arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Ron is from outside the Europian Union which means that he doesn't enjoy social security. No work means no support and no residence card. He could be sent back to the Phillipines. CS2 'bought' the foreigners for their knowledge in electronics. Now they are put to the street.

"I am an engineer by profession. I have a science degree in electronics and engenering. It's a 5 year course in the Phillipines and I was hired directly by CS2. I came here in january 2000 and my wife and son came in july 2000. The interview happened over the phone and was followed by e-mails. It started in may '99. I signed a contract, waited for my visa and when everything was settled, they sent me tickets and I flew overhere.
I am well integrated in Belgium. That's not really a problem for me because I can easely adapt myself to a new country.
Going back will not be hard for me either. My wife likes it here, has a lot of friends but also misses her family a lot. For my son it's harder because he's going to school here and speaks dutch. He is fully integrated and loves his classmates. They love him and he doesn't want to go back home."

Is going back the only option?

My first option is to find a job here and if I can't then I have to go back home. We are hoping that with all the attention of the media, we will get something back out of it.
The residence card of one of us expiered four weeks ago. So technically speaking he shouldn't be here anymore. We are hoping that he'll get an extension, because we were not prepared for what is happening now. We hope that the government will be able to grant help to us and that they give us an extension for our residence card.

Are you angry towards the management?

Not really because we know that the management did their best to get a partnership from another company. But the economic situation worldwide in this industry is not so good. The only frustating thing is that this situation happened so abruptly. We were not prepared. In december we were told that some new investments of 25 million dollars were done in our company. That's a lot of money, and a month later it's all over. There is alwalys hope and a possibility that someone will buy their way into this company and that the new owners will also absorp the workers who work here.

"My residence card lasts until september, but if I don't have a basic income to support my family, I can't stay here. So I have to find a job immediately."

First of all, thank you very much for publishing my interview. But I would like to correct a statement that a colleague has an expired residence card for 4 weeks. It is actually 4 days, not weeks