Romanian migration to the United Kingdom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  |
| Notable Romanian Britons: Moses Gaster, Vera Atkins |
| Total population |
|---|
| Romanian born people in UK (2001) Census figure of 7,631[1] Romanians regardless of birthplace (2006) Estimated at 50,000[2] 0.08% of the UK's population |
| Regions with significant populations |
| London (primarily Northern boroughs), Oxford, Cambridge, Nottingham, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edingburgh, Cardiff |
| Languages |
| Religion |
Romanian migration to the United Kingdom refers to the phenomenon of Romanian people moving to the United Kingdom as citizens or non-citizen immigrants.
Contents |
[edit] History, population and settlement
The small number of Romanians that first arrived in Britain were primarily Jews fleeing persecution during the Second World War.[citation needed] In the 1950s, ACARDA (Asociatia Culturala a Romanilor din Anglia - The Cultural Association the Romanians in England) was founded by Ion Ratiu and Horia Georgescu working together with various individuals, notably the small Romanian community.[citation needed]
At the time of the 2001 Census, 7,631 Romanian-born people were residing in the UK.[1]
Despite this the Romanian Embassy in London estimates that there are now 50,000 ethnic Romanians calling the UK home.[3] When Romania joined the European Union in January 2007, the British government placed transitional restrictions on the rights of Romanians to move to the UK, which were subsequently extended and currently remain in place.[4]
In June 2009, some 115 Romanian citizens living in Belfast fled their homes in the south of the city after a spate of what the BBC described as "racist" attacks, including bricks being thrown through windows. Some 20 families sought refuge in a local church hall before being transfered to a local leisure centre. The actions were condemned by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Northern Ireland Alliance Party politician Anna Lo. It is believed that the majority of the individuals targeted are ethnic Roma. It has since been announced that the displaced families are to be temporarily rehoused.[5]
[edit] Culture
Most Romanians belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church religion and there are a total of 11 such churches in the UK, seven of which are in London.[citation needed]
[edit] Famous Britons of Romanian descent
- Vera Atkins, Intelligence Officer during World War II
- J. J. Benjamin, Historian
- Octav Botnar, Businessman
- Alina Cojocaru, Dancer
- George Constantinescu, Scientist, Engineer and Inventor
- Moses Gaster, Scholar
- David Mitrany, scholar
- The Cheeky Girls, Singers
- George Iacobescu, Chief executive of the Canary Wharf Group
- Ion Raţiu, Politician
- Simona Armstrong, Singer and actress
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Country-of-birth database". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls. Retrieved on 2009-01-25.
- ^ Romanians in the UK
- ^ Romanians in the UK
- ^ "EU worker restrictions to remain". BBC News. 2007-10-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7069129.stm. Retrieved on 2008-11-30.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8105488.stm
[edit] External links
- ClickRomania.co.uk - The Romanian Community in UK
- The News Portal for Foreigners in the UK
- Ziarul Romanesc - Weekly Newspaper for Romanians in the UK
- Romanian cultural centre of London
- Roman in UK - newspaper for Romanians in the UK
- London Romanian Seventh Day Adventist Church
- Romanian Orthodox Church
- Romani Online
- Diaspora online
- BBC English Language portal
- BBC news - Romanians in Britain
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