2020 Ditrău xenophobic incident
2020 Ditrău xenophobic incident | |||
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![]() Perspective of the village of Ditrău | |||
Date | 26 January 2020 – March 2020 | ||
Location | 46°51′39″N 25°34′26″E / 46.86083°N 25.57389°E | ||
Caused by |
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Methods | Protest, discrimination, social exclusion | ||
Resulted in |
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Lead figures | |||
Köllő Katalin and other company directors Local chaplain | |||
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The 2020 Ditrău xenophobic incident refers to the incident that started on 26 January 2020 in the village of Ditrău (Hungarian: Ditró), Harghita County, in Romania, in which around 1,800 ethnically Hungarian locals protested the employment of two, later three Sri Lankan workers by the bakery Ditrói Pékség. The locals, led by the chaplain of the village, protested that the bakery's working conditions dissatisfied them and that they feared the immigrants could impose their culture and threaten the Hungarian local ethnic identity. On 11 February, a petition signed by 1,800 people was sent to the town hall of the village with several requests, among them, the improvement of these working conditions, the end of immigration to the village and compensations and apologies to the population.
The incident affected the popularity and income of the company, with workers and owners being repeatedly threatened by locals. The two Sri Lankans were forced to move in
Background
Due to the large number of Romanian citizens that have emigrated from Romania, several companies have been left without sufficient human resources, which has led them to attract immigrants.[1] However, a 2019 study by the Romanian Institute for Evaluation and Strategy (IRES) showed that 68% of the Romanians surveyed were highly suspicious of immigrants and 50% would stop them at the border if they could.[2]
The inhabitants of
On the other hand, according to the newspaper
Csata Zsombor, another sociologist, has indicated that, according to a study on the economy based in ethnicity in Transylvania, a non-Hungarian employee who works in a Hungarian-speaking environment earns 50 to 450 lei less than an employee who does the same position but in a company where he is the only Hungarian. He says that the degree of Hungarian ethnic homogeneity at work is related to disadvantage in the salary. There is an average difference of 300 lei if someone does not have many Romanian colleagues compared to someone who has a similar position but in a completely Romanian environment.[9]
Incident
January
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Szekely_Land_issues.svg/220px-Szekely_Land_issues.svg.png)
Ditrói Pékség, in Ditrău, is a bakery built with funds from the
Almost two weeks after the engagement of the two Sri Lankan bakers by the company in question, their presence led to a riot of a part of the community in Ditrău, which saw them as a threat to the village.
On 27 January,
After being threatened, the Sri Lankans moved to a house in Lăzarea, a neighbouring village. The owner of the house there was also threatened, so both workers started looking for a house in Gheorgheni. The same day, the inhabitants of Ditrău announced their intention to protest during a town council meeting. The 200 locals continued protesting in the courtyard of a church,[6] where the chaplain organized a meeting on the fate of the Székelys and the injustices suffered by them. After that, he led the group to the building in which the town council meeting was held,[7] but due to limited space and the busy schedule of those who attended the meeting, the protest was postponed to 1 February. Afterwards, the protesters went back to the church.[6]
The first to react was the mayor of the commune, who involved in mediating the situation and urged people to calm, and the employers of the company. The directors of the company, ignoring the locals, stated that they would continue to work with Sri Lankans. The company's other workers, including some who had worked abroad, supported them as well.[6] However, locals did not relent, beginning to boycott the company's revenue under the argument that "bread is made by foreigners".[14] In fact, the sales of the bakery dropped by 30%.[5] Furthermore, hundreds of racist and hate comments continued to be posted on Facebook.[7]
February
On 1 February, approximately 300 people gathered at a meeting in the Cultural House in Ditrău. The bakery owners did not participate although they were asked to attend insistently. They, however, sent a letter to the inhabitants in which they, among other things, apologized for not warning them of the arrival of foreigners.[13] During the discussion, it was revealed that there had previously been a deep conflict between the company owners and the locals, and that this incident had only aggravated the situation between them.[7] Protestants expressed dissatisfaction with the employers' attitude towards some of the workers who had been there at the company and the salary they had received.[13] The financial newspaper Ziarul Financiar stated that, based on the public data of the company, the 90 workers were being paid the Romanian minimum wage of the time.[7]
