With doors increasingly closed in Russia, many workers from the region have left for South Korea. But there is also an increase in Central Asians seeking prospects in Western countries, who often end up falling victim to unscrupulous exploiters. Türkiye as an intermediate destination where they stay for a few years, hoping to then reach Europe or America.
Astana () – As a result of Russia’s economic uncertainties following the war in Ukraine and increasing pressure following last year’s terrorist attack in Moscow, Central Asian emigrants are increasingly looking for well-paid work outside the Russian market. There are several million who cannot find work in their country, and who traditionally for many years have been accustomed to moving for seasonal work to Russia, where the economy is now increasingly stagnant, and they run the risk of suffering increasingly repression. hard, or even not being able to obtain work visas or acceptable living conditions.
In the West, in European countries or in America, salaries are undoubtedly higher than in Russia, but there are obstacles of various kinds, among which the language barrier stands out, as well as cultural and social inconveniences, and the difficulty of obtain contracts according to different national standards. One of the most sought-after and, for various reasons, most accessible countries is South Korea, where, however, the increasingly acute political crisis also slows down the economic mechanisms and complicates the installation of those who come from outside. As several emigrants tell Radio Azattyk, “customer orders are becoming fewer and fewer, salaries are falling and police raids are constantly increasing,” creating conditions in Seoul similar to those in Moscow.
Many come to Korea from Kazakhstan, perhaps to work illegally in factories, and now face the dilemma of whether to stay or return to their country, where the local tenge is increasingly devalued following the collapse of the Moscow ruble. Russia has repatriated or prevented the entry of tens of thousands of Central Asian migrants in the last year, and in addition to the aftermath of the attack on the Krokus town hall in March, for which Tajik citizens were charged, an Uzbek migrant was detained in December, accused of the murder of General Igor Kirillov, one of the most important figures in the Moscow defense system. Many emigrants leave Russia without even waiting for a repatriation order.
According to data from the National Bank of Uzbekistan, money transfers from South Korea in 2024 increased by 70% to exceed $500 million, although money trafficking from Russia continues to dominate, reaching more than $12 billion. More than 100,000 Uzbeks currently work in South Korea, but the Tashkent Migration Service has warned that Seoul’s migration quota could be “seriously threatened” for more than 10,000 Uzbek citizens who do not have a legal work contract. Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Zeenbek Kulubaev stated that in 2023 there were 650,000 labor emigrants to Russia, and by the end of 2024 – 350,000.
More and more Central Asians travel to Western countries in search of work, but often under very adventurous and fraudulent schemes, with intermediaries who force migrants to pay enormous sums to reach EU countries or the United States, without actually getting work. fiance. Some are based on proposals found on social networks, offering, for example, a job as a driver in the Czech Republic, with a salary of $3,500 through Czech Power Consulting, but to get it you must first pay more than a thousand dollars for a visa and insurance, money that “will be returned once contracted.” Once the money has been transferred, all contact is closed, and requests to the police or the embassy of the country itself in Prague are of no use; There are those who have lost more than $20,000 through these scams, trying to reach the United States.
One of the most realistic countries to look for work is Turkey, which offers jobs with rather moderate salaries, between 700 and 800 dollars a month, but from where it seems easier to go to America or other European countries where “you earn the same in a year than in 10 years in Istanbul. That is, if he does not fall again into the machinations of the traffickers, perhaps running out of money in some South American or Mexican city, without being able to reach the desired destination.
Photo: Flickr / Maureen Barlin
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