Barcelona - Anyone have a similar story?

[Yachtmaster]

Anyone have of a similar story or input?

My Dominicana girlfiend, now ex girlfiend, recently moved to Barcelona, Spain on a work visa. She surprised me during one of our regular phone conversations (typical long distance relationship with regular visits that lasted a few years and yes, I was helping her out financially) that she got a visa to work in Spain and was going to work as a waitress in a restaurant that was owned by a Dominicano relative.

I have since learned that what she told me, as well as what she told her family about her job in Spain, may not be completely true after all. Apparently there are several thousand Dominicans currently living and working in Spain and that a few may not be working in regular up front jobs, but rather working in the adult entertainment industry. (Kudos to those who truly are on the up and up and working and living a meaning full life in Spain, this is certainly not to downplay those Dominicans who truly are genuine and hard working).

My EX left behind, in Santo Domingo, two of the most adorable children that many wannabe parents would die for to have, to be looked after by her mother (abuela) while she supposedly worked hard in a restaurant to earn money to send home to Santo Domingo.

A reliable source in Santo Domingo has since told me that she was sponsored to work in Barcelona in adult entertainment by someone from Barcelona that she had previously met in Santo Domingo.

I hate to believe this is true as I have put sooooooooo much into our family relationship over the last few years.

Input and suggestions about Barcelona lifestyles welcome.

[Johannes77]

I am very knew at this interesting forum and know nothing about the DR (been there two weeks). I also hope you are able to understand my english :-).

I would like to comment on the issue of the visa. I am lawyer in Sweden not Spain but the immigration and visa recuirements are governed by EC law. Although there is a possibilty that the rules in Spain could be a little different (these rules cant differ much) it is generally speaking not easy for a non EU resident to get a work permit in the EU.

In the nordic countries for instance - if you are a Dominican or of some other nationality of which the European Union labour regulations does not approve (there are gradings and Dominicans are at the bottom) - you need to show that you have qualities that cant be found here. You employer has to show that he cant find someone local (European) who has the ability to perform the task at hand. A Dominican would never get a visa in Sweden to work in a restaurant.

I also know that Spain has tons of illegal immigrants working in restaurants and manual labor.

Furthermore the idea of the EC labour law regulations is to protect the jobs so that basically only Europeans get jobs in Europe (if you are not a scientist, actor or something like that). In short be supicious about that visa.

[mountainfrog]

Originally Posted by Yachtmaster

....working in the adult entertainment industry....left behind, in Santo Domingo, two of the most adorable children .... to be looked after by her mother (abuela) while she supposedly worked hard in a restaurant to earn money to send home to Santo Domingo.

Let's hope the latter is the case.

We must not condemn women who go and work overseas as so many do the same trade here earning much less.
She may not have been aware of the work which awaited her, many are tricked into it (I forget the high percentage of Dominicanas in Spain who work as prostitutes, a number given by a Dominican politician).
The sad part are the children being without her mother.
We know quite a number of those cases, very sad.

m'frog

[Chirimoya]

This happens quite a lot in Spain, and not just with Dominican women. They're told they're getting a respectable job and end up forced into the sex industry. Some go to look for a respectable job and end up in the sex industry anyway. And then there are others who go directly into the sex industry. Some of the female Dominican passengers on flights to Spain certainly look the part.

[Johannes77]

[quote=Chirimoya;626264]This happens quite a lot in Spain, and not just with Dominican women. They're told they're getting a respectable job and end up forced into the sex industry. Some go to look for a respectable job and end up in the sex industry anyway.

This type of 21 th century slave trade occurs all over Europe. The victims though mostly Eastern European women.

[Kyle]

the sex industry is alive all over the world with dominican women not just in Spain. as a frequent traveler to Costa Rica/Panama, dominican women are becoming (or have been) an integral part of the sex industry in San Jose/Panama City as well as other parts.

[Johannes77]

Generally speaking I think there must be many tragic cases among the "visa chasers" who succed in getting a visa of some sort. (sorry if I am off topic)

[Richard Alberto]

Originally Posted by Yachtmaster

Anyone have of a similar story or input?

My Dominicana girlfiend, now ex girlfiend, recently moved to Barcelona, Spain on a work visa. She surprised me during one of our regular phone conversations (typical long distance relationship with regular visits that lasted a few years and yes, I was helping her out financially) that she got a visa to work in Spain and was going to work as a waitress in a restaurant that was owned by a Dominicano relative.

I have since learned that what she told me, as well as what she told her family about her job in Spain, may not be completely true after all. Apparently there are several thousand Dominicans currently living and working in Spain and that a few may not be working in regular up front jobs, but rather working in the adult entertainment industry. (Kudos to those who truly are on the up and up and working and living a meaning full life in Spain, this is certainly not to downplay those Dominicans who truly are genuine and hard working).

My EX left behind, in Santo Domingo, two of the most adorable children that many wannabe parents would die for to have, to be looked after by her mother (abuela) while she supposedly worked hard in a restaurant to earn money to send home to Santo Domingo.

A reliable source in Santo Domingo has since told me that she was sponsored to work in Barcelona in adult entertainment by someone from Barcelona that she had previously met in Santo Domingo.

I hate to believe this is true as I have put sooooooooo much into our family relationship over the last few years.

Input and suggestions about Barcelona lifestyles welcome.

My heart goes out to you Yachtmaster. What I gathered from your post is that you really had opened your heart to this girl and her family (children). Personally, it would left a scar in my heart where I had let her life enter.
Wow.

[Berzin]

I did not get the impression that this young lady went to Barcelona and did not know what she was going to do.

Sad when that is the case, but from the OPs' post it seems as if she already knew what she was getting into before she went to Spain.

So a question to Yachtmaster-was she dabbling in this lifestyle when she was home that you know of?

This happens to quite a few guys. They meet a woman, are unaware that they indeed are working as prostitutes in the DR and find out the hard way, when one of her clients puts photos of her in action up on the internet.

[SKY]

It is pretty common knowledge among the Dominicans that girls that go to Spain are Putas. There are exceptions to every rule, but not too many here.