Torsello, Davide - Pappová, Melinda: Social Networks in Movement. Time, interaction and interethnic spaces in Central Eastern Europe - Nostra Tempora 8. (Somorja-Dunaszerdahely, 2003)
Interaction, migration and change
220 Zdenëk Uherek - Katerina Plochová problems to the government, Parliament or the general public; they turn only to a few Czech NGOs. Generally speaking, foreign workers from Ukraine do not create an institutionalised network that could support them or operate on their behalf. It seems to us that this is a limitation either on the side of Czech institutions or of foreign workers. 3. Arrival with governmental or Mafia assistance Immigrants from the Chernobyl region as well as the other above-mentioned re-settlers requested assistance from the Czech government because they knew how difficult it was for common people from the East to resettle in a foreign country. In the Czech Republic this is nearly impossible without the help of a third person. Government support had prevented the re-settlers from receiving any assistance from other people. But what possibilities are available to Ukrainian migrant labourers? These individuals usually live in their home country in villages with poor conditions and lack the experience of dealing with official institutions. It is too complicated and expensive for them to find a job in the Czech Republic with all the visa, travel and accommodation costs. Also, it is quite a risky procedure for such single workers because in many cases they had been object of robberies. The second alternative is to ask a special organisation for mediation. In Subcarpathian Ukraine there operate many Ukrainian mediators, so-called “clients", who advertise possibilities for arranging work. These "clients" go to a village where they offer to arrange visas for workers, guarantee them accommodation in the Czech Republic, and organise their transport, all without any payment up front. The workers pay the mediators only after they have made their money. The "clients” in fact do fulfil their promises. Nevertheless, when guest workers arrive in the Czech Republic, they usually do not know where they will be received; sometimes they do not even know what their income will be. Everything is mediated
