FIRST PANCAKE IS LUMPY
I had long wanted to work abroad in our long-suffering country, but I had no acquaintances working "there." I had no choice but to turn to a so-called "firm." I went to the address given in the advertisement. The firm, which promised to find employment in Israel, rented a corner in a school building, but worked briskly and with imagination. About fifteen people gathered at the appointed time, and the "representative of an Israeli retired general" still wasn't receiving. Then a young man pulls up in a foreign car and casually enters his office. This is where the show intended for our ears begins.
- Hi, Roma! When did you get home?
- A week ago, Alexander Semyonovich!
- How much did you earn?
- Net was about $800. I'm thinking of taking my wife with me, I'm already processing documents.
And another 20 minutes in the same vein. After that, the "general's representative" began the reception. The interview was conducted with each person individually, and the firm's representative told how easy and quick it was to earn money in Israel. He used the most "long-range" arguments. For example, he said that the group was already assembled, only 2-3 more people were needed. He showed lists of people who had already "signed up" for the trip (and paid an advance, of course).
A typical but psychologically well-calculated way of processing a client: a person, if he wants to leave, tries to jump on the step of a passing train, rejoices – see, he made it. And thus, most often he goes not to money, but away from money – his own hard-earned...
I was told later that Alexander Semyonovich, the "general," still collected about $800 from the gullible, but acted relatively honestly: within a month he "turned over" the amount received, and when people, not having waited for departure abroad, began to protest, he returned every penny to them.
WORK
In October 1996, I finally left to work, but not to Israel, but to the Czech Republic. The firm offered work on a construction site with a salary from $300, anyone who knew how to renovate an apartment with their own hands could go, and specialists were paid about $400-500. The service fee was 100 hryvnias on the spot, another $150 en route, and this amount included the cost of train travel. Departure was promised within a week. I took the risk. I gave the hundred hryvnias without any receipts or promissory notes – instead, a girl named Olya gave me her home phone number, which I was to call to find out the departure date. The proverb says: hindsight is 20/20. So I, only when I got home, realized: I gave money to who knows whom, I hadn't seen the firm's documents – surely, I had "screwed up." But apparently, the firm still needed to collect $150 per person, so we left.
There were about 10 of us, including two young girls. The route was: Kherson – Lviv – Uzhhorod – Košice (Slovakia) – Olomouc (Czech Republic). The cost of travel along this route, including the price of the voucher, was $40 at that time. In Lviv, the already familiar firm representative Olya was joined by Katya; together they began to calculate. Most, besides the money set aside "for the firm," had about $50 more, and the girls, of course, tried to wheedle this money out of us under the pretext that "we need to pay the bandits, customs," etc. This, as I understood, is another standard trick of intermediaries: to try to leave people completely without money so that they cannot, as soon as they arrive, immediately return home. A quick return of the client is disadvantageous to them for two reasons. First, a person who returns home usually demands money for breach of contract. Second, the employer may subsequently refuse the intermediary's services, since he needs workers for at least two to three months.
So, most of my fellow travelers paid "for the bandits" and were left with no money at all. The next stage of our "odyssey" began. Olya got off the train, and Katya took us to our destination. Jumping ahead, I'll tell how the firm fended off complaints from those dissatisfied with the work, earnings, and living conditions according to the following scheme: Olya said that Katya had received most of the money, and she would deal with her if she didn't fulfill the contract terms. Katya, in turn, swore that she was paid very little, so she had to add her own hard-earned money. In short, you can't find the ends. And rarely does anyone try to get their money back. When people arrive abroad and see that they have clearly been cheated, they still stay, because many went into debt to leave. After paying off the debt, they stay another 2-3 months to bring at least something home...
So, two days after departure, we reached Olomouc. In the dormitory where we were housed, about 70 Ukrainians were already living. There were two toilets, one washbasin, and one shower for everyone, but they say it can be worse. That same evening, immediately upon arrival, we were put to work for a "client." The salary he negotiated, naturally, did not match the firm's promises. As a specialist, I earned a maximum of $12 per day. We worked 11 hours daily, without days off. I must say we were lucky with the "client" – he paid us in full. Some fall into the hands of swindlers and get nothing but a meager advance.
"CLIENTS"
"Clients" are Ukrainians who have a residence permit and a so-called "živnostenský list" (trade license) allowing them to engage in business. Simply put, they are the same intermediaries. They cooperate with Czech firms that are willing to hire Ukrainian "illegals": they agree on payment and "hand over" the people for work. The Czechs pay the "client," and he then pays the workers. How much the "client" earns from the difference is known only to him and God. "Ours" had, by the most conservative estimates, at least $10,000 per month.
The "client" has complete power over his workers, so he doesn't stand on ceremony with them. In the event of a conflict, his guys can beat a worker half to death. Therefore, those who come not for the first time try to find work without intermediaries. But even here, our people are in danger. Knowing the complaisance and trustfulness of Ukrainians, Czechs may pay them for 2-3 weeks, and then ask them to "wait." In the end, they don't pay a penny, and may even "turn them in" to the police, accusing them of theft.
RACKET
"Our" racket in the Czech Republic is strong. It's quite easy to spot a Ukrainian in a crowd, so old-timers try to blend in – they dress and cut their hair to look like local Czechs. The racketeers control almost all train stations in large cities, collecting tribute of $20-30 per person; those who are bolder may take everything they find. I was even shown a special "business card" that said: "Suren took $30." The Czech police hardly touch the racketeers. The authorities, creating the appearance of fighting bandits, conduct raids on dormitories, deporting some (usually illegals, "black labor," those without a residence permit). The racketeers have all their documents in order. A temporary Czech passport with a "živnostenský list" costs about $500, and for them that's small money.
BRIBES
The bribery of the Czech police and customs can only be compared to the bribery of our traffic cops. You can always buy your way out – if you have the money. For a caught "illegal," the rate is $20 or more, depending on the length of stay in the country. Many, having a stamp in their passport saying "prohibited from residing in the Czech Republic," manage to work without leaving for 2-3 years.
You can bribe a customs officer when returning home for $20-50. Recently, customs officers have started taking bribes even for entering the country. Whether your voucher is real or fake – doesn't matter, pay and cross the border peacefully. In June of this year, I witnessed customs officers cleaning out three Ukrainians – they took $50 from each. Even those working legally are not protected from the arbitrariness of Czech employers, since the latter has the right to cancel both the residence permit and the work permit. This is what forces our workers to "slave away" 14-15 hours a day.
AFTERWORD
What is told above is only the tip of the iceberg of injustice. The Czech Republic is a democratic country, but Ukrainian workers there live no better than slaves. Probably, it is profitable for Czechs to have such reliable, hardworking, and unpretentious workers, ready to do any dirty work – as long as they are paid. But the responsibility for exploitation lies not only with the Czechs but also with our state, which allows such treatment of its citizens.
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