Romanian emigrants stay put

The Romanian cultural magazine Dilema Veche reflects on the fact that fewer and fewer Romanian emigrants are coming back home although the country's politicians are calling on them to return. "It is clear that many have decided to remain abroad for good. This is not a new phenomenon: that's how it was with the Italians, Spaniards and Portuguese who left their homes in the 1950s and 60s for the richer countries of Europe. ... That's why it makes no sense to keep inviting these people to return home. ... The motto 'the country needs you' is an appeal to feelings of patriotism, and not a calculated analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of returning home. One of the biggest of 'our country's needs', namely the balance of payments, has in fact been compensated for years by the billions of euros sent home by those abroad. ... Why should these citizens of a united Europe have to come back home when they have the right to live where they are better off? ... It should no longer count where people decide to settle down, because wherever they go they are 'at home in Europe', or aren't they?"

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