Why Are There So Many Indians Comming Into Croatia?

The Surge In Indian Immigrants in the Balkans:

I walked into Kaufland (a german supermarket chain) with a scroll for a grocery list. I walked around stuffing my cart with enough food to feed a village, anxious about how much all this was going to cost. As I was walking around, I noticed a couple of boys, dark-skinned and looking completely out of place; I stopped by them and asked "Tamil a?" (Are you Tamils?)

I first came to Croatia at the beginning of 2021, and for the first time in my life, I was exotic. A year passed and here I am, once again, not so exotic anymore. I am back to becoming one in a million and the way people look at me these days is a feeling I am very familiar with.

As a drifter from India, I have been around a few places before I got to Croatia, in other words, I've had my share of more than a few humiliating experiences because of my skin color and where I am from. But, don't worry, this post is not about a 'privileged' immigrant whining about racism.

Back to the super marker, I stopped by the Tamilian boys, shook hands, and began talking. Both of them were certified welders and had several years of experience working in Dubai and Singapore. So, I got straight to the most important question: "What are you doing here?".

You see, most of the Indians who get here are men, and one look at their wardrobe you know they are not here for vacation. The people who get here are mostly skilled laborers, and this was not the first time I came across my countrymen in Croatia. I met a few on the island of Krk last month; the boys were working with a construction team, building a road. I stopped by them too, and threw to them the same existential question, "What are you doing here?"

There are three major routes Indians take when leaving their country. They leave as:

• Doctors or software engineers looking for, or have found a job abroad

• Students pursuing their postgraduation degrees

• Contract laborers through HR agencies

Unlike the Anglo-Saxon countries, the wages of skilled laborers in India are dirt cheap. I remember the shock I was in, in New Zealand, when I first learned that my blue-collared carpenter mate was making almost twice the money I was as an engineer. When a skilled laborer leaves India, he is only doing it for the money. He lands as an alien in an alien world and gets paid the bare minimum, which converts well to Indian rupees. So he saves as much money as he can and sends the rest back to his family. And being away from his family, he constantly fantasizes about his reunion; he is not here to take your jobs, your houses, or your women, he is not there to ruin your lives. He'll earn a few bucks, send it back home, and bolt back to his country as soon as he can. So for the eurocentric nationalists out there, you have nothing to worry about.

What interests me the most with the surge in these contractors in Croatia is the question "Of all the countries on our planet, how and why are these laborers making their way into this country?". And the answer to this is a lot more interesting than I had expected. It is easy for anyone with a resident permit in the EU to start a business. I saw someplace that all it costs to establish a company is 350 euros, and with an established company, it is easy to bring in employees from abroad. So what is happening here is that a few cut-throat entrepreneurs are setting up companies, creating connections in places like India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, bringing people in, and promising them a job along with accommodation. This is exactly how job opportunities in the Middle East work.

What's the harm then? The laborers come here, they earn, send money back home to their families, finish their five or three-year contract, and get back home. Needless to say, there is a labor shortage in Croatia because most of its young citizens are leaving the place for better opportunities. So, their being here is a win-win situation for everyone, right? This is where things get a bit knotty.

In the name of accommodation 5 to 10 of these skilled laborers get stuffed into an apartment building like animals. And it would be very naive of us to think that the cut-throat entrepreneurs, these agents who bring laborers in are ethical in the way they treat these people. First off, these laborers work for a lot less pay than the average local, so, when the clients are paying big money for these laborers, you can take for granted that most of it are being eaten by these agents. And secondly, let's not forget the way global politics and media have time and again emphasized their blatant disregard for the people of the 'third world' through their policies and their narratives. These sentiments, I am sad to say, are well reflected by the layman of the western world. In other words, these hardworking men who get here are often subjected to ill-treatment not just by their agents, but also by the school kid who walks past them.

Getting back to the two Tamil boys I met in the supermarket, they were made to pay 4500 Euros in India to get here. They were promised a permit, a stay, and a job. They have got their permit, they have a place to stay and they have been left to their own devices to find themselves a job. These boys have spent a month and a half, searching for a job, without knowing the language here, surviving off the money they had brought along with them. The little English they know is of no help here, they have been ripped off by the people they paid a large sum to (4500 euros in India is a lot of money) and are now running out of money.

"For the money, I had spent coming here," said one of the boys, "I could have bought a couple of cows in my village and made myself a better life."

The saddest part about being an Indian immigrant going abroad is the realization that the 'west' is not all that different. Of course, the cultures, mindsets, and genetics are different, but these differences are minuscule. Humans all over seem to be dealing with a set of universal psychological illnesses that drive our time and cultures forward. The root of all these illnesses seems to arise from the same factors: the ultimate fear of death and hysteria caused by an inability to create and maintain a firm identity. To add to this, the whole world runs on capital. All these factors make people, cultures, countries, and continents not so different these days.

Many Indian immigrants who have understood this have gone back home, and many others sit and slave in foreign countries to stick to their plan for whatever personal reasons. But, if we had known the plight of the immigrant and the false utopian promise of the west, most of us would not have stepped out of our humble lives.

I shook the boys' hands, wished them all the best, and said goodbye to them. The lady at the counter gave me a 150 euro bill and a dirty look. I bagged all my groceries and walked back home, two bags in each hand. It's funny, life: you seem to have no control over the cards that you're dealt.

Kahan J Sudev