Imported nannies join black market
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Sevda Yüzbaşıoğlu & Enis Tayman [First Person]
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Temmuz 07, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL -Whether to watch over a child or care for an elderly person, black market nannies, who are mostly women from former Soviet republics, are coming to Turkey in search of work and offering bargain wages. ’We earn a fortune here,’ says one nanny. Turkish caretaker agencies are decrying the women’s negative impact on their business and the risk to family security
A great number of women flooding Turkish shores from former Soviet republics willing to become nannies at bargain prices have harmed the local sector and created a black market that is very open to abuse.
Despite being the early hours of the morning, Dadaş Park in Istanbul’s European neighborhood of Laleli is very crowded. Calling the area a park is a mistake, because it is basically a street surrounded by hotels and shops. Foreign women of all ages are grouped around certain points in the park with their suitcases. This is the nanny/caretaker market where Moldovan, Ukrainian, Turkmen or Georgian women find jobs.
Once we, two Referans reporters acting as a couple, enter Dadaş Park in Laleli trying to find a nanny, we are surrounded by tens of women willing to work for $600 a month.
With the number of women who have entered the job market increasing over recent years, the caretaker market has boomed. There are two ways to find a caretaker. One can approach one of the 165 licensed agencies, which only work with Turkish caretakers. Or one can approach one of the many unlicensed agencies. Or go to Dadaş Park.
Nationals of the former Soviet republics are feeding the black side of the employment market. Key countries in this illegal trade are Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia and Central Asian Turkic republics. Between 300,000 and 400,000 people from these countries enter Turkey with tourist visas and some of the women among them illegally enter the caretaker market. Those in the know say there are around 10,000 such women in Turkey.
The worth of this illegal market is said to be in the millions. There are around 80 unlicensed agencies in Bakırköy, with many more said to be based in Laleli. Women working for these agencies do not demand any social security and are willing to work for $600 a month and prefer live-in work. Unlicensed agencies receive a commission from both the women and their employers. Due to the fact that there is no official contract between the employer and the caretaker, the norm is for the employer to take away the woman’s passport.
The reason foreign caretakers are more attractive to local families is the fact that they are cheaper, better educated, knowledgeable in foreign languages and prefer live-in work.
Licensed agencies can legally work only with Turkish nationals, who ask for at least 1,000 Turkish Liras and refuse live-in work, which is a disadvantage for those looking for caretakers for elderly people. Most foreign nannies stay past the expiration date of their visas, and if caught, are asked to pay 90 liras for every month they stayed in Turkey illegally.
’Buys and sells shoes’
The bargaining with Moldovan women at the Dadaş Park starts from $750. When told that the maximum that they can receive is $400, we are told that it is impossible.
Still, a woman called Angel approaches us and hands over a card, saying, "This person may be able to help you." The card reads, "Party Birol Ğ Buys and sells all types of shoes and slippers."
Party Birol is just one of the hundreds of illegal agents. He tells us $400 is impossible, but for $500, we could get a Georgian or Armenian nanny. He provides a two-week trial run, after which the local couple can return the woman. During the trial run, the couple holds the woman’s passport. Couples are asked to give the caretaker a 25 to 30-lira stipend for a weekly day off. Birol asks for a $150 commission from both the woman and us.
Afterward, we go to the area where women from Turkmenistan frequent, having been told that they are cheaper.
Nanny found
We are at the front bureau of a decrepit hotel in Laleli. An employee, Çetin, tells us he will help and calls in a woman called Sultan. When she hears about the $400 we are offering, she grimaces but finds a solution. She goes up and brings another woman, 24-year-old Zarina. Zarina left Turkmenistan and her 4-year-old son a week ago. She arrived in Trabzon on the Black Sea coast by ship and then took a bus to Istanbul. She speaks almost no Turkish and accepts $450 a month.
Sultan says: "Once she starts speaking Turkish, she won’t work for $450. She accepted the money because she is new. She can do anything and gets a day off every week. You can take her passport and she won’t create any problems for you."
While Zarina doesn’t understand the conversation, she nods her head when $450 is mentioned.
When Sultan sees that we remain unconvinced, she says: "She looked after her own son. Don’t worry; she knows how to take care of children."
When we note our concern over the fact that she is illegal, Sultan says: "Her duty is not to get caught. If you want, you can pay a fine and make her legal but it’s not really necessary."
Dadaş Park not only works as an illegal employment agency, but also a financial center with a system these caretaker women can use on certain weekdays to send money home.
