A member of the European Union, Croatia is struggling to address a chronic labor shortage due to massive emigration and a shrinking population. Dependent on seasonal workers from neighboring Balkan countries, Croatia increasingly relies on workers from Nepal, India and the Philippines or elsewhere, who fill tens of thousands of jobs.
Croatian police announced the arrest on Saturday of four men suspected of racist attacks against foreign workers in Split on the Adriatic coast, including a delivery man from Nepal who was seriously injured. Police said the four people arrested are being investigated for “hate crimes.” A 41-year-old foreign national and an attacker were slightly injured during the incident which occurred late Friday, according to a police statement.
Shortly after, there were three other attacks targeting food delivery workers of foreign origin, also in Split and a Nepalese man was seriously injured. Another victim was Indian, while the nationality of the other two was not revealed. Police are searching for the perpetrators of the three attacks.
In 2023, Croatia issued work permits to almost 120,000 third-country nationals, an increase of 40% compared to the previous year. This year, this figure will be exceeded since nearly 150,000 work permits were issued to third-country nationals until November.
The number of attacks against foreign workers, particularly meal delivery workers, has increased, police in the capital Zagreb said at the start of the year. Most of the time, the attacks were not racially motivated but rather aimed at robbing delivery people.
However, migrants are regularly pilloried on social networks, while language barriers and reluctance to welcome foreigners slow down the integration of this new workforce. Croats represent more than 90% of the country’s population, of which almost 80% are Catholic Christians.
