Economic strategies and migratory trajectories of Vlax Roma from Eastern Slovakia to Leicester, UK
Economic strategies and migratory trajectories of Vlax Roma from Eastern Slovakia to Leicester, UK

Summary/Abstract: The article is based on long term field research and focuses on a community of family-related Vlax Roma from the Prešov, Sabinov and Košice regions who createda large community in Leicester, UK. The massive wave of labour migration to UKstarted in 2004, in the year of Slovakia’s accession to the European Union. The migra-tion to Great Britain has been based on family networks and represents an exampleof chain migration based on the reciprocal help of family networks. Besides theirown relatives other different non-related Roma intermediaries had an important influence on their arrival to Britain. The article focuses on the changing economicstrategies of new migrants from the group in focus after their replacement to UK. Inthe years following Slovak accession to the EU, the prospective Romani migrants explored many illegal paths to arrive to Britain in their struggle for a better life. Approximately after a decade since their arrival, we can find this community as ful-ly integrated into the local British working class, spending their time between my work and my house.

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