Central European University
Nationalism Studies Program
MA Thesis Taming Emigration: Bulgaria and Other Selected Cases
By Vassil Nikolov
Supervisor: Florian Bieber
June 2005
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
STRUCTURE OF RESEARCH 4
ROOTS OF MIGRATION 7 Pull Factors...... 7 Push Factors...... 8 Networks...... 9 The Migration Hump...... 11 Conclusion ...... 12
QUALITATIVE ASSESMENT OF MIGRATION 13 Remedy to Unemployment?...... 14 Social Costs...... 15 Remittances ...... 15 Conclusion ...... 18
EMIGRATION POLICIES IN PRACTICE 19 Mexico...... 19 Turkey...... 23 The Philippines...... 26 Cyprus...... 28 Other examples ...... 30 Conclusions...... 30
BULGARIA 34 Definition of ‘Emigrant’...... 34 Emigration prior to 1989...... 35 Post 1989 Emigration...... 37 Socio-Economic Impact...... 38 Policy Measures and Recommendations...... 40 Conclusion ...... 43
MIGRATION AND THE NATION-STATE: 46
CONCLUDING REMARKS 46
BIBLIOGRAPHY 50
Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES
INTRODUCTION
If there is one thing that distinguishes our modern world today from the one shared by previous generations, it is the fact that for main-stream society, it has grown much smaller.
While similarities and parallels with previous times and ways of doing things can be drawn on numerous levels, one can unmistakably notice the shrinking of space and time, as well as the approximation of culture, that clearly distinguish the social and cultural landscapes of our lives today as compared to those of yesterday. This line of reasoning is in no way new. In fact, prominent scholars such as Ernest Gellner himself have identified the connection between modernity and culture and their special relationship in the form of nations, and their resulting maintaining mechanism – nationalism.1 What I am really trying to emphasize, however, is the sheer magnitude of the phenomenon. Thanks to our technical capabilities we have rendered communication and travel a mere whim of our everyday reality. Just to illustrate, the cost of a three-minute telephone conversation between London and New York has fallen from US$300 to US$1 between 1930 and 1996.2
Not to exaggerate the effect of globalization, the reality of our global political and economic arrangements shows, that the benefits of the information and travel revolutions are in fact available to a relatively small fraction of the world’s population, and in fact the vast majority of all people in the world would die within a few months of the place where they were born. 3 Nevertheless, as Geddes notes, that even when a small fraction the world population gets on the move, it still represents a migration flow in the millions. This increased mobility offers, to those willing to and capable of taking advantage of it, a
1 Ernest Gellner, Nationalism (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1997). 2 Eva Ostergaard-Nielsen, ed., International Migration and Sending Countries: Perceptions, Policies and Transnational Relations (Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 14. 3 Andrew Geddes, Immigration and European Integration: Towards a Fortress Europe? (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000).
1 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES solution against political insecurity and economic hardship. As a result, migrants often establish large and coherent communities abroad, and continue to maintain ties with their homeland, and depending on the circumstances, either support or undermine political regimes. Naturally, this triggers a process which fundamentally alters the geopolitical understanding of a ‘World divided into nations’. The construction of nation-states, or nation-building as it is often referred in the literature, no longer runs along the praxis of overlapping physical and social boundaries, and as this study will demonstrate, many countries are realizing the benefits of (re)including their citizens living abroad into the economic and political life of their home-states.4 From remittances, to the political support at home and abroad, emigration countries today are confronted by the challenge of formulating policies that help capture the economic and political support, and re-inspire feelings of loyalty among emigrants towards their homeland. Needless to say, such policies cross over national boundaries, thus making nation-states equal actors along with ordinary people, when it comes to transnational activities.
Bulgaria is one such instance of a country, which has only recently begun to make efforts in reaching its diaspora. Having experienced strong out-migration in the last fifteen years, the Bulgarian government made the first step towards bridging the gap with its emigrant communities in 1993 by laying the foundations of today’s ‘State Agency for the Bulgarians abroad’. The challenges that lay ahead for this young institution are numerous: from simply keeping track of the number and activities of Bulgarians abroad, to formulating appropriate policies that would hopefully embrace the diaspora into the Bulgarian nation.
4 For the sake of avoiding repetition, will be using interchangeably the terms home-country, country of emigration, country of origin to indicate the country from which the emigrant has originated. Respectively, the terms host-country, country of immigration, country of settlement will be used to denote the new country in which the migrant has settled.
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Given the structural limitations faced by the Agency and the complexity of the research field in general, there have been explicit calls for contributions to the area.5
Therefore, in response to the expressed need for further research, this study will attempt to tackle the challenge of understanding the effects of emigration on the societies and economies of sending countries, and also of evaluating the pragmatic merits emigration policies by presenting a multi-dimensional analysis of migration trends and dynamics, as well as case study investigation of selected countries. Furthermore, I hope to build a wider framework of understanding of migration issues in general, which can provide a blueprint for relevant decision-making.
5 Rossitza Guencheva, Petya Kabakchieva, and Plamen Kolarski, "The Social Impact of Seasonal Migration," in Sharing Experience: Migration Trends in Selected Applicant Countries and Lessons Learned from 'New Countries of Immigration' in the EU and Austria, ed. International Organization for Migration (September 2003): 5.
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STRUCTURE OF RESEARCH
This study is organized into four major sections, each representing a building block of the comprehensive analysis on emigration issues and policies presented herein. The first section investigates the driving force behind emigration. The main question ‘What causes emigration?’ will be answered via the discussion and classification of the so-called ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors, as well as the examination of the importance of networks, the latter being integral part of what is known in the literature as the ‘migration systems approach’.
This is an important analytical prerequisite which contextualizes the problem of emigration and helps establish the direction of future policies.
In the second chapter I attempt to place a qualitative evaluation of the economic effects of emigration on sending countries. This is particularly important, since in most cases, countries of emigration are interested in their diaspora namely because of the economic weight associated with the latter. Furthermore, because emigrants are not, in most cases, a representative sample, being in general young, more productive and initiative, and better educated than the rest of society, countries of emigration tend to view their departure almost automatically as a loss to the economy. Yet other countries choose to make it an official policy to export nationals, via exchange agreements with other states. The main questions here are: Is emigration good or bad for certain types of economies? Can it be controlled, or stopped, or perpetuated by the state? What are the considerations taken by governments? The answers to a lot of these questions are contained in the well established field of ‘population economics’ which tries to evaluate the phenomenon of emigration by studying the effects it projects on national economies.
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In the third chapter, I will take a look at examples of policies and activities that several national governments have undertaken vis-à-vis their emigrants. The examples used here are neither regionally, nor culturally, nor economically proximate and this is purposefully so. The usual comparative analysis between two countries would not be too appropriate in this case because, as it will be demonstrated below, each country has a very unique set of experiences when it comes to the emigrants’ motivation for leaving their homelands, their geographical distribution, ethnic, linguistic and cultural divisions and so on. Concentrating on single example would, naturally, leave a huge chunk of explanations and considerations out of sight. From political dialogue with receiving countries, to organizing conferences that include the diaspora, offering extended services of national abroad, introducing dual citizenship, subsidizing emigrant’s organizations, or influencing the image of migrants at home, countries of emigration have tried a number of strategies with varying degree of success. What is best for one, would not necessarily work for another. Nevertheless, considering the theoretical framework introduced by the first two chapters, as well as looking at the different policies attempted by sending countries, a country such as Bulgaria which is looking for a long-term strategy vis-à-vis its emigration communities abroad would have at its disposal a solid analytical tool, which would hopefully help choose the right direction.
In the final fourth chapter, I will address the main case study of my research, and namely
Bulgaria. I will trace the country’s emigration trends historically, in attempt to place
Bulgaria somewhere on the analytical spectrum created by the discussion of the earlier examples. Secondly, I will examine the activities, policies, and success that Bulgaria has already achieved in the field. Those would identify the missing or needed courses of action
5 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES and would point to a direction of long-term and sustained relationship between Bulgaria and her national communities abroad.
Finally, I also hope to contribute to the field of emigration in general, by demonstrating that wider and extended nation-building could actually prove beneficial not just to home countries but also to receiving ones, and suggest that migration can be used to introduce constructive dialogue between states, ameliorate the lives of people, and propagate liberal principles.
