The Nepalese community of Zagreb celebrates Gaura Parva day (photo G. Vale)
Since Croatia decided to abolish the quota regime for foreign workers, their number has increased significantly, especially that of Nepalese. After the migratory hemorrhage of recent years, the new trends represent a small revolution for Zagreb
Two girls wrapped in long red saris are lighting joss sticks on the stage, while in the large hall the men have already started dancing in circles. It’s the day of Parva hole – the wedding celebration between the Hindu deities Shiva and Gaura – and the Nepalese community of Zagreb gathered for a series of celebrations in Ribnjak park. There is it biruda, the mix of five cereals that is prepared especially for the occasion, the large speakers play popular songs and images of distant Nepal with its high mountains scroll on the screen. Among the guests of honor there is also a Croatian entrepreneur, whose home delivery company has hired dozens of Nepalese.
From a country of emigration to a land of immigration
Since Croatia decided, at the end of 2020, to abolish the quota regime for foreign workers, the number of workers, employees and artisans from third countries has increased significantly, in particular that of Nepalese. In 2021, the Croatian Ministry of the Interior issued 81,000 work permits to the same number of foreign citizens. In 2022 it rose to 124,000 and in the first eight months of 2023 it has already reached over 120,000. For a country that was used to losing tens of thousands of inhabitants every year (either due to low birth rates or due to emigration), the new trends represent a small revolution.
Between the 2011 and 2021 censuses, Croatia lost almost 10% of its population, which today is just over 3.8 million inhabitants. But in 2022 the Zagreb Statistical Office recorded – for the first time after 15 years – a positive migratory balance, while according to the Croatian press the Nepalese now represent the third largest community of foreigners, after Serbs and Bosnians. Of course, emigration is not over and it must also be said that many of the new arrivals do not stay in Croatia for long, in turn leaving for other, richer European countries, but through the streets of the capital, as well as in the coastal cities the demographic change is evident.
According to the Croatian Ministry of the Interior , the work permits issued in the first eight months of 2023 (in total approximately 120,000) mainly concerned citizens of nine countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina (27,616), Serbia (18,931), Nepal (14,721), North Macedonia (11,083), India (9,624), Kosovo (7,220), Philippines (6,862), Bangladesh (5,334), Turkey (3,384) and Albania (2,875). The sectors involved are construction (with 44,564 work permits), tourism and catering (38,983), industry (15,244), transport (6,694) and commerce (3,407). It will come as no surprise, therefore, that while Nepalese have come to account for more than 12% of work permits granted by the Ministry of the Interior, their community in Zagreb has become increasingly visible.
The agency business
Returning to Ribnjak Park, the dances give way to the awards ceremony and ritual speeches by the guests of honour. Marko Cvitkovac is the founder of Unija Dostava doo, a home delivery company with 85 employees, of which 28 are Nepalese. “When I started my business three years ago, there were almost no Nepalese in Croatia. Today, almost 80% of the job applications I receive come from Nepal. In the future this country will depend on you and we Croatians are very happy that you are here”, says Cvitkovac, before receiving the typical Nepalese headdress as a sign of recognition. In the future, the entrepreneur plans to open an employment agency that will target Nepalese people, helping them find a job and orient themselves in the Croatian job market once they arrive in the country.
Since there are no more quotas for foreign workers in Croatia, the business of employment agencies has actually exploded. Today they are there 424 agencies registered in the country , almost five times more than two years ago and the turnover of the ten most important agencies exceeds 25 million euros. Near the Zagreb train station, Lucija Škegro and Kusum Rakhal Magar work together in a small employment agency. “Every day I call Croatian companies and ask them if they need foreign workers. Often, when I call a company around midday, I hear that I am already the tenth person today to ask them this same question!”, exclaims Lucija, who continues: “As soon as we find a vacancy, Kusum contacts the agencies in Nepal and we are looking for a worker.”
The procedure continues with the request for a work permit from the Ministry of the Interior and then obtaining a visa. Once these bureaucratic issues have been resolved, the future employee can purchase his plane ticket. “We don’t take any commission from the worker, it would be illegal in Croatia. But sometimes there are many intermediaries between us and the recruited person, so it can happen that the emigrant pays to come here,” admits Lucija Škegro.
The story of Asha and Sinul
In fact, many Nepalese say that they had to invest considerable sums to get to Croatia. This is the case of Asha Gurung, employed at Kathmandu Martthe first shop selling Nepalese products recently opened in the center of Zagreb.
Originally from Dhangadhi in western Nepal, this young girl with long black hair arrived in the former Yugoslav republic just over a year ago. Her “lack of opportunities” and “political instability” in her country pushed her to leave. After borrowing money from her family, she paid an agency to find her a job in Croatia and prepare the necessary documents for her. “The procedure lasts a year and costs between 4,000 and 6,000 euros,” says Asha, who is still repaying her debt.
Furthermore, before arriving at Kathmandu Mart, Asha Gurung had a “terrible” work experience outside Zagreb. “I worked in a large country bakery, sometimes up to ten hours a day. Nobody spoke English and the bosses were never happy with us,” sighs the 25-year-old. Since she has been in the Croatian capital “it has been much better”. Also because she is no longer alone: her sister has also moved to Croatia.
Sinul Bam tells a similar story. 38 years old, family man originally from western Nepal Sinul arrived in Croatia a couple of years ago as an employee in a plastic recycling plant in the city of Osijek. Even if he does not consider the experience in Slavonia negative, Sinul says he is happy to have arrived in Zagreb, where he is now vice-president of the reference association of Nepalese in the country. Furthermore, his brother is also completing the formalities for moving to Croatia. “This is a safe country and the people are friendly. Wages are higher than in Nepal, but so are prices. For example, 20 kilos of rice cost around 53 euros here, compared to 20 euros in my country,” says Sinul Bam, sipping a very sweet cardamom and ginger tea diluted with milk.
If in Nepal the minimum wage does not exceed 150 euros per month, in Croatia an unskilled worker can count on at least 560 euros, the national minimum wage. Furthermore, when a company hires a foreign worker, it must provide him with accommodation and one meal per day. Obviously there is no shortage of discrimination and violations of labor law, but the Nepalese of Zagreb say they are satisfied for the moment.
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