As EU gates open, 'paradise' flows East

"There are lots of stories about Romanian owners of a successful construction company in England or restaurant in Spain, but also of those living out of garbage bins in Rome, too proud to come home," says Mihaela Danga, of the Center for Independent Journalism in Bucharest.

Still, locals here predict that when their countrymen receive their EU passports, some will be tempted to set out in search of better-paying opportunities.

"Immigration will likely come from the extremes," says Anca Ciuca, president of the Foundation for Democratic Change. "If you have no place to work where you live and see no future for your family, this is one source. The other will be among the highly educated who have little civic spirit, with no concern to help this society, but only care about a higher standard of living for them and their families."

Observers agree that broadly categorized, three groups to date have generated most migrants: laborers from devastated agricultural and industrial sectors; urban professionals in search of greater compensation for their talents (the IOM's Chauzy notes that his dentist in Geneva is Romanian); and Roma, also referred to as Gypsies.

A new source may be Moldovans. A majority of citizens in Moldova – an impoverished country that was part of Romania until 1940 – claim Romanian descent, and as many as 400,000 have obtained Romanian citizenship in recent months.

Still, the decision to go remains deeply personal.

"I'm in my dream job right now," says Boris Shirov, a Bulgarian who works in radio-satellite communications in Sofia. "I can live off my salary, I'm happy with my friends, and I can visit 10 clubs in this area without getting into a taxi. But I miss my girlfriend, because she works in Brussels. So I may try to find a job there."

Across the border in Calarasi, Romania, a run-down industrial town near the southern bend of the Danube River, a mud-splattered ditch digger named Ion Bodeanu has a different take. Recently back from Italy, where he had to work 14-hour days, seven days a week, for 750 euros a month – despite having been promised 40-hour weeks for 950 euros monthly – Mr. Bodeanu says he wouldn't discourage other emigrants.

His young colleague, Ilie Inu, says he'd do it, with one condition.

"I'd want someone whom I trust to tell me that it's OK, you go and it's safe," says Mr. Inu. "I make 200 euros here, so if I at least know what to expect, I'd do it for 700 euros."

It's young people like Inu whom Silvia Luminita Nastase would like to keep in Calarasi. Industrial collapse has reduced the population by 75 percent in the past two decades, so Ms. Nastase – the city's director of community development – says she's trying to lure foreign investors. She recently returned from a trip to China for that purpose.

"I hope we can create opportunities for young people to come back to town – or at least keep them here – with challenging, well-paying jobs," says Nastase.

Her only child, Ciprian, is surfing the Internet for college scholarships in France, where he visited last summer. There's no guarantee he would return to Calarasi, says his mother. "I'd put it at 50-50 that he stays or goes," says Nastase. "And if he goes," she says with a laugh, "maybe I'd go with him."

• Last of three parts. The first two ran Dec. 27 and 28.

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