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ROOTS OF MIGRATION
In a very bold statement – people migrate because borders are porous. This, of course, is the most essential prerequisite for a number of other motivational factors that incite the relocation of people, which are just as equally important. National borders witness not just the movement of people, but also the movement of information, ideas, cultural influences, capital etc., all of which create an environment of interdependence that consequently channels individual decision-making in a direction that seeks to balance any shortcomings at home with surpluses that are available abroad. From political freedom, to economic stability, people are constantly drawn to countries that offer better living conditions, or are repelled from the ones that lag behind on the front of political and economic prosperity. Of course, not all people choose to or are capable of emigrating, and often the initial step in this direction is facilitated by already existing official or unofficial links, or networks, that provide for the actual vehicle that makes the whole process possible. Respectively, Eva
Ostergaard-Nielsen, correctly observes that the conditions most conductive of emigration are the emigration trajectory of a particular country, its domestic resources, and its position in the global system.6
Pull Factors
In relation to the above, the literature on migration has been working with the terms ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors to indicate how emigration is generated. The ‘pull factor’ usually offsets economically motivated emigration, in which case people seek higher standard of living elsewhere, and are consequently willing to leave their homeland and co-nationals behind.
6 Ostergaard-Nielsen, ed., 4.
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Such individual aspirations are indirectly the result of the arrangement of the global capitalist system. According to Nyberg-Sorensen, multinational economic activities bring aspiration for increased consumption, which along with new sources of information available to people, influence the latter to take steps towards making more prosperous economic countries their new home.7 Moreover, favorable immigration policies that legalize the presence of foreigners in a particular receiving country, high employment rates, availability of social security, health and education, act as a further impetus to emigration. The ‘landed immigrant’ status in Canada, the demand for employment of
Mexicans in the US prior to the end of the ‘Bracero Programme’ in 1964, the ‘denizen’ status of Turkish citizens in Germany are all examples of ‘pull factors’ that have determined the direction of migration flows in the past. Many researchers are right to point out that the significance of pull factors will intensify in the future, as countries like Turkey and Mexico must create between 500,000 and 1 million new jobs annually, in addition to creating jobs for the twenty to forty percent of the workforce that is currently unemployed.8
Push Factors
‘Push’ factors are the other impetus behind emigration. Unless a country experiences a continuous environmental misfortune or a complete economic collapse, push factors are usually manifested in the form of politically intolerable environment that forces people out of their homes, willingly or unwillingly. In such cases the accompanying limitations on civic and human liberties often produce mass exodus of people, and are usually associated
7 Nyberg-Sorensen, The Migration-Development Nexus: Evidence and Policy Options (IOM Migration Research Series, Geneva, 2002): 23-24. 8 Philip Martin and Edward Taylor, "Managing Migration: The Role of Economic Policies," in Global Migrants, Global Refugees, ed. Aristide Zolberg and Peter Benda (New York: Berghahn Books, 2001), 100.
8 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES with a great deal of hardship. The examples in this category are countless. In the case of
Bulgaria alone, 360,000 people of Turkish ethnic origin left the country in matter of several months in 1989, following failed inter-ethnic negotiations over the endemic
‘revival process’.9 Some examples elsewhere are even more drastic. For instance, today about three times as many Armenians live outside Armenia, compared to the number of those living in their homeland, due to the genocide initiated by the Turkish state in early
20th century.10
Politically motivated emigrants, would obviously produce different kinds of emigrant communities from those who left their home countries for economic reasons. For one thing, they would have different aspirations towards their homeland, and consequently the degree of cohesion would vary according to the kind of migration process that has taken place. Often emigrant communities of same national origin would cleave along such divisions, having different demands with respect to their home states.
Networks
Push and pull factors are clearly the generators of emigration pressure, or in other words, the desire of people to migrate to a new country. However, they would seldom produce migration by themselves. In the words of Philip Martin, “demand-pull and supply-push factors are like battery poles: without a link between them, they produce no migration.”11
Therefore, such links, or networks, become the primary condition which enables push and
9 Ivan Ilchev, "Emigration and the Politics of Identity," in The Politics of National Minority Participation in Post-Communist Europe: Statebuilding, Democracy and Ethnic Mobilization, ed. J. Stein (Armonk, NY: East-West Institute, 2000). 10 Razmik Panossian, "Courting a Diaspora: Armenia-Diaspora Relations," in International Migration and Sending Countries: Perceptions, Policies and Transnational Relations, ed. Eva Ostergaard-Nielsen (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 141. 11 Martin and Taylor, 102.
9 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES pull factors to set off migration. The agents of such networks include family and friends, labor brokers, migrant organizations, governments, churches etc., all of which have been tremendously facilitated in their activities, thanks to the three main revolutions of 20th century: the communication revolution, the travel revolution, and the rights revolution.12
Those three, have been among the facilitators that have caused loyalties to the nation-state to become secondary to the pursuit of individual prosperity, which in Kymlicka’s formulation, is one of the prerequisites leading towards liberal nation-building.13 This, in fact, is a very important message to convey and it practically leads to the main argument in the study, and namely - just as states influence migration flows, just the same can migration influence the make up of states in the long run.
Visualizing and categorizing migrant’s networks, however, can be quite a challenging task, as many of them are unofficial or take place simultaneously, thus blurring the reality about the ways in which migrants engage in transnational communication. One way to grasp the totality of the phenomenon, is to make use of what is termed as ‘migration systems approach’, or the view that we live in a global system of interdependence, where, “a change in any part of the system, will be matched by an adjustment elsewhere in the system.”14 Under such conditions, certain inequalities such as the imbalance in the global economic system will cause the ‘spill-over effect’ in the form of emigration until balance is restored, which in turn, will give birth to whatever structures or arrangements are necessary (namely different forms of networks). This view, although having serious shortcomings mainly in the fact that equilibrium is seldom reached, does nevertheless offer
12 Ibid. 13 Will Kymlicka and Magda Opalski, eds., Can Liberal Pluralism Be Exported? (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 56. 14 James Fawcett, "Networks, Linkages and Migration Systems," International Migration Review 23, no. 3 (Fall 1989): 17.
10 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES quite a systematic overview of the possible linkages in the migration system. According to
James Fawcett, there are four categories and three types of linkages, which when interrelated, produce a matrix of twelve cells.15 The four categories of networks include state-to-state relations; mass culture connections; family and personal connections; and migrant agency activities. The three types of linkages represent the level at which the four categories will operate. Those are tangible, regulatory, and relational linkages. The results of their relationship include favorable bilateral assistance between states; the influence of international; remittance flows, particularity of immigration policies; cultural similarity of neighboring countries; the economic dependency of states; promotional materials and recruitment by migrant organizations; trade and financial flows between states in question etc.16
Naturally, this multiplicity of migration channels would be indicative of the kinds of policies that counties may wish to adopt vis-à-vis wanted or unwanted emigration. Because of the fact that many such networks exist simultaneously, states should be wary when formulating restrictive migration policies, because plugging one flow would simply make another one burst, as was the case with Turkish emigrants, who once restricted from going to Germany with work contracts, continued to arrive in Germany as asylum seekers, often pulled by family and friends.
The Migration Hump
An important feature in the behavior of emigration is also situated in its relationship with economic development. As will be demonstrated later, a very important condition for the
15 Ibid, 18. 16 Ibid.
11 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES easing of emigration pressure in the long term is the creation of adequate infrastructure that can support sustainable development and create the necessary employment market and social security for citizens. However, economic development does not influence a steady decrease in the amount of emigration straight from the introduction of economic restructuring. In fact, Philip Martin notices the occurrence of what he calls, “a migration hump,” or an initial increase of emigration following economic reforms, which returns to the expected level of the status quo emigration in about fourteen years, after which the success of decreased emigration is to be noticed.17 This occurs because economic restructuring often displaces workers and also induces rural-urban migration. When economic development, including a free-trade policy and positive trade balance is under way for a prolonged period of time, then an emigration country is expected to turn in country of immigration in about thirty years time.18
Conclusion
What causes migration? It is the desire of people to run away from poor living conditions or to strive towards better ones found elsewhere abroad. The degree of intolerability at home would often determine the size of migration flow, but most importantly it is the already established links that initiate and direct the current of migrants. Acknowledging the networks’ presence, strength, potential, as well as the behavior of migration vis-à-vis development, would give countries a head start in trying to curb emigration flows towards sustainability.
17 Martin and Taylor, 105-107. 18 Ibid.
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QUALITATIVE ASSESMENT OF MIGRATION
Much too often is migration taken for granted. Whether seen as ‘brain drain’ from the system, which is the prevailing view in Bulgaria, or on the opposite, as a kind of positive economic source, emigrants are subject to numerous and often conflicting views and attitudes coming from home states and their citizens. What is then the objective assessment of the effects of out-migration on the economy and society in sending states? Is emigration good or bad for countries often troubled by political turmoil and economic stagnation?
