Day of celebration on the banks of the Ampoi river in Alba Iulia. Usually a Romanian celebration starts with some well-heated grills, beer, pork necks and sausages, all packed with a lot of beer.
On Saturday, March 27, 2024, on the bank of the river, the atmosphere was very different from the one made by the Romanians. From the speakers placed next to a stage, you could not hear Romanian party artists, but oriental ones. Sri Lankans to be precise. The smell of chickpeas and cefe has been replaced by that of Asian spices, coconut and honey.
The Sri Lankan community in Alba Iulia organized a traditional party, a party of theirs, for them but also for the Romanians. Featuring Sri Lankan music, food and fun games.
A community of workers who come in search of better paying jobs than what they have in the country. In some places it resembles the story of the Romanians who went abroad in the 90s.
The party was attended by Sri Lankan workers from Alba, but also invited friends from other cities. Also, all residents of Alba Iulia were invited to take part in their celebration.
They left their work clothes in the nail. Sri Lankans Those who came to Romania to work side by side with the Romanians
We often see the Srilankans at work, on the mobility lots, or construction sites. Likewise, we see them calmly shopping in stores. On Saturday they left their work clothes and went to the party.
On the grass on the bank of the Ampoi, dozens of Sri Lankan families came from all over the country. There are people who left their country to earn more money, and on Saturday they came to have fun.
From board games, to music and traditional food. The atmosphere was relaxed at Alba Iulia, and this can be seen in the video above.
How many Sri Lankans are there in Romania?
Nipuni Samarasinghe, a representative of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Bucharest, also participated in the event.
Theoretically, there are around 9,500 Sri Lankans in Romania. Unofficially, the number would be around 25,000 people. There are people who came to earn more money.
Nipuni Samarasinghe, representative of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Bucharest
Money they send back to the country.
He works in areas avoided by Romanian workers
Work in construction, tailoring, or other fields where physical labor is required. Areas that some Romanians avoid, either because they are paid too poorly, or because the effort is too great.
They want to go back to Sri Lanka
A large part of the workers who came to Romania want to return to their native country, say Embassy representatives. They want to raise money to have the necessary budget to build a house, or start a business in their country.
They have no intention of staying in Romania, they still exist.
They are happy to be tolerated
I come from a very different culture and this is a block when I arrive in Romania, in Europe. But they say that the Romanians are tolerant with them and that they have found understanding and respect.
Those from the community also said that they hoped that in the future the bureaucratic situation between the two countries would be easy. In short, that the procedure for obtaining residence and work documents in Romania should be shorter, and the period for which they can obtain the documents should be longer.
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