They exploit them, cheat them with rents, live in appalling conditions - and yet many Bulgarians in Gelsenkirchen or Duisburg do not want to return. For them, anything else is better than their previous life in the homeland.
The author of the "Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung" (WAZ) Sinan Sat says that thousands of poverty migrants from Bulgaria and Romania have been arriving in Germany for years, hoping for a better life. As the data show, in the period between 2013 and 2023 in the German province of North Rhine-Westphalia, the number of Bulgarians increased from 31,097 to 106,164, and Romanians – from 49,154 to 168,711.
But many of these people live on the fringes of society, in housing where probably no one else would live. At the same time, they cause the displeasure of the neighbors – with its mountains of trash, noise and arrogant behavior, WAZ points out. Therefore, it becomes even more difficult for Bulgarians and Romanians to find housing, as many landlords do not want to jeopardize the harmony in their buildings.
It is because of this that in cities like Gelsenkirchen and Duisburg, the black housing market is thriving – dubious investors buy neglected buildings, and fake persons from Bulgaria and Romania act as middlemen and rent out the apartments for ungodly amounts. Meanwhile, these “intermediaries” they even got the nickname “residential pimps”, notes the German publication.
"It is full of both mold and vermin"
The greater the need for residential space, the higher the prices, and between 6,000 and 7,000 euros can be obtained for mediation, WAZ journalists have found. The publication quotes the mayor of Gelsenkirchen, Karin Welge, who is concerned about finding a way out of the situation. “It is about the destinies of people who are often deceived and exploited by criminal gangs. At the same time, I am concerned about the preservation of social peace in our city. Therefore, we are taking a number of measures, but the framework conditions depend on the leadership of the province, the state, and the EU.“
„De Welt“ for his part, he points out that Gelsenkirchen is a city greatly affected by deindustrialization and is now among the poorest German cities, making it even more difficult to cope with the challenges associated with the mass influx of Bulgarians and Romanians. The German publication points out that many of them are illiterate and must be persuaded to send their children to school. The city authorities are trying to integrate them, but the means for the purpose are not enough.
Gelsenkirchen city authorities have so far bought 17 sites, as WAZ notes, but there are still a number of buildings that remain available to “housing pimps”. In one of the neighborhoods, for example, as an eyewitness told the publication, people lived “like in a zoo“ - there was so much mold and pests.
"They also enjoy minimum wage"
The fact that home seekers accept these kinds of “deals” and often pay too high rents, is mostly related to their ignorance and patriarchal structures, an unnamed insider of the Gelsenkirchen situation explains to WAZ. “These people are not stupid, just ignorant.“ Most of them, especially women, cannot read and write, grew up in ghettos and in the context of corruption and repression by state authorities in their home countries do not feel any trust in the authorities.
The informant points out: “They don't know how our state system functions, who pays what, what kind of money they even get and what they have in the end”. They don't know, for example, that their electricity and rent bills can be taken over – but only after a request made by them. “This opens the doors to the “pimps” and enables them to accumulate capital.“
As a rule, families borrow money from relatives or acquaintances, pay a down payment and undertake to pay extra to the intermediaries. Due to the lack of information and language skills, however, these people can only perform low-skilled and low-paid work. And they often become victims of exploitation while looking for work at the Gelsenkirchen labor market to pay off their debts faster. “They are happy even to find a hard job of 80 hours a month for minimum wage,”, a person familiar with the situation told WAZ. So it's no wonder that some of these people go down illegal or criminal paths to pay off. “Because if they are late with the payment, there will be creepy guys standing at their door right away”.
Crimes are difficult to prove
However, the presence of criminal structures cannot be officially confirmed by the city authorities, WAZ points out – there is no legally valid evidence. And because of a bad past experience in their home country, those affected do not turn to the authorities, says the informant of the German publication. “They are just afraid of losing the roof over their head – even if the intermediary charges them more than what is written in the contract.“
What then could be the solution? “Not to create ghettos, but to build more social housing.“ And people should be trained to observe the rules for order, cleanliness and rest times. Because one thing is clear: “People from Bulgaria and Romania will stay in Gelsenkirchen – for them, everything else is better compared to their previous life in the homeland.“