The popular academic field of ‘population economics’ has tried to label qualitatively migration, relying primarily on theoretical economic analysis of the phenomenon. Whether such pure theoretical economic approach can find ground in real life examples is dependent upon endemic conditions that are far too complex, so that their effect can be predicted with absolute certainty. Nonetheless, certain ‘cause-effect’ relationship does exist between emigration and the performance of economies in home-countries.
Just like Fawcett, Thomas Straubhaar observes that today, the increased mobility of labor force causes its movement from low, to high productivity countries, allowing for more efficient allocation of productive factors.19 In this sense, migration in general has a positive global impact on the World economy, consistent with the logic behind the ‘division of labor’ model. However, is this the case or does it simply allow for more efficient extraction of the economic surplus crated by labor?
19 Thomas Straubhaar, "Effects of Emigration on the Sending Country," in Migration and Economic Development, ed. Klaus Zimmermann (Berlin: Sjpringer-Verlag, 1992), 81.
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Remedy to Unemployment?
The first and most obvious effect that emigration projects onto local economies is the alleviation of unemployment. As already mentioned, the direction of migration is from low to high productivity countries. Therefore, for countries which have a limited capability of creating and expanding the necessary employment market for its working-age population, migration can become a viable solution, that would ease the burden of providing adequate social welfare for the unemployed. This, however, is only one side of the coin. On the other hand, emigration can prove more costly to the home state if emigrants leave in high numbers. In such case, if emigration occurs to a degree where it depletes considerably the country’s labor reserve, then less labor becomes applied to the same amount of land and capital, causing the increase of productivity, which raises wages, and brings profits down for capital and land owners.20 Clearly, this is beneficial for workers themselves, but the net long-term effect on the local economy is economic slump and the slashing of jobs.
Respectively, Ramaswami argues that economically poor countries are still better off importing their scarce factor (in this case – capital), then exporting their abundant factor, or in other words, labor.21 The logic behind this is that labor is used more intensively abroad, meaning that if the same marginal profit extracted from the migrant’s labor activities abroad could be extracted at home, then this would bring higher profit to the home state than the capital it saves from not providing unemployment privileges and social security.
This, of course, is a case where a country is confronted with the choice whether or not to send emigrants out, and whether it can create the necessary employment positions at home.
20 Ibid,84. 21 V.K. Ramaswami, "International Factor Movements and the National Advantage," Economica 35 (1968): 309-310.
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In most cases, developing countries or countries in transition have neither option available to them.
Social Costs
Further blows on the domestic economy are caused if the emigrant was employed, but was paid less than the marginal value of his/her social output. This would then lower the average income per capita, simply because the extraction of his/her surplus by the state would no longer be available. This is the case with educated and underpaid workers such as teachers, nurses, social workers etc.22 Those are also difficult to substitute or have held jobs that are complementary to other employment positions, thus incurring additional burden on the economy.
Further social costs include the ‘wasted’ costs of upbringing and education, the loss of production, the replacement of the productive portion of the emigrant force, and the reintegration of the returnees.
Remittances
Remittances are the single most important factor why emigration is an issue in the first place. For many countries, including Bulgaria, remittances, or ‘private (unrequited) transfers’ as they are referred in statistical databases such as the IMF yearbook, represent larger contribution to domestic economies than foreign direct investment and development aid. Globally in the year 2000, 150 million migrants remitted approximately $US100
22 Straubhaar, 93.
15 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES billion.23 Moreover, some have suggested that the actual amount of remittances is actually twice, or three times as high, since unofficial money transfers are not taken into account.
This latter argument is in fact valid since, the low quality of domestic banking systems, lack of banks all over the territory of a given country, lack of access to the banking system in the host country, the desire for anonymity etc., deter many migrants from making use of the official channels of capital transfers24 In any event, the figures from different sources about the size of remittances vary somewhat for both, migrant population and capital flow, but nevertheless the magnitude of the trend is impressive, which is why sending countries are increasingly readjusting their foreign and domestic policies, often in a liberal and democratically positive direction, in order to attract such capital inflow to highest possible degree. Even an autocratic state such as El Salvador, “has provided free legal assistance to political refugees (fleeing their own regime!) in the USA so that they may obtain asylum and remain there, remitting some $1 billion a year.”25
On the positive side, remittances bring more beneficial impact on the sending country’s balance of payments than other monetary inflows such as loans or direct investment. They bear no interest and don’t have to be repaid. They compensate for trade balance deficits, by financing the import of commodities. Remittances are not tied to particular investment projects. Also, they increase the average national income and bring about better capital distribution.26
23 Nyberg-Sorensen, 22. 24 Ilir Gedeshi, "Role of Remittances from Albanian Emigrants and Their Influence on the Country's Economy," Eastern European Economics 40, no. 5 (September 2002): 54. 25 Sarah Mahler, "Theoretical and Empirical Contributions Towards a Research Agenda for Transnationalism," in Transnationalism from Below, ed. Michael Peter Smith and Luis Eduardo Guarnizo (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1998); quoted in Steven Vertovec and Robin Cohen, eds., Migration, Diasporas, and Transnationalism (Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc., 1999), xxiv. 26 Straubhaar, 103.
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On the negative side, remittances may set off economic dependency on imports and ultimately cause economic collapse such as the experience in Mexico in 1995, when the peso was devalued 45% because the country failed to channel remittances and other foreign investment towards development, and instead spend the inflow of such foreign capital on US imports.27 However, whether dependency on imports exists, does not automatically mean that remittances are to blame. As Charles Keely maintains, if remittances don’t lead to sustainable development, at least they don’t do any harm, and do in fact bring some isolated benefits such as better income distribution, and higher standard of living for many households.28 In the end, it is the flexibility with which domestic supply reacts to the increased demand caused by remittances that will determine whether the latter will have positive employment effects, or negative inflation effects on the economy.
Further concerns about the negative aspect of remittances indicate that on the individual level, their projection in time represents a parabolic function, whose peak is found between ten and fourteen years in emigration.29 According to Reyneri,
The reason for the trajectory is that during the first years of emigration, settlement
expenditures prevent remittances, which thereafter begin to increase progressively with the
passing of time. But after ten to fourteen years an important change occurs at precisely the
moment that determines whether an emigrant will return to the country of origin or become
definitely placed in the country of arrival. In either case, the remittance flows are bound to
dry up.”30
27 Martin and Taylor, 109. 28 Charles Keely and Bao Nga Tran, "Remittances from Labor Migration: Evaluations, Performance and Implications," International Migration Review 23, no. 3 (Fall 1989): 504. 29 E Reyneri, La Catena Migratoria [the Migratory Chain] (Bologna: Il Mulino, 1979). Quoted in Gedeshi, "Role of Remittances from Albanian Emigrants and Their Influence on the Country's Economy.": 65. 30 Ibid.
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Yet as a whole, remittances continue to proceed on the path of a steady rise.31 The reason behind this individual volatility, yet collective stability is to be found, in Keely’s opinion, in the fact that too often emigrants would bring back a lump sum of money upon their return from abroad, as well as to the ever increasing amount of migration as networks become more established.32
Conclusion
So far, the analysis of migration’s impulse, behavior, and effects, has only scratched the surface of the riddle it has created. What is clear is that there is no straight solution to be applied to any societal level, be it regional, national, or international. At the same time, emigration communities could pump valuable economic and social remittances – the latter in the form of learned business practices for instance, or could symbolize the failure of a particular state to maintain properly its civil society, as is the case with Albania.33
Therefore, hasty or automatic conclusions about the effects of migration are bound to be subjective and all circumstantial factors including the country’s positioning in the global economic system, its current emigration projection, its domestic political, societal, and economic resources, its relations with neighboring countries etc., should be considered prior to the adoption of appropriate emigration policies. In the following chapter, I scrutinize several cases which demonstrate the array of actions taken towards emigration, and whose diversity indicates how vast the field of migration studies really is.
31 Gedeshi: 64. 32 Keely and Tran, "Remittances from Labor Migration: Evaluations, Performance and Implications." 33 Gedeshi: 64.
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EMIGRATION POLICIES IN PRACTICE
As mentioned above, elaborating policies towards the accommodation of emigrants in the nation, or simply towards the easing of the emigration pressure at home, contains no universal solution. The first and most obvious necessity that countries of emigration need to fulfill is to establish at least to a degree, constructive dialogue with their diaspora.
However, emigrant communities often experience multiple cleavages, which have to be carefully weighted against the feasibility of bilateral communication. Some dividing differences include, the geographical proximity of host countries, the concentrations and size of emigrant communities, the motivation of the emigration process (whether it is political or economic), the continuity of the migration flow, the ideological similarity or difference between different generations of emigrants, the relative status of emigrants in their host countries, and so on. Another key factor, is whether the emigration process has been negotiated between the states in question, or whether it has happened without such coordination.
