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Foreigners in the 8Th District of Budapest

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Foreigners in the 8Th District of Budapest Foreigners in the 8 th district of Budapest Research report The research was conducted in the framework of WP5 of the INTERREG project ‘Experiment in Newcomers’ Integration’ (ENI), by staff of the Institute of Ethnic and National Minority Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and contracted experts, for the Foundation for the Development of Democratic Rights (DemNet) Authors: Synthesis Report: Réka Hegedős, Maja Bumberák Thematic Study on Demography, Social issues: Lea Kıszeghy - Institute of Ethnic and National Minority Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Kyra Tomay – Eötvös Loránd University Thematic Study on Economy: Miklós Kóródi – Autonómia Foundation Thematic Study on Culture: Ildikó Zakariás, Luca Váradi - Institute of Ethnic and National Minority Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Project co-ordination on behalf of the Institute of Ethnic and National Minority Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences: Lea Kıszeghy Project co-ordination on behalf of DemNet: Barbara Erıs Budapest, 1 st August 2007 1 Main findings Demography In international comparison, in Hungary the number and the ratio of foreigners is not significant (1,5 per cent of the total population in the country level), however, due to their uneven territorial distribution, in certain localities the presence of foreign population might be perceived as a significant issue, still not necessarily in quantitative terms, but in terms of their appearance in the local institutions, the local – not necessarily formal – economy as well as in the public perception. This is the situation in the 8 th district of Budapest, Józsefváros. There is a perceptible and presumably significant number of foreigners who are not documented officially and it seems to be impossible to make exact estimations about their ratio and impact. It can be supposed that among foreigner groups from EU-15 countries their ratio is lower, and among Asians it is higher. The composition of foreigners in Hungary is very specific, since the majority of them arrived from the neighbouring countries and is ethnic Hungarian. The whole issue of integration is strongly affected by this fact in Hungary, since they have common cultural roots and share a common language with people from the host society. Their integration is much less problematic, and poses very different questions than in the case of other groups of foreigners, but also their presence is not perceptible in many cases. As a result they were underrepresented in the analysis as well, since they simply fell out of the interest of many of our data sources. The 8 th district is an important point of concentration for foreigners, especially in the young active age group, where their ratio reaches 10 per cent of the total young active age group of the district (even according to official statistics). Foreigners show a younger age structure than the host society, although the ratio of children is lower, probably as a result of a second wave migration still ongoing, and the lack of well-developed social structures within the groups of foreigners. However, a tendency of ageing among foreigners can be observed too. On the whole, the presence of foreigners supposed to have a positive demographic impact at the national level, however, it is strongly limited by the fact that their ratio is still insignificant in statistical terms, especially in international comparison. Education and social issues The proportion of foreigner children in the Hungarian educational system as a whole is not significant (0,7 per cent of the total school population), however, partly linked to the above-mentioned uneven territorial distribution, foreign children concentrate in certain schools, which requires responses (specific policies, pedagogical approach) from these institutions. In Józsefváros we found more examples for that, in kindergartens and primary schools as well. The same refers to crèches (day-nurseries for 0-3 years old children) which belong to the system of social services in Hungary. The implementation of the national-level educational programs and initiatives concerning the integration of foreigners does not seem to be very effective and fluent at present, partly because of administrative and partly because of pedagogical reasons. Certain schools tend to take initiatives and develop steps themselves, but a lot depends on the personal approach and willingness of teachers and decision-makers in individual institutions. The long tradition of the mostly unconscious and hiding assimilational pedagogic methodology is still prevailing in the Hungarian educational system. The foreigner population, although formally entitled to access social services such as benefits or subsidised housing, practically does not appear in these systems (with the 2 exception of crèches which belong to social services in Hungary). Housing is solved in private means either by private rental or by own ownership, and also social care – when needed – seems to be solved within informal networks. However, it might be partly a consequence of the difficult and bureaucratic ways of obtaining such social services. as well as lack of information, since the local government does not make any specific efforts to inform non-Hungarian speakers about such opportunities (referring to the low proportion of migrants as well as lack of capacity) Economy In Hungary, economic migration is prevailing, it is reflected by the significantly younger age structure of the foreign population as well. However, the number of foreigners working in Hungary with a work permit compared to the total number of the employed is low (1,5 per cent), although the number of work permits is continuously on the rise since the middle of the 1990’s. The composition of foreign workforce in Hungary is very specific as it is dominated by ethnic Hungarian employees coming from neighbouring countries (Romania, Slovakia and the Ukraine) and since they have no communication difficulties and are also quite flexible they are much sought after workers in many areas, such as the building industry, health care, agricultural seasonal work, domestic assistance. In 2006 80 per cent of work permits were issued for employees from the above three countries. Chinese employees also comprise a relatively significant group of foreigners employed in Hungary with a working permit. Officially about 6000 Chinese currently reside in the country as employees. Almost 40 per cent of the foreign employees is taken up by industry and building industry, followed by services, commerce and catering. Employees in agriculture tend to apply for seasonal work permits. Illegal employment is prevailing, however, no reliable estimations can be made referring to its scale. Foreigners in possession of a work permit do not tend to concentrate in the 8th district since the area has no significant industrial production that would require a greater number of workers. However, the area is an important target of foreign employees working in Hungary illegally, most of whom arrive from neighbouring countries, especially Romania, and are employed in the building industry. Józsefváros is an important concentration point for small-scale business (with low profitability). The foreign enterprises operating in the 8th district usually work in the fields where they can carry out their activity with a relatively small investment, mainly in catering and retail. Foreign entrepreneurs tend to form a relatively closed group, especially the Arabic and the Chinese entrepreneurs are considerably introverted, they manage their affairs almost exclusively within their own community. Józsefváros hosts the largest Chinese market in the country, the effects of which are diverse. On the macro level the local government perceives negative effects (lack or revenues due to private ownership of the area and black market activities), while also positive effects should be mentioned (e.g. taxes and general incomes from the entrepreneurs). On the micro level mainly positive effect can be seen e.g. (not necessarily legal) incomes for local residents based on rental of business facilities, flats, or provision of services for foreigners (e.g. baby sitting). Such invisible economic links have evolved between the foreigners who make their living by the market and the locals in their everyday life. As a consequence of such activities a certain part of the local inhabitants obtains a permanent income, which they could not raise from any other resources. These less visible and measurable indicators (generated by the presence of the Chinese market and the foreigners making businesses in the district) must be emphasized when analysing the impact of foreigners on the local economy. In addition, the market has an important role of the market in the retail trade of Hungary. 3 Looking through the financial and tender possibilities of migrants it seems that foreign entrepreneurs although theoretically being entitled to various grants promoting micro and small enterprises financed by EU or non-EU sources, in practice cannot obtain the benefits of these programmes. The problems with administration, the lack of capital resources and the fact that foreign businesses tend to have a different way of operation (e.g. in case of Chinese entrepreneurs the lack of formal accounting in many cases) together form the situation that the economic development programs of the EU have no direct effect on the micro and small enterprises owned by foreigners. There are no foreign small enterprises among
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