and a Polish couple who live in our close.

[darkpenguin]

Originally Posted by JamesThePersian

As this thread has now been resurrected and it's now 3 months since Romanians were free to come to Britain, I'd just like to confirm that there has been no 'Romanian invasion' as in the frankly hysterical headlines of the UK press. If there had been I would have expected to see them arriving at church (seeing as our parish is the only Romanian community in the whole northern half of the UK and we even have parishioners from Scotland). There have been none. In actual fact the only two notable additions we have had in the last few months are an elderly ex-RC convert priest (English) and an Englishman who married one of our existing parishioners. So much for the xenophobic chicken littles.

James

You've obviously not tried applying to factory jobs for the past year have you?
I have to settle for minimum wage because of immigrants, mainly the Polish who are more than happy to accept minimum wage and live like kings compared to how they were back home.
It's an absolute nightmare trying to find a job that pays more than the joke that is the minimum wage because of immigrants!