For such reasons, I have chosen several examples of emigration countries and their respective state policies and attitudes (the latter being a euphemism for ‘unofficial policy’) towards emigration and emigrant communities abroad, which encompass most factors enumerated above, and can thus contextualize the Bulgarian case later on.
Mexico
Mexico is a classic example of a poorly performing neighbor, whose inferior economic position and sagging democracy record, compared to those of the next-door US, have rendered it a country of emigration. As a result, out of the 123 million-large Mexican
19 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES nation, twenty three million Mexicans live in the USA, where they represent the single largest minority, remitting almost $US 9 billion back home.34 Under such circumstances, the Mexican diaspora, unlike that of many other sending countries, is concentrated almost exclusively in one country and shares similar goals and aspirations towards its home-state, and as a result does not suffer almost any cleavages along ethnic, religious, linguistic, or ideological lines.
According to Martinez-Saldana, the Mexican emigration can be classified simultaneously as political and economic. For more than a hundred years, Mexico has been run by an authoritarian, presidential, state-party regime, breeding numerous consecutive dictatorships, which would invade significantly the private space and individual freedoms of people. Anti-democratic actions included the fabrication of a system of espionage through consulates and private detective firms, informants against political opposition, or the confiscation of the lands of rural communities which were consequently given to wealthy foreigners who would bring capital into the country.35 Such ‘push factors’ were therefore felt mainly by rural communities, who for a long time (until 1964), were prone to move to the ‘immigration-friendly’ USA.
On the other hand high, labor demand in the US, coupled with much higher wages than those offered in Mexico offered many Mexicans situated on the lower strata of society a chance to improve their lives. What is more, the Second World War further intensified the need for manual labor, to support the war effort. As a result, in 1942 the two countries concluded a bilateral agreement for labor exchange, or what was called ‘the Bracero
34 Jesus Martinez-Saldana, "Los Olvidados Become Heroes: The Evolution of Mexico's Policies Towards Citizens Abroad," in International Migration and Sending Countries: Perceptions, Policies and Transnational Relations, ed. Eva Ostergaard-Nielsen (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 33. 35 Ibid, 35-38.
20 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES
Programme’, which would last until 1964 when it was terminated unilaterally by the US.36
However, beyond signing the agreement the Mexican government did little to negotiate the right and freedoms of its emigrants, encouraging US employers and the US government in that respect, to subordinate Mexican workers on numerous levels (especially after the termination of the Bracero Programme). As Kearney observes, the mere fact that the US-
Mexican border is porous and not well supervised, serves nothing but the ‘ceremonial’ purpose to convince illegal emigrants of their future position as ‘illegals’ and accept their subordinate social position.37 Such inactivity on the part of consecutive Mexican governments, is to blame for instance for the passing of ‘Proposition 187’ in 1994, which denied access to public services to Mexicans and their children.38
The trend for the official neglect towards the Mexican community in the US, however, would change in the 1990’s, when politicians including president Salinas, realized that they can rally a tremendous political support from the diaspora, both for domestic purposes of eliminating competition, and to further goals on their foreign relations agenda such as the
NAFTA agreement. Two organizations were created: the Programme for Mexican
Communities Abroad, which would develop relations with organized emigrants, and the
‘Solidaridad Internacional’ which was to generate grants for public works projects in sending communities.39 Despite their failure in the long run, they did nevertheless extend the emigrants influence at home, in the form of putting in place a negotiation agenda.
36 Ibid, 40. 37 Michael Kearney, "Borders and Boundaries of State and Self and the End of Empire," Journal of Historical Sociology 4, no. 1 (March 1991). 38 Martinez-Saldana, "Los Olvidados Become Heroes: The Evolution of Mexico's Policies Towards Citizens Abroad.", 43. 39 Ibid, 47.
21 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES
Non-loss of nationality was another measure, which Mexico adopted, in order to support
Mexican emigrants in becoming naturalized American citizens. Also, despite their inability to vote in federal elections, Mexican emigrants did extend their influence at home by persuading friends and relatives to vote for the current president Fox, whose electoral platform had promised numerous concessions for the Mexican communities abroad.
Consequently, President Fox has called Mexicans in the US ‘heroic countrymen’ and
‘permanent ambassadors of Mexican culture’, quite different from the previous label of
‘pochos’ , or traitors.40
In conclusion, Mexico is an example of a country, whose crippling political system and economy had generated a considerable emigration pressure at home, which because of the abundant labor market in neighboring USA, and the facilitated networks created by the
‘Bracero Programme’ and the mere proximity of the two countries, had created a twenty three million - strong emigrant community in the USA. Despite certain efforts in the form of passing the ‘non-loss of nationality’ law, and the establishment of the two organizations mentioned above, little has been done to make Mexican emigrants active participants in
Mexican society. Neither the right to vote, nor the right to hold dual citizenship (which in the case of Mexico, is a term different from that of nationality; the latter offers economic and cultural rights, but does not include political rights) have been granted to these ‘brave ambassadors’, who continue to feel excluded from their home land despite the official rhetoric in recent years.
40 Ibid, 34, 45.
22 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES
Turkey
Turkey is another powerful paradigm of a country for which emigration is of a vital national interest. Just like with the case of Mexico, the Turkish emigration community is primarily concentrated in one place – Germany, and similarly, the migration process had been negotiated at the official level with the receiving country. In the Turkish case, however, the time span of the emigration process was relatively short, and the ethnic and religious makeup, as well as the aspiration of individual emigrants is somewhat more diversified.
The emigration wave from Turkey to Germany bears its origin in the 1961, when the two countries signed a labor exchange agreement. It was presumed at the time that the post-war rebuilding effort in Germany would employ these ‘guest workers’ on a rotational basis, who would return home once their task is complete. However, the 800,000 workers who emigrated from 1961 to 1973 ended up staying and establishing socially in their new home.41 Those were also in general the more productive Turkish nationals, and as
Straubhaar observes, the average migrant was male, in his youth, married, and better educated than the ordinary Turkish citizen.42 Naturally, after the exchange agreement was terminated in 1973 emigration continued in the form of asylum claims, placing Germany in a difficult position with regards to its relationship with its Turkish minority.
In 2001 the Turkish diaspora remitted $US 4.5 billion, making a significant impact on the
Turkish economy, which could not go unnoticed. Hence, the Turkish state along with the
German government, for years has taken the approach of keeping the Turkish diaspora
41 Ostergaard-Nielsen, ed., 78. 42 Straubhaar, 110-111.
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‘temporary, but long term’. This included sending numerous of teachers to instruct Turkish children in their native language. Also, the Turkish state would undertake the emitting of native television programs to keep its diaspora at bay.43 Furthermore, in its desire to keep the ties with its diaspora alive, the Turkish state has also introduced a number of other measures including the introduction of dual citizenship in 1985; the granting of a ‘pink card’ to those who had lost their citizenship because of acquiring another one prior to
1985, which did not exactly bring the rights and freedoms that come with full citizenship, but did nevertheless grant certain legal and economic rights; the reduction of military service for emigrants etc.
More specific policy efforts included the launching of the ‘Village Development
Cooperatives’ and the ‘Turkish Workers Companies’ programmes.44 Both failed in their purpose, as the former, which was supposed to promote rural development never made this objective materialize, and the latter never received enough subsidies neither by a Turkish bank, nor by the migrant shareholders.45 Also, a special consultation commission, which included a state minister responsible for the Turkish citizens abroad, along with bureaucrats, and most importantly 45 members of the Turkish diaspora, was established to make decisions concerning the needs of the Turkish emigrant communities and make policy recommendations.
At the official level, there has also appeared a shift towards the acceptance of the multiple identities of migrants, and consequently dual citizenship. Ostergaard-Nielsen portrays an interesting incident:
43 Ostergaard-Nielsen, ed., 81. 44 Philip Martin, The Unfinished Story: Turkish Labour Migration to Western Europe with a Special Reference to the Republic of Germany (Geneva: International Labour Office, 1991). 45 Ostergaard-Nielsen, ed., 82.
