An ethnographic account of ”invisible” experiences of labour exploitation in Copenhagen

1. An ethnographic account of ”invisible” experiences of labour exploitation in Copenhagen Camilla Ida Ravnbøl PhDfellow Camilla.ida.ravnbol@anthro.ku.dk Wearenot migrants!

2. PhDproject • Focus: legalities and moralities among Romanian Roma who live in the streets of Copenhagen • Anthropological fieldwork + ongoing contact (April 2014-August 2016) • Informants: • 120 Romanian EU citizens on the streets of Copenhagen • 40 Romanian Roma men and women, followed closely (every day and at home in Romania) • Others: Danish national authorities, civil society organisations; police officers; EU council officials

3. ”Weare not migrants – wearecitizens!” Ethnography: • Knowledge of EU rights • Previous work experiences in Romania • Work experiences other EU member states • Expectations to the Danish labour market • Diversity according to gender and age

4. Labour exploitation in the eyes of the ”exploited” Construction industry and restaurant industry: • Case of Marian: working in private houses • Case of Daniel and Dimitru: Working at construction sites • Case of Matei and Anton: hired and exploited in the chain of employment: contractor, sub-contractor, unofficial sub-sub-contractor, my informants….

5. Combined experiences of exploitation and abuse Case of Darius • Begging in Finland • Return to Romania • Witness in case concerning human trafficking • Now in Denmark collecting bottles • +”sign-holder” and cleaning at restaurant in CPH during the winter. Salary: 27 euro a day (10 hours) • Darius’ son works as mechanic and receives tax demands for unpaid salary

6. Using identities for tax fraud • Using persons who are ”vulnerable” for tax frauds – false contracts and money laundry • Case of Marius: • Older man • Alcohol problem and mental illness • Illiterate • Poor • Unaware of rights and access to services • Not in a state of mind where he can contact authorities and not able to understand the consequences of his ID being used

7. Spirals of vulnerability • Living in a ”tough” street environment increases the risks of exploitation and abuse and potentially of ending up in a trafficking situation for the purposes of exploitation • Failing to fulfil criteria as trafficked persons or the individual decision not to accept the help available results in a life in the streets that can potentially lead to more exploitation • Distrust in police and national authorities and disbelief in support programmes leads to further marginalization and increased vulnerability • Communication difficulties limits help from authorities • Debt pushes people to move and continues to keep them in these spirals of vulnerability