IMPORTED NANNIES JOIN BLACK MARKET

Hurriyet
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 11:21

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, Dadaþ 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 Dadaþ 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 Dadaþ 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 Bakýrkoy, 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
Dadaþ 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 Ð 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, Cetin, 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."

Dadaþ 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 Dadaþ 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.