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Cem Ozdemir, the first ‘guest worker child’ to enter the German Bundestag, describes
how, when he wanted to give up his Turkish citizenship in order to obtain a German one,
the Turkish consulate staff demanded that he bring his father who was then told off for not
bringing his child up properly. By contrast, consulate staff throughout EU member-states
are now encouraging migrants, not least those embarking on a political career, to obtain the
citizenship of their country of settlement.46
In another quote, the deputy prime minister has commented about Turkish emigrants’ presence in other countries, “…their presence is a lobby in and out of itself.”47
Unfortunately, Turkey’s human rights record, its persistent undemocratic political practices, high level of bureaucracy, and the inability of Turkish citizens to vote from abroad or run for office, have distanced and rendered the Turkish state largely ineffective in up-keeping constructive dialogue with its diaspora. As a result, as Schmitter notes, most of the communication channels are maintained by third party organizations, which often have their own objectives.48
In a nutshell, the Turkish case demonstrates that what started as a labor exchange agreement between two countries, grew into a major migration issue several years later. On the whole, throughout the last several decades, there can be observed a trend of rapprochement between the Turkish state and its diaspora at least on the level of public and state acceptance. From the right to dual citizenship to their image as great
46 Ibid, 83. 47 Ibid, 90. 48 Barbara Heisler Schmitter, "Sending Countries and the Politics of Emigration and Destination," International Migration Review 19, no. 3 (Fall 1985).
25 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES ambassadors, Turkish emigrants have been attributed a special place into the Turkish nation thanks to their importance both on the economic and political fronts.
The Philippines
The reason why, in my opinion, the Philippines is an important case to consider in this study, is because it demonstrates an instance where labor export would be an official long- term government policy. Despite the fact that the Filipino government denies such orientation, it has nevertheless created a sophisticated network of servicing labor emigrants that ultimately perpetuates emigration.49
Filipino labor migration is a phenomenon more than a century-long, and as Mary Lou
Alcid observes, today it comprises more than a fifth of the country’s workforce – 7.29 million people, remitting over $US 6 billion a year – a figure that represents the single biggest source of foreign currency in the country.50 Filipino emigrants don’t relocate exclusively to one country, as is the situation with Mexico and Turkey, and are in fact spread throughout 180 countries worldwide, and are generally occupying the lower strata of their host societies. Their sheer number and consequent economic input in the Filipino economy, have rendered the Philippines a country of extroversion, meaning that the local consumption is higher than the GDP.
Under such circumstances the Filipino government has opted for policies which would perpetuate the emigration trend. Starting from the symbolic level of glorifying the migrant
49 Mary Lou Alcid, "Overseas Filipino Workers: Sacrificial Lambs at the Altar of Deregulation," in International Migration and Sending Countries: Perceptions, Policies and Transnational Relations, ed. Eva Ostergaard-Nielsen (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 106-107. 50 Ibid, 100.
26 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES worker, the government has made June 07 the ‘migrant worker day’.51 Also, the two government institutions, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Overseas Worker’s Welfare Administration (OWWA), have been set up to facilitate the lives of migrants. The former regulates the recruitment and departure orientation of emigrants and the latter establishes welfare centers in places of high concentration of
Filipino workers in order to cater to their needs, provide emergency repatriation, and take care of families left behind.52 These two organizations, together with consulates which are highly protective of their emigrants abroad, and with numerous private recruiting agencies at home, have created a social atmosphere that induces further migration across generations.
The story does not end there. The Filipino government has also made major strides towards facilitating the return of migrant workers, seeking to capture the ever needed accumulated savings of emigrants. Therefore, a number of measures have been introduced including the issuing of small denominated treasury bonds for migrants overseas named “New Heroes” offering 4.5% interest; the establishment of the ‘Office of Reintegration’ which helps migrants invest in small business, and of the Expanded Livelihood Development
Programme under the OWWA that provides advice to returnees; a social security system which provides retirement protection scheme for returning migrants, etc.53
Clearly, emigration in the case of the Philippines is generated by the presence of an elaborate system of networks created by all three actors as far as migrant networks are concerned: the government, migrant agencies, and the migrants themselves. On the one
51 Philip Martin, "Best Practices to Manage Migration: The Philippines," International Migration Review 38 (Winter 2004): 1550. 52 Ibid. 53 Ibid.
27 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES hand, the official government’s position is that its main aim is to support its emigration communities abroad via its network of organizations, which is in fact true. On the other, opponents have criticized the government for plunging the country into an ever deepening dependency on an extroverted economic model which exports jobs abroad instead of creating them at home, and relies heavily on remittances.
Cyprus
The example of Cyprus, reveals a different kind of emigration process, and namely one that is generated of a strong push-factor – war. For the Greek Cypriots, the trouble occurred in 1974 when Turkey invaded Cyprus. Although this is not the single reason for emigration from Cyprus, which à prospos is not a new phenomenon for the country, this was nevertheless the event which triggered the biggest wave of emigration caused mainly by the high unemployment rates in the aftermath of the conflict, and this was the event that consequently united the diaspora abroad.
Under such circumstances Cyprus was interested, not so much in the remittances, but in the potential for political lobby overseas from its emigrants. Thus, the government launched a series of campaigns, appealing for support from the diaspora. In addition to calling emigrants ‘saviors’, ‘crusaders’, and ‘ambassadors’, the Cypriot government also established two structures to intensify its relations with the diaspora. The first one was the
World Federation of Overseas Cypriots, and the second one – the International
Coordination Committee for Justice for Cyprus. Whereas the former was set up in order to cater to the needs of emigrants and their cultural survival, the latter was crafted to capture the support of Cypriot communities worldwide. Those had a profound effect on the kind of interaction that resulted between the Cypriot state and its diaspora.
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Because emigration from Cyprus was politically generated, the subsequent approach adopted by the government was marked by the introduction of the ‘Cyprus International
Conference’, which occurred annually every August since 1976.54 There, members of the diaspora are well informed about the ‘Cyprus Problem’, which would become the vantage point adopted by the Cypriot government vis-à-vis its emigrant communities. Coupled with patriotic talk, and numerous meetings, cocktails, and receptions hosted by prominent politicians, the whole event attempted to draw together a dispersed nation under the same political ‘ad-hoc’ umbrella. Initially, this strategy proved to be a success. From political demonstrations, to hunger strikes, vigils, lobbying, concerts, and the Cyprus Relief Funds, the ‘Cyprus Problem’ approach was a huge success. Certain victories in the international arena as a result of the lobbying efforts of the diaspora included the adoption of the
‘Missing Legislation’ in the US which would investigate the fate of the missing US citizens in the conflict; the Porter Amendment, which cut more than half, or $25 million, the US aid to Turkey; the prevention of sale of nuclear reactors to Turkey; and so on.55
Despite such amazing devotion on the part of Cypriot emigrants towards their home-state, their relationship with Cyprus would weaken in the long run. The reason being, even thirty years after the conflict the Cypriot government would cling to the formula ‘The Cyprus
Problem’ that had certainly eroded to a degree, and as a result would be relatively oblivious to the needs of the diaspora.
54 Madeleine Demetriou, "Priming the Diaspora: Cyprus and the Overseas Greek Cypriots," in International Migration and Sending Countries: Perceptions, Policies and Transnational Relations, ed. Eva Ostergaard- Nielsen (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 192. 55 Ibid.
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Other examples
There are many other examples which deserve attention for the purpose of this study.
Notably Italy is a case of much interest, as in its long history of emigration, the country has developed an impressive network of organizations, institutions, and agencies which are directly or indirectly tied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.56 Armenia is another interesting example, which, much like Cyprus has experienced a violent conflict in the past, however, whose diaspora has experienced another major wave of migration following the collapse of the Soviet bloc. As a result, there is a strong division among the diaspora into ‘new’ and ‘old’, which puts the Armenian government in a position to discriminate between them.
Conclusions
This chapter, which serves as a contextual preamble to my main case study – Bulgaria, demonstrates that emigration policies and attitudes, and migration studies in general, are heavily endemic and dependent upon a multitude of specific socio-economic, political, historical and geographical factors that, in each case give birth to specific conditions which may not be relevant for other countries. For such reasons, a binary comparative study may not prove to be analytically objective and would miss important key clues as they relate to the objectives of this study, namely to understand the effects that emigration projects on selected countries and identify policy initiatives that are best suited for each case.
Therefore, the brief sketching of the four case studies above serves the purpose to take account of the scope of the field and provide an analytical basis for further research. Just some of the conditions that influence the type of state-migrant relationship include the
56 Schmitter, "Sending Countries and the Politics of Emigration and Destination."; Barbara Heisler Schmitter, "Sending States and Immigrant Minorities: The Case of Italy," Comparative Studies in Society and History 26, no. 2 (1984).