Buses take off from Dadaş Park to their native countries. One woman says banks ask for huge fees to transfer money, while the fee at the park is 3 percent. Moreover, the park is a way to communicate with home, sending clothes, food and every kind of item back and forth.
Despite being the early hours of the morning, Dadaş Park in Istanbul’s European neighborhood of Laleli is very crowded. Calling the area a park is a mistake, because it is basically a street surrounded by hotels and shops. Foreign women of all ages are grouped around certain points in the park with their suitcases. This is the nanny/caretaker market where Moldovan, Ukrainian, Turkmen or Georgian women find jobs.
Once we, two Referans reporters acting as a couple, enter Dadaş Park in Laleli trying to find a nanny, we are surrounded by tens of women willing to work for $600 a month.
With the number of women who have entered the job market increasing over recent years, the caretaker market has boomed. There are two ways to find a caretaker. One can approach one of the 165 licensed agencies, which only work with Turkish caretakers. Or one can approach one of the many unlicensed agencies. Or go to Dadaş Park.
Nationals of the former Soviet republics are feeding the black side of the employment market. Key countries in this illegal trade are Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia and Central Asian Turkic republics. Between 300,000 and 400,000 people from these countries enter Turkey with tourist visas and some of the women among them illegally enter the caretaker market. Those in the know say there are around 10,000 such women in Turkey.
The worth of this illegal market is said to be in the millions. There are around 80 unlicensed agencies in Bakırköy, with many more said to be based in Laleli. Women working for these agencies do not demand any social security and are willing to work for $600 a month and prefer live-in work. Unlicensed agencies receive a commission from both the women and their employers. Due to the fact that there is no official contract between the employer and the caretaker, the norm is for the employer to take away the woman’s passport.
The reason foreign caretakers are more attractive to local families is the fact that they are cheaper, better educated, knowledgeable in foreign languages and prefer live-in work.
Licensed agencies can legally work only with Turkish nationals, who ask for at least 1,000 Turkish Liras and refuse live-in work, which is a disadvantage for those looking for caretakers for elderly people. Most foreign nannies stay past the expiration date of their visas, and if caught, are asked to pay 90 liras for every month they stayed in Turkey illegally.
’Buys and sells shoes’
The bargaining with Moldovan women at the Dadaş Park starts from $750. When told that the maximum that they can receive is $400, we are told that it is impossible.
Still, a woman called Angel approaches us and hands over a card, saying, "This person may be able to help you." The card reads, "Party Birol Ğ Buys and sells all types of shoes and slippers."
Party Birol is just one of the hundreds of illegal agents. He tells us $400 is impossible, but for $500, we could get a Georgian or Armenian nanny. He provides a two-week trial run, after which the local couple can return the woman. During the trial run, the couple holds the woman’s passport. Couples are asked to give the caretaker a 25 to 30-lira stipend for a weekly day off. Birol asks for a $150 commission from both the woman and us.
Afterward, we go to the area where women from Turkmenistan frequent, having been told that they are cheaper.
Nanny found
We are at the front bureau of a decrepit hotel in Laleli. An employee, Çetin, tells us he will help and calls in a woman called Sultan. When she hears about the $400 we are offering, she grimaces but finds a solution. She goes up and brings another woman, 24-year-old Zarina. Zarina left Turkmenistan and her 4-year-old son a week ago. She arrived in Trabzon on the Black Sea coast by ship and then took a bus to Istanbul. She speaks almost no Turkish and accepts $450 a month.
Sultan says: "Once she starts speaking Turkish, she won’t work for $450. She accepted the money because she is new. She can do anything and gets a day off every week. You can take her passport and she won’t create any problems for you."
While Zarina doesn’t understand the conversation, she nods her head when $450 is mentioned.
When Sultan sees that we remain unconvinced, she says: "She looked after her own son. Don’t worry; she knows how to take care of children."
When we note our concern over the fact that she is illegal, Sultan says: "Her duty is not to get caught. If you want, you can pay a fine and make her legal but it’s not really necessary."
Dadaş Park not only works as an illegal employment agency, but also a financial center with a system these caretaker women can use on certain weekdays to send money home.
Buses take off from Dadaş Park to their native countries. One woman says banks ask for huge fees to transfer money, while the fee at the park is 3 percent. Moreover, the park is a way to communicate with home, sending clothes, food and every kind of item back and forth.