Ditrău, a small town of 5,000 inhabitants, in the north of Romania.
The arrival of the two Asian employees in a bakery in a small Hungarian population revives identity tensions.
They are 300 met on Saturday 1 st February 2020 at the House of Culture of Ditrau, small town of 5000 inhabitants, in northern Romania . The meeting, organized by the mayor, may have started with a prayer, the atmosphere is electric. The population, overwhelmingly Hungarians, went up against a large bakery which had the audacity to hire two Sri Lankans among its 90 employees.
“Invasion”
Some of the inhabitants had already gathered in front of the town hall, Wednesday January 29, 2020. Since then, the bakery has been boycotted. It shows a loss of 30% of its turnover. In the gallery, the tone rises. The skin color of the two workers is stigmatized. The word “invasion” is used. A resident talks about the coronavirus. After all, the Sri Lankans are indeed Asians… A petition is launched.
Incitement to hatred
Not to the liking of the authorities. The police have opened an investigation for incitement to hatred, the National Authority against Racism has taken action. Supported by the Minister of Labor, the boss said he would keep his two workers. He has little choice. With 4 million expatriate workers, Romania faces an unprecedented labor shortage. Quotas for foreign workers are increasing: 30,000 people outside the EU for 2020.
Until now, Romania had been spared by anti-migrant rhetoric. They arise in a Hungarian region often singled out by Bucharest for its identity withdrawal. A very connected minority in Budapest, sensitive to Viktor Orban’s anti-migrant discourse .
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