30 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES geographical proximity between home-states and host-states; the historical continuity of the emigration process; the political situation in the home-state that will define whether the emigrant communities will be sought for their lobby potential or for their remitting capabilities; the socio-economic positioning that emigrants occupy in countries of settlement which will determine the degree of their involvement; the cultural/religious/linguistic homogeneity of emigrants; the reason for emigration - whether political or economic; the political relationship between, both, the country of emigration and the country of immigration etc.
There are certain unifying characteristics that sending states share: they are all interested in one way or another in their nationals abroad. Whether simply for the purpose to capture remittances or to extend their influence abroad via the presence of their emigrants, sending countries have realized the need to establish a ‘two-way’ relationship, or dialogue, with their diaspora so that their objectives can materialize. Also, the unimpressive degrees of success shared in the examples above illustrate, not only the significant limitations of emigration countries, but also the independent position of emigrants in such dialogue, who have their own needs and requests.
In order to foster such a constructive long-term dialogue, as Ostergaard-Nielsen argues, there are two essential conditions that must be fulfilled: migrants must be protected in their new homes, and secondly, cultural links must be maintained over time, which of course would entail the active incorporation of emigrants in the domestic nation-building process of the home state.57 The former stems out of the realization that far too often migrants end up on the bottom of the social ladder in their new settings and in the so-called ‘3-D’
57 Ostergaard-Nielsen, ed.
31 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES employment: dirty, dangerous, and difficult. Such marginalization would often have a paralyzing effect, as far as individual transnational involvement is concerned. The
Philippines and Italy are good examples in which active steps have been made in this direction usually either through consular services and other para-governmental structures or through bilateral negotiations with other states in question, whereas the inactivity of
Mexico, for instance, has resulted in a failure in the form of ‘Proposition 187’ in the US.
As far as links with migrants are concerned, the process is far more complicated. From celebrating national holidays like in the Philippines, to providing teaching programs as is the case with Turkey, sending states must operate on numerous levels simultaneously.
Involving emigrants just ‘culturally’ into the nation is not enough. Considering the fact the emigration is an issue because of its economic impact, naturally, ways have to be found to involve emigrants in the economic process as well. Nyberg-Sorensen, for instance, has proposed the ‘5-T’ approach which suggests that sending states should create an infrastructure which revolves around the five economic areas that are common to the way the diaspora interacts with its respective home-state. Those are transport, telecommunication, tourism, trade, and transfers (remittances).58 Moreover, the idea of tying emigrants into the national economy of a given state has received numerous bids in the relevant literature. Some concrete suggestions involve specific concessions like those made by Cyprus including a rent rebate in the first year after return, the import of a duty- free car, and certain exemptions from military service. Other more general strategies, which would encourage emigrants to get involved economically in their home states are policies which facilitate and lower the price of electronic transfers and make available certain financially motivating measures such as foreign currency accounts with preferential
58 Nyberg-Sorensen, The Development Dimension of Migrant Remittances (Copenhagen: Danish Institute for Development Studies, 2004), 21.
32 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES conditions such as special exchange rates, preferential housing schemes, tax-relief, or information services for potential investment projects.59
In any event, emigration has proven to be a powerful element that many states are forced to consider. The potential strengths and benefits of emigrant communities have put many governments in a position to reconsider and possibly redefine their most basic tools of nation-building. Whether they are successful in the end or not, sending states are, in general and in varying pace, moving towards more liberal understanding of nationhood.
59 J.i. Cases Mendez and Moro Cabezas, "The Relation between Migration Policy and Economic Development and the Promotions of New Employment Possibilities for Returnees," International Migration 14 (1976).
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BULGARIA
In a very comprehensive study on the emigration trends in Bulgaria, the International
Organization for Migration makes it clear that Bulgaria, and some other neighboring countries in that respect, is significantly under-researched in this area. Not only is “the statistical apprehension of the phenomenon” lacking, but also no clear paths are identified towards the elaboration of adequate policy measures.60 Therefore, I intend to respond to this call by investigating historical process which has generated the phenomenon of emigration from Bulgaria, and later identify the impact that it has projected on Bulgarian society and state, by relying on some of the theoretical and evidential findings presented in earlier chapters.
Definition of ‘Emigrant’
Part of the reason why emigration has been difficult to measure and ‘tame’ in the case of
Bulgaria, is the fact that there is no clear conception of what an emigrant is. Today the
Bulgarian government works with the definition crafted in the 2001 law on ‘Bulgarians
Living Outside Bulgaria’.61 In it the understanding of what a Bulgarian is, falls in all of the following four categories of people: the old diaspora who are the ethnic Bulgarians left outside the borders of Bulgaria because of unsuccessful wars and consequent redrawing of borders; the 20th century diaspora which includes both the politically motivated emigration during the communist regime in Bulgaria, and the economically motivated one following the collapse of communism; persons of non-Bulgarian origin such as the ethnic Turks who left Bulgaria in several waves; and finally, possible groups gaining Bulgarian
60 Guencheva, Kabakchieva, and Kolarski,5. 61 Bulgarian Citizenship, (accessed 27.04.2005); available from http://www.bulgaria- embassy.org/Consular%20Information/Citizenship/bulcitiz.htm.
34 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES consciousness such as the Bulgarian Tatars. This all-embracing understanding of a diaspora, makes the Bulgarian approach towards its emigration one of the most liberal and open-minded and at the same time one of the most difficult to work with.
Emigration prior to 1989
For Bulgaria emigration is a long, yet uneven process. In the years between the (re)- establishment of independent Bulgarian state in 1878 and the First World War sizeable territories and Bulgarian communities were left outside the national borders of Bulgaria, because of the conflicts that Bulgaria experienced with neighboring countries, and most notably the Balkan wars in early 20th century.62 From those, Macedonia was the most painful ‘national loss’ because of its cultural proximity with Bulgaria. Such events founded the basis for the existence of Bulgaria’s ‘old diaspora’, as referred to above.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the newly established communist government, in a Cold War setting, looked at its sizeable Turkish population as a threat to its security.63
Therefore after negotiations with Turkey, Bulgaria opened its southern border in 1950 and
150 000 Bulgarian Turks emigrated from Bulgaria. After a series of other agreements between the two countries concerning the reunification of families across the border, another 110,000 Turks left Bulgaria between 1968 and 1978.64 Further several ethnic groups emigrated from Bulgaria, including Jews (around 47,000), Armenians, Slovaks and other who did not exceed the number of 10, 000.65
62 Richard Crampton, A Concise History of Bulgaria (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997). 63 Guencheva, Kabakchieva, and Kolarski, "The Social Impact of Seasonal Migration.", 12. 64 Iordan Kalchev, Vunshnata Migratsiia Na Naselenieto V Bulgaria [Foreign Migration of the Population in Bulgaria] (Sofia: Dunav Press, 2001), 133. 65 Guencheva, Kabakchieva, and Kolarski, "The Social Impact of Seasonal Migration.", 12-13.
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The number of political emigrants, or exiles, during the Cold War was fairly insignificant, and was only around 8000 in the 1950’s and steadily declining as the communist regime got a stronger grip on the state apparatus to the point that political emigration reached the meager 700 in the final 7 years of the communist regime (excluding the final ‘1989’ year that reversed the trend).66 This astonishingly low number was due to the nature of the communist regime in Bulgaria, whose one-party dictatorship crafted a closed system whose borders were sealed off to the masses and the freedom of movement was made available to the few ‘political favorites’.67 On the other hand, as will be made evident below, this kind of status quo helped build a tremendous emigration pressure, which would erupt as the country discarded the old communist garments in the early 1990’s.
In 1989, however, while the communist regime was enjoying its last breaths of life, another spree of ethnically motivated migration occurred, whose inception was engineered a few years earlier through the infamous ‘revival process’.68 In what was an effort to homogenize the Bulgarian nation, the Zhivkov cabinet undertook a campaign of renaming all the Bulgarian Turks, and hence the term ‘the revival process’. As the antagonism between the Bulgarian state and the ethnic Turks grew, another agreement was crafted between Bulgaria and Turkey, and in 1989 and in the short period of six months 360,000
Bulgarian Turks emigrated to Turkey.69
66 B. Vassileva, Bulgarskata Politicheska Emigratsiya Sled Vtorata Svetovna Voina [the Bulgarian Political Emigration after the Second World War] (Sofia: Sv. Kliment Ohridski, 1999). 67 Ibid.; Kostadin Chakurov, The Second Floor (London: Macdonald and Co., 1991). 68 Crampton, A Concise History of Bulgaria. 69 D. Bobeva, "Emigration from and Immigration to Bulgaria," in European Migration in the Late Twentieth Century: Historical Patterns, Actual Trends, and Social Implications, ed. Fassmann H. and Munz R. (Luxembourg: Aldershot, 1994).
