Poverty and marginalization increase vulnerability for exploitation, and the Roma are overrepresented among victims of trafficking in both Norway and Europe. Following Romania's accession to the EU, migration to Scandinavia for begging has become an established practice in some Romanian Roma communities. This article describes this migration flow and discusses the potential for exploitation. Taking Norway’s human trafficking legislation as a starting point, we analyze power and dependency relations associated with different types of resources that beggars need in order to survive and make money. Based on comprehensive qualitative and quantitative data collected in Norway and Romania, we describe access to information, credit and transportation services, begging spots and places to sleep, as well as emotional and social dependency within informal networks and family relations. We show how the resources that beggars need are not easily monopolized, as well as how network-driven migration clustered on the village level and the migrants’ willingness to sleep outside under harsh conditions reduces dependence on external actors. Strong dependency of dense informal networks can, on the other hand, increase vulnerability for exploitation within family and personal relations. However, we do not find that this vulnerability increases through migration. © 2019 Author(s).

Migration Roma Exploitation Human trafficking Begging

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