Eight People in a 'Tin Can' Without AC at 35 Degrees!
Inhumane living conditions for foreign workers uncovered in Čazma, while fierce debates rage over the idea of settling migrants on Croatian islands, and a smuggler is arrested in Crikvenica.
Inhumane living conditions for foreign workers uncovered in Čazma, while fierce debates rage over the idea of settling migrants on Croatian islands, and a smuggler is arrested in Crikvenica.
Interior Minister Davor Božinović strongly condemned the conditions in which eight foreign workers were found in the Čazma area. During an inspection, it was discovered that the workers were housed in a construction container of only 14 square meters, without air conditioning, amid summer heat. "Eight of them in 14 square meters, in a container that is not for living but for construction, with insufficient sanitary facilities-this is simply unacceptable," Minister Božinović stated.
The joint operation was carried out by the State Inspectorate and the Bjelovar-Bilogora Police Department last week, after receiving information about a larger number of foreign workers employed by one company. Irena Delija, police officer for illegal migrations and risk analysis in that department, explained the results of the inspection. The inspectorate's report, as we learn, is not yet finalized.
"We checked 62 foreign workers from India and Nepal; on that occasion, no irregularities were found regarding their stay and work, but regarding adequate accommodation, irregularities were found that will be sanctioned by the State Inspectorate," Delija said. According to the Ordinance on Workers from Third Countries, the minimum allowed square footage for accommodation of one third-country national is exactly 14 square meters-the same space that eight people shared in this case.
The company owner told Net.hr that he is waiting for the inspector's report and will submit the required documentation by the September deadline, confident that it will prove no irregularities exist. As the number of foreign workers grows, so does the number of inspections. Currently, there are about 130,000 active residence and work permits in Croatia.
Residents of Čazma view the influx of foreign workers with understanding but also a degree of caution. "It's important that they have an apartment or some accommodation, so they can live normally and then work," said Ivan from Čazma. His fellow citizen Suzana added that stricter controls are needed: "It's not easy for those people because they came here just like it's not easy for ours when they leave. I think there should be more control."
Minister Božinović stated that inspections will continue and that all who break the law will face consequences. "We are conducting these inspections and we will continue to do so. All those who violate the law, which is set in agreement with union representatives and employer association representatives, will have to abide by it; if not, as in this case in Čazma, they will be sanctioned and charges will be filed," he announced. Irena Delija also specified the fines: "The fine for a legal entity ranges from 1,500 to 3,000 euros, and for a responsible person from 500 to 1,000 euros."
On the same day the information about the Čazma case was published, the police also reported preventing migrant smuggling in the Crikvenica area. Police officers from the Crikvenica Police Station stopped a vehicle with German license plates on Saturday, August 2, at around 7:30 PM, driven by a 61-year-old German citizen. It was determined that he was transporting foreign nationals who had illegally entered Croatia for profit. The suspect was handed over to the detention supervisor along with a criminal complaint.
Meanwhile, Croatia is also buzzing with controversy sparked by historian Hrvoje Klasić's statement about possibly settling migrants on sparsely populated islands. This idea met with almost unanimous resistance from island leaders in southern Croatia, who warn of infrastructure problems and the specificities of island community life.
The Mayor of Korčula, Frano Jeričević, called the statement absurd and nonsensical. "For me, the more important question is how a man who puts forward such absurd ideas can even be a professor at any educational institution, let alone a faculty? I expected that Mr. Klasić would immediately take in at least two migrants from Syria and North Africa into his own apartment and show by his example that he is a true humanist," Jeričević said.
The Head of Blato, Jurica Petković, emphasized that people live on the islands all year round, not just in summer, and that infrastructure is overloaded. "Let Professor Klasić explain what migrants would live on in winter. We struggle with infrastructure-electricity, water, sewage-everything is overloaded. Besides, where would all those people he invites live?" Petković asked, and called on the professor to "get out of his faculty in Zagreb and see how people live in other parts of Croatia."
The Head of the Municipality of Lastovo, Anita Jančić Lešić, stressed the sensitivity of small island communities to sudden changes. "Settling any larger number of people is completely unacceptable in that sense," she said. The Head of Mljet, Đivo Market, had a somewhat milder tone, interpreting the statement more as a joke, but also said that "mass settlement is simply not an option."
Ivica Katić, president of the local committee of Suđurađ on Šipan, added that he believes Croatia is not even a target for migrants and asked why Klasić doesn't offer the Sisak area, where he himself comes from. While waiting for the inspectorate's report on the Čazma case, and with workers still staying on the plantation, these three stories illustrate the complexity of migration challenges Croatia faces.