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In a nutshell, the emigration process in Bulgaria, in the years prior to the collapse of the communist regime in 1989 can be characterized as politically motivated, mainly along ethnic lines. Both, the immigration and emigration processes were subject to the exclusive control of the Todor Zhivkov communist government.
Post 1989 Emigration
The Emigration wave following the collapse of communism was quite differently motivated from the one during communism. This time around, emigrants were leaving for economic reasons. Partly as a result of the built-up emigration pressure, mixed with the newly discovered freedom of movement, Bulgarians left for all corners of the world with the intention of acquiring a better standard of living.
It is difficult to measure exactly the impact that emigration has had on the Bulgarian society in the last fifteen years. First of all, as far as numbers are concerned, most of the figures represent ‘guesstimates’ rather than estimates. For instance, in an interview with
Denitsa Hristova, the current director of the Agency for the Bulgarians Abroad, taken by the newspaper ‘BG po Sveta’, she mentions that the Bulgarians abroad are about three million. Another source, however, which interestingly enough is published on the web-side of the same organization, claims that the Bulgarians abroad are four million.70 This shockingly large discrepancy is indicative of the lack of a unified methodology and research as far as Bulgarian emigrant communities are concerned. As already suggested, part of the reason is that the government and its appropriate institutions, such as the
70 Iordan Ianev and Plamen Pavlov, Svetovna Bulgaria [Worldly Bulgaria] (Sofia: Svetlostruj, 2000).; Zornitsa Vesselinova, Denitsa Hristova: Ne Poznavame Zhivota Na Sunarodnitsite Si V Chuzhbina [We Do Not Know the Lives of Our Nationals Abroad](accessed 26.04.2005); available from http://www.aba.government.bg/bg/BGpoSveta/Agency/20050318.html.
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National Statistical Institute (NSI) are not sure whom to count as a Bulgarian. However, other more pragmatic reasons are also in place, further complicating the situation.
The estimation of the number of the economically motivated emigration following the collapse of communism is equally inconsistent. According to a study conducted by the
NSI, which was based on the national censuses between 1992 and 2001, the total number of emigrants who left the country for good are 177,000.71 Then again, under the same umbrella of the NSI, another study conducted by Kalchev who uses border police data and questionnaires, concludes that the number of people who left the country for the period of
1989 and 2000 is about 640,000.72 Although it is difficult, in general, to take a side on such general issues, I believe that the second figure is closer to the demographic reality in
Bulgaria, and closely reflects the shift, or in decrease, in the country’s population size.73
This, in fact, represents a little less than ten percent of the present national population figure of approximately 7.9 million people.
Socio-Economic Impact
Not only is the number of emigrants a very significant proportion of the overall Bulgarian population, but also, and very importantly, this economically generated emigration has been happening only in the last fifteen years. This means that most emigrants abroad are still connected in one way or another with their homeland.
71 Kalchev, Vunshnata Migratsiia Na Naselenieto V Bulgaria [Foreign Migration of the Population in Bulgaria], 175. 72 Ibid, 213. 73 IMF, "International Financial Statistics," (2004).
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On the positive side, Bulgaria has experienced a considerable monetary inflow in the form of remittances. From January to November in 2002, for what is less than a full year, migrants’ remittances amounted to approximately $US 450 million, which represented almost 3% of the GDP, and surpassed by $US 20 million the amount of foreign investment, and were also more than threefold the amount of foreign aid.74 Guencheva has also pointed to the positive impact of was she calls ‘social remittances’, or in other words, the learned cultural and business practices abroad that emigrants import to Bulgaria upon their return home.75
On the negative side, Bulgaria faces the problem of depopulation, shared by other countries of the Eastern Bloc, and most notably Ukraine.76 Although not to the same degree as in Ukraine, depopulation in Bulgaria has been caused by the recent large scale and unregulated wave of emigration, and current estimates are that this trend will continue far into the 21st century, to the point that Bulgaria will become the worst affected country in Eastern Europe by 2050.77 The worst affected regions are rural areas, and mainly around the southern border with Turkey.
A second concern regarding the negative impact of emigration on Bulgarian society is the so-called ‘brain drain’, which denotes the permanent departure of qualified and highly educated people from Bulgaria.78 This is in fact one of the strongest points of trepidation for numerous experts in Bulgaria. Those highly educated people are motivated both, by the
74 Guencheva, Kabakchieva, and Kolarski, 48. 75 Ibid, 49-52. 76 Elena Nyanenkova, "Disaster by Depopulation," The Bridge (Spring 2005). 77 Evrostat: Naselenieto Na Es Shte Namaliava Ot 2025 [the Population of the Eu Will Decrease from 2025], (accessed 09.04.2005); available from http://www.bnr.bg. 78 D. Bobeva, Migratsiiata - Evropeiskata Integratriia I Iztichaneto Na Mozutsi Ot Bulgaria [the Migration - European Integration and the Brain Drain from Bulgaria] (Sofia: TsID, 1996); E. Tsekova, "Zagubite Na Nauchen Potentsial Ot Zvenata Na Ban Prez 1990-1992 [the Losses of Scientific Potential from the Ranks of Ban in the Period 1990-1992]," Naselenie 4 (1993).
39 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES prospects for better remuneration, and by the desire to secure better working conditions.
Their number is estimated to be around a third of all the emigrants from Bulgaria.79
Emigration has also given birth to another permanent transformation in Bulgarian society, and namely the creation of extensive networks of Bulgarians with communities abroad, which at least in the minds of people, serve as safety cushions against economic hardship and in fact intensify and perpetuate the emigration process, providing that the economic conditions don’t improve.
Iordan Kalchev demonstrates that although most people won’t emigrate from the country, a large number of people in Bulgaria (3/4 of those interviewed) are unhappy with their lives at home, and would welcome emigration as a solution for their children.80 This is largely because the established links with migration communities, whether through friends and relatives or through other channels such as TV, provide information about prospects that don’t exist domestically in Bulgaria.
Policy Measures and Recommendations
Naturally, there have been numerous experts and concerned individuals voicing their opinions and recommendations regarding the actions that should be taken in relation to emigration. For instance, in a publication on the State Agency of the Bulgarians Abroad
(hence ‘The State Agency’) web site, Georgi Vassilev proposes the catalogization of all the
Bulgarian organizations outside the borders of Bulgaria, as well as of the more prominent
79 Iordan Kalchev, Profiles and Motives of Potential Migrants from Bulgaria (Budapest, Hungary: Migration Information Programme, 1997), 7. 80 Ibid, 4.
40 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES
Bulgarians abroad.81 Furthermore, regarding the problem of brain drain, Atanas Atanasov from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences examines some of the strategies of attracting back the educated people that have been applied by other countries including France and
Hungary. Those include the creation of post-doctoral positions at home institutions, the raising of professors’ salaries, and inviting foreign prominent scholars.82 In a study published in the ‘Nova BGeneratsiia’ organization, Angelov goes on to suggest that the so- called ‘brain drain’ process may actually prove to be beneficial to a country of emigration such as Bulgaria, so long as the number of emigrated specialists does not exceed the number of specialists staying at home. In his opinion, a large number of students stimulates the educational system, and provides further networks and ‘know-how’ exchanges in the future.83
Answering all of the calls above, and going even further has been the main objective of the
State Agency for the Bulgarians Abroad. Established in 1993 simply as an administrative institution within the ministry of Interior, it acquired a new status in 2000 which made it a government organ directly under the jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers. Concurrently with the realizations reached in the previous case studies, the agency has officially declared that its three main priorities are to stimulate the formation of a Bulgarian lobby abroad; to maintain the cultural links between Bulgaria and its emigrant communities abroad; and finally to protect the well-being of Bulgarians abroad.
81 Georgi Vassilev, Vuzmozhniyat Koridor Nazad [the Possible Corridor Back Home](accessed 25.04. 2005); available from http://www.aba.government.bg/bg/pages/Izsledvaniya/Reintegration/home-coming.html. 82 Atanas Atanosov, Praktikite Na Niakoi Evropeiski Strani Za Reintegratsiia Na Visokokvalifitsirani Spetsialisti [the Practices of Some European Countries with Regards to the Reintegration of Highly Qualified Specialists](accessed 01.05.2005); available from http://www.aba.government.bg/bg/pages/Izsledvaniya/Reintegration/BAN.html. 83 Hristo Angelov, Priobshtavane Na Kvalifitsiranata Emigratsiya Kum Bulgaria [Attracting Skilled Emigration Towards Bulgaria](accessed 03.05.2005); available from http://www.aba.government.bg/bg/pages/Izsledvaniya/Reintegration/NovaBG.html.
