Migrant workers in Romania fear wave of hate fuelled by far right

BANGLADESHI food delivery rider Sabbirrul Alam has stopped making nighttime deliveries on his bike in Bucharest ever since a man hit a fellow countryman on the street, shouting “Go back to your country!” and “You are an invader!”

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“I’m afraid,” the 29-year-old said, adding that the incident in August had surprised him.

“I think people have become very angry,’ said Alam, sporting a black cap with the Romanian flag.

The attack came just days after one of the leaders of the far-right AUR party, which has been gaining votes, asked people on Facebook to refuse deliveries from drivers who aren't Romanian.

Several European countries have seen an increase in attacks against immigrants in tandem with rising hate speech across the continent.

Concern is growing in Romania, which relies heavily on non-EU workers in its manufacturing, construction, trade and hospitality sectors.

Images posted to social media show that some delivery riders have even started writing “I am Romanian’ on the bags they use to transport food.