Mongolians in the Czech Republic
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mongolians in the Czech Republic form one of the country's smaller ethnic groups. Although the workers from Mongolia comprised 3.6% of the foreign workforce , the group has grown over the last decade and numbered 10,236 men and women holding Mongolian nationality by June 2020. By 2011 they had declined both in numbers and in relative size to other foreign populations, having been surpassed by Russians and Moldovans. However, the group began to resume its growth after 2014 once again. Currently, a large group of Mongolians reside in the city of Ceska Lipa and its surrounding area.


Migration history

In the 13th century, Mongol military detachments carried out plunder and scorched-earth operations in parts of what is now the Czech Republic. Nowadays, in 2005, only 1,900
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
ns lived in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, according to the
local police Municipal police, city police, or local police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive funding ...
; by 31 March 2006, that figure had grown slightly to 2,607 individuals, including 2,051 workers and 213 businessmen. The following year would see significant growth in the Mongolian population, which nearly tripled to 7,515 individuals by June 2007. As of July 2008, an additional thirty to forty Mongolians were arriving in the Czech Republic for work every week, many via train. Their population had been expected to continue to grow at a rapid pace, since Mongolia, along with Vietnam, was chosen in 2008 as one of the nations to supply manpower to the Czech Republic to replace North Korean guest workers, whose visas were not renewed after international concern that their wages were being confiscated by the North Korean government and used to support their nuclear programme. However, at the beginning of 2009, the Czech government decided they would no longer grant employment visas to Mongolian or Vietnamese labourers, in response to an economic downturn which had left 380,000 Czech citizens jobless. Visa issuance officially halted on 1 April that year; the government stated it would resume at some unspecified future date. They also announced a plan to offer €500 and a free plane ticket back to
Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...
for any Mongolian workers in the Czech Republic who lost their jobs; a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry stated that the plan was intended to prevent unemployed foreign workers from remaining in the country illegally. From February-April, Mongolians formed 66% of the total 1,345 foreigners who took advantage of such offers from the Czech government. In May 2011, a group of ninety Mongolians sued the Czech government over the restricted access to work visas, and in particular for refusing to process their applications online through the Visapoint system.


Demography and distribution

Aside from the community in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, there are also about 500 Mongolians employed at a steering wheel-cover firm in the
South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region ( cs, Jihomoravský kraj; , ; sk, Juhomoravský kraj) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia (an exception is Jobova Lhota which trad ...
town of
Blansko Blansko (; german: Blanz) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Svitava River on the border of the Moravian Karst. It is mainly an industrial town. Administrative parts Vill ...
, and a few hundred more in
Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...
.


Illegal migration

Mongolians make up one of the larger groups of illegal migrants detained at the border with
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
. Previously,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
had been one of the main sources of illegal foreign workers for the Czech Republic, but many had moved on westward to other countries of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, lured by higher wages; Mongolians have been one of the main groups which has replaced them. The Czech government are working with the Mongolian government in efforts to control the illegal migration, in a programme similar to those they already operated with the governments of
Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
,
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, and
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, which combined education in the source country about the danger of abuse that foreign workers face, and increased enforcement in the destination country. There are fifteen Czech work agencies with permits from the Czech government to import workers from Mongolia. However, only two such agencies have permits from the Mongolian government to recruit on their territory; many thus operate without authorisation. This lack of registration is the reason why Czech government figures consistently show a large number of migrants from Mongolia—such as a total of 2,000 in 2007—while Mongolian government statistics show just a small number of workers leaving their country with the Czech Republic as their destination.


Notable individuals

*
Gombojavyn Ochirbat Gombojavyn Ochirbat ( mn, Гомбожавын Очирбат; born 15 November 1929) is a Mongolian Communist political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. ...
, former General Secretary of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, lived in Prague for two years


See also

*
Petra Hulova Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to the mountain of Jab ...
, a Czech writer who studied in Mongolia


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

*Czech-MongoliaBrno, Plzeň, and Prague
Mongolians in the Czech Republic: the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme
a photoset from
Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...
user bjjs {{Mongolians outside of Mongolia Asian diaspora in the Czech Republic Ethnic groups in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...