During the meeting, locals insisted that they did not want immigrants in the village,
On 2 February, after the National Council for Combating Discrimination ordered to be notified in case of relocation of the two Sri Lankans to another stage of the production, the company directors announced that the workers will retain their initial workplace. Furthermore, they also announced that some of the other workers of the bakery were being threatened for collaborating with the foreigners.[16] In a press release, the employers described several of the threats the locals were sending to the immigrants, including the slogan published in the Facebook group Să dăm foc ca în annul ’90 ("Let's set fire like in the 90s", referring to the ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș), stating that they intended to set the bakery on fire.[20] Also, one of the bakery's businessperson announced that due to the incident of the past days, another bakery that was planned to be built in Ditrău with funds of the European Union will be built elsewhere.[21]
On 3 February, the local police of Gheorgheni registered a complaint by the company for the events in the village.[22] Throughout the whole incident, the Sri Lankan embassy, concerned about the safety of two workers, contacted them.[7] On 4 February, the bakery was fined 10,000 lei, and the employers were warned for committing four minor irregularities.[23]
The day after a third Sri Lankan worker arrived in Romania on 10 February to work in the bakery,
On 21 February, the owner of the company Köllő Katalin announced that it had hired another four workers from Nepal, who would arrive in about a month. In addition, she said the petition had not yet been officially received by the company.
Consequences
The media coverage of what happened in Ditrău highlighted the fact that what happened in the locality was not an isolated case in Romania. Therefore, a partner of the company Soter&Partners which, among other things, brings foreigner workers to the country, mentioned several similar cases. Among them is one from Cluj-Napoca, in which several persons protested the presence of Sri Lankan workers in a restaurant and sent a petition to the town hall. Other cases occurred in Râmnicu Vâlcea and in Bucharest.[29] Until February 2020, however, there was no data specifying in how many localities in Romania similar phenomena happened.[5]
The incident attracted great attention from the ethnic Romanian public who began to discuss the "export of ideologies" given by the
According to the journalist Răzvan Bibire, the incident also presents an opportunity to start discussing at a national level the overexploitation suffered by many employees and the difficulties they have in defending their
The incident served as a basis for R.M.N., a 2022 drama film written and directed by Cristian Mungiu.[33]
See also
- Antiziganism
- Human rights in Romania
- Minorities of Romania
- Romania–Sri Lanka relations
References
- ^ "Lideri politici din Harghita condamnă "manifestările de xenofobie" de la Ditrău şi cer autorităţilor să ia măsuri". HotNews (in Romanian). 30 January 2020. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Păvălucă, Luana (30 January 2020). "Csaba Asztalos, președintele CNCD: Povestea de la Ditrău, consecință a discursului urii". Digi24 (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ a b c Verseck, Keno (3 February 2020). "Viktor Orban's dangerous export of ideologies". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ a b Popescu, Daniel (2 February 2020). "Președintele Academiei, despre cazul Ditrău: Întâmplarea – cu rădăcini mult mai profunde; este vorba și de rasism". Agerpres (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ a b c Badea, Camelia (9 February 2020). ""Paradoxul Ditrău" – ce dezvaluie statisticile si ce pericole ascunde prima miscare sociala anti-imigratie din Romania Interviu". ziare.com (in Romanian).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Ștefan, Gina (29 January 2020). "REPORTAJ Harghita: Nemulțumire în comunitatea din Ditrău, după angajarea a doi muncitori sri-lankezi la o fabrică de pâine". Agerpres (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Zoltán, Sipos (6 February 2020). "Furia anti-imigranţi de la Ditrău se pliază peste cel mai clasic tip de exploatare. Reportaj VIDEO". Átlátszó Erdély (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Hurezean, Ruxandra (6 February 2020). "Ditrău, 1990". Transilvania Reporter (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Tünde, Szabó (28 January 2020). "Piața nu readuce limba maghiară în spațiul public, dimpotrivă: contribuie la enclavizare". Átlátszó Erdély (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Protest la Ditrău împotriva angajării a doi srilankezi la brutărie". Radio Europa Liberă România (in Romanian). 