41 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES
In order to realize these goals the State Agency has undertaken a number of initiatives.
First of all it has created a web-site which congregates all the activities and projects regarding the emigrant communities that are currently in place. There it publishes two electronic newspapers. The first one, “Ek” is released bi-weekly and contains information on numerous cultural events and achievements, as well as historical articles. In the second newspaper, “BG po Sveta” – meaning Bulgaria throughout the World, the reader has the opportunity to learn about the success that other emigrants have achieved in various fields, as well as some practical information regarding relevant organizations and events happening in emigrant communities.
The State Agency has also published a manual that teaches Bulgarian language, as well as practical information in the field of Bulgarian studies. Further information regarding the
Bulgarian Constitution, the Law on Bulgarians Living Outside the Territory of Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Citizenship Act, and links to educational institutions can also be accessed.
Most importantly, the State Agency has published a list of approximately 500 Bulgarian organizations found in all corners of the globe that can be viewed by anybody interested.
Furthermore, the Agency works closely with other state departments, including the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the President, the Prime Minister etc., and act successfully as a mediating organ between the Bulgarian state and the emigrants.
As Angelov from BGeneratsiia correctly observes, the reasons for today’s emigration from
Bulgaria are economic, and therefore, “return of emigration can not be discussed outside the framework of the Bulgarian economic situation.” This statement applies not just to the
42 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES possible return of emigrants, but also as a precondition for the healthy relationship between the Bulgarian state and its diaspora. As a result, in order to reverse the negative effect of emigration, the Bulgarian state has embarked on a mission to eliminate further low-skilled emigration in the future, mainly through the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. This has entailed the formulation of several specific programmes geared towards the integration of low-skilled labor in the national economy including the National Programme ‘From Social
Aid to Securing Employment’; the Article 55 of the Employment Promotion Act, which stimulates employers to open work places for unemployed former prisoners; and similar measures, also under the Employment Promotion Act, towards single parents, orphaned youth, youth with impaired capabilities, and the Roma.84
Finally, another major effort by the Bulgarian government should be recognized, and namely its attempt to regulate the emigration process, similar to the experience with other sending countries such as Turkey. As Guencheva observes, since 1991 Bulgaria has signed
4 intergovernmental work and exchange agreements with Germany and Switzerland, which have accommodated more than 20,000 people, most of whom have returned to Bulgaria after their contract have expired. 85
Conclusion
In conclusion, the effect that emigration has projected on Bulgarian society and political arena has been both, painful and at the same time indicative of a positive move towards the opening of a new, liberal historical chapter. At the same time, the isolated individual
84 Guencheva, Kabakchieva, and Kolarski, 77. 85 Ibid, 72-73.
43 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES successes towards a well-functioning and all-rounded emigration policy, however, should not be overestimated.
Because of its limited resources, relative inexperience in migration management, and clearly no adequate information to work with, Bulgaria is still in the initial stages of formulating a sound stand and concrete policies towards its emigrant communities abroad.
The first step in the right direction has already been made. Bulgaria chosen to be inclusive of its distant nationals by granting the right to dual citizenship, and by expanding tremendously the definition of the nation – so far as to include groups which are currently
‘gaining Bulgarian consciousness’. Furthermore, voting rights while abroad are also present, unlike in the case with countries such as Turkey and Mexico. By providing the above-mentioned freedoms in addition to the numerous information services, the Bulgarian government has created a favorable basis for the flourishing of a positive relationship with its emigrant population.
However, on the level of active interaction with emigrants, the Bulgarian state has achieved little. Lacking are strong incentives for return, as well as the availability of a comprehensive agenda for the political and economic participation of emigrants in the country’s domestic activities. Specific measures such as preferential tax treatment, first- year rent rebate, selective housing schemes, common financial projects, social services via the consulates, all of which have been tried in other sending countries (with varying degrees of success, of course) are still to find ground in Bulgaria. This is of uttermost importance, since both, the country’s entry into the European Union in 2007 and the logic behind the ‘Emigration Hump’ theory, indicate that the Bulgaria is well on the way to curb
44 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES unwanted emigration and create the conditions for stability that will attract people in the opposite direction – back towards home.
45 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES
MIGRATION AND THE NATION-STATE:
Concluding Remarks
From the overwhelming complexity of migration issues, to the inconsistency between rhetoric and practice in the realm of policy-making, this study demonstrates that migration research is truly a global issue. Although the primary focus here was on emigration countries, it is really evident that as migration permeates through national boundaries, it leaves no place unaffected. Receiving states are equally involved in the process, and may act in a way to encourage or obstruct the relocation of people.
It was also evident that both questions about the effects of emigration on sending countries and the quest for appropriate emigration policies left open-ended answers. The positive impact of emigration included the alleviation of the unemployment rate, the inflow of capital in the form of remittances, the ‘social upgrading’ of those who have traveled abroad, and the continuous pressuring of undemocratic governments to change their ways of managing their respective countries. As far as the negative consequences are concerned, some of the consequences for countries of emigration are the extroversion of their economies, the loss of highly skilled and educated people, depopulation, and so on. Most importantly, once the wheel of emigration has been spun due to strong ‘push’ or ‘pull’ factors, not only will it establish the corresponding tangible, relational or regulatory types of networks that will perpetuate the process, but it would also shape the mentality of people, whose way of thinking would always embrace the idea of emigration as a solution to their problems.
46 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES
Needless to say, the emigration pressure at home, and the pressure exerted from emigrant communities abroad has influenced governments to redefine their positions and policies vis-à-vis their distant nationals. Based on the examples above, it is safe to generalize that a successful emigration policy that manages to integrate the activities and identities of emigrants into the nation-building of home-states involves both their prosperity abroad and their cultural connectedness to their homeland. Therefore, a variety of tools have been applied by sending states in order to make these conditions happen. Some of those include the organizing of conferences jointly with members from the diaspora; the offering of language classes; concluding bilateral agreements with receiving states on the issues of social security, permanent residence and so on.; recognizing the home-state legal status and rights of emigrants, and so on.
Naturally, the effects and consequences of emigration as illustrated above, add certain complexity to the conception and praxis of absolute constructions such as sovereign states, and the authenticity of their physical and social boundaries. In fact, a great deal of literature in the field of nationalism studies discusses the nature of nations by emphasizing their existence as absolute units, which under certain favorable conditions, manage to unify cultural, religious, linguistic and other characteristics of people within common geographical boundaries, and thus foster the formation of states as their operational units.86
Similarly, Anthony Smith argues that nationalism, which is the ideological movement that strives towards the unity, identity and autonomy of a human population, is in fact governed by a general ideology which sees the World as divided into nation-states which are the
86 Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (London: Verso, 1991).; Liah Greenfeld, Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1992).; Anthony Smith, National Identity (London: Penguin Books, 1991).
47 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES source of political power, and the object of the highest loyalty and identity of people.87
Respectively, the phenomenon of migration, I believe, does not disagree with such theories, as nationalist identities, interactions and politics continue to be a dominant reality in our modern World today. It does, nevertheless, indicate that those nationalist identities and feelings are man-made constructions, and are in certain circumstances subject to being overridden by other economic and political factors. Clearly, the new ‘global realities’ of today have witnessed the loyalties of many people divided between multiple states, and their identities anchored at different ‘concentric levels’, thus adding a new dimension to the discussion nation-states and nationalism.
Also, this study has left a major issue unexplored, and namely the scenario where a sending country’s efforts towards the building of a comprehensive emigration policy would be interpreted by a country of emigration as an infringement of its sovereignty. The consequent security issues such as irredentism, separatism, minority rights, and so on, are just some complications which represent separate academic disciplines themselves.
Therefore, it is obvious that the field of migration research is sometimes subordinate to more pertinent and conflicting issues.
In conclusion I hope that this study demonstrates that human migration has a tremendous potential and energy which is much dependent on external circumstances. By examining the possible benefits and also the detrimental effects of emigration on sending countries, and further considering the willingness of the latter to move in a direction that incorporates the needs and strengths of emigrants into their respective nation-building processes, it is evident that migration is in fact a tool that, in the hands of politicians, can be a catalyst for
87 Smith, National Identity., 74.
48 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES desirable results. From this point of view, one can see that migration is neither a burden, nor a blessing. It is, rather, an opportunity to build bridges among people and make countries embrace liberal ideals.
Î
49 Vassil Nikolov | MA Thesis | Nationalism Studies Program | June 2005 TAMING EMIGRATION: BULGARIA AND OTHER SELECTED CASES
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