The news came at an inopportune time: at the end of August, at the height of the tourist season, three young Croats beat up a worker from India in the center of Zagreb. Simply because it is different.
In a country like Croatia, with a chronic labor shortage, the attack caused a stir. Even the Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović from the national-conservative party "Croatian Democratic Community" spoke strongly, condemning the act and stressing that "no violence will be tolerated". At the same time, he called on citizens to "oppose intolerance and prejudice and report any suspected hate crime". He also appealed for "building a society based on solidarity, respect and love for one's neighbor".
The minister knows how necessary such warnings are: for years his department has registered an increase in crimes against foreigners in Croatia, especially against foreign workers. While 228 such crimes were documented in 2022, last year the number reached 1,150, and in the first seven months of this year it doubled once more.
Foreign workers are becoming more and more
When Croatia became a member of the EU in 2013, the emigration of labor to the West, which began in the 1960s, intensified. In the last ten years alone, about 400,000 Croats have left the country, mainly for Germany, Austria and Ireland. At the same time, more and more foreign workers started arriving in Croatia.
According to official statistics, over 80,000 work permits were issued to foreigners in 2021. By 2023, this figure rises to 174,000, and by 2024, according to forecasts, it could even reach 200,000. This is a lot for a country with 3.8 million inhabitants, of which about 1.7 million are working - equivalent to 12 the percentage of the active population.
Nearly half of the nearly 159,000 permits granted since the start of this year have been to people from the former Yugoslavia. However, there are also many workers from Nepal, India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Egypt. Since most of them are low-skilled and work mainly in construction, catering or as couriers, they are not usually perceived as an economic threat by the local population. Many Croatians are aware that much of the country's economy could no longer function without immigrants - especially the all-important tourism industry.
Fear of those who are "foreign"
From the point of view of culture, identity and security, however, newcomers are not well received, explains Vedrana Baricevic, professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb: "Studies show that that part of society that perceives immigration as a problem prefers people who come from countries and cultures considered similar," says Baricevic. Many in Croatia, for example, believe that Muslims are backward and potentially dangerous, especially if they do not come from neighboring countries. But there is also skepticism towards immigrants from Nepal, India or the Philippines in terms of whether they can integrate into Croatian society and culture, the expert explains.
The increase in violence against foreign workers is no surprise to Lucia Mulalic of the Center for Peace Studies in Zagreb. "On the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, there has been violence against refugees for years," explains the employee of the non-governmental organization that supports migrants in Croatia with free legal assistance.
Violence against "others" it has become normal. The fact that the victims are now more often foreign workers is because their numbers have increased and therefore they have become more visible. "Basically, it's the same kind of violence, only the focus has changed," Mulalic says, adding that the police use violence against refugees and the political leadership ignores violence against people branded as "others".
They are also vulnerable in the labor market
Foreign workers in Croatia also face many problems in the labor market. Their residence permit is directly linked to their contract and is issued for one year, after which it must be renewed. If he loses his job, the foreign worker has 14 days to find a new one, otherwise he remains without a residence permit. This opens the door to discrimination.
"People avoid complaining, for example, if their wages are delayed, they are not paid for overtime and they are discriminated against in the workplace because they are afraid of losing their position,", Mulalich points out.
Repetition of German mistakes
Since Croatia is not yet perceived as a migrant country, foreign workers are mostly seen as temporary residents. This leads to isolation in their communities, especially among migrant workers from Asia. "Instead of learning from the experience of the Croats who went to Germany and other Western European countries as guest workers since the 1970s, the mistakes that were made there are being repeated. Germany acted as if the people had only come temporarily and did not think about their integration into society. We in Croatia are now continuing this policy, from which we should actually learn how not to do it," Mulalic believes.
A key factor for integration - as in Germany - is learning the language. But publicly funded programs for learning foreign languages and integration are only available to those who are recognized as refugees, and are insufficient, emphasizes Vedrana Baricevic. Now, however, there seems to be progress: the new Aliens Act should include integration measures and take into account the needs of foreign workers.