30 January 2020. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "UDMR intervine în scandalul brutarilor srilankezi din Harghita: "Nu putem accepta incitarea la ură"". HotNews (in Romanian). 30 January 2020. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Cum s-a văzut cazul Ditrău în Ungaria? "Un Ditrău fără migranţi" – mesajul Budapestei în Ardeal". Adevărul (in Romanian). 2 March 2020. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "Revolta de la Ditrău: Poliția a deschis dosar penal in rem pentru incitare la ură sau discriminare / CNCD se autosesizează după ce fabrica a anunțat că îi scoate din producție pe cei doi muncitori din Sri Lanka – UPDATE". HotNews (in Romanian). 1 February 2020. Archived from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Peter, Lepedus. "VIDEO Doi srilankezi în Harghita – O poveste despre ură și dezinformare". Radio Europa Liberă România (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ^ a b Magradean, Vasile (1 February 2020). "Peste 300 de persoane s-au strâns la Căminul Cultural din Ditrău pentru a discuta despre problema brutarilor din Sri Lanka. Primarul a plâns, iar patronul şi-a cerut scuze de la localnici | FOTO, VIDEO". Mediafax (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ a b Magradean, Vasile (2 February 2020). "Răsturnare de situaţie la Ditrău. Patronii s-au răzgândit în privinţa celor doi brutari: vor face pâine în continuare". Mediafax (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Nastalia, Valentin (1 February 2020). "Ştefan Mandachi se implică în scandalul de la Ditrău. Mesaj manifest al omului de afaceri: "O să deschid o franciză la Sfântu Gheorghe. Vor fi străini acolo, s-a priceput?"". Mediafax (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "O brutărie mureșeană se oferă să îi angajeze pe cei doi sri-lankezi din Ditrău". Zi de zi (in Romanian). 2 February 2020.
- ^ "Srilankezii de la Ditrău sunt doriţi la Cluj". Făclia (in Romanian). 3 February 2020. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ ""Să dăm foc ca-n anul '90" – brutăria din Ditrău publică amenințările de la locuitori". Radio Europa Liberă România (in Romanian). 2 February 2020. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ^ "Cum a perceput presa din Ungaria cazul Ditrău". Radio Europa Liberă România (in Romanian). 3 February 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ^ "Patronii brutăriei din Ditrău au făcut plângere penală la Poliție pentru amenințare, incitare la ură și discriminare". HotNews. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Salceanu, Diana (4 February 2020). "Ditrău bakery fined vy RON 10,000. Owners press charges for threat and incitement to hatred". The Romania Journal. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Magradean, Vasile (11 February 2020). "Cazul Ditrău: Încă un muncitor din Sri Lanka a ajuns la brutărie, unde urmează să fie angajat". Mediafax (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Magradean, Vasile (11 February 2020). "Petiţie la Ditrău, în Harghita: 1.800 de locuitori cer patronilor brutăriei să nu angajeze străini". Mediafax (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Magradean, Vasile (21 February 2020). "Brutăria din Ditrău va angaja patru muncitori din Nepal". Mediafax (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "Harghita: Patronul brutăriei din Ditrău s-a întâlnit cu preotul comunei; primarul susține că situația începe să se normalizeze". Agerpres (in Romanian). 26 February 2020. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "Kelemen Hunor, despre cazul Ditrău: Nu trebuie stigmatizată toată comunitatea, nu e o vină colectivă". Digi24 (in Romanian). 3 March 2020. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Barbuta, Florin (3 February 2020). "Cazul Ditrău nu este singular. Șeful unei firme care aduce muncitori în țară a confirmat alte trei cazuri". HotNews (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 14 March 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Kiss, Tamás; Toró, Tibor (26 February 2020). "Note despre cazul Ditrău". Observator Cultural (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Bibire, Răzvan (4 February 2020). "Nu e despre rasism! E despre exploatare". Deșteptarea (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Peter, Lepedus (19 February 2020). "Ditrău: Golul lăsat de presa românească a fost umplut de cea maghiară". Radio Europa Liberă România (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ^ Lattanzio, Peter (28 April 2023). "Cristian Mungiu: 'I Pass as Being Radical in the States, but Here I'm Very Mainstream'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 14 May 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
External links
- Official page of the bakery (in Hungarian and Romanian)